Q & A with Rick Schroder

Rick Schroder. AP Photo/ABC

After giving up his NYPD Blue badge last year, the 32-year-old actor goes from the streets of New York to the great outdoors as the host of ESPN's The New American Sportsman.

Schroder: Only if the ratings go really low.

SI: You were born on Staten Island. How big an outdoorsman are you?

Schroder: I've been involved with fishing and hunting since I was about nine. I love the outdoors.

SI: Is it true that William Holden first introduced you to hunting in 1980 while you were both filming The Earthling in Australia?

Schroder: True. We went rabbit hunting with .22 rifles, and he let me do the shooting. I think I missed everything.

SI: You made a nice transition from child star to adult actor. How disappointed are you that you haven't been the subject of an E! True Hollywood Story?

Schroder: It's not over yet. There's still time.

SI: Did Curt Gowdy, the host of the original American Sportsman show, give you any advice?

Schroder: I spoke to him briefly one time, and he basically told me to enjoy it and make it a good time because it was a great part of his life.

SI: Should we be scared or excited by the prospect of upcoming guest Jane Seymour's shark fishing?

Schroder: Dr. Quinn? I'm sure she's going to do fine.

SI: Where is the 1980 Golden Globe you won for The Champ?

Schroder: It sits on a desk at home, and when I need to keep the door open, it serves as a door opener.

SI: Any chance of an American Sportsman show featuring you, David Caruso and Jimmy Smits?

Schroder: [Laughs.] That actually would be a hoot.

SI: You and Brad Pitt were track-star brothers in the 1991 film Across the Tracks. Who wins that race today?

Schroder: Well, I certainly won it then. I don't know about now. It depends if he's quit smoking.

SI: Who's the one person you'd like to see on Sportsman?

Schroder: President Bush.

SI: Speaking of Republicans, you spoke at the 2000 GOP Convention the same night as John McCain, Elizabeth Dole, Condoleezza Rice and General Norman Schwarzkopf. Is it fair to say you weren't the keynote speaker?

Schroder: I don't think anybody even looked up. They all went to bathroom when I took the mic.

SI: What's your favorite outdoor activity?

Schroder: I like all kinds of hunting -- archery hunting, duck hunting, turkey hunting.

SI: Is there a particular hunting expedition you're most proud of?

Schroder: I get the greatest sense of accomplishment from bow hunting just because it's a lot more challenging as you get closer to your quarry. I'd say elk hunting with a bow is one of my favorite things.

SI: Who will be the more exciting upcoming guest, Robert Wagner or Bo Jackson?

Schroder: Robert Wagner is going to be a guest?

SI: Yep.

Schroder: That's cool. I know R.J., and I'd be very excited to see him again. I dated one of his daughters [Natasha].

SI: Was any other member of the Silver Spoons cast -- say, Erin Gray or Jason Bateman -- up for the Sportsman job before you got it?

Schroder: I heard Erin may be a guest on the show; something about her rounding up some mustangs.

Schroder: I did a little wrestling in high school and won my first high school wrestling match. There was an opening for the 143-pound weight class and I got the varsity position because no one else showed up. I was a senior and I only wrestled one year, and I got whipped on a lot. But I remember the first match I won. That was a great feeling.

SI: You played one year in Little League but then gave it up for acting. How good a ballplayer were you?

Schroder: That was in the fourth grade. I was a good ballplayer. I played pitcher, shortstop, second base. I was quick and had a good glove.

Schroder: The best thing about Circus of the Stars was the girls in Spandex.

SI: Do you and Jon Voight ever reminisce about The Champ?

Schroder: Yeah, we do. They re-released The Champ on DVD and Jon and I did a live commentary.

SI: Are you mad at him for not setting you up with his daughter?

Schroder: Angelina's a very attractive lady, just not my kind.

SI: What's would be the more fun game to hunt: an Armani-clad Hollywood agent or the head of a studio?

Schroder: Definitely the agent.

SI: Who's the best athlete out of Lonesome Dove co-stars Danny Glover, Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall?

Schroder: I think you have to go with Tommy Lee Jones. Duvall's no couch potato, believe me. But Tommy Lee was the real deal.

SI: Finally, how dangerous would it be if one of the celebrity guests on the show called you Ricky while you had a hunting rifle in your hands?

Schroder: I'll tell you what: Only one of us is coming out of the woods.

-- Richard Deitsch

Issue date: Sept. 23, 2002

 

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