ALEX ROCCO

I'm Italian. I wouldn't know how to play a Jew.

Some people go to acting classes to learn. I just kind of went for the dates.

Playing gangsters is great. They usually dress you sharp. And you have a license to pretty much bully anybody. I mean, I wouldn't dare do that at home. My wife will give me a back hander.

I had to get out of the Boston area, so I flipped a coin and said, 'Heads - Miami, tails - California. I was in my mid-20s and came out here with no training. Acting wasn't even in my mind.

I worked in this bar called the Raincheck Room in the '60s; it used to be over on Santa Monica Boulevard, and, y'know, it was a pretty hip place. Lots of actors hung out there.

You study all your life, you work really hard to do your best work onstage and onscreen, and then you make your best money playing an ant.

I saw a bakery truck go by with the name 'Rocco' on it, and that's when I decided to become Alex Rocco.

I don't mean you have to be overbearing, but you have to stay on top of things - read the trades, know what's going on in the town. I call it 'dare to be stupid.' The worst thing they can say is, 'We got nothing for you.' So I've hustled a lot.

I was a young kid; I did a little time in the Billerica House of Correction, and it basically turned my life around because I said, 'Oh, I'll never be locked up again. They're not taking away my privacy.' So I flipped a coin: heads - Miami, tails -California.

With Peter O'Toole, you just had nothing but fun.

Playing gangsters is great. They usually dress you sharp. And you have a license to pretty much bully anybody. I mean, I wouldn't dare do that at home. My wife will give me a back hander.

I don't mean you have to be overbearing, but you have to stay on top of things - read the trades, know what's going on in the town. I call it 'dare to be stupid.' The worst thing they can say is, 'We got nothing for you.' So I've hustled a lot.

You study all your life, you work really hard to do your best work onstage and onscreen, and then you make your best money playing an ant.

I'm Italian. I wouldn't know how to play a Jew.

I was a young kid; I did a little time in the Billerica House of Correction, and it basically turned my life around because I said, 'Oh, I'll never be locked up again. They're not taking away my privacy.' So I flipped a coin: heads - Miami, tails -California.

I saw a bakery truck go by with the name 'Rocco' on it, and that's when I decided to become Alex Rocco.

I worked in this bar called the Raincheck Room in the '60s; it used to be over on Santa Monica Boulevard, and, y'know, it was a pretty hip place. Lots of actors hung out there.

I had to get out of the Boston area, so I flipped a coin and said, 'Heads - Miami, tails - California. I was in my mid-20s and came out here with no training. Acting wasn't even in my mind.

Some people go to acting classes to learn. I just kind of went for the dates.

With Peter O'Toole, you just had nothing but fun.

I learned to bet the Red Sox, the Celtics, Suffolk Downs. I thought it was a glorious life - pull up to the doughnut shop, spread out, and plan your day.