“I’m a story teller. I’m a gypsy from a long line of gypsies.”

From Vbzcool:

I have a few tidbits to add to the terrific reports already posted. Brain was a bit numb after 5 hours -- but can still hear Russell's voice in my head.

What other job he'd want if not acting/entertaining? He said something to do with "colors" - maybe designing.

Father's full name is: John Alexander Crowe, but Terry and he call him "Fred" after the "parrot" (white cuckatoo) on the old TV series Baretta.

He would consider a return to the theater (no time frame indicated).

To help him get into the character of Bud White -- he rented a very small apartment with a tiny bathroon (had to close the door in order to move around) to put him in the mindset of being physically large.

Bought the farm at a time when his parents' business was failing and had them chose the property. He described it as originally 100 acres with a shack on a hill. He borrowed money from Jack Thompson to buy it -- because he didn't have any real money and was in debt for about $100,000. Furthermore, his dad was going through tremendous stress and was told by his doctor that at that rate he'd have just six months to live.

Talking about the nervousness of John Polson for their TSOU screen kiss, Russell said to him (paraphrasing): "You lean in, and I'll lean in, and we'll do what comes naturally."

As others reported, Russell often gave 15-minute answers to Lipton's questions. In one of his answers, he had digressed to the point of not knowing where his statements were leading -- Russell sort of giggled, scratched nervously, mumbled an apology and said something like "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah....I've been doing so many press junkets of late that I've stopped listening to myself talk." This earned him a big and appreciative laugh from the audience.

During the Q&A, one student sheephisly confessed to sneaking into one of the battle areas where Glad was shot and taking a few souvenirs. He got a chuckle from Russell when he offered to return the sign.

For Insider, Russell said he weighed about 234 lbs as Wigand. He indicated that it wasn't such a good idea to have gained that weight since he hasn't been able to return to his previous frame/shape.

In Gladiator, there was going to be a "sex scene" with Lucilla, but Russell felt that "Max wouldn't go that way" after having just lost his wife and child.

As others noted, Russell was very unhappy about the Time article. In answering one student's question on why the media focuses on the negative, Russell seemed equally confounded noting that he's spent a lot of time giving them honest answers and it hasn't changed things.

I agree that Lipton didn't seem to know what to make of Russell. Russell was polite but wouldn't be led by Lipton. He often spoke over Lipton's interruptions whenever he wanted to finish answering a question. He refused to play into Lipton's attempts to gush or patronize.

He looked very good, shaved neck and trim beard. But I thought his shoes were a bit funky though, black suede lace-up shoes. Didn't quite go with the brownish-grey suit IMO. I must add that his wedding band really does sparkle, don't know why since it's just a platinum band -- maybe it's engraved/etched? But Russell did look marvelous.

****************************

Added:

.To prepare for his Hando character during Romper Stomper, Russell listened only to Wagner, white noise and the yelling crowd noises from a rugby game (don’t remember the teams names). He intentionally left his guitar back home because he thought it kind of ludicrous to be strumming ballads during that period of his life.

.For his Nash character, besides the West Virginian accent Russell paid special attention to having Nash’s voice age as he gets older in the film.

.Russell feels that the ultimate stage role is the Frank-n-furter character because there’s tremendous freedom for the actor to interact with the audience.

.As Eddie and Dr. Scot in the Rocky Horror Show, he got tremendous satisfaction knowing that people didn’t realize he was playing both roles. It made him feel he had done well at embodying the characters.

.While responding to Lipton’s question on Memorial Day, Russell couldn’t immediately remember the opening stanza. He quipped that he wished his drummer Dave Kelly was there because he’s the “only guy he knows with such clarity of mind to know all the words to every song.” (paraphrasing)

.One of his closing remarks during the student Q&A that I found interesting: “I’m a story teller. I’m a gypsy from a long line of gypsies.”