Dave Davies

What are your memories of that role, getting into that character?

Well, you know, that was more than 40 years ago that I saw that.

And I still – when I think of that film, I think of you in that role.

Another one that I remember that's of the same era is you playing a professional killer in the Brian De Palma film Blowout, which is a murder thriller with John Travolta and Nancy Allen.

There's particularly a scene where you're in a phone booth calling the police.

Acting as a sexual predator who kills women and is confessing to a crime as part of the plot, he's actually not that.

He's a professional assassin.

And it was just so affecting that I still remember that.

For better or worse, that's one of my images of John Lithgow.

You know, one thing we haven't talked about is that you've written children's books and you entertain children, right?

You've done children's shows quite a bit, which I assume is not the best paying gigs you get.

What do you like about entertaining kids?

You are prolific.

I mean, how do you juggle all this?

Do you have a staff of people that help you keep it straight?

And you must be a heck of a granddad with all that kid stuff.

Well, John Lithgow, it's been fun.

Thank you so much for spending some time with us.

John Lithgow stars as writer Roald Dahl in the new Broadway play Giant.

Coming up, John Powers reviews Stay Alive, a new book from Ian Beruman about life in Berlin during World War II.