May 08, 2006 |
Stacy Keach Battles Flu, Prison Fugitives
What if an outbreak of an avian flu actually mutated into a virus transmittable from human to human? That is the very scary proposition explored in the ABC TV-movie Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America (premiering Tuesday at 8 pm/ET). Among the brave hearts attempting to impede the pandemic are Stacy Keach as Collin Reed, Secretary of Health of Human Services. Here, the veteran actor reveals how Fatal Contact came together in such a timely manner, ponders the uncertain fate of his Prison Break warden, and serves up a choice Orson Welles anecdote or two. TVGuide.com: Did this Bird Flu movie set some sort of speed record in being pulled together? It's like it appeared out of nowhere.Stacy Keach: Everybody was very anxious to make sure that all of the data would still be intact by the time it hit the air. That was great motivation to finish this thing and get it out before too long, and certainly before anything were to actually happen. Everything in the news right now is about the bird flu. Free advertising!
TVGuide.com: What cinched your own involvement in the project?Keach: It was a nice part. I also have very strong feelings about the subject matter. I have two teenagers, we live in Poland part of the time, and my wife and I are concerned because over in Europe we see this bird flu beginning to creep northward from Turkey and Indonesia. The movie is a "what if" that raises the question of how prepared we are. In the film, the suggestion is that in the event of a vaccine, we'd only have enough for 25 percent of the population. Who gets it — those with the most money or the most need?
TVGuide.com: Some have said the movie could be alarmist as it takes some liberties with the current facts.Keach: It's a melodrama, yeah. But it does reference the Spanish flu of 1918. The world was in the throes of World War I at the time, so few people were aware that 50 million people died from an avian flu. I didn't know that.
TVGuide.com: Turning now to Prison Break, Michael has a shiv pulled on you as we speak....Keach: Yeah, isn't that nasty? Such betrayal!
TVGuide.com: Will Warden Pope show one iota of sympathy for Michael's situation?Keach: Not one iota. Not an iota. He turns into an avenging angel, Pope does. He's really pissed.
TVGuide.com: Does Michael attempt to plead his case?Keach: Well, he apologizes. He bashes the Pope on the head, ties him up and throws him in the closet — but he apologizes before he does it. [Laughs]
TVGuide.com: Wade Williams (Bellick) told me that once the boys escape, the show will adopt a Fugitive flavor. How will the Pope fit in?Keach: I don't know that he does. I'm not sure. When I signed on to this thing, it was originally for four shows, so I don't know what they have in mind. Now, I'm going to be in Chicago anyway in the fall, doing King Lear at the Goodwin Theater, so I said, "Look, I'll be there anyway. You don't have to fly me in and out! Keep the Pope alive!" Make him a weekend warrior and put him on a Harley looking for those guys. Prison Break will resume production in June, and I am going to be in the first couple episodes [of Season 2], I know that. The truth of the matter is, the Pope has more reason to go after Michael than anyone else. He took this kid under his wing and trusted him. He feels so betrayed by this. You'll see that in the season finale. He's like, "Do whatever you can to get this kid!"
TVGuide.com: You served a six-month prison stint yourself in 1984. Did that harden you, or were you already a bit hardened?Keach: It neither hardened or softened me. It just made me more aware of priorities, I think. The governor of the prison was kind of a role model for the Pope. He was a very compassionate man who was very trusting of the inmates. I was the librarian when I was there, so I would read letters to illiterate prisoners and write letters on their behalf to their families.
TVGuide.com: How does Fox River compare to the prison you stayed at?Keach: They're very dissimilar in a lot of ways except that the walls were the same height. The cells in Redding Jail were closed cells. There were no open bars; they had steel doors with slits. Pretty harsh.
TVGuide.com: One of Orson Welles' last on-screen roles was in Butterfly. What was it like working with him?Keach: Oh, it was the best. I had the great privilege of going to dinner with him one night at the MGM Grand dining room. He ordered two sides of roast beef and four mashed potatoes — because he was on a diet. Also, this lady came up to him and said, "Mr. Welles, I've loved you so long. Can I have your autograph?" [In a deep, Wellesian voice] "Not while I'm eating, dear." But she waited, and he signed for her.
TVGuide.com: Do you think you might ever revisit the Mike Hammer character?Keach: Before [veteran Hollywood manager] Jay Bernstein passed away [on April 30], we were talking about the possibility of doing it as a feature movie with someone like Dennis Quaid as Mike Hammer. I was going to help produce it. My days of playing Mike Hammer are over. It's hard to revisit those roles when you're 12 years older.
TVGuide.com: If someone wanted to check out three definitive Stacy Keach films, which DVDs should they go out and get?Keach: [Instantly] Hemingway [a miniseries], The Ninth Configuration and Fat City.
TVGuide.com: Wow, that was quick.Keach: [Laughs] Those are the ones that come to mind. I like [the TV series] Titus, too.
TVGuide.com: You have a Hallmark movie coming up about Blackbeard. That must have been fun.Keach: That was, man. For a ham actor like myself, playing a pirate gives you license to chew down the yardarm! |
Practice Alum Faces More Legal Dramas
With a title like Murder on Pleasant Drive, you can just tell that this Lifetime movie (premiering tonight at 9 pm/ET) is going to delve into something twisted. Based on a harrowing true story, Murder stars The Practice's Kelli Williams as Deanna Whelen, a single mom whose own mother mysteriously vanishes from her New Jersey home shortly after she begins dating a man named — get this — John Smith (Adam Arkin). Working with her aunt Sherrie (Amy Madigan), Deanna moves mountains to help the procedurally handcuffed police uncover exactly what happened. TVGuide.com talked to Williams about bringing this tale to the screen, as well as the somewhat familiar-sounding ABC pilot she has on the docket. TVGuide.com: Living and growing up in the tri-state area, I feel that I must have read about this case, yet just can't place it.Kelli Williams: That's how I felt about it, too. I know it was in the papers and that it was familiar.... These kind of stories are so creepy, especially when they're real. Real-life stuff is weirder than anything you could ever make up.
TVGuide.com: Did you and Amy Madigan consult at all with the real Sherrie Gladden-Davis [author of My Sister Is Missing: Bringing a Killer to Justice]?Williams: Sherrie came to the set during the last couple of days of filming; Deanna did not. You want to meet them and commend them for not giving up — it was a tremendous amount of work they put into basically figuring out this disappearance themselves — and at the same time, meeting someone you're playing is always hard. This is their life and you want to be respectful of that.
TVGuide.com: Even though the book was written by Sherrie, did she and Deanna share equally in this journey?Williams: Yes. I don't think it was changed that dramatically in the script. They basically spent 10 years getting information and going state to state to find out more about John Smith's past, ultimately uncovering his first wife's body. That then got the cops and FBI back involved. The case would have been closed and unsolved otherwise.
TVGuide.com: Adam Arkin is creepy good!Williams: Isn't he creepy good? I think he's a really great actor and a funny, funny guy. He has the driest, most fantastic sense of humor. I really liked how he chose to play it. He could have played it so obviously, but he played it very subtly.
TVGuide.com: Onto other "legal" matters, what's the status of your ABC pilot Women in Law? Or is it called Sisters in Law now?Williams: The working title still is Women in Law. We finished the pilot a couple of days ago and I had so much fun, I didn't feel like I was working, which was nice. It's a great group of ladies. [Regina King and Garcelle Beauvais are also in the cast.] Obviously, I was concerned about playing a lawyer again....
TVGuide.com: I was going to say, by my count this is at least your third.Williams: Oh, yeah, I was one in Lyon's Den! [Laughs] In a way, I don't want to stereotype myself, but what I like about this is it's an office drama more than it's a legal drama. It's more about the relationships between these women. And besides, if I'm going to play a lawyer again, I might as well be pregnant and a lesbian. That trumps the others!
TVGuide.com: A recent trade article about ABC moving either Grey's Anatomy or Housewives from Sunday mentioned Women in Law as a candidate to fill the void.Williams: Fantastic! That's good to hear. We're really getting into the buzz of what could happen [at the May upfronts], and I've learned over the years to just say, "Oh."
TVGuide.com: So is this more The Practice or Ally McBeal? Drama or dramedy?Williams: It's a dramedy, which was fun for me because I'm not so serious all the time. I think I smiled maybe twice in seven years on The Practice. And when I did, it would be cut. But here, we're laughing a lot. We had a really good time. Robert Luketic, the director, did Legally Blonde and Monster-in-Law.
TVGuide.com: He's the guy who dropped out of directing the Dallas movie. You told him to do that, didn't you? "J.Lo as Sue Ellen? Are you crazy, Robert?"Williams: I told him to, yes. "Don't do that!" [Laughs] No, he was really great to work with. He had different songs that he would play before each take. He would do "She Works Hard for the Money," and we would be laughing and dancing.
TVGuide.com: If Women in Law gets picked up, are you ready to go back to the daily grind?Williams: No, I'm not! The nice thing about this is it's truly an ensemble. I thought The Practice was going to be an ensemble, but it didn't end up being that way. Everybody was just always there. You always had to be there. This is going to be something where we all share in the schedule.
TVGuide.com: It wasn't easy being Lindsay Dole, was it? Didn't she go crazy at one point?Williams: Did she? She had a stalker, she was shot, she shot people... and yet her son slept through the whole thing! He's a sound sleeper! "We're just out here shooting guns in the hallway, honey!" Good thing he had that air purifier humming in his nursery.
TVGuide.com: It should be an interesting upfront week for Practice alums — you have an ABC pilot, as do Dylan McDermott (A House Divided) and Marla Sokoloff (A Day in the Life)Williams: Are you serious? That's funny. My husband [writer Ajay Sahgal] has one at CBS — The Angriest Man in Suburbia — so I'm crossing my fingers for him. It'd be a nice year if we both were invited to the upfronts! |
Apprentice Squeezes the Charmaine... and Tarek
Double firings be damned, I'm keeping my original title for Charmaine's kiss-off, albeit with a minor tweak. After all, it's gotta be better than some nonsense like, I dunno, "Salon Task Clips Apprentice Pair," right? (Actually, that one isn't so bad....) Whatever the case, here's what Charmaine Hunt and Tarek Saab had to share about their tandem tanking on last week's The Apprentice (Mondays at 9 pm/ET on NBC). TVGuide:com: Your double firing ruined the perfect title I had reserved for Charmaine's exit — "The Apprentice Squeezes the Charmaine."Charmaine Hunt: I remember reading that in your interview with Theresa! [Laughs] That's funny.Tarek Saab: That's pretty witty, man. I like it.
TVGuide.com: Small solace. So, Charmaine, you got to touch Donald Trump's hair. How was it?Charmaine: It's real!
TVGuide.com: Any $100 bills hiding in there?Charmaine: No, but I'm sure it's that gold color for a reason. He's really into the gold.
TVGuide.com: You said in the boardroom, Charmaine, that you needed to have your hair done during the task to "experience what made the Hair Cuttery different." So... what makes the Hair Cuttery different?Charmaine: They were trying to separate themselves from your average hair-salon chain, so we really felt like one of us should go through the process.... Also, the wind was whipping around, and it's hard to convince people to come into a salon if your own hair looks like garbage.
TVGuide.com: Tarek, you look like you enjoy a good hair product. Did you pinch any before leaving the Hair Cuttery?Tarek: [Laughs] This is funny because [teammate] Dan was giving me so much crap the whole season because I put so much junk in my hair. My hair is so freaking wild, dude. It's a mop top, and you have to control it with some serious product. But no, I didn't steal anything from Hair Cuttery, though I actually did get a haircut after the task was over.
TVGuide.com: Dude, how many people say you look like Orlando Bloom?Tarek: Oh, man, it's ridiculous. I was actually in a magazine as a "celebrity look-alike of the week." My mom was totally psyched, because I was on the same page as Tom Cruise!Charmaine: He called himself Orlando Bloom more than anybody else needed to! [Laughs]
TVGuide.com: Tarek, you dodged a bullet in the very first week. Donald was about to fire you when Summer got stupid and started talking. Tarek: Unbelievable, huh? That first episode was the roughest for me personally, because they portrayed me as this cocky egomaniac who only talks about Mensa. My friends and family were like, "I didn't even know you were in Mensa!" It's not something I wear on my sleeve. Summer's a sweetheart, god love her, but I think Trump was building up [to fire her anyway]. When she interjected, it gave him an easy way out.
TVGuide.com: What was your favorite reward?Charmaine: We only had three! But definitely the Vijay Singh reward. I'm awful at golf, but it was still a very neat experience. And it was fun to hang out with Donald in a casual setting.Tarek: Yeah, golfing with Vijay and Donald. To get lessons from one of the best in the world was a great experience. Plus, I got to hit a couple of good shots in front of the Donald.
TVGuide.com: And what reward were you devastated to miss out on?Charmaine: The shark one. That would have been fun.Tarek: I was bummed about missing out on the diamonds, when they all went out and got their $5,000 diamonds.
TVGuide.com: That's right, you have a fiancée to worry about.Tarek: That's exactly it, man. I wasn't engaged at that point, and I was planning to propose after the show was done. I figured maybe I could get something bigger or different.... It would have been a nice surprise!
TVGuide.com: I've always wondered, just how much interaction is there in the suite between the two teams? Charmaine: We would see each other for maybe an hour or two at the end of a task. We kind of had a ritual where the winning team would cook for the losing team. That was pretty much the extent of our interactions.Tarek: Most of the tasks are a couple of days, and during that third day is when we spend the most time with each other. I was really close with Andrea, believe it or not. She was made to look pretty bad, but she's just a straight shooter. I got to know Sean pretty well, too. There are others I didn't spend a whole lot of time with, like Brent — except I saw him eating a lot of bagels. I was telling him, "Bro, you can't eat just bagels and margarine all day long!"
TVGuide.com: So you didn't pick up on whatever seemed to be "percolating" between Gold Rush's Sean and Tammy?Charmaine: No, we didn't really see that. So as I'm watching it, I'm like, "Wow, I had no idea!"Tarek: I actually never picked up on that. It was interesting to watch, especially because of the dynamic going on on that team.
TVGuide.com: In retrospect, who from Synergy would you have liked to have on Gold Rush?Charmaine: Sean, absolutely. We actually thought we were going to have the opportunity to pick in the eighth episode, when we were down one team member. We made a group decision that it would be Sean. But we didn't get a say — Michael came over to us.Tarek: And we were all bummed because we were all like, "Anybody but Michael." I'd have picked Sean, or Andrea, definitely. I'll let you in on a little secret — Andrea and I were kind of each other's confidants. My team didn't particularly like that too much, and neither did hers.
TVGuide.com: Is it true that you, like Andrea, didn't own a TV pre-Apprentice?Tarek: I still don't have a TV.
TVGuide.com: Is there some correlation between that and being in Mensa?Tarek: Maybe. [Laughs] The true answer is no. I just travel a ton for my job, and I didn't want to spend money on a cable bill. But my best man just moved down to Dallas, where I live now, and he has a big TV. So I've been watching The Apprentice on his set. But after we get married, we're going to be sans TV!
TVGuide.com: Both of you list The Shawshank Redemption as one of your favorite movies. What do you think that means?Tarek: We must be meant for each other. You didn't see the hot and sweaty jungle sex in the back of the cab. [Laughs]Charmaine: In all honesty, if Tarek and I had met under different circumstances, we would probably be good buds. We have a lot in common — not the way we work obviously, but as far as our hobbies and interests.
TVGuide.com: What's next for each of you?Charmaine: I actually got a call last night — the Hair Cuttery didn't agree with Donald's decision to fire me, so they offered me a position with them out in L.A. I'm interested in hearing what they have to say. Outside of that, I work for First America Home Buyers Protection here [in Nashville] and I'm still loving that. I also have a website that I'm launching to put buyers and sellers in touch with agents.Tarek: I'm writing a book called Gut Check: Confronting Love, Work and Manhood in Your 20s. I've been getting so many e-mails from people saying "You seem like a stand-up guy, a religious dude, and we're curious what advice you have for us." For most guys, right after college is a rough period, when you don't know your ass from your elbow and are trying to figure out what life is about. So I'm putting my two cents in a book. I also started an apparel line called LionHeart Apparel — LionHeartApparel.com.
TVGuide.com: Um, I'm loading the page right now and "apparel" is misspelled in the title bar.Tarek: You're like the fifth person that's noticed that. I contacted the Web guy. "I'm in Mensa, I can't afford to have spelling errors on my site!" [It has since been corrected.]
TVGuide.com: On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate your Apprentice experience?Charmaine: Oh, 10, 10, 10. It was as great as it could be. A real blast!Tarek: Nine, definitely. I met some great people, but there were times when I felt like I looked really stupid, so I can't give it a perfect 10. Plus, I didn't win!
Are you addicted to shows like The Apprentice? Find out the real reason why reality TV is a hit. |
Tracee Ellis Ross: Listen Up, Girlfriends!
Don't hate Girlfriends' Joan Clayton because she's beautiful. And has a successful business. And a great house. And, according to recent episodes, a great hookup for free clothes. When tonight's season finale gets under way (at 9 pm/ET on UPN), the lawyer-turned-sports-bar-owner will be a heartbroken mess because, well, after Joan dumped two of the three — yes, three! — guys she was dating, she got kicked to the curb by the third. Will Toni, Maya and Lynn be around to pick her up? Girlfriends star Tracee Ellis Ross dishes (sort of) about her character and (definitely) her own opinions on life.
TV Guide: This has been some season for Joan.Tracee Ellis Ross: It has been delicious. You know, it's six seasons and I'm still challenged and intrigued and titillated by my character. And this season Joan has really turned a corner — in a way that has been scary to play at times because you worry, "Are people going to stay with you and keep loving you?" TV Guide: With good reason. Joan has ditched Toni, Lynn and Maya for parties and men. Would you say Joan's been going through a slut-player phase?Ross: What Joan is doing is finally enjoying her life. [Laughs] OK, yeah she's a little slutty right now. But this is the first time in her life that she's able to feel as cute as she is and go with it. She's never been the girl who's had a guy. She's never had someone who stayed. So do I think she's being slutty? Well, a little. But do I think she's being a player? No. When you say player it strikes me as more of a Toni — someone who's aware of their motives.
TV Guide: How would you describe the way Joan treated Derek and that other guy?Ross: I think it's awful, but she's doing the best that she can in an area that she knows nothing about. Joan's still a people-pleaser, which is why sometimes it seems like she's a player. That is why she accidentally told Derek she loved him in the "It Girl" episode. She wanted to make him feel better. And that's where she gets in a tangle. She's just a mess.
TV Guide: What about you, have you ever juggled men?Ross: If I've juggled men, it's not the way Joan is juggling men.... Yes, I can date more than one person. But dating doesn't mean sleeping with. There's a big difference. I'm also very straightforward and honest, and not afraid in the way Joan is.
TV Guide: When Wayne Brady talked to us about his guest-starring stint as Derek, he said that women want a nice guy but...Ross: I have an answer for that immediately. It's bulls---. It's not true. Women do not want a bad guy. What men, I believe, misunderstand is that we do not want a pushover. A dud. A dud is somebody who has no grit, no edge. So if a man starts doing too much and acting like he's madly in love with you before ya'll know each other, that is not attractive. But women do not want an a--hole. We don't. We want to feel special and wanted. We want somebody who when they say it's a date, they come and pick you up at the time of the date, and not blow you off. That's just stupid. I don't even have time for that s--- anymore. And I've said that to someone. I was like, "I'm sorry, this is just shabby, you coming up with an excuse every time we have a date. It's not good enough for me."
TV Guide: 'Cause you gotta stand up for yourself.Ross: No kidding. Men can get away with anything you let them get away with. And if you start a relationship on shabby behavior, that's the relationship you're going to have. Like now, you go to a club and guys think they can dance on you like they're humping you. If you stand there and don't say anything, I swear to god, a guy will hump you until he gets [happy].
TV Guide: Hate to defend dirty dancers, but you know that's the style for kids. It freaks me out, but it's their norm.Ross: But I'm not a kid. I'm a grown-up. And that's what I tell people. Like "The Whisper Song" — I love the song. It's great. But that's not the way you talk to me.
TV Guide: True. But back to Girlfriends: At the start of tonight's season finale, Toni's got the custody battle and Joan's been dumped. What's next? Is Joan going back to Derek? Will she try to fix things with Toni?Ross: You know I can't give away all the goods. But I can say, while Joan's turning into this party girl has happened at a time when it was exactly what she needed in her life, it happens to be at the worst possible time in terms of what Toni needs from her friendship from Joan.
TV Guide: And...Ross: Oh, we take it to the limit. And we push that envelope for your investment in these characters. Wait until you see it. For the love of Jesus [pronouncing it HAY-soos], Joan goes through it.
TV Guide: So will Girlfriends definitely be on the new CW network in the fall?Ross: It looks very good but one never knows until that beautiful upfront [starting May 15] when they announce the actual lineup. But not only would our audience be sad if after six years the show didn't come back; after the finale, I would be in grief. There's a point in the episode where Joan is looking like a beat-down whore. And I would hate to go out like that. |
Gary Stevens Previews the Derby!
After a stellar riding career highlighted by three Kentucky Derby wins, election to the Hall of Fame and a major role in the Oscar-nominated Seabiscuit, jockey Gary Stevens moves from the saddle to the TV analyst's chair for the 132nd Run for the Roses. Stevens adds a unique perspective to TVG's countdown to the Derby as well as to NBC's Triple Crown coverage in Louisville and Baltimore (Preakness Stakes), before handing off to ABC and fellow jockey-turned-analyst Jerry Bailey for the Belmont Stakes in New York. Stevens briefly retired once before (in December 1999) but seems far more content with his decision to move on this time.
TV Guide: Is this your first Derby spent off the track since you started riding? Gary Stevens: Well, there were a couple I missed.... In 1989 I didn't think I had a chance of winning it when Sunday Silence was around, so I was riding in England. And in 2004 I was riding in France.
TV Guide: Why does the most talented horse so rarely win this race? Stevens: I wouldn't say the best horse rarely wins, but you need a horse that can handle adversity and also has the style to put itself in a position to handle less adversity than the rest of the horses in the field. The horses that I consider the top contenders [Brother Derek, Lawyer Ron and Barbaro] basically all have the same style of running, so what might happen is that a very fast pace [is set] early on, which may set it up for a longshot — like Giacomo last year [with 50-to-1 odds] — to come from way off the pace but just get the right trip and get the luck of all the gaps opening up at the right time.
TV Guide: What's it feel like to ride into the first turn among 20 horses?Stevens: There are different feelings, depending on what you're riding. In my three Derby wins, I was well positioned and didn't have a lot of traffic problems, so they were basically very easy rides for me. I knew I was going to be probably in the top three within the first 100 yards of the race. I've been on the other end of it, too — in last year's Derby on Noble Causeway, I got into some serious, serious traffic problems. I knew in the first eighth of a mile that I was done for.
TV Guide: How unusual is the size of today's Derby field?Stevens: You never see race fields larger than 14, and even that's unique nowadays, so 20 horses is something that no one's really used to. I've ridden in 34-horse fields in Europe, but it's totally different because the straightaways are much longer.
TV Guide: How unlikely is the recent run of Triple Crown successes for Funny Cide, Smarty Jones and Afleet Alex, whose trainers were all new to the scene? Stevens: I halfway think that when they talk about the "Derby gods," there really are Derby gods. There just always seems to be a story that goes along with the winner of the Kentucky Derby, something that either touches your heart or makes you think about things. Maybe the story this year is [Brother Derek trainer] Dan Hendricks and [Brother Derek jockey] Alex Solis both suffering broken backs 17 days apart [in 2004].
TV Guide: Trainer Bob Baffert may have as many as three horses in this year's race. Has not really contending in Triple Crown events the last three years changed him at all? Stevens: No, I don't think so. I think it's made him realize the passion he has for winning the race even more than, say, his first Derby win with Silver Charm [in 1997]. He knows what it takes to saddle a horse and get it across the finish line first in the Kentucky Derby. And if he's got the horse, he definitely has the training ability and training tools to get the horse there.
TV Guide: What do you think of Michael Matz's decision to rest Barbaro for five weeks leading up to the race? Stevens: I think it's outstanding judgment. For the past 23 years, I've read all the press on certain things and how certain people are "bucking history" trying to win the Kentucky Derby. Now that I'm working for the media, I get to say "BS!" I think Matz is doing the right thing. He obviously knows his horse, and I think it's much more difficult to get a horse ready in three weeks after a grueling race and still have enough left in the tank for the Derby. I still think it comes down to who gets the best trip.
TV Guide: Is it unusual for a guy with an equestrian background like Matz to be involved in thoroughbred racing? Stevens: More and more so now, a horseman is a horseman — they can get inside a horse's head, they understand the horses. With his background in show-jumping in the Olympics [Matz won silver in 1996], he's shown he obviously can compete at a high level, and that pressure doesn't get to him.
TV Guide: Will you feel compelled to stake a few dollars on Point Determined, son of one of your greatest mounts, Point Given?Stevens: Well, I'm not a huge gambler, but it would be really neat to see an offspring of two great horses [son of Point Given, grandson of 1996 Derby winner Thunder Gulch] win it.
TV Guide: With you, Jerry Bailey, Pat Day and Chris McCarron — a combined 29 Triple Crown wins — all recently retiring, does it feel like the end of an era? Stevens: I think it is the end of an era. But throughout sports history, young athletes step up to the plate and seem to take the sport to a different level, and I think we've got some jockeys out there who will do that. I learned from Laffit Pincay and Bill Shoemaker, and I think passing on the torch to these guys... they're going to continually improve.
TV Guide: You had a prominent role in Seabiscuit. If you were to do more acting, what kind of roles would appeal to you? Stevens: I would like to do something totally outside of horse racing, and most of the offers I've had, for whatever reason, have me playing a detective or something to do with police. I've gotten to be friends with Joe Pesci, and he said I've got "cop eyes" — they don't lie. Get more inside info on the Derby hopefuls here on TVG.com. |
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