the part. I'd gone out on interviews many times and I'd become used to competition. You come to a point where you go in with the attitude that if you get it, then good. And if you don't, then you look ahead to the next interview. You just keep on keepin' on.
"But this time was different. I was called back three times, which had never happened before. I knew something was going on.
My confidence grew. Then I was called back for a screen test and I found that I was one of only two men being tested for the role and at that point I got really cocky and figured 'well, hell, that's it. I've got it.'
"But that was only until I found out who the other actor was. He turned out to be one of the biggest actors in the business. I could have died. We walked into the office at the same time and
I started murmuring 'Jesus!' to myself over and over. At first I started to just turn around and walk out the room. Then I figured I'd stay and go through it just for the experience."
When Richard was notified later that he had been chosen for the role, he still couldn't believe it. "At first I had no conception of the magnitude of the whole thing. I had no thoughts of how many countless people would see the film or how much money it would make," he says reflectively.
"As an actor, I always thought someday I'd make it big. I always visualized that first opening day on my first major film. In my dream the film was always one which knocked everyone dead. But when that opening night actually happened, I wasn't prepared for it at all. I was numb and light headed the whole evening. I knew I was there, but it was like I was somehow outside myself looking at the whole affair.
"The whole thing of the lights and cameras and people was a heavy trip.'
As far as the film itself went, Richard insists that he couldn't look at it after having viewed it three times. He simply lost all objectivity. Then, too, there was only one scene which he really liked. "That was the scene in the No Name bar," he points out excitedly. "That sequence seemed to really work for me. All systems were go in that scene for some reason. As for the rest of it, I wish I could tear it up and do it all over again."
He almost got his wish. He's doing it again -the same character, but not the same story. This time private detective John Shaft is tracking down hot money and the gunman who killed his friend to get the money. As the title implies, you can guess who is successful in Shaft's Big Score