>> Stephen: HEY, EVERYBODY!
WELCOME BACK!
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOU KNOW MY FIRST GUEST FROM "THE HOURS,"
"GAME CHANGE," AND "WESTWORLD."
HE NOW STARS IN "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD" ON BROADWAY.
PLEASE WELCOME, MR. ED HARRIS!
( APPLAUSE )
>> Jon: COME ON, ED!
( CHEERS )
PLEASURE TO HAVE YOU ON.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> Stephen: I DON'T WANT TO GUSH TOO MUCH, BUT THEY DON'T
MAKE THEM LIKE YOU ANYMORE.
YOU HAVE DONE SO MANY ICONIC ROLES.
AND NOW YOU'RE TAKING ON ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC ROLES THAT A
MALE ACTOR CAN TAKE ON.
YOU'RE GOING TO BE PLAYING ATTICUS FINCH, IN "TO KILL A
MOCKINGBIRD," TAKING OVER FOR JEFF DANIELS.
( APPLAUSE )
OF YOUR STATURE, AN ACTOR OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, WAS IT AT
ALL INTIMIDATING TO TAKE OVER FOR ATTICUS.
JEFF DANIELS DID AN AMAZING JOB, BUT IT'S KIND OF HARD, I
KNOWLEDGE, TO GET GREGORY PECK OUT OF YOUR HEAD.
>> WELL, I WAS IN SAN FRANCISCO, SEEING MY DAUGHTER IN A PLAY--
SHE'S STUDYING ACTING UP THERE.
AND I WAS IN THE HOTEL ROOM IN THE MORNING.
MY PHONE HAD A LITTLE MESSAGE ON IT FROM SCOTT RUDEIN THE
PRODUCER SAYS, "DO YOU WANT TO PLAY ATTICUS FINCH?"
AND MY HEART KIND OF STARTED BEATING.
I'VE ALWAYS LOVED THAT BOOK AND I'VE LOVED THAT FILM, YOU KNOW.
AND GREGORY'S PERFORMANCE IS SO INDELIBLE AND SO ICONIC.
I SAID HOW DO YOU GET THAT OUT OF YOUR HEAD?
BUT WHEN I STARTED READING AARON SORKIN'S SCRIPT, "I REALIZED
THAT HE HAS TWEAKED IT QUITE A BIT.
SO ATTICUS IS NOT THIS PERFECT INDIVIDUAL.
HE'S REALLY GOT SOME FLAWS, AND THE GREGORY PECK CHARACTER KIND
OF HAS FADED AND, YOU KNOW, I'M CREATING MY OWN EXPERIENCE HERE.
AND EVERY NIGHT IT'S GROWING AND CHANGING, GETTING DEEPER.
SO IT'S PRETTY FUN.
>> Stephen: IT IS A-- IT IS A RECOGNIZABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL
STORY.
AND THE BEAUTY OF THAT STORY IS STILL THERE.
IT IS A CHANGE IN THE CHARACTER AND A CHANGE IN THE MESSAGE IN
SOME WAYS, ESPECIALLY HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH CALPERNIA IN
THOSE SCENES.
WHAT DOES ATTICUS REPRESENT TO YOU, AS SOMEONE WHO DIDN'T GROW
UP IN THE DEEP SOUTH.
YOU GREW UP IN NEW JERSEY.
>> NORTH JERSEY.
>> Stephen: THAT'S ABOUT AS FAR FROM THE DEEP SOUTH AS YOU
CAN GET.
WHO IS HE TO YOU?
>> WELL, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
MY DAD WAS NOT UNLIKE ATTICUS FINCH IN SOME WAYS, IN TERMS OF
HIS TOLERANCE, IN TERMS OF HIS GENTILITY, IN TERMS OF HIS
INTELLIGENCE, IN TERMS OF HIS SOFT-SPOKENNESS, AND REALLY
CIEMED OF A NONVIOLENT INDIVIDUAL, YOU KNOW, WHICH
THERE WERE A LOT OF CHARACTERS THAT ATTICUS HAS--
CHARACTERISTICS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU JUST KEEP-- YOU JUST KEEP MINING THIS GUY.
I MEAN, ONE OF THE THINGS-- I'M HERE UNTIL APRIL 19, AND EVERY
SHOW YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW ABOUT THIS CHARACTER.
>> Stephen: THE BOOK CAME OUT IN 1960.
>> YEAH, YEAH.
>> Stephen: WHY DO YOU THINK IT'S STILL RESONANT FOR US
TODAY?
>> WELL BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS-- IT'S
ABOUT TRUTH, FOR ONE THING, WHICH IS BECOMING A WORD THAT IS
KIND OF BEEN UNDEFINED IN A WAY, IN THE PAST THREE AND A HALF
YEARS, THREE YEARS.
( LAUGHTER ).
>> Stephen: SURE, IT'S BECOME VERY LIQUID, VERY FLUID IDEA.
>> HONOR, COURAGE AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S STILL ABOUT-- AND IT'S
ABOUT RACISM AND IT'S ABOUT INTOLERANCE, AND IT'S ABOUT
BIGOTRY, AND IT'S ABOUT SEEKING JUSTICE.
AND THOSE ARE ALL THEMES THAT ARE VERY, VERY PREVALENT.
>> Stephen: AND A MAN STANDING AGAINST THE TIDE OF HIS TIME.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: YOU'RE KNOWN FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF ROLES, MANY OF
WHICH HAVE BEEN DEFINED BY THE HAT YOU'RE WEARING.
>> WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU LIKE WEARING HATS SINCE I'VE GOT NO
HAIR.
YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF FUN WEARING HATS.
>> Stephen: HERE YOU ARE IN "THE TRUMAN SHOW," HERE YOU ARE
AS THE MAN IN BLACK RIGHT THERE FROM "WESTWORLD."
DOES ATTICUS HAVE A HAT?
>> HE DOES IS NOT.
BUT HE DOES HAVE HAIR.
>> Stephen: YOU'RE WEARING A THEATRICAL PIECE UP THERE?
>> I CERTAINLY AM.
>> Stephen: DID YOU GO FOR ANYTHING FLAMBOYANT?
>> IT'S LIKE A 30s, IT TAKES PLACE IN '34, AND IT HAS SOME
KIND OF A THING GOING LIKE THAT.
IT'S KIND OF FUN.
( LAUGHTER )
THIS ACTION EVERY SO OFTEN?
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: WHAT PUTS YOU IN CHARACTER FOR HIM?
LIKE, WHAT-- IS THERE-- IS THERE--
>> I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I GET THERE PRETTY EARLY AND I HAVE MY OWN
ROUTINE TO GET READY.
AND I HAVE A PRETTY NICE SUIT, AND IT'S CEEND OF HIGH-WAISTED
AND SUSPENDERS AND A VEST AND IT FITS REALLY NICE.
IT FORCES ME, MY POSTURE TO BE, YOU KNOW, GOOD.
( LAUGHTER )
GLASSES AND MY THING AND, YOU KNOW, ALL OF A SUDDEN I FEEL
LIKE ATTICUS FINCH.
>> Stephen: THAT'S NICE.
>> GET THE SOUTHERN ACCENT GOING.
>> Stephen: WHERE HAVE YOU PLACED YOUR SOUTHERN ACCENT?
>> I LISTENED TO A TAPE, ACTUALLY, OF HARPER LEE TALKING,
AN INTERVIEW SHE DID.
AND, YOU KNOW, SHE'S-- I REALLY LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT.
SO I KIND OF BASED IT ON THAT, YOU KNOW.
YOU SHE HAS ONE LINE THAT SHE SAYS IN THAT.
SHE SAYS, "HAVE UFER FOUND THE WHOLE WORLD IN THE BRANCHES OF A
CHINA BERRY TREE?
I HAVE."
>> Stephen: WOW.
>> IT'S A GREAT LINE.
SHE'S TALKING ABOUT BEING A KID.
>> Stephen: SURE, SURE.
THAT'S BEAUTIFUL.
YOU HAVE EVER FOUND THE WHOLE WORLD IN THE BRANCHES OF A CHINA
BERRY TREE?
>> NOT IN A CHINA BERRY TREE, NO.
BUT SOME OTHER KINDS OF TREES OAK TREE.
>> Stephen: OAK TREE.
>> PINE TREE.
>> Stephen: NORTHERN NEW JERSEY, SURE, NORTHERN NEW
JERSEY.
>> MAPLE TREE.
>> Stephen: I KNOW SOMEBODY WHO WAS A FRIEND OF EXPWRURS
VERY IMPORTANT TO YOU ARTISTICALLY SAM SHEPPARD.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: OBVIOUSLY, WE KNOW YOU FROM BEING IN "THE RIGHT
STUFF" WITH SAM SHEPPARD.
HOW DID YOU GUYS FIRST MEET?
>> I DID A PRODUCTION OF "TRUE WEST" IN THE SOUTH COAST
REPERATORY THEOR IN L.A. THAT SAM CAME TO.
THAT'S THE FIRST TIME I MET HIM.
THE FIRST TIME I MET HIM WAS IN A SMALL PLAY HE WROTE WITH PATTY
SMYTH IN L.A. AND HE CAME TO ONE OF THE REHEARSALS.
HE WAS WRITING "FOOL FOR LOVE" AT THE TIME.
AND WE DID IT AT THE MAGIC THEATER THAT FALL AND TOOK IT TO
NEW YORK.
>> Stephen: COULD THERE EVER BE ANOTHER PERSON LIKE SAM
SHEPPARD?
HE WAS A SEX SYMBOL, PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING WRITER, ACTOR,
POET.
HE REALLY SEEMED LEAK A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME INDIVIDUAL.
>> PRETTY MUCH, SO, ONE OF A KIND.
HE WAS A VERY INFLUENTIAL GUY IN MY LIFE.
I REALLY DO MISS HIM.
HE WAS A GOOD FRIEND, AND BRILLIANT GUY.
AND, YOU KNOW, HE WENT OUT TOUGH.
BUT HE-- HE KEPT-- HE REALLY WENT OUT HONORABLY.
YOU KNOW, HE HAD LOU GEHRIG'S DISEASE, AND IT TOOK HIM PRETTY
QUICK.
BUT HE-- I REALLY RESPECT HOW HE LEFT THE PLANET.
I MEAN, HE KEPT WORKING UNTIL THE DAY BEFORE HE DIED, WITH
PATTY, WRITING.
>> Stephen: WELL, EVERYBODY'S, YOU KNOW-- HAS THEORIES ABOUT
WHAT'S GOING ON IN "WESTWORLD."
THEY ALL WANT TON WHAT'S THE NEXT THING THAT IS GOING TO
HAPPEN, AND YOU PROBABLY CAN'T TELL ME.
>> I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO TALK ABOUT IT BUT I COULDN'T EVEN
IFIMENTED TO BECAUSE I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT MYSELF.
( LAUGHTER ) ( APPLAUSE )
♪ ♪ ♪ >> Stephen: NOW, WHAT'S GOING
ON HERE?
WHAT-- DID YOU GET TO PICK YOUR OWN HAT?
>> YEAH WELL I MEAN, THEY WORKED ON IT.
I THINK THEY BUILT IT.
THEY HAD CERTAIN, YOU KNOW, STYLES, AND IT WAS ALONG THOSE
LINES.
AND, YEAH, I LIKE THAT HAT.
IT'S A GOOD HAT.
>> Stephen: DO YOU HAVE ANY INPUT?
WHAT INPUT DID YOU HAVE INTO THE CREATION OF THE CHARACTER OR--
>> WELL, YOU KNOW, I MEAN I HAD SOME INPUT IN TERMS OF HIS
OUTFIT.
IT'S A GREAT OUTFIT, BECAUSE YOU PUT IT ON AND YOU'RE THE MAN IN
BLACK.
>> Stephen: THAT HELPS.
>> THAT HELPS A LOT.
THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS ABOUT THE CHARACTER I WASN'T TOLD, YOU
KNOW, I MEAN, YOU START WORKING ON THIS THING, AND JONAH NOLAN,
THE CREATOR AND DIRECTOR, HE'LL TELL YOU, "BY THE WAY, YOU KNOW,
YOUR WIFE KILLED HERSELF."
OR "BY THE WAY, YOU KNOW, THIS GUY'S PLAYING YOU AS A
YOUNGSTER" I SAW JIMMY SMITH WALKING
AROUND, AND I SAY WHO IS THIS GUY?
AND HE SAID, "HE'S PLAYING YOU YOUNG."
AND I SAID "O...."
AND THE THIRD SEASON, MAN, IT'S OUT.
IT'S, LIKE, OUT THERE.
>> Stephen: ANY NUDITY?
BECAUSE A LOT OF THE PEOPLE END UP NUDE IN THIS-- ARE YOU BUCK
NAKED?
>> I SAID I'M NOT GOING TO BE NUDE AND I'M NOT GOING TO WEAR A
SAMURAI OUTFIT.
I THOUGHT MAYBE THEY WERE GOING TO TAKE ME TO SAMURAI LAND AND I
WOULD NOT DO THAT.
>> Stephen: I WAS WILLING TO DO THE NUDE SEEN WITH JEFFREY
WRIGHT ON SET.
I'M SAYING, STEP UP, ED HARRIS.
STEP UP.
COME ON.
>> I DON'T-- I DON'T SEE THE NEED TO DO THAT.
>> Stephen: WHY NOT!
WHY NOT?
LET'S PUT SOME ASSES IN THE SEAT, METAPHORICALLY SPEAKING
HERE.
>> I JUST DON'T WANT TO.
>> Stephen: YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO?
>> IT'S NOBODY'S ( BLEEP ) BUSINESS.
>> Stephen: OKAY, LITERALLY.
LITERALLY.
>> PARDON MY FRENCH.
>> Stephen: ED, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
>> IT WAS A PLEASURE, STEPHEN.
>> Stephen: "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD" IS AT THE SHUBERT
THEATRE.
ED HARRIS IS ATTICUS FINCH, EVERYBODY.
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK