Full given name: |
Zach Grenier |
Hometown: |
I was born in Englewood, New Jersey, although my family moved four months later. Child of an electrical engineer, I moved once every year or so in the first 14 years of my life. I'd have to say that my hometown is Ann Arbor, though, which is where I went to high school. |
Special skills: |
Carpentry and mood swings. |
First Broadway show ever saw: |
Private Lives with Maggie Smith, Remak Ramsay and John Standing. Years later, I had the pleasure of working with John Standing on an episode of "NYPD Blue." |
If you could go back in time and catch any Broadway show, what would it be? |
Anything with Sir Ralph Richardson. |
Current show you have been recommending to friends: |
The Winter's Tale at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. |
MAC or PC? |
Both |
Most played song on your iPod: |
Ray LaMontagne's "Be Here Now" |
One CD you couldn't live without: |
No CDS, but I love my brother Dr. Arwulf's "Sunday Best," a jazz show streamed from WEMU. |
Last book you read: |
I'm still reading "Beethoven: Biography of a Genius" by George R. Marek. |
Must-see TV show: |
I'm a big fan of the old movies on TCM. |
Last good movie you saw: |
"Frost/Nixon" |
Favorite card game: |
I miss my poker game back in L.A.: Don, Michael, Bill, et al. - Miss yas. |
Pop culture guilty pleasure: |
Pink |
First stage kiss: |
1979, as Christopher Marlowe in The Marlowe Show by John Adams, I kissed Thomas Walsingham, who, according to one theory, was Marlowe's lover. |
Favorite pre-show meal: |
Borscht at Cafe Edison |
How you got your Equity card: |
Playing Senator Roscoe Conklin in Teddy Roosevelt, a children's musical produced by P.A.R.T., now Theatreworks USA. |
Worst onstage mishap: |
I was stabbed, shot twice, strangled, then stabbed 5 or 6 times (depending on the night) in John Pielmeier's Voices in the Dark with Judith Ivey. Just before my complicated murder, I would exit briefly stage left, set down a gun I was holding, position a stage knife sticking out of my belt, pick the gun back up and return to the stage. One night, I exited, stuck the knife in and re-entered, back to the audience. At this point, Judy produces a real knife, lunges at me; I turn, the audience sees the trick knife in my belly, they gasp, I fall, lights go out, audience screams. It's all working. Then I realized that I had forgotten the gun off stage left. Judy won't be able to shoot me! I was lying way over stage right. Praying I wouldn't be seen, I do this inchworm-on-steroids dance across the entire Longacre proscenium, exit off stage, grab the gun, then, thinking I was taking way too long, do an inchworm-on-steroids gallop back across the stage, leap up, am disarmed by Judy and shot. I was worried that because of my goof, Judy would be caught off guard. At that instant, the stage lightning flashes, revealing her expression — absolute glee. She told me later she was thinking, "He's trying a new move! Cool!" |
Who have you played on "Law & Order"? Which edition? |
Guilty of 5 appearances over the decades, all on the Mothership. |
Worst costume ever: |
I was called in to meet Woody Allen for the role of a Moroccan doorman in "The Purple Rose of Cairo." When I arrived, I was taken into a room and told to put on the doorman costume. The door closed, and I attempted to squeeze into a one-piece sequined outfit in a becoming shade of puce. It was four sizes too small, but I wanted to be in a Woody Allen movie at all costs so, somehow, I managed to get into it. A knock at the door, and an attractive production assistant came in. We struck up a conversation, though it was difficult to speak because I couldn't breathe. She had lured me to the doorway during our talk, and as we chatted, I saw a door open down the hall. A pair of horn-rimmed glasses floated out beyond the frame for a brief moment, then disappeared. The P.A. immediately became very businesslike, told me to remove the costume and go back to the waiting room. I didn't get the job. And then there was the Easter Gossip Bunny suit on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien". . . |
Cats or dogs? |
My wife and I share our home with 4 kitties and 2 pooches. All rescues, all amazing. |
Who would play you in the movie? |
I would hope a really talented unknown actor who would go on to win awards and make a lot of money. |
Worst job you ever had: |
Digging ditches in Ypsilanti, Michigan. |
TV or commercial gig you most enjoyed: |
Andy Cramed on "Deadwood." I miss him dearly. |
Leading lady/man role you've been dying to play |
I'm doing it now and am pleased as punch. |