While filming the new Comedy Central series "Dog Bites Man," actor Matt Walsh experienced the absurdity of local news firsthand.
"You know, 'Is your kitchen killing you?' or 'Which cereals don't get soggy in milk?' and 'Bra shopping: How hard is it?' Like those are typical local news stories, which I love," he said in a phone interview.
Walsh plays news anchor Kevin Beekin in the series, a partially improvised mockumentary-style skewering of local news, which airs at 10:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. In a conference call with several college newspapers, he talked to The State News about interacting on camera with regular people, the inspiration for his character and moving improvised comedy from the stage to the small screen.
The State News: How did you get involved with "Dog Bites Man"?
Matt Walsh: It was originally a pilot for NBC, and I auditioned as an actor and got hired as such. Once the cast was hired, we basically improvised our characters in the office over at NBC. Very conducive to improv, network studio offices.
How does "Dog Bites Man" set itself apart from other mockumentary shows like "Arrested Development" or "The Office"?
I guess those shows are totally scripted — that would be the first difference. Secondly, we're basically doing an improvised sitcom in the real world, and we put it in front of real people. We either use them as backdrops or we interact with them.
How difficult is it to work with people who aren't really in on what's going on?
Well, my background's in improv, so I think it's awesome. You get authentic, real reactions, and it challenges you to really submerge yourself into the character and really believe what you're saying.
Did the cast do any research on any actual news teams, or are you doing the show the way you perceive news teams to be?
When we traveled around the country doing the show, we took a particular interest just in some of the ridiculous things that get passed off as local news. I think Kevin [Beekin] believes he's doing really hard-hitting exposé-type news pieces when it's really just about, "Be careful on windy days because shopping carts can run into your car at the mall parking lot."
Did you model the character of Kevin Beekin after any particular newscaster?
Confidence with stupidity, I think, is always funny. So I think that's kind of where Kevin starts from. He's super confident, and yet, he's ignorant about most of the things he's pontificating about. In terms of a specific person, no. It would be a melange — that's a good word right there — of every local news anchor, even some national news anchors, of their sort of pompous, smug, know-it-all, but you know inside their head they're not that bright kind of guy. And a little bit, 2 percent, of Matt Walsh.
What's the difference between improvising on stage and improvising in front of a camera? How do you gauge the reaction of your audience?
For me, the rules are the same: Improv is about listening, it's about attacking the most interesting thing that's going on, the most interesting thing to you or in the moment, and it's about heightening and supporting what was just said.
Where do you get ideas for the episodes?
In the writers' room, the way it works is we try to come up with the craziest things possible. We basically try to make each other laugh and say, "Wouldn't it be funny if we went to spring break and had Kevin Beekin dressed up like he was an MTV-style VJ, and he had kids standing around him while he laid in a hammock, reading fan mail he had written himself to make the kids think he was a big deal?" Then you get there and you're like, "Holy cow, this is really happening!"
Is there any reason college students in particular would be interested in the show?
Well, I think Comedy Central hopes that the people who watch this show will also buy those "Girls Gone Wild" tapes that are always being advertised. So if that's college students, then we're doing a good job.
What's the craziest thing that's ever happened to you on the set?
The only thing I can remember is when I was on a movie once, and I won't name names, which is so lame, but the lead, who's a famous actor, and the director had a huge blow out, and both of them had basically walked off the set, and I was taking a nap during all of it, so I came out right after it happened. I'm like, "OK, are we ready to go?" and the director's like, "You totally missed this huge (laughs) … I don't know if we're still doing this movie."
Has anyone found out you were a fake news team and been outraged afterward?
One man. We did a mock political debate in California and a gentleman got upset about it. He's a professor of political science … we had a pretty respectable panel, and then we had Kevin Beekin on there, and I was basically like, "Well, you're wrong and I'm right." That was basically my debate style, and he got very upset with it I guess and proceeded to tell people that Kevin Beekin is not a real person.
