Given all his success–the No. 1-rated show, the Emmys, the $50 million annual payday for “Everybody Loves Raymond”–you’d think Ray Romano would be bursting with confidence, particularly with all the people begging him to bring back his CBS comedy for one more season.
But he’s not. Romano, just like his TV persona, is a bundle of insecurities, a man who finds the cloud in every silver lining.
These days, Romano is terrified his first big-screen venture, “Welcome to Mooseport,” will fail. Maybe he should be: Early estimates have the comedy making only $7 million its opening weekend, for a fourth-place finish at the box office.
So … are you going to have a lot more time on your hands pretty soon?
When the movie bombs? (Laughs)
No, no. When you pull the plug on “Raymond.” Or are you coming back for one last go-round?
I don’t know. It’s eight years, man. It’s a crazy-hard decision. … I’ve been a wreck. Not on the surface, but I’m getting palpitations, and I’m breaking out, and my shrink tells me it all comes down to this. It’s true.
What’s the sticking point?
There’s so much involved. There’s the show, first of all, this thing I’ve been doing eight years, and I mean every ounce of creative energy has been put into this for eight years, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
I don’t care if I’m on vacation, I’m always thinking about the show and this story and that story. And now I’m–whoosh–going to abruptly shut the door on that? It’s a big life change.
You’ve spent a lot of time in that kitchen.
… 196 episodes in that kitchen. “Seinfeld” did 175 shows, and they had characters coming in and out like crazy. How many characters come in our show? It’s all us.
And there’s the $50 million you’d pocket [if you do another year], not to mention more syndication profits.
It’s never for the money. But that’s one of the things on the list, you know what I mean? It’s way down there on the list.
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You have money …
Just because you have money doesn’t mean you don’t want to keep making money. When you don’t know you’re at the end yet, you want to get out before the moment comes.
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale ([email protected]) and Curt Wagner ([email protected])