Yahoo News Ray Romano on the Actor’s Journey, From Being Fired to Typecasting to His Directing Debut
This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page.
Considering Ray Romano has worn so many hats in his career – comedian, actor, writer, producer – it’s hard to believe that the multi-hyphenate had never directed before. When I mention I assumed he had at least directed one of the 210 episodes of his acclaimed series “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Romano jokes: “Me too. I thought I must have directed one of them, right? But no, I had never done it.”
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So it comes as a surprise not only to audiences but to Romano himself that he’s making his directorial debut with the feature film “Somewhere in Queens,” a poignant comedy about a working-class Italian family that hits theaters this weekend. The film is so resonant in so many ways and handled in such an assured way, it’s shocking to realize this is a director’s first movie – let alone one who had to be talked into doing it.
Though he penned the script with co-writer Mark Stegemann and knew he would star in the film as Leo Russo, a loving father who lives vicariously through the success his teenage son Sticks (Jacob Ward) has on the basketball court, he never intended on stepping behind the camera. “I fought it to the last minute,” he notes. “My agent suggested I do it and I immediately told him no. I didn’t want to for a bunch of reasons but the main one was: I’d never done it. And who am I? Will the cast even respect what I have to say? In addition, I didn’t know lenses from a shutter from whatever.”
But his agent let him know it was about finding the right collaborators behind the camera. As for talking to actors, Romano had worked with some great directors – including Martin Scorsese (“Vinyl,” The Irishman”) and Romano says, “I knew what I responded to and what made me feel comfortable.” Despite some (literal) panic attacks that sent him to the doctor, Romano committed to the job. The result is a film that feels both familiar and wholly unique, a big crowd-pleaser about family and fatherhood buoyed by an impressive cast. That includes Laurie Metcalf as Leo’s wife, Angela, a cancer survivor, who is suspicious of their son’s new girlfriend Dani (Sadie Stanley). Romano also draws great performances from Tony Lo Bionco as Leo’s gruff father and fellow comedian Sebastian Maniscalco as the son dad clearly favors.
You’ve emerged as a really great actor, sharing scenes with the likes of Robert DeNiro in “The Irishman.” Do you have any formal acting training?
I took drama in college, that was mostly Neil Simon scenes and stuff. And when I was doing stand-up there was a woman, JoAnne Beckson, who gave a class for comedians who wanted to study acting. I was in that class with Dave Attell.
But you know, before “Raymond,” I was fired from “NewsRadio” and replaced [by Joe Rogan.] I somehow got through the audition process but when we got down to rehearsing, it was clear I was a little bit out of my element, and I got fired. So when “Raymond” came about they said, “We’re going to get you an acting coach and work with you every week.” And for the first two years, I worked with Richard Marion who taught me so much.
You started in stand-up comedy. How do you think that might have helped prepare you to be on a set as an actor and director?
I think it’s helped me gauge people and get along with them on their level. Some people have a great skill for that. I remember on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Peter Boyle was someone who could have a conversation with anyone. He’d talk to Patty Heaton about Russian politics then come to me and talk sports. It’s such a gift to be able to mesh and meld with everyone. And that might have helped me know how to tactfully approach an actor and suggest something, without hurting their ego.
Did you ever find yourself dealing with typecasting in your career?
Sure, I mean, I came from a sitcom and it was not easy for people to see me in other roles. I had to take baby steps. And I don’t blame them because I’ve been guilty of the same thing. It’s hard to get that out of your head. So I had to write my own show, “Men of a Certain Age,” to show some range. And then I got lucky when Martin Scorsese cast me in “Vinyl” because he didn’t know who I was. He had never seen me anywhere. And that was a blessing because he didn’t have to erase the character that people have in their heads.
Your cast for “Somewhere in Queens” is pretty impressive. Was there any actor who particularly intimidated you?
Tony Lo Bianco was probably the one I was worried about the most – just the fact that he’s done 100 movies. And here’s Sitcom Boy who’s going to try and tell him what to do. But he couldn’t have been more open and into it. When we rapped, he gave a little speech to the cast and crew and said that in the 100 movies he’s made, this was the most fun he’d had. So that felt good.
But honestly, I got so lucky because there are all different types of egos and personalities and this was such a fantastic experience I would actually consider doing it again. And if you told me that when we were prepping the movie and I was having panic attacks almost every day, I never would have believed it.
You’ve been involved with casting on other projects. Is there any advice you could offer actors who might be auditioning for you?
Listen, you want to hear the words you wrote. But what always left an impression with me was anytime an actor would enhance something and bring a little something extra to it. I would try to do that when I auditioned, try to be a little loose with the dialogue. But you have to be careful because some writers and directors don’t like you to go off-script too much.
Also, I don’t want to take anything away from actors who choose to do it verbatim. Because if you’re right for it, you’re right for it and the director can always give you adjustments. But I personally enjoy it.
You’ve talked about how you were so stressed out before making the movie you were having chest pains and panic attacks – you also had a strange condition where you were seeing a green aura around people’s faces.
That was on Day One. I had to be on set at 8:30 a.m. and at 6:30 I was at the eye doctor. We think it had to do with the red light camera flashing as I was driving and it did something temporarily to the cones of my eyes, combined with the sunlight and the anxiety on top of it. But I went to set and the moment I first said “Action,” all that anxiety went away.
Did they have a name for that condition where you were seeing green? They could have named it after you.
No, they didn’t. Just call it Ray Romano Monday. Because every day, there’s something else that scares me.
Having directed at last, was it harder than you expected? Or about what you expected?
You know, I’ve worked on this project for so long and was so connected I can only feel blessed. There’s a famous director who asked once, why do you make movies? And this is going to sound morbid, but he said, “It keeps me from thinking about death.” And I get that. Doing nothing is not good. Doing something you’re passionate about, even if it’s a lot of work, is a blessing really. It gets me up in the morning.
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