How are you?
Excellent.
You know, I actually worried a little bit that,
you know, a very prestigious actor
well-thought-of actor, well-trained actor
and you're backstage with all these animals.
Is everything okay?
Yeah, as long as you don't wear vanilla.
Vanilla, what does that mean?
I only know about horses.
I don't know about snakes or anything like that
but I remember making a show once with horses.
And the leading lady had given me a little present
of some eau de cologne that smelt of vanilla
and we were playing this scene
and the horse was nuzzling, nuzzling
and you just push it away and carry on with your lines.
Then it started rearing up.
And I suddenly noticed that everybody
that was watching this scene was laughing.
And I looked around.
I dunno what you can say on television.
You can say anything. How do you describe a horse-
We just had A hole Ronald come in.
How would you describe a horse that was excited?
It was in a state of-
It was-
A horse- A hard thing to describe.
Excited. Very hard to describe.
Excited horse.
(applause)
That's all I know about working with animals.
So does it just work on horses or is this vanilla-
I don't know.
I mean, you're not-
you have no trouble with the snakes.
It might have just been you.
Yeah. Don't assume.
You're a very handsome man.
Yeah, we remember each other fondly.
You know, I would think everyone's talking
about this Cleopatra mini series.
People are excited about it.
I would think you'd be very happy
that you're coming out with a TV mini series
right now this week and not a movie
because every movie that's coming out right now
has to go up against Star Wars
which I would think would be a dreadful experience.
Well, I remember coming out a couple of years ago
with Fran Drescher in a movie.
We went straight to number two, I think,
in the top whatever.
And then Star Wars came out, you know,
the rerelease of the original.
You had to go up against the rerelease.
Every movie, every movie that was out there
just disappeared.
I mean, Star Wars just took it all, so.
I would think that it's okay to lose
to a rerelease of Star Wars,
but what if you lost out to like a rerelease
of Ernest Goes to Camp or something
and you were crushed by it.
I'd prefer it was Star Wars
but my advice is miss the lines,
save yourself nine or 10 bucks,
and you know, stay in front of the fire
and watch Cleopatra.
You smooth, smooth-
(applause)
That would be your advice, wouldn't it?
Go on Wednesday.
You know, it's funny, because of the James Bond role,
and you do play in the movie you just mentioned actually,
in the one you did with Fran Drescher.
The Beautician and the Beast.
You played a very erudite kind of, you know, proper person.
That's sort of your persona a little bit.
Have you ever thought, "I just wanna stretch.
I wanna be a hillbilly in a movie."
Something completely over the top.
You know, it's interesting because I just did a movie
with Jim Belushi called Made Men
which is a modern American gangster movie
which is lawless and subversive and anarchic and very funny.
And I play an Oklahoma sheriff.
Really? Yeah.
I didn't even know that when I asked.
I know you didn't.
But I mean, Oklahoma sheriff, you could still be-
I mean a full blown hillbilly-
It's a start.
With a still and a shotgun and like (laughter).
Well I'm on the way, on the way.
Okay, well.
Can we hear a little Oklahoma sheriff?
Oh, I don't know about that.
Hey, that's not bad.
How you doing?
Just a little bit.
(laughter)
I forget it now.
You know, I've been playing Julius Caesar.
I couldn't play him speaking...
It starts to come in with Julius Caesar too.
Et tu Brute.
Yeah.
(laughter)
In fact I think it started kind of Midwestern
and just then went to Mid-Atlantic
and then probably ended up in-
It just ended in ocean somewhere.
I do wanna show people the scope of this movie
because although it's,
people hear TV mini series,
I don't think they understand that.
I think this is, what is it, $30 million was spent?
I think a bit more.
Making this? Yeah.
$30 million and $42 was spent on this movie.
And 10 cents
And let's show people the scope
because I don't think you expect this from a mini series.
Take a look at this clip.
(crowd roaring)
Let them in!
Let them into the city!
(crowd roaring)
(shouting)
(applause)
That's impressive, I mean, for a mini series, for a movie.
It is.
I would think if you were,
I think at several points in this movie,
you in the character, you're in charge of about 1500 men
on horseback and you're leading them in a charge.
If they gave me that to do, it would go to my head.
I would want to attack something.
I would feel,
did you ever get a swelled head when you were
in charge of so many people?
No, no, it's fantastic.
I will never forget my first day's work on this movie.
I mean, if we'd seen a little bit more,
you would see a city, a real city, the city of Alexandria,
or at least a segment of it built up out of the desert.
It's huge.
It's the biggest set I've ever worked on in my life.
And my first day's work was riding in with my soldiers
into this city.
And it stretches for yards and yards and yards,
hundreds of yards from the port
right through to the Royal palace.
You fill that with people.
You fill that with soldiers.
You fill that with the peasants.
You fill that with the life.
It is, I swear to you.
It's the biggest, is it should be,
it's bigger than Cecil B. DeMille.
It really is.
I mean, you might not like that.
You've gone insane.
You have gone insane. But it's fantastic.
It's fantastic.
It's massive.
See, I just asked him if it's gone to his head
and he's like, "No, no it isn't."
And then you talk for about 30 seconds and you're like,
"It's the biggest thing you've ever seen.
I'll destroy you all with my armies."
It's, I'm sorry.
I've had a little too much vanilla before the show.
(laughter)
Excuse me. Really?
(growls)
(applause)
That was nicely done.
Cleopatra is of course on this Sunday and Monday night
from nine to 11 on ABC.
And I'm gonna check it out.
This does seem like a great pick.
It's a real nice one.
It really is good.
All right.
Timothy Dalton everybody, come on by.
(applause)
Anytime, it's really fun having you on.