Mark Feuerstein

·1 hr 3 min·5 clips

Mark Feuerstein reveals why playing a sleazy, coke-snorting hotel owner in 'Hotel Cocaine' is such a departure from his past roles.

Leonard and Jessie Maltin welcome actor Mark Feuerstein to discuss his career and new series 'Hotel Cocaine' on MGM+. Feuerstein contrasts his current role as Burton Greenberg, a cocaine-snorting hotel owner in 1978 Miami, with his past role as the moral Dr. Hank Lawson on 'Royal Pains'. He explains how 'Royal Pains' evolved from a show about friends to a family drama due to casting decisions. Feuerstein reflects on the unpredictability of television, citing his show 'Three Pounds', a brain surgery series canceled despite critical acclaim. He shares a poignant story about his daughter Addie's congenital heart defect and open-heart surgeries, which occurred while he was filming. The actor recounts his upbringing on New York's Upper East Side, his wrestling career, and his early exposure to film through TV. Feuerstein discusses working with Albert Brooks on 'The Muse', highlighting Brooks' neurotic attention to detail. He also tells a prank story involving Mel Gibson on the set of 'What Women Want'. The conversation touches on his marriage to writer Dana Klein, his children, and his involvement with charities like the Dominican Yankees. Feuerstein emphasizes the importance of warmth and likability in sustaining an acting career, sharing insights from Gene Wilder's documentary about childhood wounds shaping performance.

As heard by us

Mark Feuerstein links Gene Wilder's comic gift, childhood pain, and the shared sting of sitcom failure.

Mark Feuerstein joins Maltin on Movies with a comic actor's feel for the odd paths that link a working life to film history. The conversation starts with his television profile and a playful Ed McMahon comparison, then finds its way to Gene Wilder: Mel Brooks visiting Anne…

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Why you'd press play

You get Gene Wilder, Mother Courage, The Producers, acting craft, and a little solidarity around failed sitcoms.

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