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really drives you and pushes you hard.
KW: Teresa Emerson wants to know whether you enjoy doing
voiceover work.
MCD: Oh, of course you have to love it any time you can go
to the studio in pajamas, and the only preparation you have to do
is take a shower and brush your teeth. You don’t even have to
memorize your lines. The script is right there in front of you. So,
yeah, I love voiceover work. It’s right up there with acting.
KW: Harriet Pakula Teweles says: Because of your size, you
are often cast in a role of “The Heavy.” Since that is not the real
you, how difficult is it to assume that role?
MCD: It’s kind of difficult, because once people enjoy you as
“The Heavy,” they want to see you as that all the time. And if
you become pigeonholed, then there are only certain limited
roles you can play. To help, I’ve trimmed my weight down to a
solid 275 instead of being over 300 pounds.
KW: Judyth Piazza asks: What is the most important lesson
that you have learned working in Hollywood?
MCD: Save your money. Save your money, because you could
be very busy for a year, but then have the next one off. That’s
happened to me, but I put my money in the bank, Kam. I don’t
splurge. So, my best advice about working in Hollywood is:
Save your money!
KW: Judyth also asks: If you could change one thing about
Hollywood, what would it be?
MCD: How they do business. Kam, if you shake my hand and
tell me we’re going to do this or that project together, I’d believe
you. But when I first got to Hollywood, I’d believe all the peo-
ple who’d tell me they were going to put me in a movie. And I
still haven’t heard back from a lot of them to this day. I don’t like
it when someone can look you in the eye and lie to you, or pre-
tend that they’re more than you.
KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish
someone would?
MCD: [LOL] No, I just like answering the questions posed,
because people can really come up with some off the wall stuff.
KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?
MCD: I made myself some pancakes this morning that were
off the chain. I have to admit that I love pancakes and vegetari-
an meatloaf. I am a food connoisseur, although I don’t eat pork.
I’m lucky my girlfriend is a great chef, since eating is one of my
favorite pastimes.
KW: What is your guiltiest pleasure?
MCD: Cheesecake! I just had some Cinnamon Chocolate
Cheesecake, some German Chocolate Cheesecake and some
Pineapple Upside-Down Cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory
the other night. So, I had to work my butt off the next day,
because I’m trying to get in shape for my new television series,
“The Finder.”
KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?
MCD: An accomplished actor who was homeless twice. A per-
son who was down on his luck in Chicago in 1996, crying his
eyes out on the lakefront. I see a guy who told himself: There
ain’t no use in crying because nobody cares. You can either be a
bum or follow your dream and try to make it. Today, I see a suc-
cessful person when I look in the mirror.
KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest child-
hood memory?
MCD: [Chuckles] My earliest memory is of the Christmas my
mother bought me an Aurora race car set. That was the only gift
I got that year, but I was the happiest kid in the world when she
bought me that. I didn’t care about anything else. But that was
back in the day, I don’t even know if Aurora’s still in business
anymore. That and Electric Foot-
ball were my favorites when I
was a kid
KW: Tudor Electric Football! I
had that, and an HO-scale race
car set, too.
MCD: See, you know what
I’m talking about, Kam. I can
reminisce with you without
Specializing in *short sales
sounding weird.
* bank owned properties
KW: If you could have one
* first time home buyers
wish instantly granted, what
* investment properties
would that be for?
* residential & commercial
MCD: That’s a no-brainer. Just
to have my mother’s health
restored. Arthritis and other ail-
ments have taken their toll, and
she’s not as vibrant as she used
to be. My wish would be to have
her health back the way it was in
Torrey Nelson
the Sixties when she would play
C: 503-381-2107
catch with me, throw a football
W: 503-208-3797
with me, and teach me how to
F: 503-536-6523
hold a bat. Yeah, my wish would
E: mrtnel@gmail.com
be for my mother to have excel-
www.dwellrealtypdx.com
lent health.
5625 NE MLK Jr. Blvd.
KW: The Columbus Short
Portland, OR 97211
question: Are you happy?
MCD: Yes, extremely happy. You gotta remember I was
homeless. Whenever I think I have something to complain about.
I go outside, walk across the street and look at my home, and
remind myself of the time I was living on the damn lakefront in
a car full of garbage bags with clothes, and ask myself, “What do
you possibly have to be upset about?” Kam, I have nothing to
complain about. A friend of mine was just murdered, shot five
times last Thursday as he was driving on a freeway entrance
ramp. The last thing he did was dial 9-1-1. Another thing my
mother told me as a child was, “Always wake up with a smile on
your face, because a lot of people who went to sleep last night
are not with us this morning.” So, I’m extremely happy, Kam.
KW: Looks like your mother has given you a lot of sound
advice over the years.
MCD: Yeah, she’s never steered me wrong. I remember when
Martin Luther King was shot and people started rioting in Chica-
go. My mother whacked me on my butt just because I balled up
a piece of paper and threw it out the window. She asked me,
“Why did you do that?” I said, “Because they killed Martin
Luther King.” She said, “just think, where are we gonna buy our
Michael Clark Duncan
groceries, if they burn all the stores down?” I
hadn’t thought of that.
September 5, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 9