Do you want to know how Michael Moriarty feels about his encounter with Attorney General Janet Reno? Or how he feels about Law & Order and Dick Wolf? Would you like to know how he prepares for a new role? All of these topics and many others are addressed in his autobiography, The Gift of Stern Angels. The emotions range from love to hate, anger to acceptance. It's a wild ride; it's one worth taking.
Reading this book is like having Michael Moriarty sitting next to you on your couch, telling you how profoundly his encounter with Janet Reno has affected his life. You can hear the emotions in his 'voice' and feel his passion. In form, this book is written almost like a journal, covering the events of Michael's life from January 1994 through March 1995. It begins with the faxing of his resignation from Law & Order. What a gut-wrenching task that was for him. Even though he felt he had no choice, it was difficult. Over the next 295 pages Michael takes you with him through his personal and professional experiences of the next year.
One of the many topics in The Gift of Stern Angels is Law & Order. He wrote about his feelings at the end of his time on Law & Order, "I feel myself giving up Ben Stone. I feel his persona begin to die in me. It's sad, of course, but inevitable. He really was more of a character than I had imagined." [pg. 133] He said of a scene in "Sanctuary" with Lorraine Toussaint, "I've just finished rehearsing what is potentially the best scene in this episode." [pg. 85] And then this, "There has always been something temporary about Law & Order. People have left this show every year. Important principal actors ... When they summarily fired Richard Brooks and Dann Florek, I felt that nothing was sacred and everyone was vulnerable to the whims of either Dick Wolf or an NBC executive's passing fancy." [pg.152] There is anger, sadness, longing and hope in his message, just as there is in his life.
Michael touches on so many topics. He addresses them from his point of view, from his experiences, with his talent for facing them head on. If you want to know how Michael Moriarty feels about life, his work, his personal relationships and lots of other things, read his book. After you've read it, you can pick it up, open to any page, and begin reading. Each page contains a story, thought or emotion that can stand alone. He presents his ideas in his familiar 'in-your-face' manner. It's refreshing, interesting, insightful and sometimes sad, but it's never boring.
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