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Award-winning actor Mandy Patinkin, 71, stars as detective Rufus Cotesworth in the new Hulu murder mystery series Death and Other Details. “I read the script for the pilot, and I thought it was quite witty and wonderful and fun,” he says of the show, which premieres Jan. 16. Patinkin shares his upcoming projects as well as his love for life, traveling and spending time with his 2-year-old grandson.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Your new show is titled Death and Other Details. Do you consider yourself a detail-oriented person?
I’m not sure. I don’t like to think about death, and I don’t like to think about details. I like to take walks and sing songs and play with my grandchild, and figure out what we’re going to have for dinner. I like to figure out if we — my wife [actress Kathryn Grody] who doesn’t like to cook — can make anything different other than rice and vegetables.
So you’re the cook in the family?
I like to cook and [my wife] likes it when I cook, but we’ve gotten a little lazy as times roll out. We have certain favorites. My mother [Doralee Patinkin Rubin] was a great cook, and she wrote two cookbooks. I make tuna burgers, and the tuna burgers are my favorite thing from when I was a kid. I make them whenever I want comfort food.
Your new series takes place on a luxury cruise ship. Are you a fan of cruises?
We did it once years ago. I think it was one of the worst experiences of my life. The biggest memory was when we jumped off the boat to swim to this area near the island, and before you arrived … the boat horn went [off, signaling it was time to reboard]. The minute you got anywhere, it went “Hurry up back.” It was like being in the garden, where as soon as you’re enjoying the play, they want you to do something else. I’m not the poster boy for cruises.
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