While Liev Schreiber is known for playing intimidating badasses and tough guys like Ray Donovan, Victor Creed, and Ross Rhea (who will return in 2017’s Goon: Last of the Enforcers), he has been known to portray some more unlikely characters. For instance, he’s providing a voice in the upcoming animated adventure My Little Pony: The Movie, and his very first big screen role was as the transvestite Chris in the 1994 Nora Ephron Christmas comedy Mixed Nuts. And as we all know, first roles always make for good stories and late night talk show banter, so Conan O’Brien asked Schreiber to take us back to his romantic dance scene with Steve Martin.
The actor recalls having been used to making a few hundred bucks a week performing Shakespeare in the park before he landed the role in this star-studded comedy. Admittedly, he was extremely nervous to rehearse with and around actors he respected and admired, like Madeline Kahn and Rob Reiner, but the nerves really kicked in when he had to practice his dance scene with Martin, because he was wearing clothes that have a tendency to cause… stiffness. In the crotchal area.
Schreiber tells the whole boner-popping tale way better than anyone else can, so enjoy it and remember not to wear boxers with sweatpants.
