Paul McCrane says he deliberately shifted his career to playing antagonistic characters after becoming frustrated with being cast in sensitive roles early on.
The actor is best known for his role as Dr. Robert Romano ER and villain Emil Antonowsky RoboCopreflected on his career during the february 9 episode of Still here Hollywood with Steve Kmetko.
The 65-year-old actor gave his justification when host Steve Kmetko noted that McCrane had built much of his career playing very unlikeable characters.
McCrane explained that early in his career he was often cast as sensitive or vulnerable characters, including his breakthrough role as Montgomery MacNeil on Fame early eighties. Although theater allowed him to explore a wide range of roles, film and television soon led him down a narrow alley – something he admits he initially hated.
In his 20s, McCrane made a conscious decision to push back, telling his representatives that he no longer wanted to audition for soft, vulnerable roles and wanted to play villains instead. Despite warnings that it was a risky move, he began turning down auditions and soon landed his first major ‘bad guy’ roles.
That shift led to his role in RoboCop, where his character met a gruesome end, and later to ER, where Dr. Romano became one of the show’s most infamous villains. Originally intended as a short guest role, it grew into a long-running character as viewers responded to the cruelty on screen.
