Q&a William H. Macy

SI: How big a baseball fan are you--really?

Macy: I get interested in the playoffs. My biggest connection to baseball is I used to live in Wrigleyville. I had a house on Waveland Avenue.

SI: So do you root for the Cubs?

Macy: I'm a Cubs fan, and I probably always will be. I think there's something about all the losers I've played in my career that makes me believe that the Cubs sooner or later will win the Series.

SI: What's your favorite sport?

Macy: My sport would be boxing. I love watching boxing, and I've taken lessons.

SI: You must have a favorite fighter.

Macy: I got to meet Muhammad Ali at Elton John 's Oscar party, and it was one of the rare times that my skin tingled. I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. I got about three or four minutes with him, and it was mostly a monologue. I just told him how much he meant in my life.

SI: At Goddard College you studied acting under David Mamet . Did he have any Lombardi in him as a professor?

Macy: He was Bill Parcells. As tough as can be. You could not be late. Five minutes early was late. He'd close the door at five of 10 and say, "If you think you can walk into class at 10 o'clock and be ready to act, you have your head up your ass." He was tough as nails, and, boy, am I lucky. He gave us a work ethic that is not common in this business.