In marked contrast to his screen persona as a ruthless, merciless, even psychotic killer, he was a passionate gardener, was active in the PTA at his children's school, and was a Scoutmaster for the local Boy Scout troop.
[on how he prepared for the obnoxious characters he often played] At first it was very hard, as I am a very even-tempered guy . . . but I used my past life experiences to motivate me. The one I used when I had to slap a woman around was easy! I was slapping the overbearing teacher who would fail you in their "holier-than-thou" class and enjoy it.