The Mike Bullard Show - Wednesday March 14, 2001
 

Mike: Our next guest stars in Global Television's sitcom "Big Sound," please welcome Colin Cunningham.

Colin: Gregory Hines, wasn't that cool?

Wasn't that great?

Down in the green room, I asked him to show me how to moon-walk, and he totally blew me off.

Yeah, the biggies have a tendency to do that when you ask them to show you how to moon-walk. I like to start off with, "I'm a big fan of your work and name a few things, I don't just walk up and ask them for things, you know what I mean. I find that always works a lot better. Could you do a headstand for me?

I...

See how this works?

See, I'm thinking, the wheels are spinning..

Now what's it like working opposite David Steinberg?

Fantastic!

He directs "Big Sound."

Yeah, well he's directed about half of them. Oh god, it's...I'm a huge David Steinberg fan from when my folks were listening to his albums. I mean he's like one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy as we know it. It's awesome! It's fantastic!

When you said his albums, I thought you meant the Beatles or something like that.

No.

Yeah, he's a great comedian, and he's been a great director.

Yeah, that and as an actor, he totally just lets you go. And then you can come up with stuff and he doesn't even yell "cut." He's like "go ahead, try it again..."

I've heard that about him, he doesn't yell "cut," they keep going because they have a huge budget and lots of film...and he allows you to improvise.

Absolutely.

Now you're not completely unfamiliar with improvising, because you've also been in one of Christopher Guest's great films

Yeah.

See, we don't stop things either, we just allow my slurred words to go out there, of course we have to now.

Christopher Guest.

Christopher Guest, yes. Christopher Guest film, "Best In Show."

"Best In Show," yeah.

Which I also think was one of the finest films I've seen this year.

It was a blast! Yeah, it was awesome!

Now he surrounds himself with actors like yourself who are very well versed in improv.

That's definitely a compliment, the company of players in that film...I mean, I was such a huge "Guffman" fan, you know, and when it came to town, to Vancouver, I was like, "I have to get on this show!" What was so cool about it was there was no script, no sides (no stuff to look over your scenes for the day), there was no blocking, and no rehearsal, just like, "you stand there, you stand there, and begin, go for it."

Now is there any truth to the rumor that Christopher Guest can make a 2-hour film in 2 hours?

I think..he shot hundreds of hours of footage and whittled it down to 72 minutes.

It was an amazing movie, and I really think it's about time dog show people got skewered, you know? You see, I go to that dog show at the exhibition every year and I just look at these people the way they fawn over animals as though they're their children.

Well it's funny, even during the audition, they actually had like a tv monitor, with a vcr, and they were showing an actual dog show. It was just like, "oh my god, this is wild."

Yeah to me, it wasn't that far off the mark, really.

No.

Now you've been in another great series, "Beggars & Choosers."

Yeah, the last year was a fantastic year for me, I did, "Big Sound," "Beggars & Choosers" and "Stargate," so it was....

Now I've said before, "Beggars & Choosers," great series, maybe a little too high in insight for people who aren't in the industry, I don't know. I just thought it was a fabulous series, very funny, and it always amused me that the head of the network was the ethical one. That always cracked me up.

The moral compass for the show.

I've met the head of our network and...

Not?

Very, very funny. You also were in "Stargate."

Yep, play Major Davis in "Stargate."

Now how did you get into this acting thing?

Oh god, basically on a dare. A buddy of mine was in college, was a theater major, and we were really, really good friends, and he said "hey there's an audition coming up, it would be fun if we both got parts." I was like, "get out of here...you know acting.." He said "come on, I dare you, what are you chicken?" I'm like, "alright, fine." We both auditioned and we both got parts, and I was absolutely hooked, so..."

Now has he gone on...?

It was more like that for the next 8 years...

Not really true, you're doing very, very well. You're a working actor.

Now, I'm doing okay, but I mean, I've been out of work more than I've been in work, so I take it all with a grain of salt.

But you're a working actor. Now your friend, whatever became of him?

He's a working writer.

Okay, so things have worked out well for him too, you don't have to worry about him hating you..

No, no.

That's a good thing. Now, your dad, this is a very interesting story, your dad was "Mr. Natural Universe."

Yeah, yeah, he's a bodybuilder, like a health and fitness guru down in California, he's originally from Ireland. He was in "Muscle Beach Party," he was in all the "Muscle Beach Party" movies...

All the Frankie Avalon films, I didn't know that.

In fact, I was in San Diego, oh god, a few years back and I was in some surf shop, and they had all these old Ventures records, Jan & Dean and the Beach Boys, and sure enough, there was "Muscle Beach Party," and my dad was on the album.

Cool.

I was like, "this is my dad, check it out, this is my dad!" It was really, really neat.

Did people believe you?

Yeah, actually he did. In fact, I think I might've called him from the store..."dad, I'm checking this out..." He's holding up a net with Peter Lupus, who went on to "Mission Impossible."

I don't think any kid would come forward and say his dad was in "Muscle Beach Party" in an attempt to impress. It's gotta be a fact, it's a fact.

"Muscle...what?"

Yeah, yeah. Now did your dad encourage fitness growing up?

Yeah, my dad would always try and, you know...asparagus and broccoli, and then we'd be," mom give me the Captain Crunch." So, it was kind of Oreo cookies in one hand and tofu in the other.

Is your dad still in good shape?

Totally. He still competes and he still wins. He's 65...

65?!

Yeah, he still wins! Sometimes he doesn't even tell you, he just comes home with another 7-foot trophy, it's like, cool dad. "Why didn't you tell us, we would've come out there?!"

I see my dad make it across the living room, we all clap.

I think that's what originally got me, like into show-business, I guess, 'cos I used to go backstage with my dad, and I had the little bag with the towel, and I had his oil..I'd put oil on his back and all that kind of stuff. It was really cool, you know.

You could get a big cash settlement today.

Okay.

That's the kind of thing you write books about, just call it "I Used To Oil Up My Dad."

"Daddy Dearest"

That's good, that's great. I want to thank-you very much Colin, and...

That's it?! My god...

We did a full 7 minutes and we didn't have the money to do the last one. For all I know, we weren't even on the air for that last one, for the "oil up the dad thing...hopefully not."

Well thank-you.

But I want to wish you good luck, I've watched the series, and I'm a big fan, and I also love the way you incorporate Canadian musical icons into the show...Jann Arden's made an appearance.

Yeah.

All kinds of people, and I enjoy seeing that, because it's almost like "Larry Sanders."

Well thank-you, it's great...and they're always so incredibly cool.

Alright.

Yeah, it's good stuff. And I'm doing another CBS series, called "Wolf Lake," series, "Wolf Lake."

I've never heard of that. Is this a series that's starting production?

Yeah, we're going to shoot in another month and John Dahl's directing it, he did "Last Seduction", "Red Rock West."

Yeah, "Red Rock West," great film. Now what's the premise behind this series?

Like a little, sleepy Northern Washington, Northwest town...and there's a lake and there's wolves. It's a big party, it's just good stuff.

Alright, so "Wolf Lake." Very, very clever, "Wolf Lake."

Exactly, there you go.

Good, I like that, and you know what, in Hollywood, that's enough to make it go to series.

Yeah, there's a lake and there's some wolves.

Boom, done, sold! Alright, I like that. Good-luck to you.

Thank-you Mike.