CBS News Transcripts March 12, 1997, Wednesday SHOW: CBS THIS MORNING (7:00 AM ET) ADAM AND ALAN ARKIN DISCUSS THEIR FATHER-SON RELATIONSHIP AND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO WORK TOGETHER ANCHORS: MARK McEWEN MARK McEWEN, co-host: It is 19 before the hour. "Chicago Hope" fans know Adam Arkin as "Chicago Hope's" chief neurosurgeon, Dr. Aaron Shutt. And movie fans know Alan Arkin as one of the best actors in the business. Recently, our Jose Diaz-Balart talked with the Arkins about their joint appearance on the next episode of "Chicago Hope," where Dr. Shutt discovers his real father. (Excerpt from "Chicago Hope," courtesy of 20th Century Fox Television) DIAZ-BALART: Gentlemen, good to see you. Thanks for being with us this morning. Mr. ADAM ARKIN ("Chicago Hope"): Good to see you, sir. Mr. ALAN ARKIN (Actor): Thanks for being with us. DIAZ-BALART: So big day on "Chicago Hope." Father--son sees a father he didn't know he had, kind of like... Mr. ADAM ARKIN: Yeah, yeah. DIAZ-BALART: ...and it just so happens to be this guy who's really your dad. Mr. ADAM ARKIN: Really my dad. DIAZ-BALART: Tell us a bi--a little bit about that. Mr. ADAM ARKIN: Well, my fa--the role of my father had been established on the show and--and played by Rip Torn. DIAZ-BALART: Mm-hmm. Mr. ADAM ARKIN: And we thought, afterwards, 'Wouldn't it be fun to find out that Rip Torn wasn't actually my father...' DIAZ-BALART: Mm-hmm. Mr. ADAM ARKIN: '...and get Dad on the show in--in that capacity.' So the--the producers went for it. Mr. ALAN ARKIN: They--they--they trusted us more than any group of producers I've ever worked with, wouldn't you say that? Mr. ADAM ARKIN: Ev--ever have or ever will again? Mr. ALAN ARKIN: Any f--any gr... DIAZ-BALART: Not--without giving the whole show away, let's talk a little bit about what happens. You're--you're actually visited in the hospital by this gentleman, a famous artist, who says, 'I'm your dad.' Mr. ADAM ARKIN: Yes. Zoltan Carpathian. Which just shows that... DIAZ-BALART: Bless you. Bless you. Mr. ADAM ARKIN: Yeah. DIAZ-BALART: Oh, that wasn't a sneeze. Mr. ADAM ARKIN: No. DIAZ-BALART: Wha... Mr. ADAM ARKIN: Romanian sculptor. DIAZ-BALART: Mm-hmm. Mr. ADAM ARKIN: And Dad actually had the idea that it would be nice to see a father-son relationship in which the big revelation was not that they couldn't stand one another, so we just wanted to get along. Mr. ALAN ARKIN: Yeah, I get so sick--yeah, I get so sick of seeing that. I thought, just--it's--it's--it's kind of a formula of abrasive father and he comes in and embarrasses the kid. And you watch that for 45 minutes and then they kind of haltingly, at the end of the show, embrace... DIAZ-BALART: Right. Mr. ALAN ARKIN: ...and try to get along and it's not going to work out. And I--so I just got tired of seeing that. So I thought, 'Wouldn't it be fun to see a relationship between a father and son that was actually pretty good?' Mr. ADAM ARKIN: We basically embrace through the whole episode. DIAZ-BALART: So it's a kissfest, is it? Mr. ADAM ARKIN: And then--and then in the last few minutes have a big fight, just to--just to reverse it. DIAZ-BALART: Oh, great. That's wonderful. Now have you guys worked together? I know you've actually directed your son in--in--in plays in the past. Mr. ALAN ARKIN: Yeah. DIAZ-BALART: But have you acted together? Mr. ALAN ARKIN: Yeah, we worked together a lot. I guess--I think we figured out this is the eighth time, isn't it? Mr. ADAM ARKIN: Eighth or ninth, yeah. Yeah. Mr. ALAN ARKIN: Yeah. DIAZ-BALART: Mm-hmm. What's it like to--to work with your dad? I mean, this is the guy who, you know, walks in to a--any--any film or--or Broadway play and people just go, 'Oh-oh, the--the--the real expert's in--in--in the house.' Mr. ADAM ARKIN: Yeah. Yeah. DIAZ-BALART: How does it feel to work with Dad? Mr. ADAM ARKIN: It feels like dad. It feels like you--you--you got to be--you got to be ready to go into fifth gear... DIAZ-BALART: Yeah. Mr. ADAM ARKIN: ...or you'll--you'll get lost. He--he--he's got a unique--a unique gift. And he really--on a set and in front of an audience, he--he will take off. He uses the energy of that more than any actor I've ever worked with; and you just have to be ready to go. DIAZ-BALART: You're kind of interested in directing as well. You've done a--directed--you've directed "Chicago Hope" from time to time. Mr. ADAM ARKIN: Yeah, I've directed two episodes of the show. DIAZ-BALART: Does that kind of run in the family? You guys are... Mr. ADAM ARKIN: Apparently so, yeah. Mr. ALAN ARKIN: Seems to be. I didn't--I didn't think I was a direct--I never wanted to be a director. It was nothing I ever had in--in mind. I didn't think I had any abilities in that direction. But one day somebody asked me to please take over a show that was failing. And--and it kind of worked. And I've been directing on and off since then. DIAZ-BALART: Real quick, very quickly, does it--does it inspire you to see that your son decided to follow in your footsteps? Mr. ALAN ARKIN: It makes me feel that something good about what I was doing rubbed off. I mean, if I was agonized about my work and--and--and--and was embarrassing myself, I think--I think Adam would have chosen something else. So it makes me feel like I've done something fairly well in that regard. And I-- it makes me really excited to see the--how seriously he takes it and his constant growth and that--that's what's exciting to me. DIAZ-BALART: Gentlemen, continued success. Thanks for being with us on THIS MORNING. Mr. ADAM ARKIN: Thanks for having us. McEWEN: You can catch the Arkins on "Chicago Hope" next Monday night right here on CBS.