You talkin’ to me?
I say whatever I think and whatever is on my mind and I just hope that it comes out good. I just try to have a lot of fun.
Do you feel lucky, punk?
Actually, I don’t think I’m that funny. I usually laugh at the writing. I learned how to do comedy on That ’70s Show from Bonnie Turner, who was also a writer on Saturday Night Live. She taught me the rhythm of comedy and how to set up something people aren’t expecting. She also taught me how to listen to a laugh and to know when to come back in.
Play it again, Sam.
My all-time favourite movie is Shawshank Redemption. Just because I can watch it a million times and still be surprised that Andy Dufresne gets out of his jail cell! I love it. It’s one of the greatest third-act twists of all time, I think. Really amazing.
What if you could go back in time and take those hours of pain and darkness and replace them with something better?
I like stories about people falling in love. There is definitely something I connect with in those stories. I like stories about people who can learn life lessons and people who change but don’t become different people. Change is always a catalyst for a good film.
You ever danced with the devil by The pale moonlight?
I take really calculated risks mostly. I used to bet on sports but I did it as part of a business. I was the front for one of the largest gambling syndicates in the country and I took 10 per cent of the winnings and that was fun. We won $750,000 in three weeks once, then I went to Vegas and gambled it all away, so probably not the most sensible thing to do with all that money. But you can’t go to Vegas without losing money. People win and they go back and lose, so I think your net gain in Vegas is always at a loss. But nothing stays in Vegas. Only your money and maybe your virginity.
What is the last thing you do remember?
I get very motivated by work and I just wrapped a movie where I play a male gigolo. I had to be in good shape for that. And the film before that I was an Olympic wrestler, so I spent a lot of time in the gym, but since I finished that film I haven’t gone to the gym in about two months. You either surf or you fight. I trained for about eight months leading up to The Guardian [water-based Top Gun co-starring Kevin Costner]. Then we did a two-week boot camp. I was pretty waterlogged. Eight hours in the water a day will kick your ass!
I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.
I tend to move along several projects at once and jump from thing to thing, which I love doing. I’m not joking – I currently have 12 companies. That includes four restaurants, a bar, a construction company, a bowling alley, a film company, a television company, a digital media company... and I have three films coming out.
Is it possible that we got so wasted last night that we bought a lifetime supply of pudding and then totally forgot about it?
I know how to say, “Dude, Where’s My Car?” in Japanese! [Speaks Japanese] Actually, what I just said there was, “Dude, we speak Japanese! Sweet!”
