But really, does Hollywood take someone of your age seriously? This is a young person's world, especially in Hollywood.

The thing is, they're taking me more seriously than ever. Not my peers, but the young people, like [director] Wes Anderson. He's a pal of mine. And David O. Russell's a good friend of mine.

Maybe it's because I'm a rebel, because I don't go by the rules. I believe they have respect for me. Whereas some of my peers don't because I don't play by the rules. I don't show up to the office -- even when I was head of the studio -- before 11:30 in the morning. I'm not a good morning person. I learned that from Darryl Zanuck many years ago. He never showed up till 2 in the afternoon. I ain't a breakfast guy.

What's the best time of day for you?

Starting at around 4 in the afternoon till 4 in the morning.

Quite a stretch.

Then I get six or seven hours of sleep, have breakfast and I'm off for my day. I never make luncheon dates either. Because while people are at lunch on the West Coast, I'm doing business with the East Coast. I don't allow any of my people to go out to lunch because when they're out to lunch, we're on the phone to New York. Let the others eat, we do business.

You probably couldn't have lived the life you've had anyplace but California, wouldn't you say?

Well I love it out there, it's kept me sort of alive.

What's the scariest experience you've ever had?

It doesn't get more scary than dying. I had three strokes in two days, and they didn't think I'd make it, and they said I'd never walk again. I went through three years of therapy to learn how to walk. I couldn't pick up a fork for six months.

Your recovery seems unbelievable then. What do you attribute it to?

Staying in the picture. The will to live. I could have been a cripple, I could have been paralyzed, but I worked eight hours a day on physical, occupational and speech therapy. The whole right side of my body was paralyzed. I couldn't move my toes. I had to learn to walk. Still, to this day when I get up I do heel, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe, because my right leg was totally gone. From your brain, when it closes up, the motor nerve doesn't go to your leg. They definitely thought I'd be in a wheelchair.

You still have a great voice. What would you say it's gotten you??

Yes, I have my voice. It's gotten me a lot. I was a radio actor as a kid, I was a disc jockey when I was 17 in Miami, Palm Beach and in Havana. But my voice wasn't as deep when I was 14. It doesn't do me bad with girls. Especially if I talk low.

If there's anyone who subscribes to the belief that there are no second acts in life, they've never met Robert Evans.

I'm on my fourth act. I lived a three-act story but when I died, I got my fourth act. And I'm now 5 years old. I may only live till 7, but for now, I'm 5. I'm going to stay at this for a while.

Tell me about success and some elements of success. How much does looking good matter?

If you look good, you feel good, you act good. Most people think they don't look good. Looking good is to make everything background be background, and make you foreground. It's how you look, not what you wear.

How about charm?

Charm and seduction totally differ. One gives you an attack of the heart and the other gives you a heart attack.

Honesty, do you need that for success?

I believe I've been the most honest person of anyone I know. For one reason: It has nothing to do with morality, it just makes life easier. You never have to remember what you've said. It gets you in trouble at times, but I can walk into a room three years later, and see people I haven't seen and say the same thing. It makes body language easier, verbal language easier. However, there's an abstract to it. Omission isn't lying.

Dishonesty comes back to bite you in the ass. And the worst thing is a half-truth because it carries with it a veracity you can believe, and the rest is made up. So success is easy when you tell it as it is, when people question you and requestion you and requestion you.

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