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Austin Pendleton on NYC and the Tribeca Film Festival

Character actor, playwright and director Austin Pendleton has been in many movies. You probably recognize him. At the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, he is the subject of the documentary short “Starring Austin Pendleton,” which premieres on Thursday, April 14. Following a repeat viewing on April 21, fellow actors Olympia Dukakis, Peter Sarsgaard and others will join Pendleton in a conversation about his career.

We asked Pendleton about New York City and the festival. Here’s what he had to say:

What does the Tribeca Film Festival mean to you?

All I know of the Tribeca festival is I’ve seen a lot of great stuff there.

Has New York City inspired your work in any way?

I was brought in from Ohio (Warren, Ohio) on the train to NYC for a few days in 1947, when I was 7. I was standing on one of the main avenues one day, and I said to myself, “I’m going to live here when I grow up. This is where I’m going to spend my life.” I moved here in 1961. New York is all over my work. Its sensibility. It’s rhythm. Its craziness. It’s SANITY.

What’s your favorite restaurant in NYC?

A.O.C. [L’aile ou la Cuisse, 314 Bleecker St.]

Yellow cab, Uber or subway?

Subway. Subway. Subway.

Why should Tribeca audiences see your film/project?

Why should they see this movie about me? Well, a bunch of really, really great artists are interviewed in it. And it’s been put together by a couple of really talented filmmakers.