LIEV Schreiber Ruben V. Nepales
LOS ANGELES—Just two days before news of the Liev Schreiber-Naomi Watts split broke, we spoke to the actor in New York. Could the separation be the reason why Liev suddenly got emotional when he talked about his older son, Sasha?
Liev, sitting in a meeting room at the JW Marriott Essex House, was asked, ironically enough, what have been the happiest days of his life. The actor, who attended the recent Emmy Awards with Sasha, started answering the question with a smile. He was up for the best actor-drama series award for Showtime’s “Ray Donovan.”
“The Emmys was one of them,” he began. “My kids make me happy. Seeing Sasha looking so handsome and proud. To go with him was one of the best nights of my life because I am not used to that.
“Just the way he talked to people, Sasha is really becoming a young man. I was very impressed with him. He was very polite and quiet. He met some actors. I could see in his eyes that he was nervous but he wanted to say something.
“One of them was Leslie Jones from ‘Ghostbusters.’ She is really funny and we had a great chat together. The whole time, Sasha was looking at her. I said, ‘Are you shy? Do you want to say something?’ Leslie came back and it makes me cry just to think about it.” At this point, Liev, who choked and was teary-eyed, paused to compose himself.
Regaining his composure and summoning up a smile, Liev continued, “Sasha said to Leslie, ‘I just wanted to tell you I really loved ‘Ghostbusters.” He was so polite and nice. I thought, what a great kid. He is 9. My other son (Samuel Kai) is 7.”
Asked what Sasha was especially excited about, the dad explained, “That he had a tuxedo on and he was at a press line. And there were people from movies everywhere. I think he was excited that he was with his dad. He kept giving me hugs and kisses the whole time. He is not always that effusive. It was really sweet.”
Then Liev switched gears and tried to lighten up the mood. He injected humor and brought up the Golden Globe awards. “Because usually, you are like, oh God, I have to behave myself. HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association) is here and I don’t want to say anything dumb, don’t drink too much before this.”
Then the topic veered to director Philippe Falardeau’s “The Bleeder,” Liev and Naomi’s second film together. It premiered in the recent Venice Film Fest. The biopic, inspired by the life of heavyweight Chuck Wepner (Liev), is a study of the pitfalls of celebrity.
“After the success of ‘Ray Donovan’ and other things that were happening in my life and in Naomi’s, I thought, oh, this is an interesting story,” admitted Liev, who also produced the movie.
Asked how he and Naomi enjoyed being in Venice, he answered, “Venice is just magic. It’s one of the most incredible cities in the world. You can’t help but feel that romance, particularly when you are with your partner.”
But what Liev added hinted at the trouble in the couple’s relationship. Liev films his “Ray Donovan” series, where he portrays an elite Hollywood fixer, in California. Naomi and their two sons live in New York.
The pair’s separation after 11 years followed the news of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s breakup. Liev pointed out, “That has been one of the things that has been really, really hard for Naomi and me—to find time for each other, to make time for each other. I think that is [what makes] a successful relationship.”
On working again with Naomi since their first film, John Curran’s “The Painted Veil,” he replied, “It was great. I am a huge admirer of hers. I am a big fan of her acting. She is a remarkable actress and one of the greatest of all time. What people don’t know is how funny she is.”
He shared how he started dating Naomi, whom he admired in David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive.” “I was very nervous, very intimidated,” he remembered. “I was very impressed. ‘Mulholland Drive’ was one of my favorite pieces of cinema. It was this movie that I would just watch over and over again.”
He said that after having seen the film many times, “I was a little obsessed with Naomi.”
“It was very awkward,” he shared. “I met her at the Met Ball. She said, ‘Do you want to go dancing?’ Thank God, she was forward because I was like (mutters gibberish). I said, ‘Yeah, I will go dancing.’ ”
“As if I wasn’t already intimidated at the Met Ball, I go down to the club and she was sitting between Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro—two of my favorite actors, both really handsome and talented.
“I stood there like a bump on a log, holding a drink, for probably 30 minutes. Finally, I said to her, ‘I am sorry, I have to go home.’ I was really uncomfortable.
“She chased me out of the place and said, ‘Don’t you want my number?’ But she actually said, ‘digits.’”
The pair did not get to dance. “We went out a couple of days later. We met in the morning for some cupcakes at Magnolia (Bakery in New York). And that was it. It was very awkward in the beginning.”
On why he thinks Naomi pursued him, Liev replied, “I think she saw me in some stuff, too.”
Liev opined why audiences are rooting for his antihero Ray Donovan character, a professional fixer who has his own problems: “One of the interesting things about serial television shows is that the audience develops a relationship with the character.
At the time of our talk, Liev was deep in rehearsals to play the Machiavellian seducer Valmont opposite Janet McTeer’s Marquise de Merteuil in the Broadway revival of “Les Liaisons Dangereuses.” Previews begin on Oct. 8 at the Booth Theater.
“The rehearsals are amazing,” he reported. “Janet McTeer is extraordinary. She is a real force of nature. We sync up very well.”
He turns 50 next year. On how he stays in shape, Liev said, “I box regularly. Pooch (Hall), who is also on the show (‘Ray Donovan’), is a really talented boxer and he was a Golden Gloves champion. He is my sparring partner. He also played Muhammad Ali in the film (‘The Bleeder’).”
E-mail rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com. Follow him at https://twitter.com/nepalesruben.