20 Questions: David Caruso

David Caruso is a master of eye contact. Whether playing Detective John Kelly on TV's "NYPD Blue" or just being himself, Caruso tilts his carrot-topped Irish mug downward, then slowly looks up and--boom--you're in his headlights. This gaze of serene menace coupled with infinite empathy explains why legions of female fans (and a majority of the media) have anointed Caruso the sex symbol of the season. That, fine scripts and exceptional acting--plus the fact that Caruso bared his butt in the first episode--have helped make the latest Steven Bochco cop show a hit. Caruso came by his role after playing another stand-up cop to perfection in "Mad Dog and Glory." Before that Caruso was in films such as "An Officer and a Gentleman" and the male-bonding classic "King of New York." At Caruso's last-minute invitation, Contributing Editor David Rensin met with the actor for dinner at a hilltop restaurant on a foggy Los Angeles night. Says Rensin, "Caruso ordered mineral water but didn't like the taste. He asked for a salad but ate only two bites of it. By the time the pasta was served he had lost his appetite. As with everything else, Caruso worries over his food."

1.

[Q] Playboy: As a teenager you had a chance to participate in a grocery store robbery. You didn't. What kept you on the straight and narrow?

[A] Caruso: [Laughs] I don't think that there was any major crime career looming for me. I always have been leery of buying into the short-term game. The two other people who sat at the planning table that night are no longer with us. They died brutal deaths at a young age. What a fucking waste. If you know anything about criminals, you know that they're not in it for the money. They may rationalize it that way, but real criminals are in it to destroy and hurt people. They have an agenda. Take a look around: Criminals no longer just grab handbags. They shoot people. They rob the store, then go back in and shoot the clerk. For what? They got the money. Criminals are angry, disturbed people who are looking for attention. Thirty years ago it wasn't like that. The old rules are defunct. Public figures are involved in all kinds of corruption. The Church has lost its grasp. People don't feel anything for one another anymore. All bets are off. In the old days crooks had some sense that they were breaking the law. Now it's an industry based on hurting you. You represent or have something that they think they want--and can't have. So there's a tremendous desire to act out because they feel powerless.

Why, when your car gets stolen, is it later found with the insides ripped to shreds? Easy. Stealing isn't enough. They want to hurt somebody.

2.

[Q] Playboy: You've become famous, in part, for showing your butt. Are we setting our sights too low?

[A] Caruso: The butt thing was a media deal. It hadn't been done before in prime time, so it got some attention. I don't think that's why people come back to the show, though: "Hey, Caruso did another butt shot last night!" We should set our sights higher--maybe my lower back. If I never do it again, that's OK, too. But butts will continue. We do adult television and there are going to be love scenes. So we're just waiting for new butts.

3.

[Q] Playboy: How hard do you hit the body makeup?

[A] Caruso: You do a layer of body makeup. Then, depending on how long the scenes take, they'll touch you up. Body makeup is a weird concept. They pretty much cover it all. I have them do the whole canvas, so to speak. Then, depending on the situation, my girlfriend, Paris, will complete the work of art.

4.

[Q] Playboy: Actors sometimes bring parts of their sexual technique to love scenes. Are there moves that you bring from home that are impossible to disguise, or that you might suspect are authentic in a screen partner?

[A] Caruso: I agree that you can't hide who you are. You can attempt to manufacture certain things, but it is really about availability: Are you willing to materialize for the scene or not? In real life, if you're open to making love to somebody, you're available to them on every level, every cell. You show up even when there's fear, insecurity, the possibility of loss or humiliation. It's tough to risk all that. To create that on the screen with a stranger, and to make it work, takes the same type of willingness to materialize. Otherwise it won't be real.

The circumstances in the script will also set boundaries. Am I falling in love with this woman? Or is this a painful sequence because we're breaking up? In scenes with Sherry Stringfield, who plays my ex-wife, Laura, we weren't supposed to materialize for each other, and it showed. In scenes with Amy Brenneman, who plays Janice Licalsi, our characters were both willing to jump off the metaphoric cliff. In those scenes, which initially got all the attention, there was real investment and risk involved. I feel fortunate to have had my first major love scene with Amy because of her real courage. She just jumped. She was great. Amy did not protect herself, did not hold back. She did not have one foot out the door. That's liberating, man. It's a relief when you have somebody to dance with, because then the potential becomes unlimited. When you have somebody who's free--man, talk about putting a smile on your face. All the armor comes off and you've got a partner. I should add that this is also why some actors meet on a film as characters in a relationship and then start one offscreen. They believe it themselves. They fall into it. It feels right, it feels comfortable, it feels exciting. You buy into it because you want your real life to be that heightened.

5.

[Q] Playboy: You've had a couple of busted marriages but are now happily entangled, though not wed. What do you know now that you wish you'd known before?

[A] Caruso: That I can choose not to be in a relationship. I didn't know I could do that. I was attracted to certain situations and a certain style of woman that set off familiar alarms for me, and I couldn't not proceed. What I did has been described to me as being anxious to rewrite the end of a particular scenario. You are attracted over and over again in the hope that you can change the outcome. You can't. When I was younger, my take on relationships and on women was pretty narrow. My instinct was to create the ideal situation for myself with her, then together we'd live my life. It wasn't even that the relationships were bad. I just had no idea what the fuck I was doing. I didn't understand my function and my responsibility. The great misperception is that if you're able to have sex, then you're ready to be a father. Or that because you can move in with somebody, you're ready to be in a relationship or a marriage. What I'm beginning to understand is that it's about whether or not two people just get along. If you can have joy and have fun, and then have honesty as a result or in addition to those things, then you're really scoring.

6.

[Q] Playboy: What's the toughest thing about living with you?

[A] Caruso: I want things done my way. I know how it should be, every little detail, and I'm not good at bending to other people's methods. I load the dishwasher my own way, I do the laundry my own way. I'm working on this problem. Hourly.

7.

[Q] Playboy: We have talked about King of New York with nearly all of your co-stars and asked them to help women understand its appeal to men. What is your take?

[A] Caruso: It's like an urban version of The Wild Bunch. Quite a few gunshots. A lot of testosterone. The thing about King of New York is the cast. For Abel Ferrara to put all those people--Walken, Snipes, Fishburne and me--into the same movie for a total budget of $8 million says quite a bit about the project and about the people who have come out of it.

8.

[Q] Playboy: Care to explain Christopher Walken?

[A] Caruso: You really meet Chris Walken on the other side of "Action!" When you're dealing with him face to face, Chris is kind of eccentric. He is everything but eccentric when you meet him on the other side. You get to grip the floor on the first few takes because you can't be prepared.

9.

[Q] Playboy: Let's say you had access to NYPD Blue co-creator David Milch's dream state. What plot line for Detective Kelly would you suggest?

[A] Caruso: Eventually, he'd leave the police force. Sometimes I flirt with the possibility of Kelly going into public life. There's a horizon beyond the 15th Precinct for him. But because of the responsibility he feels, he hasn't allowed himself yet to dream past his badge. Sometimes I wonder if Kelly is completing his father's life out of some sense of duty. Milch's twist on it would be to make Kelly go through a serious crisis and attempt to move on and really get to the bottom of the issue. Then David would have him discover that, in fact, he should be a police officer. He would choose it on his own.

10.

[Q] Playboy: Your boss, Steven Bochco, is known for his eloquence and his ability to be elliptic. What's the fewest words he's been able to use when answering an important question?

[A] Caruso: "Fuck 'em."

11.

[Q] Playboy: Which episode was hardest for you to leave at the office?

[A] Caruso: Episode 12, when Licalsi walks into a tavern and breaks up with Kelly. I was sitting at the bar and she said, "You can't take me back, can you? Based on all of this and who you are, I can't come back." Then she got up and said, "Bye, Johnny," and she walked out. That killed me. Licalsi was there for Kelly at the lowest moment in his life, and then she made a mistake. And it built up over 12 episodes, which is like six movies. So Amy and I had this whole are going, and then it crashed. I suddenly realized that maybe we would never do another scene together, and that was a loss. A real relationship took place on camera. As performers we jelled, and it just went poof! As a result, we really were vulnerable that night. It's harsh. And there's not much I can do about it. I can't say, "We have to continue this relationship or I'm walking off the show," because the way the series is structured, these things have to happen. Since then we pass each other in the precinct house and stuff, but it's not the same. We don't work on the same days anymore, we're not in the same story lines. In a funny, sad way we truly have broken up.

12.

[Q] Playboy: Licalsi's mistake involved killing two mobsters, partly as self-protection, partly to save you. To what lengths would you go, if you could get away with it, for the ones you love?

[A] Caruso: I would be willing to go pretty far, especially if my children were involved. I never have taken things sitting down. I'm not going to end up a victim on the six o'clock news if it's the last thing I do. The unfortunate part about our society now is that you can't be naive about how high the stakes are and how venomous the competition is. You have to be prepared.

13.

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

[A] 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.

14.

[Q] 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?

[A] 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 (continued on page 147) David Caruso (continued from page 112) 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.

15.

[Q] Playboy: Despite your Italian surname, your look is clearly Irish. So who are more fun, Italian or Irish women?

[A] 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.

16.

[Q] Playboy: What would the Catholic Church have to do to get you back in a pew every Sunday?

[A] 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.

17.

[Q] Playboy: How long has it been since your last confession?

[A] 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.

18.

[Q] Playboy: You may not be going back to church, but John Kelly seems to be.

[A] 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.

19.

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

[A] 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.

20.

[Q] 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?

[A] 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.

tv's stand-up cop assesses the postmodern criminal, the failures of the church and the lessons he learned from street fights and love scenes.

"There's a certain drama to a relationship with an Italian woman. Everything is potentially explosive."