By Matthew Blank
07 Aug 2012

Some films you consider classics:	Peter Sellers in "Being There," "Lawrence of Arabia," "Young Frankenstein," "Annie Hall"
Performer you would drop everything to go see:	Rebecca Luker
Pop culture guilty pleasure:	"Real Housewives of New York" "Extra" "Access Hollywood"
Favorite cities:	New York, Paris, Prague
Favorite sport/team/player:	Excuse me? Um, go Mets? Oh, yeah: Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.
First CD/Tape/LP you owned:	The Rolling Stones' "Flowers." Don't laugh, I actually wanted to be Mick Jagger when I was a teenager. Seriously thought I'd be a rock singer.
When you first realized you could sing:	Singing along with Mick and the boys
First stage kiss:	My high school sweetheart, Anne Van Horne, in our school's production of "She Loves Me." She played Amalia.
Favorite or most memorable onstage role as a child/teenager:	I made my stage debut as Johannsen the Swede in Paint Your Wagon. I sang exactly one solo line: "'Tink I look for better ground." And I was bitten by the theatre bug.
How you got your Equity card:	In the chorus for a summer in stock at The Sacramento Music Circus.
Favorite pre-/post- show meal:	Bar Centrale or Joe's.
Pre-show rituals or warm-ups:	I like to get to the theatre early, see the house before it opens.
Most challenging role you have ever played:	I just did The 39 Steps at George St. Playhouse. Never played a more exhausting role. I'm too old to work that hard, but boy was it fun.
Worst flubbed line/missed cue/onstage mishap:	Fell flat on my ass during the big Fred and Ginger number in Anything Goes at Lincoln Center. First, the audience gasped, and then they laughed. God, I'm (not) a dancer.
Worst job you ever had:	Stock boy at a 7-11. That's not a fun job.
Leading man role you've been dying to play:	Henry Higgins
Something you are incredibly proud of:	My two sons. They're wonderful guys.
"I'll never understand why…"	... people can practice religion and be so full of intolerance for anyone else's beliefs or lifestyle.
Words of advice for aspiring performers:	If you can do anything else for a living, do that. The theatre is just too tough a life. But, then, I never listened to anyone who tried to talk me out of it.