Q&A: John Lithgow, actor

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jan/31/john-lithgow-interview-love-is-strange

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Born in New York, Lithgow, 69, has appeared in more than 30 films. He had Oscar nominations for The World According To Garp and Terms Of Endearment, and his Emmy award-winning television work includes 3rd Rock From The Sun and Dexter. His latest film, Love Is Strange, is out next week. He is married with three children.

When were you happiest?In my college days at Harvard, when I was first acting and directing. It was the most creatively free I’ve ever felt.

What is your greatest fear?Bad things happening to my children.

What is your earliest memory?Being under Buttermilk Falls waterfall in Ithaca, New York, and having cold, fresh water falling on my head. I was about two.

Which living person do you most admire, and why?Give me a little flexibility on this, because I’d like to say Mike Nichols, who died recently. He was a good friend and I admired him for his cheerful fearlessness.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?My fecklessness in the face of conflict.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?Hypocrisy and dishonesty.

What was your most embarrassing moment?In a play called The Changing Room. I was a rugby player who had been injured and brought back to the changing room to be bathed, towelled down and dressed by another man. When he pulled my underpants up, my penis hung outside. There was nothing I could do because I was meant to be completely inert. That was in 1973 and nothing nearly that embarrassing has happened since.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?Watching 3rd Rock From The Sun.

What is your most treasured possession?My apartment on Central Park.

What would your super power be?The power to make people healthy.

What makes you unhappy?Being separated from my wife, which happens frequently, because she works in Los Angeles – she’s a professor at UCLA – and I work all over the world.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?I have a love/hate relationship with my height – I am 6ft 4in.

What is your most unappealing habit?I eat way too fast.

What is your favourite smell?A chicken roasting.

What is your favourite word?I have been learning a word a day on my dictionary app. The most recent one, which I like a lot, is verbigeration.

Which book changed your life?Stuart Little by EB White, when I was about 10. It was the first time I recognised wonderful writing.

What is top of your bucket list?It was King Lear, but I did that last summer, so there is an empty space.

What do you owe your parents?I owe my whole career as a storyteller to my father. He was an actor/director/producer and teacher. To my mum, I owe security in a very insecure young life. We lived in about 10 different places because of my father’s chequered career, and she always made me feel a sense of consistency and security. I was a well-mothered boy.

Who is the love of your life?My second and, fortunately, current wife, Mary.

What is the worst job you’ve done?Cab driver in New York. It almost crippled me. You’ll notice there are no 6ft 4in cab drivers in New York.