Interview With Actor Alfred Molina

Transcript

Event Location(s): New York City , New York | Description: Roker is joined outside of Studio 1A in New York City, New York by actor Alfred Molina. ROKER: And that's your latest weather. One of our favorite guests, favorite actors, Mr. Alfred Molina, is back on "Law & Order: LA" and it is back tonight with a two-hour premiere. And this is a--basically a reboot, you guys have kind of rebooted the series. And your character's had a big change. Mr. ALFRED MOLINA ("Law & Order: LA"): That's right. Yeah, my character started off as a DA in the Los Angeles DA's office, and through a series of events where he becomes very frustrated with that position he decides to go back to being a detective where he started. ROKER: And how has the transformation as an actor for you... Mr. MOLINA: Well, it's been great. I mean, longer hours, more locations... ROKER: Uh-huh. Mr. MOLINA: The money's not so bad either. ROKER: Yeah. Mr. MOLINA: So it's--it works out OK, really. ROKER: And, you know, the other--I mean it's a--it's a fantastic cast, but your other partner, Terrence Howard... Mr. MOLINA: Terrence Howard. ROKER: ...is going to be showing up every week now as well. Mr. MOLINA: That's right, yeah. So we're both--we both get to work more, which is nice. ROKER: Now when the show goes through a transformation like this, is it difficult for the actors, or is it, `OK, here we go, we're just--we're just reinventing ourselves'? Mr. MOLINA: Well, we were under orders to carry on making programs, you know, so we just carried on working. And all you can do is just keep on working as hard as you can and do the best work you can and then hopefully the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. ROKER: Which starts tonight. And then after tonight on--it'll be Mondays. Mr. MOLINA: Yeah, it starts tonight. ROKER: It'll be Mondays at 10:00. Mr. MOLINA: That's right. Tonight starts with a double-header, two episodes tonight, and then we're back to the 10 PM slot next Monday. ROKER: And you've got a new movie coming out, you're up against Taylor Lautner. Mr. MOLINA: That's right. Yes, I am--I'll be working with Taylor on a film called "Abduction," which is out soon. ROKER: That's great. Mr. MOLINA: Yeah. ROKER: Alfred Molina, always good to see you. Mr. MOLINA: Oh, it's nice to see you, too, Al. Thank you. ROKER: And of course we want to remind you that coming up tonight, "Law & Order: Los Angeles," two-hour relaunch tonight--thank you very much, I've been waiting for that--tonight at 9, 8 Central right here on NBC. Now let's go to Savannah. Molina is seen in clips from "Law & Order: Los Angeles" throughout segment.