Bobby cannavale: ‘i want to try to live forever’ | members only access

Emmy Award–winning actor Bobby Cannavale — who made his mark in such streaming shows as _Boardwalk Empire_ and _Vinyl_ — stars in the film _Ezra_, in theaters now. AARP spoke to

Cannavale, 54, for the June/July issue of _AARP The Magazine_. _This interview has been edited for length and clarity._ SEEKING OUT CHALLENGES I have three sons. I would do anything for

them. So in _Ezra _— about a father who kidnaps his autistic son from his ex-wife — I was interested in this idea that this guy would do anything, including taking his son away, until he

could figure out exactly what the best thing was for him. I thought that was an interesting high-stakes circumstance to find a character in. COLLABORATING ON RAISING KIDS Rose [Byrne, his

partner and costar in _Ezra_] and I are not always on the same page. We’ve been together long enough that I trust she’s coming from a place that’s meaningful to her. And so we tend to not

argue in the moment, particularly with two boys [ages 6 and 8] who are always around. They’re like court reporters — they remember everything, and they will play us off each other. So we

put it aside and then have a conversation about it later, though it’s taken us a while to get there.  SUPPORTING ONE ANOTHER The older I get, the more of a fan I am of my peers. I mean,

yeah, as an actor, my North Stars were a couple of guys ahead of me: Bob [De Niro, who plays Cannavale’s father in _Ezra_], Al Pacino. But I love to see my peers be great. I’ve always

thought, _You get the part you’re supposed to get._ SOMETIMES IN LIFE THERE’S NO PLAN B Acting was always it for me, and my willingness to do anything in this business to try to get my foot

in the door came in handy. I flirted with being a firefighter after my oldest son was born [actor Jake Cannavale, 29, whom he had with his ex-wife, Jenny Lumet]. I was 24. I was a bouncer,

and then I was a bartender because I felt like being a door security guy was unsafe now that I had a child. But I thought I should get serious. That I should be thinking of things like

benefits and pensions. That didn’t last long, though. My buddy [writer-director] Tom McCarthy was, like, “Dude, what are you talking about? Acting is all you ever wanted to do. All those

firefighters are going to know you’re an actor, acting like you’re a firefighter. What are you going to do when the building’s burning?” YOUNG DAD VS. OLD(ISH) DAD I used to be a workaholic.

Then I had these two little boys in the last eight years. It’s just that old cliché about how time flies.... One minute, they won’t get out of your bed; the next, they’re not calling you

back. And that happens like that. And I can testify to that having gone through it with my first child 20 years ago. So I feel really lucky I’m getting another shot at it. I start to get

really anxious, and my stomach starts to hurt if I’m not home by 5:30 or 6:00, where I’m supposed to be. They need me. I don’t get that feeling on a movie set. On a movie set, they don’t

need me.