Rick Long
Rick Long (Big Daddy)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
MARCH 11 — APRIL 17
What excites you about Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and the role you are playing?
Being invited to join this incredible cast and crew, to work on such an incredible piece of historic literature, is certainly a highlight in my career. Bernie Cardell has one of the deepest hearts I’ve ever known, and he has created an environment where we actors can explore such a powerful story and characters while learning and growing, and even laughing sometimes!
What’s your process like in preparing for a show like this, and how does that process change (if at all) from other shows?
Anthony Hopkins once said, “Acting is easy. First you pretend. Then you pretend that you’re not pretending.” With every character I perform I first discover the things I have in common and the things that are very different between the character and myself, as just Rick. Once I determine those gaps in our personalities, I go to work on filling those spaces until I am as close to actually becoming the character as I can possibly get.
What’s your biggest challenge about taking on this role?
At the beginning, I saw Big Daddy as being so mean! And I consider myself to be on the “nicer” side of the spectrum, so it is challenging to find the humanity in him and to relate to the anger and pain he has experienced in what would seem a very privileged life. But someone told me long ago that I have to enjoy the audience hating my character and much as I enjoy them loving my character, which has become a very important aspect of my art.
How did you get started performing?
I am a native of Denver and I never performed in a production of any kind until I was a Senior in college. I immediately knew that this was a true passion, so I auditioned for Graduate programs across the country, and I earned my MFA in Theatre, which was the true beginning of the rest of my life!
Why do you still perform?
I know this may sound pretentious to some, but I truly feel that performance, for me, is a personal calling. I am an artist, I can’t help it, and I don’t want to. Plus, I am still trying to impress my partner, Natalie, whose opinion of me as a man means more to me than my next breath.
What’s your dream role, and what do you feel you would bring to it?
As an older man, Big Daddy has been a role that I have looked forward to tackling someday, and that “someday” is now! An exciting aspect of growing older as an actor, is the idea that the roles age along side of you, and opportunities to explore and learn about the human condition, literally, never end! If I played Big Daddy when I was 25, it would be a completely incomplete portrait, as the true ingredient to any great performance is life experience, Which I seem to have a lot more of now than ever before!
What’s a fun fact people may not know about you?
In 2013, my beautiful daughter Sarah and I were flown to New York where we represented the Denver Broncos at the NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. They allowed Sarah, who was 11 at the time, to announce an actual draft pick on ESPM and the NFL Network, telling us shortly afterwards that she was the very first female to ever announce a pick in the history of the team!
