Michael Moriarty's promised acting classes are on hold but it's good news for the Vancouver adoptee.
After putting the word out about the classes last month, Moriarty was asked to take on two new jobs he couldn't refuse. They were good parts and he needs the money, says the delightfully candid actor. His current role won't win him another dramatic Emmy, though. "I really wasn't sure about it when they offered it to me; it's nothing I've never done before," says Moriarty from the set of the indie film, Don't Call Me Tonto.
"It's like Dumb & Dumber -- except it's silly and sillier. It's working out OK," he says happily.
"It's very challenging. I play a doubly addicted, drunk detective. The character is basically a stoned Wile E. Coyote pursuing the hero's Roadrunner. It's outrageous, music-hall slapstick," Moriarty told a fan site.
But he is quick to assure All Star Bulletin that the role really is out of character: he's remained sober since his triumphant appearance at the Emmys in September, again crediting his adopted Maple Ridge family (although it should be noted that it's a different adopted family than last year when an alcohol-fueled domestic disturbance made the news).
Don't Call Me Tonto also stars another magnificent actor, Vancouver's own Gordon Tootoosis (who has far too many quality roles to his credit to list) and Baywatch star David Hasselhoff ('nuff said there).
The film, written by Annie Frazier Henry, has been in the perpetual indie film funding loop for years but the cameras are now finally rolling in Calgary with director Philip Spink, a recent Gemini nominee for Voyage of the Unicorn. It's scheduled to wrap up Dec. 3. Moriarty also just completed an episode of the PAX TV crime drama Just Cause in Vancouver, playing Richard Thomas' father, Dr. Whitney. It's scheduled to air Jan. 19.
Meanwhile, the $40-million-US, 20-hour, 10-episode mega mini-series Taken, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, will be making its debut on the U.S. Sci Fi Network during the first couple weeks of December but there's no air date in Canada yet. Moriarty has a part as the imperious Col. Thomas Campbell, who initially masterminds an army cover-up of an alien presence on Earth.
The show was just previewed by the U.S. press and the reviews have been extremely positive, reportedly living up to its hype as the "extra-special TV event of the season."
And still on the Moriarty trail, the actor is one of a number of Vancouver celebs who autographed ties for a Royal City Jewellers' silent auction benefiting the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. Others include Donnelly Rhodes, Nicholas Campbell, Bryan Adams, Kevin Sorbo, Macaulay Culkin, Dominic Purcell and Wayne Gretzky. The auction ends tomorrow.
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