For seven years Carnegie has played founding father George Washington at historic Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, the world’s largest living history museum. How did you get the role of Washington?
My manager at the time pulled me aside and offered me an opportunity to audition. It’s not something I thought about because you don’t look at me and think, ‘He looks like George Washington.’ I was asked whether or not I wanted to do this. What am I going to say, “no”? It’s obviously an honor.
Is it challenging?
I take questions from the public and you never know what you’re going to get. You have to be ready to answer in the best period language but be sure it won’t be misunderstood. And the whole time you’re putting this together, you’re speaking. Most of what I do is improvisation.
What would Washington say about the state of politics?
Most people agree that we often find ourselves caught in political deadlock. Washington was completely against the formation of political parties. He was very much of the opinion that the root of all good government is compromise.
Something that surprises people the most when they hear the issues being argued is they’re not new. A lot of the issues we have today, they struggled with too. What is meant by the First Amendment? How much power should states have versus the federal government. A lot of arguments we’re having now that people said we lost our way on, they were having them too.
Will the museum do anything special for Presidents Day?
For the first time this year, we’re inviting anyone who is a president of any organization, business, student government or club — or president of the United States if Barack Obama wants to come — free admission [on Feb. 18-19] if they show certification at the box office.
— Steve Contorno
