Never say "awww" to John Malkovich.
Steppenwolf co-founder and "Scandal" star Jeff Perry on Thursday recalled Malkovich’s reaction to Perry’s performance in a decades-old Highland Park church basement theater production. Perry said his character was learning how to read, and says at the end of the first act, "Aww, look Belle, it’s me recitin’."
"And the seven, maybe, eight people (in the audience) give out a collective ‘awww,’" Perry said on Thursday’s episode of "Late Night with Seth Meyers." "It is a nice moment, the lights come down. I feel great. I’m kind of strutting off stage in the dark and I get to the edge of our tiny stage, I’m pulled by the lapels and I’m thumped on the back of the head and Malkovich is in my ear saying, ‘Jeffrey, that reaction that you just elicited, that’s for puppy dogs and fireworks.’"
Jeff Perry on ‘Late Night’ Lloyd Bishop / NBC
Highland Park actor Jeff Perry (left) chats with Seth Meyers on "Late Night."
Highland Park actor Jeff Perry (left) chats with Seth Meyers on "Late Night."
(Lloyd Bishop / NBC)
Malkovich is also a Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member.
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When Malkovich was a guest on "Late Night" earlier in the week, he discussed a disastrous 1981 Steppenwolf production of Christopher Hampton’s "Savages."
"Late Night" airs 11:35 p.m. weeknights on NBC.
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