The Humbling

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Ten minutes to curtain. Ten minutes.

All the world...

all the world is a stage.

And all the men and women...

merely players.

They have exits.

And they have their entrances.

And they have their exits.

And they have their entrances.

And one man in his time

plays many parts.

His acts being seven ages.

Do you believe that?

Was that real for you?

No, be honest.

Was it honest?

Yes, it was, wasn't it?

No, it wasn't.

It wasn't honest?

Well, what was it then?

No, not very good, no.

I don't believe it.

Should I try it again?

The world is a stage

and all men and women merely players.

How about that? Any better?

They have their exits

and their entrances.

Were you affecting it

or were you really saying it?

And one, a man in his life

plays many parts.

Did that mean anything to you or anyone

that ever existed in the world?

Are you fooling yourself?

Were you not committing

to your own instincts?

What are you supposed to do?

Jump up and down?

You know, do a jig?

Just say your words.

Shakespeare will do the rest.

- You know that.

- Five minutes.

Five minutes. Five minutes.

My face of masks.

My tragedy and my comedy.

Let's put these together tonight, buddy.

I love you both.

Seven ages.

There are seven ages.

First...

his acts being seven ages.

Then the... the whining school boy.

And the whining...

Sighing like an, oh, sighing...

like a furnace.

What is a man? No, that's Hamlet.

Hello?

Oh, no.

- Open! Oh!

- Yeah?

Thank God.

I just was... I was just in here.

- I was... I got locked out.

- I didn't see you come out.

- I'm Simon Axler.

- No, you're not.

I'm Simon Axler.

- I have the dressing room upstairs.

- Do you need a dollar or something?

I'm in the play!

- I got to be on stage.

- Whoa, whoa, whoa.

- You got to let me through.

- No, no, no.

I'm in there.

I'm supposed to be on stage.

The play has already started.

You're going to have to...

- I'm in the play!

- Keep your voice down.

I'm Simon Axler. I'm on the marquee.

I'm in the lobby. The picture...

like this. Dressed like this.

I'm in the show.

Why would I be dressed like this?

- Please.

- No, no, no. Outside.

I'm Simon Axler. I'm Simon Axler.

I'm in the play.

All men... all men...

And all women... are players.

All men... they're... they are players.

They... they... they have...

I'm Simon Axler. I'm on the marquee.

I play the lead.

I'm Simon Axler. I'm Simon Axler.

Three minutes.

Did I miss my cue?

I missed my cue.

There is not one so young

and so villainous this day living.

I am heartily glad I came hither to you.

I'll give him his payment.

God take your worship.

- 30 seconds.

- I hope I shall see an end of him.

For my soul, yet I know not why,

hates nothing more...

The last scene of all...

that ends this...

strange eventful history...

is...

second childishness...

and mere...

oblivion...

sans teeth...

sans eyes...

sans...

taste...

sans everything.

The famous pianist, sometimes actor,

and brilliant raconteur

Oscar Levant once said,

"There is a thin line

between genius and insanity."

And he had erased that line.

In a few minutes,

we'll get you something for the pain.

Did you believe that,

that moan I just did,

about my pain? Did you believe that?

I did.

I didn't. Can I try that again?

I think it can be a little more subtle.

Ready?

No, that's too much.

I can bring it down a little bit.

As an actor...

I've come the realization that...

I'm having trouble separating

a scene from a play

with the realities in real life.

I was out one day. I was out, I think.

Did you believe that, what I just did?

What I just said?

I thought I did that one.

Let me say it as clearly as possible.

I will never go on stage again.

I love this house.

14 years, it...

still...

looks like you haven't moved in.

Oh, you...

you'll get some rest.

Please don't say that.

I don't sleep. You know that.

I don't sleep.

So you don't have to say,

"Get some sleep."

Well...

you know...

you'll call me...

if you... if you get any bad ideas.

Well, when I got home

after the accident,

at the theater, I never...

I couldn't remember what happened.

Then I realized that

16 days had gone by.

I don't recollect anything

that happened in those days.

And did that scare you?

No, it didn't.

At the time, but now,

I don't know when I think about it.

It's concerning.

You know, I didn't have friends, really.

I didn't have people I could...

I could talk to.

No family, of course.

Maybe... I don't know how that happened.

No children.

No wife.

I always wondered why I had a shotgun.

And it that moment, I realized it.

It was because of Hemingway.

Hemingway blew his

brain's out with a shotgun.

That had to be the only reason I had it.

Because I'm not a gun person.

Hemingway must have had longer arms.

Jerry. Sorry to call you this late.

It's Simon.

I think I'm in some kind of trouble.

Yeah.

And that's how we met.

We're going to keep you pretty

busy here over the next 30 days.

I like busy.

Do I have a room?

- Yes, you've got a nice room.

- Is it a single room? Am I alone?

- It will be a double room for the first week.

- A double room? Oh, I don't know about that.

But look, I'm famous, you know?

And I'm sorry, I know,

maybe you don't know who I am,

but I'm famous. And I...

You got to not do that, doc,

because that just is upsetting to me.

- Not do what?

- Write when I talk.

It's like, you're doing a play,

and all of a sudden the audience

is writing in the program.

That's why I hate opening nights

because the f***ing critics go in there,

and they're writing,

they're writing in their pads,

- and writing everywhere and you see them.

- You don't like it when people write things?

Yeah, well, it bothers me.

Hello, Oliver.

- How are you doing?

- What are you doing?

- Oh, these will help you sleep.

- No, no, that doesn't work.

No, trust me. These are different.

Acting is what I do.

It always came easy to me.

I never had a problem with it.

You know, it was just like...

They say, "To the men are born."

I was born with it. I love the stage.

I love being on the stage.

I was always, like, myself.

You know, and I was very...

natural, you know.

It was like home, being on the stage.

The fall was a gradual one.

I think it really started

when I lost track of...

what I... what I would

call my... my craft.

There are a lot of things, you know,

you can deal with, but your craft,

I mean, it's sort of like a musician

losing his ability to...

to play the keys.

I know it's happened to great

musicians before, but...

how about losing your ear?

And I don't mean like Beethoven,

I mean, like...

that's what I felt about losing...

my... my gift...

my talent.

It just started to recede.

Mainly the desire, I think.

The appetite to do it started to...

fade, or... I don't know.

I lost track of it.

Anyway, you know, you...

you're not prepared for that

kind of thing. It sort of...

the writing's on the wall

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