Celebrity Byte

Timothy at the Live Free or Die Hard Premiere.

Did you play any video games growing up?

When I was in junior high school I used to steal change from my father's sock drawer so I could go to the arcade and play Asteroids.

Did you play any other arcade games like Pac-Man or Donkey Kong?

I found that there were other games I liked to play, but my quarter would go much further if I just focused on one game.

How long were you able to make one quarter last in Asteroids?

I can't remember how long I could get on one quarter, but I was okay. I wasn't like a wizard--one of those guys who put a quarter in there and you'd have to wait a half-hour to play the game. I was alright.

Did you ever migrate from the arcades to the home gaming consoles when those came out?

I had friends who had game consoles. We didn't have them in our house. My friend had Intellivision. He had a game with mazes and you'd go in and there and kill monsters...Swords and Serpents. Intellivision was a big deal because I remember that it had no joystick. You had a dial to play the games.

What's it like for someone like you who has a lot of hair to shave your head?

It's sad.

When I was in junior high school I used to steal change from my father's sock drawer so I could go to the arcade and play Asteroids.

Did you feel like a different person?

Yeah. It takes a while. I remember watching the playback and saying, "Who the heck is that dude?" I felt the same way about Deadwood and a number of characters. Sometimes you really feel like you can sit back and watch the show and say, "That's not me." You can sit there and say that's me all you want. I don't recognize that dude. That's kind of the fun of it.

Kevin Smith and Timothy Olyphant at the Live Free or Die Hard Premiere.

Did you do your own stunts in Hitman?

I did as many of the stunts as they'd let me get away with. I bet it doesn't look like much, but I jumped up and pulled myself out of an elevator shaft, and I have to say I was pleased with that feat there. I was kind of proud of myself, and I gave myself a pat on the back for that.

This movie seems like it would work for an audience that has never touched the game.

I hope you're right. I saw the new trailer and if you didn't tell me that that was based on a videogame, I wouldn't have made the guess.

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