Jeff Daniels

Q: You've worked twice with Meryl Streep, in Heartburn _and now in _The Hours. Is she the best?

A: I liken working with Meryl to a tennis match, where the ball hit back to you has spin on it or comes back at varying speeds. Man, does she keep you honest. She will not let you lie. If Meryl sees you doing something that wasn't honest, there's a little flicker that will happen where she's going, "Stop that," and she keeps the scene going.

Q: How many actors have you met offscreen who don't give the larger-than-life appearance that they do on-screen?

A: Clint Eastwood. He's so low-key, laconic, regular, nonthreatening in person, but when they say "Rolling," you can see his back arch up and the chin drop and he turns his head and it's there.

Q: Did you write a song about costarring with him in Blood Work?

A: It's called "The Dirty Harry Blues," which is about what it's like getting shot by Clint Eastwood.

Q: What is it like being shot by Clint Eastwood?

A: It's an out-of-body experience because you can't get past that the 9mm handgun that is three feet away from your chest is being held by Dirty Harry.

Q: As a fellow director, did you try to pick Eastwood's brain about making films?

A: I've done some indies and I've found that distribution is a bitch, so I talked to him about it. He told me the battles he had with Play Misty for Me: "Hang on to the rights. If you can four-wall it and keep more money, do it. Don't give away your movie."

Q: Have you ever worked with anyone else like him?

A: Clint reminded me of when I did Terms of Endearment and was in awe of Jack Nicholson. We shot for a couple of weeks, and then Jack came in. Being a young actor, I thought, "Jack's got all the answers," but he didn't. He was making choices, guessing. Clint's the same way.

Q: How would you describe your appeal?

A: I'm of the Dick Van Dyke/Jack Lemmon school. I'm not a George Clooney--put him in a close-up and my God, we all fall in love.

Q: Do you put a lot of your own money into your theater?

A: Yes.

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