He’s big. He’s bad. He’s bald. He has a mantra. For actor Vincent D’Onofrio, it’s simple.
“ ‘Stay calm, Vincent. Yeah, just stay calm,’ ” he shares. “I’ll tell myself, ‘Everything is going to be OK. It will be all right — just give it time.’ ”
It’s good life advice for anyone, even if you don’t play an iconic villain in the Marvel Universe. D’Onofrio, 65, proves that when you give it time, like he suggests, you can rule the world once more in shows such as “Daredevil: Born Again,” which is being reset after a 2015-18 Netflix run.
In the Disney TV+ series debuting Tuesday, Charlie Cox is back in the dual roles of Matt Murdock/Daredevil, a blind superhero with heightened abilities. D’Onofrio is still Kingpin/Wilson Fisk, a fierce, beefy, bald, former mob boss and current mayor of New York.
His mantra these days: “You don’t want to know! He’s such a madman,” the actor jokes.
D’Onofrio is soft-spoken in person, sporting jeans, a lime-colored T-shirt and black jacket and a full head of hair, during a day of media interviews in Los Angeles.
What trait does he share with Kingpin besides his 6-foot-4-inch frame? Maybe it’s a reluctance to let people know too much.
“The more you are known, the more difficult it is to hide behind characters,” says the actor known for his searing work in “Full Metal Jacket,” Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “Men in Black.”
The New Yorker is a divorced father of two sons and a daughter. His good life advice:
Embracing chaos
Why do fans gravitate toward Kingpin? “People just love bad boys, so embrace the chaos,” D’Onofrio says. “He has all these different sides to him. He is always a fish out of water — that’s what I enjoy most. We take him and put him in a marriage. He’s truly in love. And then he turns evil and can be incredibly sick.”
Spill a few secrets
Any hints about what will happen this season? “Without spoiling, Fisk is on a mission,” the actor divulges. “He is the same guy he was in the Netflix show, but he has a new plan. Fisk, first, has to sort things out with his wife. He has been gone for a while. That turns into something exciting. The other side is, he has a plan to stretch his reach. This is the beginning to see how far he will go for control.”
Friends and foils
Some of his favorite moments are the scenes that his Kingpin shares with Cox’s Daredevil, D’Onofrio acknowledges. How is he feeling about his foil? “He still bugs me. Just a little bit,” D’Onofrio says with a warm laugh. “Frankly, we’re both trying to live in the daylight. We have that in common. Think of the metaphor of vampires trying to live in the daylight. It’s a struggle. … You can’t put us together in the same scene a lot. It’s not as powerful, but it’s so good when you do. It’s great for the story because it always means something — a beginning or an end.”
Conquer self-doubt
D’Onofrio says that having the courage to play so many different characters doesn’t come without a few moments of apprehension. What does he do in moments of self-doubt? “Make your mind reset and say, ‘I can do this,’ ” he shares.
How’d he do that?
After a career full of memorable film and TV roles, what do fans ask him the most about his past projects? “I still hear, ‘How did you gain the weight for “Full Metal Jacket”?’ ” D’Onofrio says. “Wow, that’s another lifetime ago,” he says. “But I’m so glad it happened. As for gaining weight for a role, I put on 80 pounds. I figured, it’s just part of the job. De Niro did it for his roles.”
Get healthy
Portraying Kingpin had its own physical challenges, including packing on about 40 pounds for the original show, he says. D’Onofrio continued to exercise during that time, but “I ate a lot of carbs and dairy,” he recalls. “He’s a big dude, but I learned over the years that they make these amazing suits that contour to your muscles and extend your actual muscle to a form that’s bigger. And they’re really light,” D’Onofrio says.
These days, he’s all about his health. “I eat right. I have one cup of coffee a day because I really enjoy it,” he says. “Sleep is definitely an important thing. I need somewhere between six and seven hours a night or I’m just totally screwed up, especially if I’m working.”
Pause for applause
“Gregory Hines was a great friend of mine,” D’Onofrio shares. “Years ago, we were walking down Madison Avenue and he stopped a million times to sign autographs. I asked him, ‘Wow, how do you deal with all that?’ He said, ‘If you do a lot of film work, people don’t get a chance to applaud. That’s what they’re doing when they ask for your autograph. I’m just happy people like what I do.’ ”
Great days
“If my children are happy then I’m happy, he says. “What I know now is that it’s important to recognize each day what makes you happy. Knowing my kids are good is it for me. It’s a great day.”
Know yourself
“Find your niche and go with it,” D’Onofrio says by way of offering career advice. “Don’t let others say you can’t do it. You know what you can do. I’ll be working the rest of my life because I’m a character actor and don’t have to worry about box office.”
