Q&A WITH RAY ROMANO & TOM CALTABIANO | 3
What else will we be seeing in the film?
RAY: You hear me sing. You're going to hear why it's lucky I can do comedy.
TOM: Usually people who can't sing are the people that like to sing the most when they are in the car with you.
RAY: Yeah, I wish I could sing.
TOM: Me, too. You want to sing something now?
RAY: No, no, let's not spoil it for them. And you're going to see, uh, you're going to see a lot of bickering.
TOM: One of our friends saw the movie and said, "I knew it was a comedy, I didn't know it was a love story."
[They laugh.]
RAY: It's like an old married couple on the road. If you've ever been on a trip for awhile with a family member or whatever, you realize how even though you like that person or know that person, you can't help but yell and scream at them.
TOM: Him screaming at me. Let's just make that clear. No, but we yell, it's a fight. You know you're seeing long-time friends because ten minutes later it's right back to normal again and there are no problems.
Ray, why do you still do standup?
RAY: I feel like standup is an extension of who I am. I mean, I know I've been acting on the show and have been successful at that, but I think naturally who I am is a standup comic. There's something organic to it for me, something very natural, when I get on stage I feel the most comfortable, I feel it's what I can do best. I'm not saying I'm the best at it, I'm not even saying I'm good at it, I just know that of any talent I have, that's what I've honed and perfected, and I feel the need to do it. It's part of me, it's part of my identity. And to not do it? I don't want to ever stop doing it. Even though I love to act and explore other areas, it's a great outlet for me, it's very creative. You know, it gives me great creative energy to write and perform material, and to be on stage and feel that rhythm and respond to the audience. So I like it, I get a kick out of it.
TOM: I think a lot of people just know, "Oh, hey. There's Ray who's an actor on that TV show." But for me and a lot of comics from New York, I knew Ray for seven years or so before the show came about, when he was doing six nights a week of standup comedy, sometimes even six or seven shows in one night. So the acting almost feels like a little detour from the standup comedy career.
RAY: Yeah, well I started doing standup because that was what I wanted to do. It wasn't like, "Hey, this is a way to make money." I wanted to get up on stage and do standup. Then of course it became a way to make money, and I was very lucky that I was making money doing what I loved to do. And I didn't think, "Oh, this will also be a great way to get a TV show," that's just the way the business was. Comics were getting these TV shows. So that came along and I said, "Okay, that's great. Let's try it." But all along I thought I was a standup comic. So that's still in me. [Beat] And I'm a dancer.
TOM: There's your sequel. [Beat] There's no difference between Ray being on the tour in this movie and any standup comedian out there being on tour, other than there's a little bit more hype, but as far as driving from gig to gig, checking into the hotel, carrying your own luggage, figuring out where to go, getting lost with your map. Every standup comedian is going to look at this and go, "That's life on the road."
RAY: That's what it's like, except they're probably getting more money than I was back then. It's the same for me being on the road back before the TV show, except the theaters and the checks are bigger now. But the problems are still the same and the worries are still the same. And my neurosis is still the same.
TOM: The first time we did a tour in Florida, twelve years ago or something, I didn't have enough money for a hotel room so I slept in my rental car at a beach rest area. That night I was questioning my career choice. I had left a pretty good-paying finance job and now I was one rental car away from sleeping on a bench. Then Ray flew down the next day and, uh...
RAY: Gave you some dry clothes?
TOM: Yeah, dry clothes and a can of tuna.
RAY: And when we did the tour in the film, your lifestyle was still the same.
TOM: Pretty much. Just more tuna. [Beat] I remember in Manhattan, Ray would emcee at the Comedy Cellar and he would have to work from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. So I would come down at midnight.
RAY: And take over.
TOM: Yeah, I would take over at midnight emceeing at the Comedy Cellar, and as payment he would give me his free meal. So I would get to eat, and then he would be able go home to his family.
RAY: You also got stage time.
TOM: Yeah, it was great for me because I got stage time and a hot meal. The only people who got hurt there were the audience and...
RAY: ...the cook.
Why do you guys drive from gig to gig?
RAY: At that point I was not a good flier. I'm better now because of medications that have come on the market.
TOM: Are you on them now?
RAY: But at that point one of my neuroses was flying. Neuroses--is that right?
TOM: Yeah.
RAY: Now, that's one thing people come away with from this movie. I am pretty much a lot more screwed up than they think. They probably see me as being--
TOM: Having it all together?
RAY: Yeah. "He's funny, he's got money. What could possibly be his problems?"
TOM: When they watch the movie, they'll know. But, people end up feeling better about themselves for some reason. I have to defend you here for a second. I've had people say to me after seeing the film, "Why does Ray care whether you order room service?" I have to say, you're a very generous person. Always paying for meals, etc. It's just--
RAY: Well, there are certain things that irk you that you have to pay for. Certain little things that are programmed into you that you don't wanna have to spend extra money for.
TOM: Well, first of all you spent most of your life not having money.
RAY: Yes, saving money. Trying to save money.
TOM: Like everybody. Saving money. You've got a family. And then all of a sudden you're in a hotel room and it's $60 for a jar of nuts, you know? That type of thing.
RAY: Yeah, it's the principle.
What kind of complications did you have to tackle while piecing the film together?
TOM: Well, the audience doesn't know who I am. We knew that would be a problem we'd have to overcome. Here's Ray, this beloved character in America, and here's this unknown guy who's so buddy-buddy with him. People instantly make assumptions that this guy just wants to be associated with a star.
RAY: We had to let them know that we've been friends forever, otherwise you can't get away with that.
TOM: Yeah, they have to know that we were roommates, that we played softball together, went through a lot of stuff together long before the show. Otherwise the audience is like, "Hey, he's yelling at our Ray. GET HIM!"
[They laugh.]
