Robert is an American character actor, perhaps best known for starring as Salmoneus on the cult hits Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. His stage name is a palindrome of his birth given name.

Norm: Good day Robert and thanks for participating in our interview. 

When did you know you wanted to become an actor, what was your training and do you specialize in any particular acting technique?

Robert:  My parents took me to see the film  

The Days of Wine and Roses with Jack Lemmon when I was 10.  I could barely sleep that night; something in Lemmon's work roiled and excited me.

I consciously thought, "I want to affect other people the way Jack Lemmon affected me."  My technique is "whatever works." I started to learn my craft at Northwestern University, continued in New York with Gene Frankel and Wynn Handman, and then in Los Angeles with Milton Katselas. I learned valuable lessons from all of them. Basically a common denominator is, "Don't perform.  Experience.  Participate."

Norm: What's the most difficult thing for you about being an actor? 

Robert: Getting the work.

Norm: What did you find most useful in learning to act?

What was least useful or most destructive? 

Robert: The most useful I answered earlier. The most destructive is taking praise or negative criticism too seriously. If you can glean something useful for your work, use it.  Otherwise let it wash off.

Norm: What do you consider to be your greatest success (or successes) so far in your acting career?

Robert:  I think my work playing The Son Of Sam with Martin Sheen in Out Of The Darkness is right up there (You can see clips on (MY WEBSITE)

I also like my acting in 52 Pickup with Roy Scheider.

On stage, my one-man show The Return Of Brother Theodore  was very satisfying.  Of course playing Salmoneus in Hercules and Xena was my biggest commercial success, and a lot of fun.

Norm: How do you set about working on your roles and what motivates you to act?

Robert:  I read the script several times, then I put it aside. Then I just sit and see how I feel about the story and my character's part in it. If it stimulates my heart, my head, and my imagination I let it "infect" me, roil within me to see where it goes.  I try not to intellectualize about it too much.  What motivates me is the same as my desire when I was 10, to affect people as deeply as possible. 

Norm: How do you think acting has changed over the years?  

Robert: I don't think it has changed much since Stanislavski organized "The Method", which is essentially acting truthfully under imaginary circumstances.  Or even more simply, turning psychology into behavior.

Norm: What motivated you to write The Haircut Who Would Be King?

Robert: The nausea and revulsion I felt after Trump's election. Like most of the 36 million people who voted against him, I was lost and angry. I starting writing to get myself out of that state.

Norm: What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them? 

Robert:  I have the temerity to hope that my book can help, in some small way, defeat Trump in the 2020 election. Ridicule and mockery can be potent weapons. I also think people need a good laugh under his disastrous reign of error. My book does help achieve that.

Norm: What has your other work as an actor taught you that you have been able to apply to your book?

Robert: You have to do the work; you have to be persistent. There are bursts of inspiration, but they're not enough to complete the work. You have to be patient with yourself, but work, work, work.

Norm: Are you a firm believer in the power of comedy for relief from turmoil and anxiety? If so, please explain.

Robert: Absolutely. During turbulent, anxious times, comedy and laughter are CRITICAL. They are not a luxury, not an elective. Think of the screwball comedies during the depression and WW II. Think of Dr. Strangelove during the Cold War with Russia. Laughter releases the tension and actually brings down blood pressure.  It also can help you think more clearly.

Norm: What do you believe is the best course of action to defeat Trump in 2020?

Robert:  Well, at the risk of being self-serving, BUY MY BOOK. Next, suggest others buy my book. Next, don't be defeated or numbed by Trump's barrage of lies and bullshit. Part of his strategy, in so far as he has the mental ability to formulate a strategy, is to dump so much crap out there on a regular basis that it will paralyze us into inertia. Stay mentally active, fight the inertia.  Finally vote, for whoever is the Democratic nominee. Call out the Trumpublican lies whenever you hear them.  Love America by helping to dump Trump.

Norm: Where can our readers find out more about you and your book?

Robert: MY WEBSITE

Norm: As this interview comes to an end, what question do you wish that someone would ask about your book, but nobody has?

Robert: Will Republicans enjoy your book?  

I think many Republicans will, if they're not Trumpublicans, in thrall to the cult of Trump. In Congress they all seem to be Trumpublicans.  

I think Jeff Flake, Bill Kristol, and George Will would all enjoy the book.