Patrick Warburton stretches himself on Rules of Engagement and Maxwell Bright.
By Ed Robertson
TV Show:Rules
of Engagement Starring:Patrick
Warburton, David Spade, Megyn Price, Oliver Hudson, Bianca Kajlich Executive Producers:Tom
Hertz, Jack Giarraputo, Doug Robinson, Adam Sandler Studio:Sony
Pictures Television Most people know him as lovable lunkhead David Puddy on
Seinfeld. Here at The Wave, however, we think of him as The
Tick, the title character in the sadly short-lived 2001 series based on Ben Edlund’s
comic book superhero. By any other name, he’s Patrick Warburton, whose distinctive
voice and knack for deadpan humor has made him a film and TV fixture for over
10 years. When he isn’t voicing shows like Family Guy or movies
like Open Season, he stars in Rules of Engagement, the new CBS
comedy about love, marriage, and relationships, which has held its own against
tough competition (Heroes and 24) on Monday nights this spring.
Warburton also has three movies coming up: Underdog, based on the classic
TV cartoon, due in August; the summer-release indy feature I’ll Believe
You, a teen/young-adult comedy; and The Civilization of Maxwell Bright,
a modern-day Beauty and the Beast in which he plays a self-destructive
man who needs to save his soul. Shot in Europe, and winner of numerous film-festival
awards, including Best Actor for Warburton at the Beverly Hills Film Festival,
Maxwell Bright makes its American debut on cable later this year.
Down to earth and as amiable in real life as he appears on television, Warburton
chatted with us recently about Rules, “birthday deals,” Seinfeld,
James Garner, and the one superhero he’d like to play: Batman.
The Wave: Any word yet on whether CBS will pick up Rules
for the fall?
Patrick Warburton: No, but it looks really good. If the numbers are any
indicator, we did extremely well. We’ll find out [later this month]. TW: Your character on the show, Jeff, appears to be an older, wiser version
of Puddy.
PW: Well, he was written to have a little of that edge, what seemed to
me to be a bit of a dry response. Puddy was dry. Puddy was also a bit of a moron.
[Laughs] My take on the relationship between Puddy and Elaine was always “That
sex must be phenomenal” – because there’s no way she’s
coming back to this guy for, you know, the dinner conversation. He was a sweet
guy, probably guileless. But this guy, Jeff, even though he’s played by
an actor with the same voice as Puddy, in terms of dryness, I think he’s
a man who is opinionated and certainly sharper than Puddy. I certainly don’t
want to get rid of [the Puddy-like element]. I think a lot of that’s fun.
But I also think, if we are fortunate enough to come back, there are some alterations
I’d like to make with Jeff’s character. TW: Watching you on Rules is like watching Jim Garner in his
prime. You can take an ordinary line and make it sound funnier than it actually
is.
PW: First of all, let me just say that’s about the highest compliment
anybody’s ever paid me. I mean, my God, I’m a huge Garner fan....
I visited him on the set of The Rockford Files when I was 13 years old.
My mom [actress Barbara Lord] took me there. She did [the play] John Loves
Mary with James Garner. She played Mary, so she knew him well. And nobody
compares to Garner. He was the man. Nobody had that kind of charisma. He was the
best, ever, at what he did. So for you to make any comparison at all, I’ll
take that to the bank. TW: Got to ask... do you have a “birthday deal” arrangement,
like Jeff does on the show?
PW: [Laughs] If I wasn’t sharp enough to ask for one [when I first
got married] 16 years ago... Let’s just say, if I sat down at the negotiating
table right now, I’d get laughed off the table. My wife would be like, “You’ll
be lucky to get cake and ice cream.” And by the way, “cake and ice
cream” is not a euphemism.
TW: What do you look for when you consider
a part? PW: I love to do stuff that’s different, but you don’t
always get to. In this town, once they see you do something, they try to make
you do as close to the same thing again and again.... I would say that when Underdog
comes out this year – I play Cad, henchman to the evil Simon Barsinister.
That was a great experience, I always enjoy working with my friends from Disney,
but the character himself probably won’t appear to be a great stretch. Cad
is not the sharpest tool in the shed, and there are no big surprises there. But
it’s fun, so every now and then you do what most people kind of expect from
you. But as an actor, you’ve also got to take chances, like The Civilization
of Maxwell Bright.... In Maxwell Bright, I play a guy who you really
hate. I think what’s really bold in regards to the filmmaker, who was also
the writer and the director, is that he dares the audience to hate the central
character. Then midway through this film, he dares them to hate him even more.
And for an actor, it’s great to have that opportunity, to get into the shoes
of a character like that.
TW: You’re the TV voice of Buzz Lightyear, you did the
Superman commercials with Jerry Seinfeld for American Express, and you are The
Tick. Ever think about teaching a seminar on the art of playing superheroes?
PW: [Laughs] Nooooo.... But in the realm of superheroes that would be
fun to play, I’d love to do Batman. Batman would be fun. I’d love
to do Batman with a twist, and put my own thing on it.... I’m not gonna
slam any of the guys who did Batman. I’d just like to do one where it could
be a little bit silly and humorous, but at the same time, not too silly. It would
just have to be fun. You’ve got to get out of “Wow, I’m Batman,
and I’m really cool,” you know? There’s got to be a little irony
going on there.
TW: Well, you’d certainly look good in the suit.
PW: [Laughs] Why, thank you, Ed. *This Article appeared in Volume 7, Issue 05 of The Wave Magazine.
