Interview with Jay Leno:


Jay: "..........Please welcome once again the President of the United States Martin Sheen ladies and gentleman! You do, you walk like the president does. No I was just saying you even walk different, cause you used to amble out, now you walk like you're president of the united states."

MS: "I wonder why."

J: "You are growing into your term. We just showed this Elvis piece. Where you an Elvis fan?"

MS: "Oh enormous."

J: "Really?"

MS: "I adored him."

J: "Did you ever meet him?"

MS: "No, no I never did. There were two guys when I was growing up in the Midwest in th 50's that had a profound effect on all of us, male, female, old and young, rich and poor and they were James Dean and Elvis Presley."

J: "Okay, Okay cause I was always a huge Elvis fan. Did you have a favourite song?"

MS: "His first movie 'Love Me Tender' is one of my favourites."

J: "[imitating elvis] Cause the world is a stage..."

MS: "No, no Love Me Tender."

J: "Love Me Tender. Oh what's the one where he has the little talk button?  You know [imitating elvis] "Somebody said that the World's a stage and..."

MS: "We're all players."

J: "[imitating Elvis] And you came in Act Three."

MS: "Are You Lonesome Tonight."

J: "Are You Lonesome Tonight. That's what it was. Did you ever try to sing? Did you ever try to be Elvis?"

MS: "Not in public." Shifts in his seat uneasy.

{Audience Laughs}

J: "I mean you're amoung friends."

MS: "Yeah about 30 million right?"

J: "Yeah sure sure 30 million would be great."

{Audience Laughs}

J: "30 Million? Oh, yeah 30.  Did you ever try to sing? Was that something you tried to pursue?"

MS: "I did as a child, I used to do impersinations, but I got over that real quick."

J: "You did? Who did you do? Could you do Elvis?"

MS: "(Shifts to the audience) This is leading somewhere quick"

{Audience screams and cheers}

J: "This is - it would be an homage to have the President say something about or do Elvis."

MS: "But I don't do it well, I do him a disgrace more than anything."

J: "No, I'm sure you're not giving yourself enough credit. You're a fine actor. I'm sure it's as good as an impression as anyone."

MS: "No, it wouldn't be an impression, it would be my own version of  that song."

J: "That would be even more fascinating."

MS: "All right."

{Audience Screams and Cheers}

J: "Can you give us just a little - Do you need music?"

MS: "No it wouldn't help."

{Laughter}

J: "Go ahead, let's try it."

MS: "(singing) Love me tender, love me true, never let me go."

{Cheers, Applause}

J: "That was a pretty good Bing Crosby, but no Elvis."

{Laughter}

J: "Let's talk about your emmy nomination. Obviously for not portraying Elvis. Pardon my ignorance but is this the first time."

MS: "No"

J: "First nomination?"

MS: "Third."

J: "Third?"

MS: "For the West Wing yeah."

J: "And you're due this year. Are you excited about it?"

MS: "Yeah, I am yes. But you know it's not something you can do anything about. You just kinda wait."

J: "Did you watch the announcements?"

MS: "No, I knew they were coming down. But that morning I got up and turned on the television, and I got interested in Tiger's progress at the British Open. "

J: "You were just watching the PGA weren't you?

MS: "I was"

J: "That's right. And you didn't see the monologue tonight did you?"

MS: "Ah, I'll see it tonight."

{Laughter}

J: "'I'll see it tonight.' Thank you very much. Thank you very much."

{Applause}

J: "Let me ask you about the thing with Rob Lowe leaving the show. This doesn't make any sense to me. But maybe you can explain."

MS: "Well we are all disapointed and we made our feelings know to him. You know. It's hard I've known Rob Lowe since he was a child grew up with my kids."

J: "That's right. Sure, sure."

MS: "So he's like family."

J: "So what happened? I think I kinda know. It was a great show, it's a great role. I mean, what was the problem?"

MS: "Well, I can't tell you specifically, cause I honestly don't know. He's into the fourth year of his contract, as all of us are. And he just decided to , you know, call it quits. But I'm not sure, none of us are, that it's a forgone conclussion. He was having some second thoughts and I hope that they grow. "

J: "Cause I don't know where you get a better show - or a a better written show. I'm mean if you're doing the fourth season of Gilligans' Island and the script isn't going anywhere."

MS: "I don't think they went to a fourth season."

J: "Yeah exactly. I mean did he come to you for advise. I mean you are the president."

MS: "He didn' have to I went to him. "

J: "Oh you did? So you heard about this?"

MS: "We did yeah."

J: "Like an intervention type thing?"

MS: "Yeah big time."

J: "So what did you do? Like the whole cast show up and (imitates slapping someone)."

MS: "Individually yeah. and in private. We worked on it."

J: "Did you show him clips of Hollywod Squares? "This is what can happen.""

{Laughs}

J: "Did you do that?"

MS: "No."

J: "That's what you have to do you know?"

MS: "No, no."

J: "Drag out a couple of those Lifetime Movies of the week. You know? "

MS: "He's still young and handsome, and he has his career infront of him. And who knows what can happen. But it's hard to let him go, he's an intregalt part of the show. I don't think he's been better in anything frankly. "

J: "No I think it's the best thing he's ever done. It's better than any movie."

MS: "I agree."

J: "A well written part I hope he comes back."

MS: "Yeah I do to."

J: "And how's Charlie doing? Charlie's been married what? Three months?"

MS: "Yep, they're still at it."

J: "Still at it, that's pretty good. You know for Hollywood, that's what, Silver?"

{Laughter}

MS: "We we're delighted. We love Denise. She's had a profound affect on him. We couldn't be happier for them."

J: "You know she's had a profound affect on a lot of people."

MS: "That's true."

J: "But she's a very nice young woman. She's been in here. She actually seems good for him, cause he seems happy -"

MS: "Yeah, they're abosolutley nuts about each other. They spend all their time together. I hope that lasts a lifetime."

J: "Cool, cool, cool. And they got a new house. I think Charlie got rid of the other house."

MS: "No, no, they're in it. He decided not to sell it, they're up there with seven dogs."

J: "That's pretty good. Because most women, you know, have to get rid of everything old and get the new stuff."

MS: "No, no -- No, they're doing just fine."

J: "So what are you doing this summer? Getting arrested?"

MS: "No, no, no."

{Laughter}

MS: "I'm on probabtion. You know?"

J: "Oh yeah that's right."

MS: "I've got two years left of my probabtion and I got to be careful."

J: "Ok, now how does this work? You're on probabtion -- If you don't know, you show up at a lot of demostrations for various --"

MS: "Social justices."

J: For Social justices and things and good cause and you go to these things and get arrested. But if you go to these demostrations and the police tell you to move along, and you move along. Is the violating any of your probabtion?"

MS: "No, I can go to any event."

J: "You can peacefully protest."

MS: "But I cannot be arrested. If I get arrested I go straight to jail for 6 months."

J: "Oh wow!"

MS: "Wow yeah!"

{Laughter}

J: "So the day your probabtion ends you can go out and get arrested?"

MS: "I can yes."

{Laughter}

MS: "We start from scratch."

J: "Cause what was the longest you've ever spent in jail?"

MS: "Oh, no, just a couple of days."

J: "Couple of days."

MS: "You know I've won most of my cases. That's never talked about. I've got a pretty good lawyer, Joe Cosgrove."

J: "But the last one you did. So if you win you're not on probabtion. "

MS: "Exactly."

J: "Oh okay. So you didn't win last time."

MS: "We had to plea bargain because I already had a contract with the West Wing."

J: "Oh I see. So you couldn't sit in jail."

MS: "That would've ended the West Wing. For me."

{Laughter}

J: "You would've been in the East Wing."

MS: "I woulda been in the East Wing. In the basement."

J: "Now I know you've been -- Did I see you on the news driving around in a truck with Janet Reno?"

MS: "Oh yeah one of my heros."

J: "Is she one of your heros?"

MS: "Oh yeah."

J: "Now what were you guys doing, arm wrestling? You were campaigning?"

MS: "Yeah, she beat me. I have been supporting her campaign for the governor of Florida. So I spent three days in 'The little Red Truck That Could.' We drove all over Florida, and really, we had an extraordinary time."

J: "What was the poem? You had a poem."

MS: "Yeah, I'm not really a comfortably speaker. So I begin my introduction with canidates, I also work with Cathleen Kenedy Townscend in Maryland, and the best way for me to do it is to start with a poem/prayer. Which I learned when I was playing Gandhi in India in 1981 and I use it whenever I have to speak publicly."

J: "Is it a long poem?"

MS: "No, its about 20 seconds. "

J: "20 seconds that sounds good. Give it a shot. It's got to be better than the Elvis thing."

{Laughter}

MS:
"Where the heart is without fear, and the head is held high.
Where knowledge is free.
Where the world has not been broken into fragments by narrow domestic walls.
Where words come out from the depth of truth.
Where tireless  striving stretches it's arms towards perfection.
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost it's way into the dreary desert sands of dead habit.
Where the mind is lead forward led by thee into ever widening thought and action.
Into that Heaven Freedom my Father, Let my country awake.
Amen."

{Audience Cheers and Applaudes}

J: "Well that's very good. That's lovely."

{Cheers and Applause}

J: "Martin , thank you sir. Thank you very much. That was very good. Martin Sheen everybody."

{Cheers and Applause}