What follows are some quotes from Michael's interview with Pamela Wallin in November of 1997. I have tried to accurately quote Michael. It is difficult to get the wording exact but I believe they represent what Michael was saying.
MM has applied for Canadian residency.
"I became a celebrity ... with the reruns on A&E. ... I'm seen more than Dan Rather!" "I'm an old dog, 56, and learning new tricks. ... I've learned the hard way. I've learned the following: For a celebrity there are three things that you should share with your wife and no one else, that's sex, drinking, and politics. I've learned. I've learned the hard way. And when I learn the hard way, I don't forget"
About Drinking -- "I realize now that I must take those joys privately... I don't go out after 10 o'clock, I don't go discoing, I don't go bar hopping... But I have a wonderful time with the kids, and they're in bed and then we have dinner parties."
"I've become so earthy. And I never was earthy. I'm doing all kinds of different roles which are not at all like the intellectual and the legal mind of Ben Stone."
"When I got political that blew our marriage out of the water. I was not the same person and I admit that."
"Life is best when you are in love."
"I'm very privileged to be the celebrity I am."
"As long as I'm an hour away from a major airport, I can get to that job."
"I'm going back [to the US] to do a narration for the History Channel on the War in Vietnam. Good one. It's a good script."
About Major Crime - "This cop is right out of the 40s. ... He's a hunter, He's not the intellectual that Ben Stone is. He gets his eye on the bad guy and he doesn't stop. ... It's exciting to play that. I could have never gotten this role if I hadn't gone through the transformation I've gone through."
"Anything well written with good language and clarity and honesty is worth doing. It comes out of the same tradition as Shakespeare."
"I've had the most wonderful life."
"I pay a price for my celebrity... I used to feel guilty to do something I like to do, which is act. And earn all that money. But I've realized that I'm paid to lose my privacy and the more famous I get I pay a price... That's why I earn the big money because I know it will come out of my privacy and I must live to it, understand it and not be naive about it and I know that that's the price I pay."
"My big dream is...I'd like to start a restaurant in Halifax. In the tradition of Rick's of Casablanca, Michael Moriarty is starting a restaurant called 'Mike's Cafe Americain'"
About Psi Factor - "I created this character on Psi Factor. It's an American exile who lives in Halifax. His name is Michael Kelly. I wear a ponytail - a little hippy. They came to me and said 'We want you to be a regular', but I said 'No, I don't believe in the paranormal. But I think I can help the show if I create a character, very earthy, very sensual with wine, women and song. Also plugged into a few things that the organization doesn't know.'"
If I ever won an Academy Award here's what I'd say, "Don't be afraid of your television sets. Don't be afraid of your movie screens. Don't be afraid of the artist on your stages. Be afraid of anyone who would make you afraid of the human imagination. ...."
"If they want to talk about aliens and anything like that... that's part of the gift God gave us. That's what makes life exciting. We're pretty stuck, you know. What gives flight to our life is our imagination."
About Running for President: "Oh, boy, was that a bad idea."
About His Music: "I was born first to music. But I went into acting because my father knew so much about music he intimidated me. So, I picked an art form, he knew nothing about. So I could be my own man."
"Playing the piano kept me going, keeps my soul going. Keeps my soul going here. And my music's never been better. I've never felt more alive or deeper into my music now. And that's why I'm going to make a CD at Lunenburg at the Starlight Theatre called Face the Night"
"I'm not a specialist. I do a lot of things - enjoy them."