Emmy-nominated actor Rob Morrow sat down with The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk in the latest episode of “At Home With The Creative Coalition,” a podcast featuring unplugged and uncensored conversations with today’s biggest stars. In the newest episode, Morrow opens up about his career, his love for music, how “The People vs. O.J. Simpson” changed his view of the O.J. case, why he thinks Simpson is guilty and may have had an accomplice, his misunderstanding with Steven Spielberg, why he turned down the role of Josh Lyman in “The West Wing,” and more. Highlights below.
“At Home With The Creative Coalition,” sponsored by the Pioneering Collective, is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, and more.
Listen now at:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rob-morrow-doing-whatever-it-takes/id1521900273?i=1000524613022
For planned coverage, please link to:
http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast
Highlights from “At Home With The Creative Coalition” featuring Rob Morrow —
On how playing Barry Scheck in “The People vs. O.J. Simpson” changed his opinion of the O.J. Simpson case and why he thinks Simpson may have had an accomplice:
“It made me realize how the jurisprudence process favors money. And I saw the steps of how it does. And it also confirmed — you know, doing all the research I was doing — was that it was irrefutable that he did it. There was no — truly in any kind of objective sense — there’s no way that he didn’t do it. The only thing that was possible, based on my research, was that he could have been helped. The scale of the attack was so big and vicious that it’s possible — and based on some other forensic stuff and hearsay — it seems like he could have had some help.”
On why he regrets turning down the role of Josh Lyman in “The West Wing”:
“The things that I’ve turned down that I regret, I turned them down not because they weren’t good. They were really, really interested in me for ‘West Wing.’ They were really interested in me for Bradley Whitford’s part, and I’m pretty sure I could have had it if I wanted it. I wanted Rob Lowe’s part, and they were like, ‘No.’ And I was like, ‘Forget it.’”
On his misunderstanding with Steven Spielberg that cost him a role in “Jurassic Park 2”:
“I get a call from my agent [who says], ‘Steven [Spielberg] wants to meet you to talk about a part. He won’t tell us what, but we know he’s preparing to do ‘Jurassic Park 2.’ This is in the ‘90s. ‘He’s going to send a car for you. He’s going to bring you out to the Hamptons, and you’ll go hang out with him.’ So I was like, ‘Great.’ So I go to Steven’s amazing property he has that’s got the bay on one side and the ocean on the other. I hang out with Steven, which is just heaven […] We talked about movies like two kids. And after about two hours, he said, ‘I got a call from a Senator, I gotta take it.’ At that point he let me know that he was doing ‘Jurassic Park 2’ and there was a part of a lawyer. And I said, ‘Ah, you know, Steven, the only thing is…’ It wasn’t arrogance, it was really coming from a pure place, but I could see where it could be perceived that way. I said, ‘Steven, you know, I’ve played so many lawyers. I just feel like I can’t do another lawyer.’ And he’s like, ‘Well, we can make him an accountant. He doesn’t have to be a lawyer. Just let your agent know if you want to do it.’ So I’m like, ‘Okay.’ So I get in the car and I call my agent. I’m like, ‘Yeah, I got it. He wants to do it. Alright, let’s do it.’ He says, ‘Great.’ A couple of days go by and I call my agent, and I’m like, ‘What happened?’ He says, ‘I, uh, I didn’t hear anything back. Let me check.’ He calls me and he says, ‘They say you turned it down.’ I was like, ‘What?’ He says, ‘They say you say you don’t want to do it.’ I say, ‘No, I never said that. I just didn’t want to play a lawyer, and he said it didn’t have to be a lawyer.’ And he said, ‘Well, the only thing that’s going to fix it is you’ve gotta call him yourself.’ And I was like, ‘Fine.’ So I call him, and he takes the call. And I go, ‘Steven, you know, I don’t mean you any disrespect. I just, I thought you had said that it didn’t have to be a lawyer. And I just thought I want to read it, you know? I just want to read it. So I can know if I can deliver what you want.’ And he said, ‘No problem. I completely understand.’ Then I call my agent and he calls back and he says, ‘I just spoke with the casting director’ — who was on the phone, they didn’t tell me he was on the phone — ‘and he says that you turned it down again.’ I said, ‘What the fuck? I didn’t turn it down. I just said I want to read it now.’ They said, that was it […] So I’m figuring, ‘Okay, great. The greatest filmmaker, modern pop filmmaker alive, and I’ve alienated him.’”
On why he also regrets turning down a role in “Independence Day”:
“I turned down Jeff Goldblum’s part in ‘Independence Day.’ And I turned it down because it was another neurotic, nebbishy Jewish guy. And I was like, ‘I don’t want to do that. I just finished doing that’ […] I was like, ‘I want the Will Smith part, and they were like [shakes head], you know. If I had done that movie, I would have had box office cred just by association.”
On his experience in “The People vs. O.J. Simpson”:
“That was great. That was cool. Again, here I am with John Travolta, the reason I became an actor, and I’m acting with him. Right? I had a similar experience with Jack Nicholson. It’s a fascinating sense of confirming that you are on some kind of path that is right for you. Because the signposts are consistent. And so when I was acting with John Travolta, having him been the catalyst for me becoming an actor, I was like, ‘Oh my God. This is clear’ […] It was great because I was obsessed with the O.J. trial when it was going on. And those sets, and the costumes, and all of the amazing actors — everything was so accurate. Many a day, I was just sitting in the courtroom with nothing to do but watch and I would find myself, like, in this weird kind of deja vu of having seen all of this on TV when the trial was going on and now I was in it.”
On how he prepared for his role on the hit series “Northern Exposure”:
“I had insisted, I think even contractually, that they have a doctor on set whenever I did anything medical procedural. So they were always there to make sure I did the right thing. I didn’t do any research in terms of getting ready — there was no time really, probably. But I had stacks of medical encyclopedias that I referred to, trying to interpret, understand what it was I was saying. But there was always someone there when — basically, if I had to touch someone, there was someone there.”
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More about “At Home With The Creative Coalition”
Hosted by The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk, “At Home With The Creative Coalition” brings listeners intimate portraits, key moments of discovery, and “art and soul” conversations with iconic entertainment industry personalities from the big screen to the boardroom, from L.A. to D.C. “At Home With The Creative Coalition” is sponsored by the Pioneering Collective. Listen now at http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast.
Upcoming guests include Griffin Dunne (“This Is Us,” “Dallas Buyers Club”), Willie Garson (“Hawaii Five-0,” “White Collar”), New York Times Bestselling Author Susan Isaacs (“Compromising Positions,” “Takes One to Know One”), Eric McCormack (“Will & Grace,” “Travelers”), Haley Joel Osment (“Future Man,” “Entourage”), Alysia Reiner (“Better Things,” “Orange Is the New Black”), Yolonda Ross (“The Chi,” “How to Get Away with Murder”), Reid Scott (“Why Women Kill,” “Veep”), Matt Walsh (“Veep,” “UCB Comedy Originals”), Alfre Woodard (“Clemency,” “Luke Cage”), and Constance Zimmer (“Condor,” “UnREAL”).
Previous guests include Jason Alexander (“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Harley Quinn,” “Saturday Night Seder”), David Alan Basche (“The Exes,” “United 93”), Asante Blackk (“This Is Us,” “When They See Us”), Carly Chaikin (“Mr. Robot”), Wilson Cruz (“Star Trek: Discovery,” “My So-Called Life”), Alan Cumming (“Briarpatch,” “Instinct,” “The Good Wife”), The Creative Coalition President and actor Tim Daly (“Madam Secretary”), Lea DeLaria (“Orange Is the New Black”), Jim Gaffigan (“Tesla,” “The Jim Gaffigan Show”), Judy Gold (“The Other F Word,” “Nightcap”), Clark Gregg (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “The Avengers”), Jason Isaacs (“The OA,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “Harry Potter”), Richard Kind (“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Big Mouth,” “Gotham”), Chad Lowe (“Supergirl,” “Life in Pieces,” “Pretty Little Liars”), AnnaLynne McCord (“Nip/Tuck,” “90210”), Wendi McLendon-Covey (“The Goldbergs,” “Reno 911!”), Katherine McNamara (“Shadowhunters,” “Arrow”), Kathy Najimy (“Hocus Pocus,” “Sister Act”), Bill Prady (“The Big Bang Theory,” “Young Sheldon,” “The Muppets”), Jessica Queller (“Supergirl,” “Gossip Girl”), Anthony Rapp (“Star Trek: Discovery,” “Rent”), and Julie Taymor (“The Lion King,” “Frida,” “The Glorias”).
More about The Creative Coalition
The Creative Coalition is the premier nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community. Founded in 1989 by prominent members of the creative community, The Creative Coalition is dedicated to educating, mobilizing, and activating its members on issues of public importance. Actor Tim Daly serves as the organization’s President. The Creative Coalition also creates award-winning public service campaigns including #RightToBearArts to promote the efficacy of the arts. The Creative Coalition harnesses the unique platforms of the arts community and entertainment industry to make positive impacts on social welfare issues. For more information, visit https://thecreativecoalition.org.
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