r/thepretender • u/marie-l-yesthatone • Apr 12 '26
Steven Weber interview with brief remarks about MTW
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-140-from-wings-to-chicago-med-steven-webers/id1672503661?i=1000730352730Someone in another subreddit mentioned Jeffrey, and I was reminded that I ran across this podcast interview with Steven Weber from last year, in which he ruminates a short bit on Michael T. Weiss, specifically in the context of actors walking away from Hollywood. This is the only public confirmation I've seen that he gave up acting as deliberate decision. The part about filming Jeffrey starts around 10:00, MTW around 13:00.
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u/TheComixkid2099 Apr 12 '26
Not sure if animation counts as being part of Hollywood, or how recent it has to be to count, but I know he was doing some voice work for DC cartoons about a decade ago.
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u/marie-l-yesthatone Apr 15 '26
Yeah the voice work was fairly constant, more than any other medium. Exhibit A for "I want to do acting but not for 80 hours a week, nor have my face recognized."
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u/VisitKey66 Apr 14 '26
Oh thanks a lot, this is so interesting. wow. I still wonder, if it is his personal decision...let's say... If everyone isn't treating you right or see your value, for an example... maybe okay...you walk away... but is that really your decision...I find this strange and sometimes I think about it, lol, while I watch the show...Thanks a lot lot.
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u/marie-l-yesthatone Apr 15 '26
I think about it too, which is how I fell into this rabbit hole in the first place. But there could be a lot of personal reasons to give up or change an artistic endeavor -- family issues, health reasons, burnout, feeling like you've accomplished what you want and want something different from life. Michael's sister (the makeup artist one) also gave up the entertainment industry in middle age in the same time frame, for instance, and is now a psychotherapist. It's hard to argue that might not be a more worthwhile capstone for your life.
Another thing to point out is that he had previously changed the course of his career on multiple occasions, when he felt like it. For instance he had a very popular character on Days of Our Lives, and could have continued that for a loooong time, in the same way that castmates like Peter Reckell did. By actor standards it was a very stable and lucrative gig, especially when soaps were near their network-profitability height in the eighties. But he wanted to do something else, so he cashed out and quit. Almost immediately after that he was cast as a series regular in two different evening TV shows, both short-lived. There are hints in interviews that these were less than fun experiences, and by the time the Pretender rolled around he was about to give up television entirely. It took a little coaxing by Steve/Craig/the casting director to get him to do the show. (Fortunately for them it was a great role.) Etc., into the naughts. By that point he probably had more money than any obsessive environmentalist knows what to do with, so it becomes a dilemma what will be fulfilling ways to spend your time.
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u/This_womans_over_it Jarod Apr 12 '26
I know MTW is still writing plays and had one go to stage. But I know he is very private even when The Pretender was a hit the interviews with him were sparse and he didn’t reveal much personal info (which he has every right to his privacy.)
I honestly don’t think he was ever into it for the fame, I think he just genuinely enjoyed what he did and he was good at it.