Everybody <i>Still</i> Loves Raymond

Not only is Ray Romano appearing in the animated film "Ice Age: The Meltdown," he's also in the upcoming "95 Miles To Go," a documentary about his life on the road during a stand-up comedy tour.

Romano spoke with The Early Show's Rene Syler about his new films and how the end of "Everybody Loves Raymond" has affected his marriage.

The documentary "95 Miles To Go" follows Romano and Tom Caltabiano, his former roommate and an "Everybody Loves Raymond" scriptwriter, on an eight-day tour of the South.

Romano is no fan of flying, so he rented a car and drove with Caltabiano through Miami, Tampa, Clearwater, Orlando, Jacksonville, Savannah and Atlanta while film student and former "Raymond" intern Roger Lay Jr. captured everything on film. The cameras were on approximately 16 hours a day during the 1,000-mile road trip, capturing 130 hours of footage by the end of the journey.

Romano said the documentary was Caltabiano's idea.

"He was there every step of the way for 'Raymond,' " said Romano, "and during the hiatus of 'Raymond,' I'd go on a stand-up tour every year. He said, 'Let's film this one.' I said, 'No.' And here we are."

The last thing Romano wanted was to be on-camera during the tour.

"I work hard doing 'Raymond.' I just want to kick back and do a stand-up tour," he said. "(Caltabiano) said 'Let's put cameras on the dashboard and get the Mexican kid in the background to film it.' Roger, an intern from our show. I didn't say anything bad. He's Mexican."

The film also documents Romano's interaction with his fans, not all of which is pleasant. Romano admits that because of his own insecurity, he doesn't always expect a favorable reaction from the audience.

"I think a lot of comics have that underneath it all," he said. "They feel like any minute the comedy police are going to come and take away your membership."

Despite a nine-year run with the Emmy-winning "Everybody Loves Raymond" and being one of the highest-paid actors in TV, Romano insists insecurity is normal for a comedian.

"That's what drives comedians to get up there because they have this low self-esteem," he said. "It's somewhere in their childhood. There was a negligent parent. I've always said if my father hugged me once … I'm going to count right now. That's all it took was one hug. He hugged me once but it was weird. The nudity was wrong."

Romano is also reprising the role of "Manny" the wooly mammoth in the animated "Ice Age: The Meltdown" in theaters now. Poor Manny worries that he's the last wooly mammoth on earth, but ends up finding love with the fun-loving wooly mammoth Ellie, voiced by Queen Latifah.

Romano said the animation in the film is "unbelievable," and added, "I read the script and I was excited. I'm living vicariously through an animated mammoth. That's how sad my life is."

Even though he's got two films out, he's still spending more time at home than he did when he was filming "Raymond." He joked that his wife isn't completely thrilled about the arrangement.

"In the beginning, she was nice because she had me around," he said. "Then she'd get (CBS Corporation President and CEO) Les Moonves on the phone and say, 'Isn't there a 'CSI' you can put this on guy on? Do you need anyone to do — you've got a weatherman, right?"

Romano joked that he would consider a spot as a fill-in for "The Early Show's" Dave Price — as long as he could do it his way. "I would do it pantless," said Romano. "Just to spice it up a little."

"Ice Age: The Meltdown" opens today and "95 miles to go" opens in two theaters in New York and Los Angeles on April 7.