THE BALLOON MAN

Bill Irwin sees life after the circus

from: newsday.com

Published: November 10, 2011

See, Ma, you can turn out OK after running away with the circus. That's what actor-director Bill Irwin did, helping establish the Pickle Family Circus in San Francisco after graduating from Ringling Brothers' clown college in the 1970s. From there, he went on to create, direct and star in a series of Broadway shows ("Fool Moon," "Largely New York") where he barely uttered a sound but captivated audiences with his agile, athletic foppery. Someone decided the dude could actually speak onstage, and he began nabbing Broadway roles in "Waiting for Godot," "The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (for which he earned a Tony Award for best actor in a play).
On-screen, he has popped up in "Rachel Getting Married" (as Anne Hathaway's gentle dad) and episodes of "CSI" (as a psychopath).
Oh, yeah, and along the way, he snapped up one of those MacArthur "genius" grants.
In the latest production of "King Lear," which opened Tuesday at the Public Theater and runs through Nov. 20, he's back to his rubber-limbed tricks, playing The Fool to Sam Waterston's Lear.
Irwin, who is married with one son, spoke with Newsday contributor Joseph V. Amodio about clowning, baggy pants and the dark secret of Waterston's "tight buns."read more:http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/celebrities/bill-irwin-sees-life-after-the-circus-1.3311681