Jeff Daniels has a long resume spanning five decades, but there are many roles he turned down.
“I said no so many times,” the actor told Page Six in an exclusive interview, explaining that his criteria for saying yes included asking himself several questions.
“Will this keep me from getting bored during filming?” he says of his thought process. “Will the people I work with make me better? Is the writing there?”
In fact, Daniels started his one-man show because he didn’t want to take on projects that didn’t interest him, such as “a 28-year-old bastard father who makes $10 million on a TV show and can’t remember his lines.”
“I don’t want to do that job,” the 70-year-old emphasizes. “That’s why I prefer what I do with the guitar. It’s really fun.”
Daniels also said that money was never a deciding factor in accepting film roles.
“If you can be an actor and get paid well, that’s great,” he says. “But sometimes when you’re an actor, you don’t get paid as much, but you put the same effort into it, whether it’s an independent film or a play. Money wasn’t what drove me.”
For nearly 25 years, the “Newsroom” alum has performed across the country on “Jeff Daniels: On Stage & Unplugged,” telling behind-the-scenes stories and singing original songs while playing acoustic guitar.
“I have a one-man show. Every actor does that,” he jokes. “But my guitar has stories and humor in it, including what it’s like to be killed by Clint Eastwood.
“Then we get into a song called ‘Dirty Harry Blues.'”
Another of his songs is about Daniels not having a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which he vows is totally “OK.”
“If I were to get it, I think it would be near Encino (California). There are a lot of people who have gotten it!”
“I mean, David Hasselhoff, Dr. Phil, Woody Woodpecker. I mean, just, you know, I’m fine, I’m fine,” he added.
Daniels is not a Hollywood star, which is surprising considering he has appeared in several iconic films, including Dumb and Dumber, which made him famous.
The Emmy winner knows that the film, in which he stars opposite Jim Carrey, will likely lead to his fate, and he has no problem with that.
During our conversation, he recalled being asked to visit wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital, where he met a seriously injured soldier who was a big fan of the 1994 comedy.
“So I leaned over and came here with him and started quoting lines, and I could see his eyes smiling,” he recalled, adding, “The Greeks held up two masks, but one wasn’t on top of the other or in front of the other. They were equals, and I’ve always seen them as equals.”
Daniels will perform at Cafe Wa? Thursday in New York City.
