Pretending That You're Somebody Else
On acting
In general
"I don't think I could get into acting all the time. There's too much discipline involved in it. You can't stay in bed late when you want to." (1985)"How long am I going to be able to go out onstage and play rock 'n' roll and look young and vibrant? Acting is something I can do until the day I die. Instead of my life consisting of going out on the road, going home, resting up, writing songs, rehearsing, recording albums and going back on the road, I have acting projects. This way my life is a lot more interesting." (Interview Magazine 1986)
"As I started to do music videos - even before MTV came along - people working with me would tell me: 'The camera likes you.' " (Toronto Star 1986)
"[Acting is] tedious and more tiring than the music business." (1988)
"Acting is all about being comfortable. The more comfortable you are, the more natural you appear on the screen. You’re not overanimated, you’re not underanimated." (Strange Weather Promotional Interview 1992)
[Is television acting going to be your main focus now, leaving only isolated blocks of time for music?] "As of right now, that's the way I'm looking at it." (1993)
''It's not a bad job. They pick you up in the morning. You don't have to drive to work. They drive you to the set. You get out of the car and some kid with a walkie-talkie says, 'Hi, Glenn, what do you want for breakfast?' You walk into an air-conditioned Winnebago with the television, a VCR and a stereo, and all your clothes are laid out. You get dressed. If your hair is messed, you're having a bad hair day, you go to makeup. Even if you haven't slept, they pat you down and primp you. They get your hair fixed. 'And then, basically, the rest of the day, although you're spending a lot of time waiting, everybody's working for you.'' (Pittsburgh Post 1993)
On Miami Vice
"I was contacted when I was filming the video for 'Smuggler's Blues.' Miami Vice was filming its first episode and they wanted to get the show somehow involved in the video. Something like a badge that said 'Miami Vice' being flashed around or starting the video with the camera locked on a black file cabinet labeled 'Miami Vice.' Then they offered footage from the show, but, in the end, we were too rushed to work out the details and passed on involving them in the video in any way. After we’d finished the video, Michael Mann called and wanted to have lunch. I'd never met Michael Mann in person, so I went the blue-suit routine-full Wall Street. I'm sitting at the bar in Le Dome, awaiting the arrival of the executive producer of Miami Vice, and in walks this guy in white Levi's, sandals and a Hawaiian shirt. I wore a suit so he wouldn’t think I was a rock 'n' roll weirdo. Boy, did I figure this guy wrong. Michael sat down with me, never asked me if I could act, and explained to me his concept of an episode based on 'Smuggler's Blues.' 'You're going to play this guy Jimmy, and you'll be great.'" (Interview Magazine 1986)"I loved it, it was a role I could really develop in a positive way. I don't fly planes myself but I've sat in enough bumpy seats next to flyers to see how it's done. The character is very rock'n'roll. He's the sort of guy you sometimes meet in this business. Originally in the plot I was going to die horribly at the end of the show, but they decided to wound me instead so I can return. [...] I've heard [drug smugglers] are very flattered by the way I've approached the role. [laughs] Apparently I'm pretty authentic which is good." (1985)
On Let's Get Harry
"This movie's not Gone With The Wind, but it's not a piece of shit, either. I would say it's flawed. But hell, I think my records are flawed too. There comes a point where you just have to let go of it and leave your work in the hands of others. [...] The body-count got so high my friends started calling me Glennbo. [...] I wasn't as sure of myself as I might have been, although working with Gary Busey and Robert Duvall made it so easy. I couldn't help but look good. Next time, I'll be more camera-ready. I'm right on Stallone's heels right now, he can feel me coming. [Laughs]" (Toronto Star 1986)
On Wiseguy
"I loved Wiseguy [...] because it gave me a chance to learn on my feet. At first it was about learning so many lines in a day, but by the time I was through, it was about being comfortable -- not acting at all. To do something like that again will take time and commitment." (Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel 1991)."I don’t have any illusions of myself as a screen star, but Wiseguy was my best experience because I got to do it for the longest period of time. They gave me the most amount of dialogue. I had a lot of one-on-one scenes with Ken Wahl. And so I really felt like that was really the first chance I got to act. And it was also really the first time I was comfortable. Acting... I guess just like if I was gonna play a new song for you guys here in this room – if I practiced it twelve times upstairs, and then came down and played it for you, I’d probably play it better than if I just picked up the guitar and decided to give you a rendering. And what I found out during Wiseguy was that the more you practiced off-screen, the more comfortable you were when you were on camera. [...] It got to the point in Wiseguy where I was looking forward to scenes with more dialogue because I could string my character along a little in different ways. It got to the point where I would show up to the set an hour early and I’d immediately run to where we were gonna shoot and see if there was anything I could play with. You know what I mean? You start to... Instead of worrying about your lines, all of the sudden you’re playing out there because you feel good. I learned on Wiseguy to practice dialogue. I practiced it over and over again. I got an acting coach in Vancouver, a lady that worked with me... I really enjoyed doing that show, and thought I was just starting to get it." (Strange Weather Promotional Interview 1992)
On South of Sunset
"I played at the tailgate party for the Superbowl last January [1992]. And some people at Paramount saw me up on the stage doing The Heat Is On. They were having trouble casting this character Cody McMahon – they’d been looking for people for a couple months – and then some guy had a few beers too many and said, ‘How ‘bout Glenn Frey?" (Arsenio Hall Interview 1992)"This is 'Hotel California' on film." (1993)