Something Classic, Something New

IN 1998, ESQUIRE INTRODUCED AN INTIMATE, PROBING INTERVIEW series called What I’ve Learned. Longtime Esquire writer Mike Sager sat down with Oscar-winning actor Rod Steiger for an unusual conversation.

- Michael Sebastian

Michael Sebastian's What I've Learned video with Jason Bateman.

Why unusual? I remember encountering the Steiger story when I was 18. Flipping through the issue, I landed on the interview and didn’t know who this guy was or why he deserved my attention. The headline was simply his name, age, the date of the interview, and current location. I quickly learned that it was Steiger in his own words, with punchy aphorisms and delicious nuggets of wisdom (“Fear is an impossible thing to avoid”). Also, there were stories about sex. Reading the interview felt like candid advice from the uncle who slips you a beer when you're still years away from the legal drinking age. It didn’t matter that the name Rod Steiger meant nothing to me—the hard-earned wisdom he shared spoke for itself. And that’s still the mission of Esquire: helping readers navigate their lives.