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Memphis Commercial Appeal Interviews UCP Trustee William H. Macy (9/28/04)

By John Beifuss
September 28, 2004

William H. Macy, who comes to town Friday, is a professional paradox.

The actor with the hangdog expression has found success as a screwup, happiness as a sad sack, fame as a nobody and fortune as a loser.

"I do play a lot of losers, a lot of men who are in way over their head," said Macy, a celebrity "ambassador" for United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) who is coming here for the Vesta Home Show Silent Auction and Preview Party to benefit UCP of the Mid-South. "But I don't feel like an underdog in real life. I'm the luckiest palooka, and I know it."

Macy, 54, is one of the busiest and most recognizable character actors in movies today, thanks to memorable roles in films such as "Fargo," "Boogie Nights," "Magnolia" and the 1994 adaptation of John Grisham's "The Client," which was shot in Memphis.

He's now onscreen in "Cellular," which gives him a rare chance to play hero as an honest cop who stumbles on a kidnapping and a police conspiracy.

Two years ago Macy starred as Bill Porter, a real-life salesman with cerebral palsy, in the made-for-TNT movie "Door to Door." The film earned Emmy Awards for Macy as both its scriptwriter and lead actor. More important, it led to Macy's involvement with United Cerebral Palsy, a national organization that works to advance the independence, productivity and full citizenship of children and adults with all types of disabilities, including cerebral palsy, a cental nervous system disorder that can impair motor and speech coordination.

The Mid-South UCP — one of 111 UCP affiliates nationwide — operates 16 programs, ranging from job placement and training for adults to therapeutic swimming lessons for children.

Macy used to work with the Boy Scouts of America, but left to protest the organization's policy barring gay scoutmasters. After that, he said, he began looking for something meaningful to pursue that would complement his busy professional and family life. (Macy is married with two children.)

"Since I left the Boy Scouts I did feel a little self-conscius that I'm so blessed and that they pay me so handsomely for something (acting) I used to do for free," said Macy, in a telephone interview from Cumberland, Md., where he was visiting his father.

While researching, writing and shooting "Door to Door," Macy befriended Porter, whose story came to Macy's attention when the former door-to-door salesman was profiled on ABC's "20/20." Porter had been deemed unemployable due to having cerebral palsy, until he finally convinced one company to take a chance on him. Despite having to lug heavy cases and walk for miles on end, "He outsold every able-bodied man or woman in the country," Macy aid.

However, "We wrote the script so the focus wasn't his disability," Macy said. "What the story was about was his fierce pride.

"He learned in the course of the movie that everybody needs help. The guy's pride was his flaw."

The movie was so well-received by general audiences and the disability community that Macy was recruited by UCP officials to be a celebrity ambassador to help raise money and awareness for the organization.

Macy — who was born in Miami and lived in Georgia, Maryland and Chicago before settling in Los Angeles — is beginning his third year with UCP. He said a "boon" of his involvement is that "you meet a lot of really cool people."

"People with disabilities, it really plays on our prejudices, because it scares us to death — it scares me to death," Macy said.

"We see someone in a wheelchair or someone who slurs when they speak, our tendency is to not want to talk to them. But if you can just get past your initial reaction you meet these magnificent people."

Macy said support of organizations such as UCP is a key measure of a society's compassion.

"There's an axiom in acting, and it's this: The only way to be correct in the large things is to be correct in the small things. And I think as a society the way we treat people with disabilities and the way we treat our senior citizens and the way we treat our mothers and young children is how you keep score, that's really how you keep score. And I think we need to do some yelling about the way we treat people with disabilities; and if nothing else, I'm good at yelling."

In addition to the Preview Party proceeds, $1 of each $10 ticket to the 2004 Vesta Home Show will go to UCP of the Mid-South. This year five custom homes in Devonshire Gardens in Germantown will be open for touring, Saturday through Oct. 17. For more information, visit vestahomeshow.com or call 624-3335 or 756-4500.

Copyright, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. Used with permission.

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