Vincent D'Onofrio talks Law and Order CI-September 25, 2011

Vincent discusses his (almost) ten years playing Detective Robert Goren on Law and Order:Criminal Intent and how that experience has made him a better actor and given him greater confidence than before he did LO:CI. Vincent also explains how the long hours and exhaustion from the first five years of doing the show affected his decision to leave LO:CI and how the ratings shot up after he and Kate returned to complete the last eight episodes for Season 10.

Vincent on Stanley Kubrick and shining all the way through it-September ...

Vincent describes the creation of Private Pyle for Full Metal Jacket and how Stanley Kubrick advised him to play him "Lon Chaney-big" in the murder-suicide scene, which took just three takes! Vincent also shares some acting advice he received as a young actor when he was told that "even when I was failing, I was shining. Even in my worst performance, I was shining." He learned that you have to respect your talent and fully commit to your craft "with both feet in the water." This was the last question Vincent answered before the Actor's Dialogue ended at around 10:30 AM last Sunday. I spoke with Vincent briefly outside and he said "Hi. it's nice to see you again." That was so cool! :)

Vincent's stories-Marge & Hank and Marlon Brando-September 25, 2011

"Marge, he's pausing! Come in, he's pausing!"

"Cut."

Vincent is such a great mimic, he kept us in stitches while telling us about LO:CI fans Marge and her husband Hank who helped him solve an argument with NBC brass about whether Goren should pause when he speaks. This story lead into another one about Marlon Brando's behavior on set of "Don Juan DeMarco" when he apparently didn't understand his assistant's efforts to feed him his lines via an earpiece in his ear, leading to a hilarious conflict with the director. Vincent's Marlon Brando impression is so good, he really should be on Saturday Night Live, or could even host his own comedy show, should he ever decide to go that route. This dude is funny!

Vincent on creating Bobby Goren at the Actor's Dialogue Panel-September ...

Vincent goes into detail about his acting process and how he invented Robert Goren. With 30 years of acting experience under his belt plus the ability to learn "eleven pages of dialogue in an hour" Vincent came up with Goren's mannerisms, including the Goren lean, his personality and speech pattern, pauses and all.

Vincent D'Onofrio on Bobby Goren-September 25, 2011

Vincent spoke about his work on LO:CI and how proud he is of his "incredible achievement" and says he would play Bobby Goren again "in a second." It's a Goren thing, y'all. Here here!

Vincent D'Onofrio Presents Excellence in Acting Award to Ellen Barkin on...

Vincent appeared onstage just after 10:30 PM to present the Excellence in Acting Award to Ellen Barkin last Saturday night in Kingston, NY. I filmed this from the side of the stage after I left my table to get a better view, using my phone to record the award presentation. Vincent extolled Ellen's talent and accomplishments on film, including her performances in "Tender Mercies," "Diner" (her character reminded Vincent of "every female cousin" of his in Brooklyn) and "Switch" (she played a man reincarnated as a woman as God's punishment for mistreating women in his former life. Hilarious movie co-starring Jimmy Smits and Lorraine Bracco and directed by the late Blake Edwards.) Vincent was so "awestruck" by her performance in "Tender Mercies" that he decided that "This is what I want to do. This is the actor that I want to be." Ellen returned the compliment when she accepted her award by praising Vincent as the actor she always aspired to be, although she's "a little older" than he is. :D

WFF 2011 MAVERICK AWARD CEREMONY WINNERS

WFF 2011 MAVERICK AWARD CEREMONY WINNERS

NYC Fire Museum Dedication Ceremony and 9/11 Exhibit

On September 11,2011 at 1 PM we attended a ceremony outside the NYC Fire Museum on Spring Street in honor of the late Fire Chaplain Mychal Judge, whose jacket and helmet were placed in a glass and wood case inside the museum. I took a tour of the museum and its brand new 9/11 exhibit dedicated to the 343 firefighters who perished on 9-11-2001.

9/11 Memorial Photos From 1010 WINS, CBS2, WCBS 880 Reporters, Viewers & Listeners « Photo Galleries « CBS New York

9/11 Memorial Photos From 1010 WINS, CBS2, WCBS 880 Reporters, Viewers & Listeners « Photo Galleries « CBS New York

The New York City Police Museum-9/11-A Uniform Response Exhibit

The New York City Police Museum

The day before the tenth anniversary of our nation's darkest day since Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941, my kid brother and I visited the 9/11 Remembered exhibit at the New York City Police Museum at 100 Old Slip near Battery Park on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon. We toured all three floors of the museum, including the new Discovery section for kids, or "junior detectives," a section devoted to fallen police officers "The Hall of Heroes," weapons used by notorious criminals including Al Capone's machine gun, and the 9/11 Remembered and 9/11-A Uniform Response exhibits and even a replica of a jail cell. Also on display were uniforms, badges, weapons, safety equipment, medals, handcuffs and motorcycles used by cops. Alberto and I took lots of pics and also viewed a film about the attack on the WTC on 9-11-2001.