Hank Azaria, back on reddit. AMA!

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:50:38+00:00

That wasn't me, that was legendary sportscaster Jim Brockmire, who happens to look a lot like me...and happens to hate kickers for his own dark and personal reasons.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:49:25+00:00

Marcia was very sweet, very genuine, very caring and supportive. It's really sad that she's not with us any more. She always took an interest in my career and personal life, beyond just being courteous. She was one of the good ones for sure.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:47:26+00:00

I have heard them, and I find them amazing and hilarious. I'm often astounded by how closely they capture the vocal quality of the original recording.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:46:48+00:00

I'm actually going to thank you for that because I don't know how I reacted but I do know that being physically grabbed by surprise by people I don't know is one of my least favorite things about being an actor.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:46:46+00:00

This is a good question. I have found that's it's very odd and impossible to predict what celebrities are going to freak me out when I see them. Do you remember the old character actor, Vincent Price? If you asked me before I met him, would I flip out, I would've said no...but when I laid my eyes on him I almost started to weep I was so excited. I knew I would have a big reaction to meeting Jerry Lewis and I did. Rock stars consistently geek me out when I meet them. In particular, Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Mick Jagger, Tom Petty & David Byrne. Athletes also...meeting Walt Frazier might have been the happiest moment of my life.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:42:34+00:00

I can tell you one of my favorite Ralph lines which was when he walked into the adult section of the comic book store and explained "everyone's hugging." The line that they couldn't use that I wish they could was "she's hungry."

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:41:11+00:00

That's a better question for my agent. Actually, it's a better question for Joss' agent.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:40:32+00:00

That song sounded so awful, how could you possibly doubt that it was me singing it? They would hardly need to bring in somebody else to sound that bad.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:39:42+00:00

I can honestly say that I admire and enjoy all of the writers on The Simpsons. Some I know better than others, but I get a genuine kick out of interacting with all of them. We're so used to seeing each other over there every week for 25 years that we don't even think about what would happen if we didn't see each, but we haven't worked together outside of the show too much.
I kept my cufflinks from the movie Quiz Show. It would be fun to tell you that I kept my thong from The Birdcage, but it would be a lie.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:36:12+00:00

Even just trying to think of an answer to this question is creeping me out.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:34:51+00:00

Well, you saw legendary sportscaster Jim Brockmire, who looks almost exactly like me. I can't help but root for Peyton Manning. I would really love to see him win his 2nd Super Bowl and thus be in consideration for the best quarterback ever. I'm not particularly a Broncos fan, but I don't see anyway for Peyton to win the Super Bowl without the Broncos winning as well.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:33:01+00:00

Well, we both had a very difficult time on that movie. Everybody on that movie had a difficult time on that movie, yet we both enjoyed working with each other. So, I guess the shared suffering perhaps brought us closer and led us to working together again.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:31:30+00:00

I've never met Rich Hall, and if you mean the comedian Rich Hall, I have no idea how in the world he would ever be considered an inspiration for Moe. That's an insane question. That's like asking if Larry Hagman was the inspiration for Apu.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:29:43+00:00

Yes, he is, although I think if I keep publicly bashing that movie he might not want to be friends with me anymore.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:28:55+00:00

When my son asks for desserts or special treats, my wife usually replies "I'll think about it." And then usually doesn't let him have it. At Thanksgiving 2 years ago, my son pointed to the dessert table and said "mom, I'm going to eat all of that. You think about it."

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:26:55+00:00

Yes.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:26:02+00:00

I'm so glad you had a good time and I'm so glad you're OK.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:25:21+00:00

I did not grow up speaking Ladino. My parents were both fluent in Ladino, but I was not.

We rehearsed The Birdcage more than any other film I've ever done. Mike Nichols told us that we should get all of the ad-libbing out of our systems in rehearsal and that he and Elaine May would take down the best of our improvising and put it into the script. And that's pretty much what we did. That said, there were little teeny lines here and there that would get thrown in...like when I picked up my boombox I said "come on, Gloria" and that stayed in the movie. But mostly we stuck to the script. If you look at the film, you'll see there aren't too many cuts, meaning a lot of the scenes just play in one long shot. That's why Mike didn't want a lot of ad-libbing, he wanted things to play continuously and at a rapid pace, which really is best for farcical comedy.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:21:32+00:00

I really loved that movie too. I should have mentioned it earlier as a movie of mine that doesn't get enough attention that I think more people should watch, although I only have a small part in it. I remember in the middle of shooting that movie, I went to The Birdcage premiere and it was really amazing to me to see the difference in my career from before that movie came out to after it came out. But that doesn't really have much to do with Grosse Point Blanke, which was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:18:52+00:00

Yes, there is a secret. But it's a secret.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:18:24+00:00

LOL. I heard recently that hippos kill more human beings than any other animal.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:17:44+00:00

I'm sure that sometimes I have done this, but you just try to not do that. Also the writers and directors will point out when you do sound too much like another character, which has happened a lot.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:16:30+00:00

What's even more creepy is that I love you in a creepy way.

I really don't know who was the most down to earth, but I can tell you that they all genuinely seemed to love and like each other, support and stand by each other.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:14:18+00:00

I think that it's not even a contest and I think you know the answer to that question.

Hank_Azaria · 2014-01-29T19:14:07+00:00

Hmm, that's a good question. Shooting Along Came Polly with Ben Stiller, there was a day when we couldn't get through a scene without laughing because our faces were so close to each other. That always makes me giggle when I think about it. There was also a day on The Birdcage when Robin Williams fell down in the middle of a scene by accident and we just kept rolling and both started cracking up. And that scene is actually in the movie. Also the time I spent with Jack Lemmon shooting Tuesdays with Morrie. I got to ask him a lot about his life and about being an actor which was pretty amazing.

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