Though he's been acting for nearly half a century, you couldn't find a less stereotypical actor that Joe Mantegna. None of his family ever flirted with show biz, he's been with his wife for 40 years and he's perfectly happy sharing the spotlight. That doesn't sound like an actor.
Not only is he known for his role as the decisive Rossi from CBS' "Criminal Minds," the voice of Fat Tony on "The Simpsons" and parts in "Joan of Arcadia," "Searching for Bobby Fischer," "Godfather Part III," but also for his dedication to the National Memorial Day Concert on PBS.
That last may seem a little out of character, but Mantegna remembers he started 10 years ago because his actor friend, Charles Durning, asked him to. "I was like anybody else. I just thought of Memorial Day weekend as a three-day weekend," he says, seated on a metal garden chair in a patio at a hotel here.
"Well, all I can say is that weekend changed my life because it just brought into focus how important that holiday is. On Sunday, the night of that performance, when I walked on that stage there were 300,000 people - so you're talking Woodstock.
"In front of you is all this mass of humanity and the capitol building with flags flying. The next thing are these huge movie screens and they're showing films from 9/11. Behind me the Washington Philharmonic is playing Mozart's 'Requiem.' And I have to - for about 10 minutes - read the words of four New York firemen who lost their sons in the World Trade Center. And they're sitting in the front row ... And I've been an actor for over 40 years but I'd never done anything like that."
Sighing, he says, "It took all I could to get through it because I realized this is not an acting job. This is not a fictional story I'm talking about on these screens, these planes are flying into the buildings and people died. So when I got through it, I walked off the stage, I literally was weak in the knees. I had to sit down. I thought, 'Anything that can move me that much there's something to this.'"
Three years later he asked his friend, actor Gary Sinise, to co-host. And they will be up on that dais again this year on May 29. "I think it's the most important thing I do. I love being an actor. I love the profession and I love my life, but in terms of importance, this is the most important thing," he says.
Mantegna came up through the ranks of theater and snagged his first part in 1969 in the musical "Hair." That's where he met his wife, who had a bigger part than he did. But when it comes to outshining fellow actors, that's not his way.
Though Rossi on "Criminal Minds" is one of the group's leaders, he doesn't own the lion's share of camera-time. And that's fine with Mantegna.
"I actually like that it's more of an ensemble show than some because I think that's what the strength of our show is, that they're all strong characters and they all need their moment in the sun. In a way, they're returning back to the way things were. They rehired A.J. Cook, there's a good chance Paget Brewster's coming back. The network, in their infinite lack of wisdom, or whatever you want to call it, sometimes you shouldn't tinker with things that are going just fine."
Mantegna is the father of two daughters: Mia, 23, who has autism, and Gia, 21, who is also an actress. He says he neither encouraged nor discouraged Gia from acting.
"I did it the way my parents did. My mother's going to be 96 and I jokingly say I'm still not sure she knows what I do for a living. It doesn't matter to her. She knows I'm an actor, but "Oh, that's nice. But that's not important.' She's just pleased that I'm happy and have kids," he chuckles.
He and his wife, Arlene, are dedicated to Mia's needs. "She takes care of herself, she's very independent in that way," he says. "She's not independent in the sense that she can live without some assisted living in her life. But within the framework of a protective environment, she takes care of herself very well. She can communicate, she grooms herself impeccably. She's engaging, outgoing. She doesn't have antisocial traits. She's not at all shy."
Because he and Arlene have been together so long, their house has always been a safe harbor for others. "We were the constant," he says. "If anybody needed a place to hang out or crash or need a place of comfort or come for dinner, there's always us. I think, in a way, that's been helpful for my children because they've grown up in a very social environment, there's always people going in and out of my house."
Reflecting on that, he grins, "I'm Ricky to her (Arlene's) Lucy. Any personality I have pales in comparison to hers."
It's sort of like watching a traffic accident. You don't want to look but you can't look away. That's the way "Hoarders" strikes some people. The passion with which these folk clutter their lives is unbelievable, but as disturbing as it is, once you've joined the cleaning brigade, you're hooked. "Hoarders" will be back on A&E June 20 with 10 new episodes which include a man who keeps his own hair, a toy collector with more games, toys and models than Santa Claus, and a guy facing millions in fines because of the junk cars littering his yard.
Fox is not playing it safe next fall as it only stations one new reality show in the wings. Along with that the network plans a drama series, "Touch" which brings Kiefer Sutherland back to the fold and which starts filming in June. The story is about a father and his 11-year-old son with special needs and is created by Tim Kring ("Heroes"). Also planned are four new comedies including "I Hate My Teenage Daughter" (working title) with Jaime Pressly and "New Girl" (working title) with Zooey Deschanel (Emily's sister). We'll have to wait till mid-season for J.J. Abrams "Alcatraz" and "The Finder" created by the executive producer and creator of "Bones." The hotly awaited "Terra Nova," produced by Steven Spielberg, will premiere this fall. It's a drama about a family regressing back in time to a prehistoric world.
Mark Burnett, who just can't keep from creating original reality shows, is responsible for the new hit, "The Voice." He admits that some of the contestants are pros. "There are people who actually have been on a label. There are people who have toured before, people who have been on other competition shows before. You know, we want to be an equal opportunity and not discriminate the fact that someone tried before. And many people have tried over and over in their careers and just didn't hit that right moment, so we decided let's just give people a chance and what we've learned - and they laugh at me all the time, but there's a big line between very good and great. And on this show there are great. There are absolutely great people, and that was the deciding factor that we cared about."
Not only is he known for his role as the decisive Rossi from CBS' "Criminal Minds," the voice of Fat Tony on "The Simpsons" and parts in "Joan of Arcadia," "Searching for Bobby Fischer," "Godfather Part III," but also for his dedication to the National Memorial Day Concert on PBS.
That last may seem a little out of character, but Mantegna remembers he started 10 years ago because his actor friend, Charles Durning, asked him to. "I was like anybody else. I just thought of Memorial Day weekend as a three-day weekend," he says, seated on a metal garden chair in a patio at a hotel here.
"Well, all I can say is that weekend changed my life because it just brought into focus how important that holiday is. On Sunday, the night of that performance, when I walked on that stage there were 300,000 people - so you're talking Woodstock.
"In front of you is all this mass of humanity and the capitol building with flags flying. The next thing are these huge movie screens and they're showing films from 9/11. Behind me the Washington Philharmonic is playing Mozart's 'Requiem.' And I have to - for about 10 minutes - read the words of four New York firemen who lost their sons in the World Trade Center. And they're sitting in the front row ... And I've been an actor for over 40 years but I'd never done anything like that."
Sighing, he says, "It took all I could to get through it because I realized this is not an acting job. This is not a fictional story I'm talking about on these screens, these planes are flying into the buildings and people died. So when I got through it, I walked off the stage, I literally was weak in the knees. I had to sit down. I thought, 'Anything that can move me that much there's something to this.'"
Three years later he asked his friend, actor Gary Sinise, to co-host. And they will be up on that dais again this year on May 29. "I think it's the most important thing I do. I love being an actor. I love the profession and I love my life, but in terms of importance, this is the most important thing," he says.
Mantegna came up through the ranks of theater and snagged his first part in 1969 in the musical "Hair." That's where he met his wife, who had a bigger part than he did. But when it comes to outshining fellow actors, that's not his way.
Though Rossi on "Criminal Minds" is one of the group's leaders, he doesn't own the lion's share of camera-time. And that's fine with Mantegna.
"I actually like that it's more of an ensemble show than some because I think that's what the strength of our show is, that they're all strong characters and they all need their moment in the sun. In a way, they're returning back to the way things were. They rehired A.J. Cook, there's a good chance Paget Brewster's coming back. The network, in their infinite lack of wisdom, or whatever you want to call it, sometimes you shouldn't tinker with things that are going just fine."
Mantegna is the father of two daughters: Mia, 23, who has autism, and Gia, 21, who is also an actress. He says he neither encouraged nor discouraged Gia from acting.
"I did it the way my parents did. My mother's going to be 96 and I jokingly say I'm still not sure she knows what I do for a living. It doesn't matter to her. She knows I'm an actor, but "Oh, that's nice. But that's not important.' She's just pleased that I'm happy and have kids," he chuckles.
He and his wife, Arlene, are dedicated to Mia's needs. "She takes care of herself, she's very independent in that way," he says. "She's not independent in the sense that she can live without some assisted living in her life. But within the framework of a protective environment, she takes care of herself very well. She can communicate, she grooms herself impeccably. She's engaging, outgoing. She doesn't have antisocial traits. She's not at all shy."
Because he and Arlene have been together so long, their house has always been a safe harbor for others. "We were the constant," he says. "If anybody needed a place to hang out or crash or need a place of comfort or come for dinner, there's always us. I think, in a way, that's been helpful for my children because they've grown up in a very social environment, there's always people going in and out of my house."
Reflecting on that, he grins, "I'm Ricky to her (Arlene's) Lucy. Any personality I have pales in comparison to hers."
It's sort of like watching a traffic accident. You don't want to look but you can't look away. That's the way "Hoarders" strikes some people. The passion with which these folk clutter their lives is unbelievable, but as disturbing as it is, once you've joined the cleaning brigade, you're hooked. "Hoarders" will be back on A&E June 20 with 10 new episodes which include a man who keeps his own hair, a toy collector with more games, toys and models than Santa Claus, and a guy facing millions in fines because of the junk cars littering his yard.
Mark Burnett, who just can't keep from creating original reality shows, is responsible for the new hit, "The Voice." He admits that some of the contestants are pros. "There are people who actually have been on a label. There are people who have toured before, people who have been on other competition shows before. You know, we want to be an equal opportunity and not discriminate the fact that someone tried before. And many people have tried over and over in their careers and just didn't hit that right moment, so we decided let's just give people a chance and what we've learned - and they laugh at me all the time, but there's a big line between very good and great. And on this show there are great. There are absolutely great people, and that was the deciding factor that we cared about."
