Exclusive Interview:  #5 - June 2001
 

BIG SOUND QUESTIONS

How long is an average script?
Depends on the script. Average 'feature' script runs anywhere from 72 to 120 pages. TV scripts run from 25 -30 pages (half hour) to 55-60 pages (one hour).

How much time is spent rehearsing each episode?
The 'episodes' themselves are not rehearsed. But individual 'scenes' are. You rehearse the scene you are about to shoot and you usually get two or three runs at it.

What is the shooting schedule like, how long does it take to film each show?
4 days. 12 to 14 hours a day.

Would you like to either write and/or direct an episode?
I wrote a full script for the show, but presented it to them as more of a 'pitch'. The story line of the Irish band member falling in love with a Jewish girl was based on a lot of the ideas in my script. Their BIG SOUND script certainly wasn't identical, but I was still very surprised at how incredibly close it was to mine. I took it as a compliment. As for directing? Nothing yet, but we shall see.

What would it be about and who would you choose to guest-star?
Depends on the script, story etc.

How do the musical guests get selected? Do you have any input?
No input. Unless of course one of the cast members knows someone. Most of the guests are contacted through the producers of the show and are asked if they'd like to come onto the show and do a cameo, play a part etc. Or the 'artists' agents call and make it happen. Then the writers go to work and put it all together.

Are you involved at all in choosing your own wardrobe?
Yes.

Have you ever refused to wear something you didn't like?
Of course. But the wardrobe deptartment on the show is absolutley fantastic and so it's rare.

Can you keep any wardrobe if you want to?
Maybe, if I smile real big.

What would be your dream episode for the character of Nick Keester?
Nick wins the lottery, buys BIG SOUND and becomes Bill Sutton's boss.

Now that the show is about to enter its second season, do you have any particular plan for Nick in terms of growth or direction you'd like to take him in?
Definitely. In the first season there were alot of different character 'influences' that were not necessarily the intention of the writers and so, Nick changed a little from what I and they had first intended. He was no longer being written as a viable antagonist to Bill Sutton, and so I started playing on more of the animated qualities of the character. I wanted to see how 'far' I could take the character and still be truthful. That ended up going to some pretty frenetic extremes. This year I'm going to pull him back a bit. Tame him just a tad. Nick will not be as goofy this coming season.

In your opinion, what are the essential components of good comedy?
Either you're a nut surrounded by bolts. Or a bolt, surrounded by nuts. Throw in a little conflict and voila!

How hard is it to keep a straight face during funny scenes?
Since BIG SOUND isn't a slapstick, prat fall kind of show, it's not all that hard to 'stay focused'. Everybody is playing it straight, and so the 'funny' comes out of the reality. The funny, is in the writing.

What is the best thing about working on Big Sound?
The fact that it's me playing Nick Keester, and not some other guy.

Is it difficult to readjust to acting again with Ben Bass and playing different characters on Big Sound after portraying such different roles together on Beggars & Choosers?
Ya. A little. Ben and I spent two years playing Herb and Brian and it was a little weird when we first got on set. But not so much that we weren't Herb and Brian, just that we were on set together and..... not playing Herb and Brian. Huh, maybe that was it. I love Ben.

Do you find that different directors bring out different sides of Nick Keester? How do various directorial styles influence your portrayal of the character?
Some Directors have the sense to let me play. Other Directors have the sense to put a leash on me and slap me down. I can't stand a Director who is so scared of the producers that they won't consider anything not printed on the page.

Do you ever participate in the editing process?
Not on Big Sound. No.

What is done with the out-takes (bloopers) from the show?
Editors keep them in a safe to blackmail us at a later date.

What is the funniest thing you remember happening on the set so far?
Phil Hayes (Marty) having to constantly move out of his dressing room, cause there was no room for the big guest stars we had on set that day.

Does it take you a long time to come "out of character" at the end of the day after shooting?
Not at all. The character doesn't require that much method. And I'm not that much 'method' anyway. But depending on the day, I might have to 'shake it off' a little bit.

Have you ever portrayed a character that you had trouble leaving at the set, and took home with you at night?
Yes. That happens more often than not in theatre. Cause you are doing so many performances in a week. You live and breathe the play and so you ended up speaking scripted lines in your everyday conversation. Habits. Speech patterns. It's weird.

If you could choose one of your characters Major Davis, Nick Keester or Herb Koldny as a friend, who would you choose and why?
Davis, in a heart beat. I wouldn't trust any of those other guys with my cactus.

FAN QUESTIONS

If you could ask your fans any question, what would you most want to know about them? (Jaclyn)
I'd probably want to know what makes them such big fans of science fiction? What is it about the genre that is so attractive to people.

If you were stuck in an elevator, which 10 people would you most want to be stuck with, and why? (Babylon Ranger)
Ten serial killers and a hand grenade. (Give the world a break for a day)
Or......
Oppenhiemer, Martin Luther King Jr., Terry Fox, Elijah Mohammed, Ayn Rand, Bob Geldof, Mark Twain, Harriet Tubman, Steve Jobbs, and....... Jim Thorpe. None of them had any concept of the word, 'can't'.

Which of the seven dwarfs do you think best describes you? Why? (Adele)
I think that would have to be, 'Loner'. He was the eighth dwarf, but you never saw him. He was always down sitting at the back of Denny's with his laptop while all the other Dwarfs lived great adventures hanging out with Snow White and all. Either that, or 'Dumb Ass', his close cousin.

If you were stuck on a desert island and could have three CD's, which three would you take? (Vivien - she saw that question asked to Nick Keester on Big Sound)
Ahhhh!! You just had to ask 'that' question. God, I hate this. How could someone possibly pick? I guess I would have to choose according to the criteria of my history of 'playing them to death'. But then again, if I've already played them to death, why would I want them on a desert island? But let's try.....
(1) Tower of Power 'Live'. (2) Genesis 'Duke' (3) John Barry's - Somewhere in Time (Movie Soundtrack)

Who would you choose to portray you in a movie about your life? Why? (Rach)
Edward Norton or Danny Devito. (Okay, maybe not Danny. I have more hair.) But Norton might be good. He'd bring something interesting to an otherwise un-interesting movie. Him or Tim Roth.

Given that people now tend to have more than one career in their lives, what else would you like to do (besides musician)? (Diane)
Write. (Or be a G.O. at Club Med.)

Did you ever want to be a full-time professional musician? (Vivien)
Yes. With the saxophone, but I can't 'read' music. (In fact I'm not even sure if I an spell 'saxophone'. It is 'o' and not 'a', right? Saxaphone? Nah, that's not right. Anyway, where the hell was I? Oh ya. Thought of doing some songwriting showcases though, on guitar.

What was it like to work with the cast of The Sentinel as a guest-star? (Tricia)
Cool. Everyone treated me well. But all I can remember was how friggin' nervous I was. God, I hate that.

Do you socialize with any of the Big Sound cast-members off-hours? (Dreamin')
Yes. All of them. They're a great bunch of people.

How often do you work out at the gym? (Dreamin')
Three to four days a week.

What do you have on the walls of your dressing room? (Lisa)
Last year I had a bunch of stuff. Pictures of Montgomery Clift, family, friends, girlfriend etc. But the trailer I have is also given to other actors on the days I'm not there. So, I took a lot of the stuff down. I want the other actors to feel as comfortable as they can be when they come to visit. On the days I'm not there, it's 'their' dressing room, not mine.

Interview Copyright © 2001 ColinCunningham.com