IAmKevinCorrigan

I saw people break dancing in the Bronx. I saw graffiti on the trains. I knew some writers. My friend Matt tried to get me to go bombing trains with him. He wrote "Deco". I wasn't good enough to paint at that level. That's large scale art work. Or vandalism. Depends on how you look at it. I didn't see much of what was going on in Manhattan. I went to the Lee Strasberg acting school in the 80's. I saw Robert De Niro in a play at the Public theater. I went backstage. I literally bumped into Madonna. She had just dyed her hair blond. I didn't experience the really cool stuff that went on. The clubs below 14th street. I saw metal shows at Madison Square Garden. I was into Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Van Halen. But I remember when "Beat It" came out and Eddie Van Halen played on that. I remember the crossover as it happened. It was pretty amazing living through Michael Jackson's hey day. And Prince. And The Police. I regret not knowing who Dinasour Jr. and My Bloody Valentine were until the early 90's. They were 80's bands! I didn't know who Sonic Youth was, but I went to see the movie AFTER HOURS when that came out in 1985. THAT's what New York was like in the 80's. For me. That's what acting school was like. A total freak scene. Inside and outside of the school. Everywhere you went, it was kind of a freak scene. It was great. There was creativity in the air. A sense of possibility. I did end up working with Ad Rock in a movie in 1988. But what I remember of the 80's..it kind of filtered through my personal bubble. I remember seeing a movie called KOYANNISQATSI on TV in the 80's. And I would say that left a deep impression, anchored/awakened me to the times I was living through. THAT movie is what the 80's was like. Hard question.

Working on GFL was an epic time in my life. The job spanned five years. I learned a lot about putting on a show. Multi-camera, live audience. I had to pretend I hated it but, when I had stuff to do, I really enjoyed myself.

I read about it in a magazine in 1989. Scorsese mentioned that he was getting ready to film the book WISEGUY. I called my newly acquired agent and said I have to be in this movie. A month later, I got an audition. I read for the casting director, and the next day she brought me back to meet Scorsese in the Brill Building. I played Henry Hill in a scene. It took all of five minutes. Before I left, I told Marty how much I loved him. I got very emotional. I couldn't help it. And he realized that. An hour later I got the offer.

Yes, Walken is a fascinating person. I think, after the third time we worked together, he started to remember who I was, and that we'd worked together previously. Since I was 17, people have been telling me that I sound like Walken, that I should play his son. I couldn't help but consider this. I can imitate him pretty well because I already have that kind of voice naturally. It's a New York voice, kind of nasally. Alan Arkin has that kind of voice. Steve Buscemi, too. You feel like you know someone after a while because you have similar rhythms. I can't say I know Chris Walken as a person, because he is very guarded. With me, anyway. He thinks I'M weird. Anyway, I figured out a good way to talk to him without all the baggage of how legendary he is, and how much I love him, is to talk about food. He loves to cook. And so the last time we worked together I asked him about a You Tube video where he cooks chicken with pears. And we had a great conversation. In my mind, it's like we were discussing acting. He's a deep guy. He thinks and feels deeply about things. And I think he likes to laugh more than anything. You can see it in his crinkly eyes, and the laugh lines around his mouth. I hope I get to work with him at least once more.

Filming GOODFELLAS for me was like getting to be a bat boy for the Yankees during the World Series. I didn't feel like an actual player on the team, but I was given a job to do. And I was allowed to be on the field. It was the greatest feeling I had up to that point. I was 20.