In a recent interview with Salon, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell candidly revealed just how much he dislikes his current job as the host of MSNBC's prime-time commentary show The Last Word. In fact, the former actor who just so happens to have a cameo in the new movie Olympus Has Fallen as a news anchor admitted that he still has no idea what he's doing.
O'Donnell had recurring roles in the past on TV dramas like HBO's Big Love, USA's Monk, and NBC's The West Wing, writing and producing the latter as well. When comparing the two experiences, he said working for a cable news network is "tragic" for him. And the very thought of doing his show with an unrehearsed first draft every night is just "horrendous" and "offends (his) artistic sensibilities in some ways," he explained.
Early on in the interview, O'Donnell confessed just how much he would like to return to what he knows and enjoys. "Because I miss show business so desperately that I will do anything short of pornography at this point to hang around sets and have fun," he said.
He even went so far as to admit that he doesn't have much authority or credibility as a newscaster anyway, which would allow him to take other acting roles in the future. O'Donnell cited Tom Brokaw and Jim Lehrer as 'real newsmen' who have never accepted any offer to play fictionalized versions of themselves.
Brian Williams however, "who is, by far, by many miles, the best actor in history of TV newsmen," according to O'Donnell, has been on sitcoms because there's "no credibility or authority at risk. It’s comedy." But "[w]ere you to ask Brian to do a drama, I think he’d say no." Not O'Donnell though, he's game for anything -- except pornography.
With such high praise for Williams, one has to wonder if O'Donnell thinks he can arrange a guest spot on his daughter Allison's HBO show Girls. He is 'desperate' after all.
