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Let's Be Clear: An open conversation with actor Chazz Palminteri

Hear from the acclaimed actor on his career why he's spending time in Cleveland.

CLEVELAND — You want your local newsmakers to be open and honest with you, right? Let's be clear, then.

"Let's Be Clear" is all about transparency. WKYC has a clear, mobile newsroom that we're taking across the state over the next few weeks to talk to those making headlines in Ohio. Whether you agree with the guest, disagree, or are a fan of them, we know you have questions.

Click here to watch past episodes of "Let's Be Clear."

We continued Season 2 Thursday with actor Chazz Palminteri. You can watch the full interview again below.

Palminteri, 66, is best known for his roles in "Bullets Over Broadway", "A Bronx Tale", "The Usual Suspects" and "Analyze This."

Palminteri is currently in town to support the Broadway rendition of "A Bronx Tale," which is at Cleveland's Playhouse Square through May 12. He discussed the show's success and how it all started with help from a friend: Robert De Niro.

Palminteri wrote "A Bronx Tale" 30 years ago as a one-man show, which became a huge hit in New York and Los Angeles. He said he received offers to turn the show into a movie, but none guaranteed he'd have the opportunity to write or star in the film. That's when De Niro showed up.

"I met him after the show and he said, 'Wow, that's the greatest one man show I ever saw. I've never seen anything like that,'" Palminteri recalled. "He goes, 'That's a movie, you did a movie.'"

De Niro offered to direct the film and play the role of Palminteri's father, a partnership that ultimately led to the movie's success.

Palmenteri and De Niro have since formed a life-long friendship, but there's another star who Palmenteri says always left him feeling starstruck: Frank Sinatra.

"I could never get over who he was. And I'd be at his house, and I'd be on the beach with him in Malibu and every once in a while, I'd be sitting there, just like you and I are right now, and I'd turn my head and go, 'That's Frank Sinatra,'" Palmenteri recalled.

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