- Leary is willing to share nappy changing duties with his good pal Liz Hurley -- In an interview with a magazine Leary explains that out of the six celebrity godfathers that Hurley's baby Damian enjoys, he's the only one that's put in any hard graft. (February 25, 2003)
- Leary was red hot Sunday night in Worcester, Mass., as he led a team of former Boston Bruins players and celebrities in a charity hockey game that raised more than $400,000 to go to the Worcester and New York City fire departments. (October 1, 2002)
- Founded the Leary Firefighters' Foundation charity in response to the Dec. 3, 1999 warehouse fire that killed six firefighters in his hometown of Worcester, MA. His cousin Jeremiah Lucey was among the six heroic firefighters killed. Leary also established a second division of LFFF, the Leary Firefighters' Foundation Fund for New York's Finest in response to the FDNY's losses in the Sept. 11th attacks.
- He starred in three films directed by Demme: WHO'S THE MAN, THE REF, and SNITCH (Monument Avenue); and co-produced BLOW. Demme also directed both his concert specials.
- His trademark is foul-mouthed comedy about smoking, drinking, macho men and/or beautiful women.
- Loves sports and originally wanted to be an NHL star. That all changed when he got kicked off his high school team because of poor grades.
- Originally had a role in BEAUTIFUL GIRLS (1996) directed by good friend Ted Demme, but had to pull out due to scheduling conflicts.
- The original ending of THE REF (1994) had Leary being caught by the cops to show the son that a life of crime leads nowhere. However, after screening the movie to a test audience and receiving negative comments about the ending, director Ted Demme changed it. He now admits he regrets changing it.
Quotes- "Not eating meat is a decision, eating meat is an instinct."
- "I will not bond. I will not share. I refuse to nuture."
- "Most people think life sucks, and then you die. Not me. I beg to differ. I think life sucks, then you get cancer, then your dog dies, your wife leaves you, the cancer goes into remission, you get a new dog, you get remarried, you owe ten million dollars in medical bills but you work hard for thirty-five years and you pay it back and then -- one day -- you have a massive stroke, your whole right side is paralyzed, you have to limp along the streets and speak out of the left side of your mouth and drool but you go into rehabilitation and regain the power to walk and the power to talk and then -- one day -- you step off a curb at Sixty-seventh Street, and BANG you get hit by a city bus and then you die. Maybe."
- "My biggest regret in life is that I didn't hit John Denver in the mouth while I has the chance."
- "Why hate someone for the color of their skin when there are much better reasons to hate them."
- "Racism isn't born, folks, it's taught. I have a two-year-old son. You know what he hates? Naps! End of list."
- "Did you ever notice they never take any fat hostages? You never see a guy coming out of Lebanon going: I was held hostage for seven months and I lost 175 pounds, I feel good and I look good and I learned self-discipline. That's the important thing."
- "Jerry Lewis has been married twenty times. He gets married on a Tuesday, they find his wife dead in a swimming pool on Thursday. Maybe if you married someone who's old enough to swin next time, OK Jerry?"
- "The best pitch I ever heard about cocaine was back in the early eighties when a street dealer followed me down the sidewalk going: I got some great blow man. I got the stuff that killed Belushi."
Awards- Blockbuster Entertainment Awards: Favorite Supporting Actor - Drama/Romance, THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (2000)
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