Just a kid from Queens, Ray Romano became one of the most popular performers in television with “Everybody Loves Raymond," winning four Peoples Choice Awards for his work on the show. During its wildly successful run, "Raymond" garnered two Golden Globe nominations and three Emmy Awards among its many accolades.
Years later, however, when the cheering has stopped, Romano has a second act in mind: “Men of a Certain Age," a primetime drama debuting Monday, December 7 on TNT. The new show takes a look at three guys, Romano, Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula, struggling with mid-life crises.
Here, Ray Romano talks about his own mid-life crises, the changing landscape of primetime -- and whether or not “Men of a Certain Age” can survive more than four episodes.
Which character are you most like?
I’m mostly Joe even though I’m not separated. There’s parts of Owen, of course, the married life and what goes on there, but yeah, there’s parts of myself that I bring into the writing and the character.
I’m mostly Joe even though I’m not separated. There’s parts of Owen, of course, the married life and what goes on there, but yeah, there’s parts of myself that I bring into the writing and the character.
When the show ended (“Everybody Loves Raymond”), I did go through a crisis and a bit of an identity void and that brings up other things. People think, "Oh, you’re successful and you had a thing," but it’s all relative. People still need to do what they do and still need to produce and feel purposeful.
Do you find you feel like you’re the same you always were but the world starts telling you you’re old?
I do. I feel like I’m getting older. I look in the mirror and this and this is sagging, and that s--- ... “Holy s---, I look like my father!” But mentally I feel like the immature kid who thinks farts are funny. I got a little more sophisticated in my humor but I don’t know if that’s men in general, or comedians in general.
I do. I feel like I’m getting older. I look in the mirror and this and this is sagging, and that s--- ... “Holy s---, I look like my father!” But mentally I feel like the immature kid who thinks farts are funny. I got a little more sophisticated in my humor but I don’t know if that’s men in general, or comedians in general.
It’s definitely men comedians. But I think men, for the whole, we grow up and we get more sensible but I think inside you’re still kind of a little bit of a child, which is weird when you see your gray hairs coming out and all that.
You mentioned “Everybody Loves Raymond." Can you contrast your experiences in cable vs. network television?
They’re still hands on, the network. The network itself, you know, they have a tendency to let the creators do their thing. But they’re not without expressing their opinions and pushing hard to convince us that we need to do this and we need to do that.
They’re still hands on, the network. The network itself, you know, they have a tendency to let the creators do their thing. But they’re not without expressing their opinions and pushing hard to convince us that we need to do this and we need to do that.
It’s not like: Do whatever you want. It’s not Larry David. It’s not HBO. We want to make sure these characters are real, and by real we mean there’s flaws in them. And they’re a little concerned about that, about making sure there’s hope, that it’s not so gloomy.
You’ve spent a long time in primetime. Can you talk about how it’s changed? Is it different now, better, worse?
I think definitely the sitcom landscape has changed. It’s hard to get a four-camera family sitcom to find a solid audience now. I think the single camera’s kind of the trend now; no laugh track, no audience. As
I think definitely the sitcom landscape has changed. It’s hard to get a four-camera family sitcom to find a solid audience now. I think the single camera’s kind of the trend now; no laugh track, no audience. As
