Veteran actor Ron Silver steps out of character for his role in 'Skin'

By Suzanne C. Ryan, Globe Staff, 10/20/2003

LOS ANGELES -- In his 29 years in Hollywood and on Broadway, Tony-award-wining actor Ron Silver has embodied a range of dynamic characters, from Alan Dershowitz to Henry Kissinger.

In Fox's new drama "Skin," debuting tonight, he portrays another figure at the top of his field. This time, he plays a pornographer.

The drama, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, follows the battle between Silver's character, adult entertainment mogul Larry Goldman, and the Los Angeles district attorney who's determined to bring him down. Caught between the two dueling men are their teenage children, who are dating each other against their parents' wishes.

It's ironic that Silver, an outspoken political activist in real life, would play the role of an underworld entrepreneur who operates, among other things, Internet porn sites.

In 1989, he co-founded the Creative Coalition, an organization of celebrities who use their visibility to draw attention to social issues such as the homeless. Passionate about worker rights, he served as president of the Actors' Equity Association, a stage actors' labor union, from 1991 to 2000.

In a paradox, the actor, 57, has publicly supported both former President Bill Clinton and former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani on issues ranging from gay rights to school vouchers. In a move that surprised many people, the renowned liberal spoke out in favor of the war in Iraq.

"Most people assume I'm a Democrat," said Silver, who has done work for the think-tanks the Council on Foreign Relations and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "I'm really on the progressive left of the right of center. I'm a progressive conservative. I just look at the issues, not the players.

"I supported Star Wars under Ronald Reagan because I've always been in favor of a strong defense. I supported Clinton because I felt Clinton was saving the Democratic Party from veering off too far to the left.

"So far, I think I'm consistent. When it came to Bush, I would say up until 9/11 I had questions. I was not a Bush supporter in 2000. However, since 9/11 I think he's proven to be the leader I think we need." While Silver is quick to talk about his "tremendous passion" for the day's issues, he's also hesitant to rattle on. "Sometimes it's smart not to have a lot of passion. I don't want to confuse what I do professionally with my personal life," he said.

As an actor, he says he's quite happy for a chance to play someone other than a "cop, lawyer, or a doctor" on television.

"I like doing things that challenge me and the way I think about things. Larry is a character who earns a living in a very problematic way for most mainstream Americans and more importantly, in terms of his own family. How do you justify to your own family what you do? How do you justify to your self? Does what I do need justification? There were so many questions I had to ask about this and I was intrigued to see how the producers would deal with it."

Series creator and executive producer Jim Leonard is defensive about writing a teen-driven drama about pornographers. In the pilot episode, the teen characters lose their virginity to each other. "I'm the father of two teenage kids, and I'm deeply conflicted, deeply concerned about where our society is in terms of sexualizing everything," he told journalists at the Television Critics Association meeting here. "And at the same time, I'm a writer, and I'm utterly opposed to censorship. "How far do we go with teen sexuality? I'm really interested in exploring what this relationship is; in [portraying] the passion of young love, of first love . . . discovering who they are, against what their parents do."

Kevin Anderson, who portrays the DA, told journalists his character is really a flipped image of Silver's. "My character is perceived as the `good guy' whereas at home, his home life is basically a mess. His relationship with his son is very forced and difficult. The marriage . . . isn't exactly pristine. . . . Ron's character is [publicly] perceived as a sort of negative image but at home he seems to have a very healthy, loving family . . . situation. That's really the way life is."

For his part, Silver contends he approaches every role, including Larry Goldman, as that of a good guy. "I think most of us in life see ourselves as good people. We rationalize our circumstances and . . . usually take our own side in an argument.

"This guy is providing a service. It's legal. I can make a case that I'm not harming anybody . . . I'm getting rewarded handsomely for it, and what I'm doing with that is being very philanthropic. So whether they like it or not, I'm going to build cancer wings on hospitals. I'm going to build libraries for kids."

Does this make Goldman a good man? Said Silver: "I leave it up to the audience to decide."

Suzanne Ryan can be reached at sryan@globe.com.