Q 13

PLAYBOY: Detective Kelly is a stand-up guy. Is he a cop for our time? What experiences equipped you for the role?

David Caruso: If he's not a cop for our time, then I'm not sure there is one. I believe in his approach and in what he stands for, which is that we cannot accept that we just hate and are afraid of one another. If I know in my heart that somebody is being hurt or somebody's job is on the line, I'll never be a company man just to preserve my own position. There are those willing to go with the party line at the cost of anything, including friendships. But it's wrong. I realized this when I was growing up. A buddy of mine, Lou Mantis, was the first person in my life who was really loyal to me and was willing to defend my name when I wasn't around. He cared for me on a deep level. A loyalty that transcends everything was profound to me. To know that someone's with you, right or wrong, is powerful stuff. Twenty-five years later, we're still hanging around.

Q 14

PLAYBOY: In Mad Dog and Glory, you also played a cop. Your big moment--the one that helped land you on NYPD Blue--was taking on Bill Murray's oversize henchman. In real life, how do you handle someone who's bigger than you?

David Caruso: It depends on the issue. If the guy knows in his heart that he's wrong, he's already operating from a disadvantage. Not that I square off with people all the time--I don't seek confrontation and I'm not into violence--but occasionally I've been in that situation. Sometimes it's reached that point because the other person was being unreasonable or there was no other avenue to pursue. Recently there was this buffed guy at the gym who was not allowing other people to use a machine. He decided it was his. Finally, after standing around waiting for him to complete his sets, I said, "OK, I think you've had time enough." When I confronted him he threatened me. He said, "You better get out of here or I'm gonna rock your world." Quickly it became a principle thing. I wasn't going to let this guy send me home. So I said, "OK, let's go. Let's go outside." We did, but he decided to give me a lecture about street etiquette and fighting instead. He didn't really want to fight. Not that I haven't thrown a punch or two. About ten years ago, a friend and I were waiting for a parking space, and just as we were turning in, these young guys pulled in ahead of us. I was the passenger, and the person driving said, "Fuck you!" The guy in the other car spat on our windshield. It was--I don't know--so unreasonable. He got more and more belligerent. I couldn't leave it alone. I went over to his car. He opened the door fast on me, so we started rolling around the parking lot. It was so stupid.

Q 15

PLAYBOY: Despite your Italian surname, your look is clearly Irish. So who are more fun, Italian or Irish women?

David Caruso: The Italians are flamboyant; they're filled with all kinds of passion and ability and charm. The Irish have their own richness, but it's much more conservative. Irish women have a great sense of humor. That's one of their basics. But I've always been fascinated by Italians. They're so beautiful. The dark hair. And there's a certain drama to a relationship with a young Italian woman. Everything is such high stakes and so potentially explosive--all the time.

Q 16

PLAYBOY: What would the Catholic Church have to do to get you back in a pew every Sunday?

David Caruso: Drop fear as a manipulative weapon. This is a control thing. They want to let you know how powerless you are, how you were born genetically poisoned, and that they are in a position to light all of your darkness. Although we're flawed and dangerous, I don't believe we're negative creatures. I don't think I should start from a place of shame and work forward. We're complex. We're animal. But fear is not the answer to any equation. There's an implied threat to that, as opposed to coming from a position of love, understanding and openness.

Q 17

PLAYBOY: How long has it been since your last confession?

David Caruso: I did an on-camera confession. Does that count? [Pauses] Maybe it does. It felt kind of spooky. It had been a long time, and it's odd that I'd end up, even in a role, returning to it. These days I feel less and less the need to confess. Confession is a way of denying being human. I don't want to label things I have done as wrong. I understand there are positive and negative repercussions to everything I do, and I'm not as desperate to run from the negative as I used to be. I'm more willing to deal with the consequences. Trying to have the perfect picture and the perfect life is hopeless. Instead, you have to be willing to accept who you are. Confession gives someone access to me that I don't want him to have. Being programmed to feel guilty about certain things is a tremendous control thing. It keeps me from really living my life. The nature of confession is that you have to get something off your chest before you can get your life back in focus. I don't want to strike my actions from the record.

Q 18

PLAYBOY: You may not be going back to church, but John Kelly seems to be.

David Caruso: John Kelly is coming from The Word. The Church and Jesus Christ and the New Testament have a profound message of compassion. That's what this character is based on. He's a compassionate guy. He knows that brutalizing and punishment and "rehabilitation" don't work. He wants to communicate, to make contact and start listening. He is a good listener. Let me give you an example. [Stands, still talking, then slowly settles into his chair never losing eye contact--just like Kelly on TV] Part of Kelly's science is that he always maintains eye contact and listens. That's the key. The frustration begins when we're not being heard. Kelly wants to be present with each person because that's what they need. [Smiles] A lot of that technique comes from having children. I crouch down to get on my daughter's level. Then I'm not perceived as so dominant, because that's too scary. It's not effective if they're afraid of you. If you're talking to a murder suspect, he or she might tell you something because they feel you're really there for them.

Q 19

PLAYBOY: You used to drink. When you were having more than one, what were you having and what did you do when buzzed?

David Caruso: If it was a football game, it would be beers with the guys. Barbecues by the pool would be margaritas. I used to like Cristal champagne--who doesn't? Sometimes I would become adventurous in a dangerous way. I would end up in situations with strangers in the middle of the night. When I was 18 and living on 89th Street in Manhattan, my first year after leaving Queens, I worked as a waiter. I met a bunch of people who were part of the city subculture that lives at night. They have different identities. Some people who are straight during the day are gay during the night and answer to different names. So when I'd drink I'd flirt with different pasts and make up stories for strangers. I was escaping and, I suppose, seeking drama and stimulation. And they say the theater is dead. Well, everybody in this fucking society is doing a character. Everybody has a look, a getup, a story. You could be in a 25-character play in the middle of the night. I had discovered Brando and indulged myself in that self-absorbed, introspective, internal-conflict guy. I took this character out into the night and no one could pop me because everybody had their own story. I was James Dean, or I was Then Came Bronson. Maybe I would pad stories about a criminal past, or maybe I'd be involved with a number of women at the same time and have slightly different identities and situations. Ultimately I was just trying to figure out who I was. That was wild stuff.

Q 20

PLAYBOY: You used to spend hours in a terminal at JFK Airport staring at people. What's the best terminal for people-watching? Were you looking for anything in particular?

David Caruso: I went to the American Airlines terminal. I always have been fascinated by scenarios and characters. An airport is an exciting place; people's lives are changing and beginning and ending. Every time I get on a plane, I feel some kind of surge, even if it's a mundane trip. Something could happen. Something could change. I would try to observe anonymously. That's part of doing your homework as an actor, and I wasn't even an actor at that point. I didn't really know what I was doing except unconsciously broadening my horizons. And now, I'm the one someone is watching get on a plane. It seems so cinematic. Maybe I was rehearsing.