Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Golden Globe-winning actor for playing the US President in The West Wing; star of Apocalypse Now and Gandhi; committed social activist.
On the island
Eight records
Well, I love the song at any rate. But in nineteen eighty nine I directed a film, the only film I've ever directed, called Cadence. ... And we were creating a montage. ... And the one song that fit the montage the best was Subterranean Homesick Blues.
It is my favorite hymn. It has been a great source of inspiration for me in particularly very dark times. It is a reaffirmation of the cherished belief I have in faith.
Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467
Daniel Barenboim & English Chamber Orchestra
Any Mozart for me is. It has a speed and a rhythm of its own. ... when Mozart comes on, I'll pass my destination rather than stop and shut it off. I cannot bear to stop Mozart.
Spring (from The Four Seasons)
Pinchas Zukerman & English Chamber Orchestra
My wife Janet, who was a musician in high school, introduced me to classical music, and this was one of her favorites, so it always reminded me of her.
Ode to Joy (from Symphony No. 9 in D minor)
Netherlands Radio Chorus & Concertgebouw Orchestra (conducted by Bernard Haitink)
And this was his theme, Eau de Joy. And all of Paris, all of France was playing this everywhere you went. And this was at the same time that I was on the final step of a very important decision.
This again is one of my favorite uh hymns. And this is a a real choral hymn. I love to sing this hymn and I love to hear it sung uh with a congregation, you know, or a choir, and that's what we have in this case.
Knockin' on Heaven's DoorFavourite
This is just one of my personal all-time favorites. Uh it's that neighbor of mine again.
Berlin Philharmonic (conducted by Herbert von Karajan)
Well, it's one of the great pieces of music ever written. It's Pacabelle's Canon. It's hard to listen to this without touching something deeply personal and wanting to go there.
In conversation
Presenter asks
2:41Did [Bill Clinton] ever give you any tips [on playing the President in The West Wing]?
He came to visit us on the set after he left the Oval Office, and he began to tell me that, well, you don't want that thing over here. Maybe you should move that on this side. This chair over here looks better in the corner. ... He was great. He was so funny.
Presenter asks
6:41Given that political office has been held by people like Arnold Schwarzenegger, must people have tried to get you involved in politics with a Big P?
The Democratic Party at one point, when I was still doing the show, made an inquiry if I would be interested in running for the Senate from my home state. ... I personally could never stand for public office because then I would be responsible to a constituency and not my conscience. You know, there's a big difference between celebrity and credibility.
Presenter asks
15:01What do you remember of [your mother's] absence? What actually happened?
She was a very lively lady, you know. She loved to sing and chat. ... She was a deeply uh spiritual person and there was a great deal of joy and and energy in her, you know, and then suddenly it was gone.
The keepsakes
Presenter asks
16:00Did [your father] live to see your success? Did he live to see you make a living as an actor and be on stage?
Oh yeah, he did, yeah. He came to New York on his way to Spain. ... I was on Broadway in a play called The Subject Was Roses, and it was an enormous hit. ... And he came to see it, and I played that night for him, and I never played better in my life before or since.
Presenter asks
19:42When did you suffer your heart attack?
That would have been march fifth, nineteen seventy seven.
Presenter asks
30:41Has giving voice to [your political] feelings ever brought you in conflict with the Hollywood establishment?
Particularly in some of the more um controversial subjects that I was not welcome in certain company. ... yeah, I would get the word, particularly through my agent or other members of the family ... In reality, I had a feeling that there were as many people that supported what I did that objected to it. ... So I think it all evens out, and if it didn't, I could care less, you know.
“I was once asked what would I um like to be remembered for? And I said for about five minutes.”
“I personally could never stand for public office because then I would be responsible to a constituency and not my conscience. You know, there's a big difference between celebrity and credibility.”
“All of my social justice activism has been for myself. I do it for myself. And you do it because you cannot not do it and be yourself.”
“I thought, well, this is what it's like to die. And I remember specifically thinking, I said, well, it's not so bad, you know, because at that point the pain had stopped, you know, and I was resigned to it. And there was no fear.”
“She's the most remarkable human being I've ever known, and I don't have a clue who she is.”