 The Veronica Mars Boys at Comic Con: (L to R) Ryan Hansen (Dick Casablancas), Jason Dohring (Logan Echolls), and Michael Muhney (Sherrif Lamb) |
Daniel (theTVaddict) and Amrie (My Take On TV) recently had the fantastic opportunity to meet and interview the cast of VERONICA MARS at the San Diego Comic Con. The following is an interview Amrie did with Michael Muhney (ryhmes with Puny!), everybody’s favourite Sherrif on VERONICA MARS. (Stay tuned later in the week for interviews with Rob Thomas (Mars’ creator) and Enrico Colantoni (Keith Mars)
When I met Michael Muhney (TV’s hottest sheriff, Don Lamb from VERONICA MARS) last weekend at Comic-Con, the first three things that went through my mind, in this exact order, were:
1. He looks amazing up close and in person! (that’s not to say that he doesn’t look really good on VERONICA MARS, but seriously, anyone who met him – come on, wasn‘t he so attractive?) **For those of you wondering, yes, he is reading this column and no, I’m not worried that he’ll think I’m a creepy stalker.
2. He is freaking hilarious.
3. He loves his fans and really tries to make an effort to show that.
As I was given the opportunity to stay in communication with him, I wondered if the second two thoughts would translate through our interactions, or if he’d become just another nameless, faceless jackass who puts on a good show for the cameras in public, but turns into a complete baboon to his fans when the flashbulbs go out.
After a week long correspondence, I can gladly say that, along with an aversion for reality TV and an obsession with ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT that rivals my own, my original reactions to the man who would be Sheriff of Neptune are all incredibly true. He is charming, and friendly, and truly out to do the best job that he can.
In my quest to find out a little bit more about Michael, I offered him 15 questions to answer, to give us a little insight into his world. Here are the questions, complete with his refreshingly candid responses.
Amrie: Where do you see yourself as your career moves forward – what are goals you’ve set/where do you want your career to take you?
Michael: “German Porn.”
He then offered further clarification and what I can only imagine (hope) is completely unrelated to his first reaction:
Michael: “The silver-screen in second position”
Michael: “An all-out western themed episode where Veronica and Logan have a duel. I’d like to see how Dick handles his baggage. Same with Lamb, I’d like to see him deal with some angst in his life”
Amrie: Who do you wish you spent more screen time with – who do you wish shared a storyline with Lamb?
Michael: “More Kristen [Bell, Veronica Mars]. Would love to play with Ryan [Hansen, Dick Casablancas]. Would love some meaty stuff with Tina [Majorino, new series regular Mac], for sure.”
Amrie: If you could star alongside any actor and actress in the entire world, who would you choose and why?
Michael: “De Niro or Nicholson. Enough said”
Amrie: What song would you be completely lost without, if the band that sang it suddenly decided it couldn’t be played or heard any longer?
Michael: “Marvin Gaye, Troubled Man”
Amrie: What band would you travel across the country in a van in order to see them on tour?
Michael: “Too lazy, like Lamb. I’ve got an IPOD I’m addicted to”
Amrie: What TV are you watching, when you have time? What are your absolute favourite shows?
Michael: “Arrested Development (still won’t tell myself it’s not on the air anymore), Battlestar Galactica, The Office, Lost, Reno 911, and this cool little show called ‘Veronica Mars’.”
Amrie: What is your take on TV today – are serialized shows being phased out, do you hate or love reality TV, do you think that studio heads are giving enough time for shows to make a mark on the TV fans?
Michael: “Hate reality shows with a vicious passion. They are corrupting society’s brains. It is poison. It steals jobs from hard-working, deserving actors. I boycott all reality. My wife [sorry ladies, he’s taken] LOVES Project Runway, though. I always kid her, ‘the stakes have never been higher.’ I’ve heard that like 38 times from across the house when she’s watching her TIVO’d reality poop.”
Amrie: Do roles that you’ve missed out on playing, affect how you approach roles that you do take? Though at the time they were probably devastating to miss getting cast, do you feel it’s shaped who you are and how you act today?
Michael: “I’ve certainly been affected by my auditions over the years, but I let it all make me better and stronger. I have an unusual talent (besides being able to roll my stomach like a wave) at forgetting about an audition within hours of leaving the room.”
Amrie: Who do you model yourself after as an actor? In life?
Michael: “[As an actor] Nicholson, Newman, James Dean, Jimmy Stewart. [In life] My mom. Best. Person. Ever.”
Amrie: What would you be if you weren’t acting?
Michael: “I’d be homeless and tapdancing for change at the Fullerton el stop in Lincoln Park, Chicago outside the now closed-down Demon Dogs restaurant.”
Amrie: What is your favourite movie?
Michael: “Citizen Kane”
Amrie: If you could remake one movie or television show and play your favourite character ever, what role would it be?
Michael: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Randle P. McMurphy. Hell yeah.”
Amrie: When you have downtime, where do you like to spend it? What is your favourite vacation spot?
Michael: “What is down-time? I’ve never heard of it.”
Amrie: What’s next on your schedule? How busy are you through the rest of the year – anything big on the horizon?
Michael: “Currently shooting VMars but I hop on a plane to New York early this week to film my part in a movie called “One Night.” I’ll be involved in that for a couple weeks and then fly back to jump back into Neptune. I also have a meeting with Joel Silver’s people on the Warner Bros. lot when I get back. [Joel Silver is an executive producer of “Veronica Mars”, not to mention cancelled-too-soon Jay Mohr vehicle “Action”, as well as all three big budget “Matrix” films, “V for Vendetta”, and my personal favourite in recent years, “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang“] I’ll be at his production office discussing a move over to one of his big films. I’d like to be the first, in my cast, to successfully translate over to the big screen in one of his pictures. We’ll see. Maybe I should rally thousands of you all to write to his production office about how I should star in one of his movies. That’s a great idea. Damnit, everyone should get on this!”
To sum it up, Michael Muhney is charming. He is relatable. He is a joy to watch on screen, and he talks to you like you’ve been best friends forever. All you tv addict fans that aren’t watching “Veronica Mars” – doesn’t he make you want to turn the TV on to The CW on October 3 to catch a glimpse of the man in action?
In other news, how’s summer TV going?
Well, the summer is winding down, and already, the season 2 premiere of PRISON BREAK is right around the corner. Just a few things about summer TV.
The “MONK=”/“PSYCH” combo on Friday nights on USA is perfection. Sure, there are some hard to believe crimes being committed, and I’m still not exactly sure how Monk put 2 and 2 together and knew that the brother was the killer of the unsolved DNA murder from the basketball episode, but I think that both shows play up the funny enough to make me tune in indefinitely.
RESCUE ME has me wondering how so many women are so obsessed with a screwup like Tommy Gavin, and why is that this season’s central story? I want to know more about Franco, and Lou, and I’d rather see less of Denis Leary’s odd sexual encounters…I personally have more of a crush on the simple and screwed up Probie, let‘s see more of his story…
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE is down to the final 6, and I’ve got my top guy and top girl chosen – I love Benji and Donyelle and I hope that they can take it to the top. That way, I’ll be perfectly happy with the outcome!
In Luke-Perry-deserves-better news, it looks like WINDFALL is a goner. It’s a shame, too, because I was really starting to be able to stay away through more than 20 minutes of the show….
Good TV + Good Music = An Obsession
“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” + Charlie/Mac/Dennis/Sweet Dee’s “More Than Words” = the most replay that a scene has gotten on my TiVo since the hard drive crashed 2 months ago
Whether the merry band of drunk idiots is singing in perfect 4-part harmony to Extreme’s “More Than Words”, or Dee and Dennis are drunk and singing “Just a Friend” by Biz Markie at 10AM on a weekday, this show makes the most of its musical interludes. Who can forget Charlie’s incredibly infectious rendition of “I Got the Lord” in last week’s episode? Tune in weekly on Thursday’s to catch another impromptu performance by this genius cast.
Alright everyone, with that, I bid you farewell for the week.
You know, I’m sensing another TVaddict cause to support – Get Michael in a Joel Silver Production! I promised him we’d start a kick ass letter-writing campaign, so email me at mytakeontv@thetvaddict.com and we’ll get something rolling!
Join me next week as we get ready to jump back into fall TV viewing and we’ll give answers to those burning questions you’re waiting to hear, like “If Mackenzie Rosman and David Gallagher can successfully sever ties with the shipwreck that is ‘7th Heaven’, are they young enough to salvage some sort of respectable career?” 
