Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 8, 1995 TAG: 9511080002
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT WILLIAMS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Did Richard Cross, the sleazy millionaire philanthropist and archcreep of ABC's ``Murder One,'' actually do the deed? Was he the psychopath who trussed up and slaughtered a 15-year-old Hollywood nymphet?
``I'm not telling you, mister,'' sneered Cross, sitting back in his chair almost cockily, his dark eyes as flat and menacing as a shark's.
Look, we don't want to get tough with you. This is just an interview.
Quite suddenly, Cross changed into the soft-spoken and gentlemanly Stanley Tucci, the fine actor who plays the manipulative heel on Steven Bochco's Thursday night legal drama (at 10 on WSET, Channel 13).
Maybe Tucci wanted to spill his guts, but he couldn't. Under relentless grilling, Tucci broke down and admitted he and the other ``Murder One'' players don't know whether Cross is the killer.
``I have an inkling of what's going on, but that's all,'' he said.
This is quite a challenge for an actor, if you think about it. After all, Cross knows whether he's the killer - and Tucci doesn't. How do you play a character who knows more about the story than you do?
``It's hard at first,'' Tucci acknowledged. ``But ... let's say, you're playing a guy who IS guilty. You're not going to play it like he's guilty, right?
``If you're innocent, you're going to play it like you're innocent. But if he's guilty, you're going to play it like he's innocent!'' Tucci said.
Cross is appealing because his character is opaque to us. He's revealed by what he chooses to reveal, he manipulates other people with powerful, hidden leverage and yet his motives remain a mystery to us.
``He's very wealthy because he's very bright and very greedy. And, I think, very charming. He's the kind of guy that every time you meet him he's a different guy,'' Tucci said. ``You never know what he is.''
Cross initially was arrested for the girl's murder, but was released when the circumstantial case against him collapsed. The charges since have been re-filed against a handsome, weak, alcoholic and drug-addicted young actor whom Cross is protecting - or is Cross setting him up as the fall guy?
``There are many different levels to this, and many secrets. Many, many secrets - and everybody has them,'' Tucci said.
OK, Mr. Tucci, you don't know whether Cross is the killer. Fine. But in ``Murder One,'' that killing is the fulcrum of the whole series. How do you, as an actor, keep focused in a 23-episode story with countless subplots, clues and the odd red herring?
``You take each one as it comes,'' Tucci said. ``You would just drive yourself crazy otherwise. You have to trust these guys, Bochco and the other writers and producers.
``They're the ones who are looking at the whole, and who are going to shape things,'' he said. ``I think they're figuring out how to do this. Which is kind of cool, and very brave.''
There's one more problem. Stanley Tucci and Richard Cross are not going to be with us forever. At the end of 23 episodes, presumably Cross will have been proved guilty or innocent, right?
``Supposedly,'' Tucci agreed. ``He's either in the gas chamber or on a yacht.''
So how do you walk away from this good job and this great character?
``If it were to go on forever, I don't know if I could handle that,'' Tucci said. ``I've always been afraid of that five-year contract.''
A New York City-based actor, Tucci has balanced his extensive Broadway experience with featured roles in television (``Miami Vice,'' ``Wiseguy'') and films like ``Billy Bathgate'' and ``Prelude to a Kiss.''
His Hollywood success has afforded him the opportunity to tackle his own projects.
This summer, Tucci completed ``The Big Night,'' an independent film he directed with Campbell Scott and co-wrote with his cousin Joe Tropiano. His costars included Isabella Rossellini and Ian Holm.
``We're going to try to get into festivals and all that,'' Tucci said.
``One of the reasons I'm an actor is because I don't want a steady job,'' he said. ``I'll complain about it like crazy, but when everything is the same for too long, I start to lose my mind.''
Oh, one last question: Next season, would you rule out ``Murder One: The Appeal?''
``You never know,'' said Cross.
by CNB