What are some of the most significant things
you learned while narrating The War?
I learned that the world is still reeling from the impact of World War II—how we went into the war, how we came out of it, and how we've dealt with it since. It was very interesting to track the war's effect through the eyes of our elders. I was proud that these veterans could tell their stories.
This documentary focused on four specific small American towns and their soldiers. Do you think these particular stories speak to a universal experience?
I think that one of the main reasons for doing a project like The War is that you get to see the universality of conflict. We had screenings with World War II vets and Iraq vets; they shared combat stories and experiences, and it was quite moving and interesting to see how they can tell some of the same stories.
Why were the particular four towns selected?
In a small town, when you have 10 guys that everybody knows, if one guy gets killed or goes missing in action, then it affects everyone. That was the case for the four towns we hit; each one had several stories.
What initially drew you to
this project? Well, I'm always interested in working with Ken [Burns, documentary filmmaker], because he always chooses dynamic subject matters with universal resonance. Everybody can listen to these stories and get something out of them. I'm also a history buff, so I loved learning all the little intricacies. The common problem with the World War II story is that it's always being bent by whoever is telling it. But Ken has a wonderful objectivity.
You've done everything from Broadway to film to voice acting. Is there a different approach to all three?
Approaches are always different, but good acting is good acting—that's the lowest common denominator. Under any circumstance, in any genre, you want to act well. And you never want to be caught acting!
You've also played soldiers, a veteran, and have narrated Navy commercials. Do you think there's something about your acting that lends itself to military roles?
Somebody must think so! Fundamentally, I guess it goes back to when I used to love playing cops and robbers, good guys vs. the bad guys.
Is there always a sense of play when acting? How about when the subject matter gets deeper?
When it ceases to be fun, that's when I'm gonna get out of it. But you don't walk away from something like The War saying, "I enjoyed that." It's not that kind of experience. However, you do walk away having been glad to be there. You do walk away having been filled with a deeper sense of the reality. I walked away with a deeper sense of appreciation for the young men and women who actually participated in it.
We read on IMDB
that you saved Charlie Sheen from falling out of a chopper during the shooting
of Platoon. Is that true? Uh, yeah. I happened to be in a position to be able to keep him from losing his life. I would like to think that anybody who was there in the moment would have done the same thing. So yeah, that's true, but it's hard for me to say, "I saved his life."
You've got one of the coolest voices of any actor out there right now. Was it something you cultivated or is it something natural?
God is good. I work with my voice all the time. I mean, I'm a singer. I do a Nat King Cole act. Nat is my inspiration, and a big influence in my life. And I'm going to keep working on it. Nat practiced singing for two hours every day, so even he didn't get that level of smooth without working on his voice.