Emilio's Second Interview for AOL(1998)

Online Host: Please welcome Emilio Estevez who stars in the TNT original "Dollar For The Dead."
Question: How well do you and your brother and father work together? Are you a close knit family off screen? Was Outsiders your first movie?

Emilio Estevez : We are a tight knit family, we always have been. The 3 of us have not worked together and have no plans to. We have worked separately with one another. My first film was a picture before Outsiders called Tex with Matt Dillion, also a SE Henson novel, the author of the Outsiders.

Question: I love your work, any new motion pictures we should know about?

Emilio Estevez : Sure, this Sunday on TNT at 8pm, I believe. It's a TNT Original called The Dollar for the Dead, and it's a spaghetti western. That's the most recent thing out. Next is a project called Late Last Night, written & directed by Mighty Ducks writer Steve Brill, which is also a comedy.

Question: Hi Emilio, I love you!!!! While directing your father in The War At Home, did you feel at anytime awkward. Or was it very professional? Considering the two of you, I would guess it was very professional.

Emilio Estevez : Directing my father was difficult at times because the nature of the picture was personal and emotionally draining. But my father is the consummate professional, and was a joy to work with.

Question: Why were you not included in the credits to the movie Mission Impossible when you had a role in it?

Emilio Estevez : The decision to do Mission Impossible was due to my friendship with Tom not for self-promotional reasons. We both decided it would be cool to show up in the movie only to have to answer questions like this on down the line :)

Question: I heard that on the set of Young Guns you and Kiefer were quite the pranksters, is this true???

Emilio Estevez : Absolutely! :D Lou Diamond Phillips was very much a prankster as well. It was a pretty lively set.

Question: Your brother Ramon looks a lot like you, and he is very talented, why don't you do a film with him someday soon?

Emilio Estevez : He and I have worked together in 1985... That Was Then This Is Now. We also did a movie of the week In The Custody Of Strangers around 1982.

Question: What do you think is the best film ever made??

Emilio Estevez : The War At Home is the movie that has the most integrity of anything I've done. It's unfortunate that very few people saw it.

Question: Hey Emilio, what bands do you listen to? What kind of music do you enjoy?

Emilio Estevez : All kinds. I'm a real jazz fan. I'm working on a movie, Bix, that is based on the life of Bix Spiderback who in the 1920's was one of the more influential jazz figures. Bix, along with Louie Armstrong, changed the way we thought about jazz. He was 28 when he died. I like classical, and rock and roll too.

Question: Out of all your movies, which character did you play that reflects your personality the most?

Emilio Estevez : Billy The Kid, although I never shot anyone :) I would have to say that. He embodies my twisted sense of humor more than any other character I've played.

Question: Are you online yet, Emilio?

Emilio Estevez : Of course! :D I've been online since 1985. I was a member of a company called CompuServe. That's when chatrooms were CB rooms where you could talk to people on line. I've been on AOL since 1990 or 1991. Something like that, right when AOL began.

Question: What did you do before you got into acting?

Emilio Estevez : I was a student, the day I graduated from high school was the day I got my first professional acting gig.

Question: How did you realize that you wanted to become an actor?

Emilio Estevez : When I was about 10 or 11 years old I had a movie camera my parents had bought to document us children growing up and Charlie and I basically commandeered it and started making movies of our own. I got involved in theater at school. I found this was something I really dug.

Question: Are you going to be doing any writing in the near future?

Emilio Estevez : Yes! I just completed a new script. We hope to have it up and running next year. It's a comedy.

Question: I just watched "The Outsiders" at school and you were great in it as Two-Bit. Was it fun to be in that movie with a lot of great actors?

Emilio Estevez : It was like a boy's camp run amok, and it was great fun.

Question: What is your favorite movie featuring your father?

Emilio Estevez : There are probably 2, The first Badlands that was from 1973. It's an extraordinary picture. The 2nd would be Apocalypse Now

Question: How do you feel about being so famous? How does that affect your personal life?

Emilio Estevez : I'm actually pretty cool with being recognizable. There are times when it is intrusive, like in the middle of dinner or in my home if I happen to be on the patio having lunch and a photographer or film crew shows up. That gets annoying.

Question: What parts have you regretted turning down?

Emilio Estevez : About 1984 I sat with Oliver Stone on two lunches and told him no one would be interested in seeing a movie about Vietnam. That turned out to be Platoon.

Question: Emilio, what is your favorite film?

Emilio Estevez : Wow that's a difficult one. I have a lot of favorite movies. A lot appeared in AFI's top 100. I watched Citizen Kane again recently. It's as good as they say it is. Apocalypse Now is extraordinary. I love Jaws, I can quote just about every line in it. Sunset Boulevard with William Holden. That's a hard question.

Question: What do you like to do best on your time off?

Emilio Estevez : I'm an avid snow boarder. As soon as snow falls and I'm not working, I'm very hard to find.

Question: How has directing and producing helped you become a better actor?

Emilio Estevez : It's given me a different respect for the art of direction, it's not an easy job. If it were everyone would be doing it. To direct a movie takes an enormous amount of time, up to a year of your life. You can do 3 pictures in one year and still have time off when acting. The commitment is totally different.

Question: Rumor has it there will be another Mighty Ducks movie, will you Coach Bombay return to the ducks??

Emilio Estevez : No, the ducks are over for me..

Question: What is it like being in a famous family?

Emilio Estevez : We are supportive of one another, growing up in the movie-making environment was interesting. It was like a military brat going from location to location living a nomadic existence. I really enjoyed traveling.

Question: Emilio, is there any actor out there that you would LOVE to work with but have not had the chance to?

Emilio Estevez : Sure! Harrison Ford. DeNiro I think would be great. Sean Penn, that's it for now, I guess. I could go on.

Question: I have heard that your dad nearly died making Apocalypse Now? Did you know that at the time?

Emilio Estevez : Sure. It was a difficult experience for him. It was hard on the whole family. It was a very demanding film to say the least.

Question: Emilio, what do you think of Joshua Jackson?

Emilio Estevez : He's a terrific young man and terrific actor. I thought him to be very, very solid.

Question: How do you manage to stay out of the gossip magazines?

Emilio Estevez : By not being controversial. When my marriage to Paula Abdul ended it took me out of the limelight in terms of the gossip rags. I've managed to stay fairly quiet since then.

Question: Did you enjoy acting in a movie with your brother, Charlie? Do you get along well? You seem so different from each other.

Emilio Estevez : He and I get along famously. He has a like-minded sense of humor. Charlie is very bright and handles comedy very well. On the set at Men At Work it was hard to keep a straight face.

Question: Have you ever froze up in front of an audience?

Emilio Estevez : Not since high school. I was on stage doing a Harold Pinter play doing the Dumb Waiter and I went totally blank for five minutes!

Question: How was it like working with Steven Dwarf and Cuba Gooding Junior?

Emilio Estevez : We did Judgement Night together. Those guys are terrific, a couple of good clowns. We had some laughs on that picture. Both are very, very professional.

Question: Emilio, you are such a great actor, does it bother you that people might want to know you because of who you are and not what you are? Do you run into a lot of fake or phony people?

Emilio Estevez : Sure. I live in Los Angeles! :)

Question: Why did you choose Estevez instead of Sheen for your last name?

Emilio Estevez : Estevez is the family name. My father changed his name in the 50's when it was unpopular to have a Hispanic surname. The rules have all changed since then.

Question: When are you going to do a Young Guns 3rd movie?

Emilio Estevez : Not going to happen. I got killed in the end of 2. They can't bring me back from the dead.

Question: Do you plan on doing both acting and directing, or are you going to choose one?

Emilio Estevez : Sure, if I'm lucky enough. I've had a very long career. I've been doing this for 18 years now. It's peaks and valleys and I've ridden the valleys out pretty well. I'm interested in every aspect of the industry. I'm going to direct an independent called the Bang Bang Club. It's based on the lives of four photojournalists in South Africa prior to Nelson Mandela's election. Writing every so often, I'm not a great writer, but I enjoy it. Definitely acting and directing.

Emilio Estevez : Thanks for having me! :D

(c) 1998, Entertainment Asylum & America Online. Article contributed by Elaine for PRESENTING...EMILIO!!