Q&A William H. Macy

By Barbara Kiviat

William H. Macy stars in The Wool Cap--a story about a mute alcoholic who gets stuck taking care of a junkie's child--which he adapted from the 1962 movie Gigot. It airs Nov. 21 on TNT.

There's a monkey in this movie. I found myself in a scene with a kid, Don Rickles and a monkey. I thought, Who wrote this?

Well, you wrote it. I wrote it all. No one to blame but myself.

You play another sad, down-on-his-luck man. What other kind of character would you like to play? I'd like to play the guy who looks like the Good Humor salesman, but when he leaves, the entire family is dead, including the pets.

You take your shirt off too. Was it fun to be shirtless? No, I was horrified. I love this country, and I feel an obligation to keep my clothes on.

Your wife, actress Felicity Huffman, one of the Desperate Housewives, told Oprah that she understands the insanity of parenting. That worry you? I've had both kids by myself. She's right. I don't care who your kids are--sometimes you don't know whether you want to throw them out the window or leap out the window yourself.

What is your house life like? Loud and busy. Every once in a while, you walk through the house and you realize: I'm alone. The impulse to take off your pants and smoke cigarettes and drink vodka and play loud rock-'n'-roll music is overwhelming, and I've done exactly those things.

Did you know that you can get only the first two seasons of ER on DVD? What's up with that? Well, I was in the first two seasons, and I'm thinking those are the ones people really want to see.