Richard Masur
Richard Masur
Richard Masuris an American actor who has appeared in more than 80 movies. From 1995 to 1999, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild. Masur currently sits on the Corporate Board of the Motion Picture & Television Fund...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth20 November 1948
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
believe qualified realize script
Being an actor myself I realize that all actors believe they are qualified to play any role. If you showed me a script with a black woman character I would tell you that I could do it. That is what we do. We act as if we are someone else.
canada culture defined defines
So much of what defines culture is Language. Take Canada for example, francophones and anglophones are defined by their language.
anyone argue incredibly patty played
No one will ever argue that someone could have played Helen Keller better than Patty Duke. It was an incredibly demanding role and I don't think anyone can argue that it was a false performance.
acquired deaf experience favorable groups national position skills theatre training valuable
The deaf community is in a favorable position because they have a national theatre and training groups of their own to get them started. Deaf actors have often acquired very valuable skills and experience before they get their break.
characters connection direct hired knowing special
I actually then went on to direct an after-school special where one of the characters was deaf. They hired me without even knowing I had any connection to the community.
coming deaf hour relaxing rusty start starts
When I am around a deaf person for about an hour I start relaxing and it starts coming to me easier. Right now I'm pretty rusty though.
fun bored lucky
I used to be the youngest person on the set [of Bored To Death]. Now I'm very often the oldest person on the set. I feel lucky about that, to be honest. Lena [Dunham], by the way is a doll to me. So much fun to work with and really open.
crazy winter emotional
After three days of shooting with Donald [ Sutherland], I was the only one he worked with for the first three days of the movie [The Winter Of Our Discontent] because of the crazy schedule. We [shot] a lot of this stuff, some of it incredibly intense and emotional. We had never had a conversation during that whole time. We didn't have time.
jobs mean bored
I did Bored To Death with Jason [Schwartzman] and Zach Galifianakis and those guys. I mean, how lucky can you be that you get to be the old guy? I get to be Robert Preston to them now. That's what I feel. My job is to pass on what Preston and other people gave to me, which was show up, take the work seriously, don't take yourself seriously, and have a good time and be of service. Be there to support.
regret grateful years
I am so grateful for One Day At A Time, even though for years and years and years people would go, "Oh, you were on One Day At A Time." I [am on the show] for about seven months and then this haunts me for the rest of my life. No, I had no regrets.
people firsts saws
I did my first movie,a movie called Whiffs, which very few people ever saw.
character two interesting
Very interesting show. It's "Hotel" with the E missing. Hot L Baltimore. It was about a rundown hotel which had become kind of a residential not quite welfare but almost welfare hotel with a very bizarre collection of people.The desk clerk was played by Jamie Cromwell. That was his first big thing. Conchata Ferrell played April, the main of the two prostitutes, and my character didn't exist in the [stage] show.
real seven-months play
After we did [All In The Family], that ended up being a real love fest all around. Me and Norman, Norman [Lear] and me, Rob Reiner, everybody liked everybody. So about six or seven months later I moved out to L.A. and I got a call that Norman wanted to see me. I came in and he said "ABC has given me a property that they just optioned to make into a TV series. It's from a play called Hot L Baltimore, and I want you to be in it."
character voice actors
I had a very low voice for the character in the show. I said, "That's not actually my voice. That's the character's voice." I'm being such an actor.