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First things first. Your real name isn't Murray, is it?
 Murray: God forbid, no. It's Maui -- you know, like the Hawaiian island.
That's a funky name.
Murray: Yeah, well my parents' owners were hippies, you know. I grew up in that whole environment. I was even at Woodstock -- not that GenX angst-fest held 2 years ago, the real Woodstock.
And now you're an actor. What is it like working in Hollywood?
Murray: Well, it's not easy being an animal actor, it always seems like you have to prove yourself twice as much as humans do. Plus, because you don't speak, you only bark or squeak or meow, it's easy for some inept stagehand to lay the blame on you for anything that goes wrong on the set. But of course, then you think: yeah buddy, take your present salary, multiply it by 10, and you then arrive at half of what I make per show. Ultimately you have the last laugh.
Off the set, do you tend to associate with other animal actors?
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Murray: Well, some and some. Many animal actors tend to be hyper-political, always talking about discrimination against animals in Hollywood. I agree with some of what they say. For instance, it's not fair that you have Oscars given to the most banal, irrelevant human tasks -- I mean, Best Sound? -- while there are still no awards in animal categories. No Best Supporting Animal, etc. Still, it's not worth making a big deal out of it.
Are you then seen as a kind of Uncle Tom among Hollywood animals?
Murray: Well, not me personally. It tends to break down into domesticated/undomesticated. Undomesticated animals -- monkeys, lemurs, reptiles in particular -- are always asserting themselves, doing their whole I won't be tamed thing. They wanted me to wear a fur ribbon at the Oscars, for instance, to protest the lack of animal award categories. I wasn't into it. The price to pay is too great.
How do you mean?
Murray: Well, remember that crocodile who played Don Johnson's pet on Miami Vice? Well, he was very political, constantly talking about oppression and The Man, always trying to stir things up. You haven't seen him recently, have you? He was basically blacklisted.
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