15 years later, it's all the TV stars with the film deals, whether it's the cast of Friends or That '70s Show now with Ashton and other people doing stuff.
And then when I joined the union as a kid, there was another Michael Hall and so I had to flip it so it's kind of stuck.
But on this show, it's a good question because in the 35 shows that we've done now, I've really made a consistent effort to really shadow the directors because in many ways they have to be more prepared than feature directors.
Cutting edge, breakthrough, television. That's what we want to do.
First of all, it was in my contract. I knew I would be directing an episode.
I mean, before this, I would have said playing Bill Gates, because I'm playing someone obviously who is alive and is the richest man in the world. That was a heavy responsibility.
I mean, honestly, I personally have a strong faith in God, and I think that he's been guiding me throughout it all in the last 15 years.
I think in both of those situations, it's important as an actor to learn, despite the success I had as a kid, that it's important to understand what it means to be a small fish in a big pond.
I think it's even harder because I think as always, Hollywood is sort of glamour central for the world, and the entire world looks to it for not only entertainment, but the whole idea of the youth factor and youth being sold to our culture via young actors and actresses.
I think it's incredible what it takes to be an artist of any importance, be it a writer, an actor, producer, whatever.
I think my favorite, and Coppola and that whole thing. East coast Italian directors I guess.
I think on a smaller scale, we have been deemed a successful cable series at this point after three years which is great.
I think that obstacles lead to growth and ultimately, the most learning I've done in my life is between jobs.
I think that's one of the things we pride ourselves on the show is we've gone in different directions and we've done different episodes.
I think the obvious answer is I was raised in New York City, so growing up, not only myself but my family, like my father, we would watch a lot of Scorsese films.
I was enticed by the whole Stephen King association, too, although I'm not a big fan of his in terms of his books.
I would say probably Pirates of Silicon Valley just because I'm proud of the work, playing Gates.
I'm not the type to go down to LA over weekends just because the schedule is such that I'm in almost all the scenes.
In the years since I worked with John Hughes, there were many years where I literally had hundred of doors slammed in my face because I wasn't that kid anymore, and I wasn't a character actor, and I wasn't a leading man, and I wasn't whatever Hollywood was looking for.
It's funny, like 15 years ago when I was a kid doing all the John Hughes movies, I remember Bruce Willis was the only guy who was transitioning from television into film.
Like any show, I think some episodes are going to be stronger than others, but I think it's a good show that people enjoy and I hear the reactions too.
Movies are just ridiculously expensive.
Obviously with the onset of cable and satellite, there are more opportunities for programming and original programming, so it creates more opportunities for actors and producers and directors and everything.
So I think it's fair to say it's even more of a challenge for some of these actors that are coming up, because there's such a pressure to look good, to be sexy and be palatable to people on whatever level.
That, we encourage, and I think we're doing a pretty good job with the website and also the DVD, like the first season came out and the second season's being prepared now.
The cliche is when you're not talking, you should be worried but I'm glad that the show appeals to a certain fan base.
There are people who do De Niro and Walken impersonations.
There've been many a season where I couldn't get work, and I think that you learn character development and you learn how to really want what you do in life when you can't really do it.
They all matter to me, whether I'm working on a Sam Jackson film for a week or I'm the star of my own TV series - I take it all very seriously, and I have a healthy respect for the work in general, despite the role.
We don't want to show our hand to the fan base or give up too much too early.
Well, I've just gotten accustomed to just being in Canada for five and a half months a year.
Well, I've learned something from Michael Robison just about maximizing your shots. For example, if I'm shooting a scene and someone's driving at the wheel, you could steal an insert in the same shot.
Yeah, my given name is actually Michael Anthony.
You have film actors doing TV, rap stars doing TV, with everyone kind of crossing the line.
You know what, I think the way that they'll leave me alone is when I re-establish myself with new work as an adult.
You know, first of all, I have the highest regard for Canada and the Canadians, just in general; they are very gracious people and very humble.
You know, I've spent the last fifteen years, Paul, just kind of trying to be a forward thinking actor and try to just stay busy and active.
You want to do work that is remembered, you want to be a part of something that's remembered.
Anthony has been diagnosed as bi-polar and was the subject of a lawsuit for shutting down The Dead Zone due to his illness.
After his success at playing a geek, Anthony avoided playing similar roles to escape the nerdy typecast.
Anthony's zodiac sign is Aries.
For Anthony's role as Whitey Ford in the TV movie 61*, rather than learning to pitch left-handed, he wore his Yankee uniform number and logo backwards, and pitched right-handed. The image was then flipped.
Anthony is in a movie called Aftermath that will be released in 2007.
Anthony's real life sister, Mary Christian, was his on screen sister in the hit movie The Breakfast Club.
Anthony's favorite character he ever played was Bill Gates in Pirates of Silicon Valley. He thought it was fun playing the richest man in the world.
Anthony is of Italian-American heritage.
Anthony is 6'2 tall.
Anthony claims his favorite book is John O'Donahue's Eternal Echoes.
Anthony won the Young Artist Award in 1985 for Sixteen Candles, he played the role of Ted.
Anthony is a singer, plays drums and composes songs for his band.
Anthony was the youngest member of Saturday Night Live ever, he was 17. He was only on SNL for one season because he had to go to rehab.
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