Arsenio Hall Talks About Transitioning to Acting

Hall: It’s very hard. One of the – See, I’m a stand-up and doing the talk show thing was easy because I sat next to Alan Thicke for so long and I learned what not to do and what to do, and it was – I never knew what that was for. I never knew why I was there until one day I said, “Oh, that’s what that was for. Life is strange.” But stand-up comics often have a hard time transferring to acting because they don’t listen, they’re their own producers, directors, writers, and it’s sometimes hard for them to share – And this being – It was hard playing four guys and working with the biggest star in the world the first time out of the chute. That was – But I had a lot of people who were supportive. I mean, instead of like – Comics are like, “You took my joke, I hate you,” but actors are like, uh, they help you. James Earl Jones would stop a scene if he saw me doing something to protect me. Eddie’s very unselfish. Very, very unselfish. He will do everything from give you a bit of advice to take an eyelash off your nose. I mean he’s very, very supportive. Of course, we’re friends, too. I don’t know how he would be if Billy Crystal was – I don’t know. But they helped me a lot, and I think I got out of it alive.