completely new audience . The audience served almost like a wave that would lift us up on the tougher days . Every night after the show finished , I was always the last one to leave the theatre . I loved being there and soaking up the energy . I would leave my dressing room and I ’ d walk across the stage and I would just stand there . I could feel that the air was still pulsating with the energy of the actors and the audience .
Sherman : How did your career transition from Broadway into film ?
Williams : I had already starred in several films by the end of my run with Grease . One of them was a film called Deadly Hero , which was the first film that James Earl Jones and I did together . I didn ’ t have any scenes with Jimmy , but we worked together later on Everwood . That was my first real film role . I played a young cop and I was just so excited to be in front of the camera . After that , I went to London to do a play that Rita Moreno , Jack Weston and Jerry Stiller were starring in called The Ritz . We also did a film version with Richard Lester , who directed the Beatles movies and some other very , very good films . While I was there , I met the director John Sturges , and ended up playing a nice little part in The Eagle Has Landed with Michael Caine . I already knew how to act by then , but I started learning what it was like to be on a movie set . Michael Caine was really a wonderful role model . He didn ’ t mentor me directly , but he mentored me by just doing what he did and letting me watch and learn from him . After The Eagle Has Landed wrapped , I was told to go to Los Angeles , and I was out there for six months . I was miserable there . I went to my agent ’ s office and I said , “ I can ’ t do this . I don ’ t want to drive around this big city waiting in rooms for an hour and a half – just to go in and try and prove that I ’ m good at something I already know I ’ m pretty good at .” I didn ’ t like auditioning , so I went home to take some time away from it . Just as I was getting home , the lead actor in Grease broke his leg , so I went back into Grease again . Not long after that , I found out that they were auditioning people for the film version of Hair . That was a very difficult and long four or five-month period of proving to them that I was the right guy for the role .
Sherman : What was the sequence of events that led to you finally landing your starring role in Hair ?
Williams : It was amazing to be a part of that film , because growing up in the late 1960s , I would drive around in my
Treat in HAIR .
mother ’ s convertible Mustang singing along to the album from the Broadway production of Hair on her eight-track player . I had to prove that I was ready for the role . I didn ’ t just have to prove it to the director , Miloš Forman . I also had to prove it to the musical director , and Galt McDermot ( who wrote the music ), as well as Gerome Ragni and Jim Rado . They all had different opinions of who they wanted and what they were looking for . Lastly , I had to prove it to the choreographer , Twyla Tharp , who was a real taskmaster . By the end of my audition for her , I was completely exhausted , but I knew I was proving to her that I would give her a work ethic that she could work with , because I was not a dancer by any means . The last audition for Hair was especially strange . It was my twelfth audition . I had to do the monologue from the theatre version , because there was no monologue in the movie . I had the monologue memorized , so I went in to do the audition with confidence . As I started the monologue , I started removing all of my clothing . At the end of the monologue , I was standing stark naked in front of them . After the monologue , they applauded , and I told them , “ This is all that I ’ ve got , I don ’ t know what else I can give you .” Miloš came up to me after I walked out and told me that he was going to give me the part . That was the final audition , and I finally had the part .
Sherman : That sounds like a truly formative experience . If you had any advice to give people who are interested in entering the entertainment industry , what would it be ?
Williams : I think you have to learn to play the game to a certain degree . I think we all learn that an important part of acting is the ability to not let people know that you ’ ve had a terrible day . It ’ s not my job to bring a bad day into an interview . I think I learned that part of the business early on . I ’ ve always been really lazy about the agent and manager aspects of it . I do think that there is a time for management and press agents and lawyers . I had all of that at one time . However , as your career evolves , you don ’ t need all of those things . You don ’ t work for as much money and you don ’ t need a manager telling you what you should be doing next , or telling you where you need to be . I do think that it ’ s hard to give advice on that aspect of career management , because at certain points in an actor ’ s career , you really do need people around you to protect you and to guide you . I can say that most actors are not always happy with their agents or management teams . They ’ re always going to complain . There ’ s a great thing that Liza Minnelli said . She ’ s an old friend of mine . She told me that someone once said to her , “ your childhood must have been wonderful . It must have been amazing to be present at those dinner parties with Gene Kelly , Fred Astaire and all of those wonderful actors that came over to your house on the weekends .” Liza said , “ No . Hollywood was just a small town where a bunch of people came over , got drunk , and complained about their careers .” I was very lucky . I think New York was the right place for me , not Hollywood .
Sherman : How did you meet Liza Minelli ?
Williams : We were socializing in the same circles . My friend , Wayne Cilento , was one of her dancers . I was starring on Broadway , and Studio 54 was a mecca for when you wanted to go out . We all knew each other , and it was a fun time .
Sherman : What was it like being a part of that closely-knit group of actors who have now all risen to prominence , and how did you handle the pressures of fame ?
Williams : Things get different when you start working with some of the better-known people in the industry . After I did Once Upon a Time in America with Robert DeNiro , I reconnected with some of the younger people I knew from the days I spent as a cast member of Grease . On one of those occasions , I mentioned how I had flown Robert DeNiro and Christopher Walken down to Cuba for a film festival , and I casually referred to him as “ Bobby DeNiro .” Someone said , “ Oh , you call him Bobby now ? Bobby DeNiro is your buddy ?” One of the hardest things about gaining prominence in your career is that other people start to get intimidated by
38 VERMONT MAGAZINE