Brian Scolaro – Laughing in Volumes

Q) What are the current projects that you are working on?

A) I can’t seem to finish this seagull puzzle. I’m also currently working on this bag of Fritos. That’s about it. I might do some laundry later. Maybe I misunderstood the question. I am doing nothing much professionally right now at the moment. I just did a short film that I wrote and directed on my own. I just finished that up and I am trying to get it into some festivals. And of course, stand-up in L.A. and NYC. And those Fritos.

Q) Please tell us about your character, Stuart, and the premise of the show “Stacked.”

A) Okay. And thank you for saying ‘please.’ Cause I probably wouldn’t have said anything otherwise. Pamela plays a former rock-n-roll groupie that decides she wants to start caring for herself better by surrounding herself with nicer people. She gets a job at this bookstore that’s run by two educated brothers. My character, Stuart, is taken by her right away and immediately wants her to work there. He forces her on his snooty brother, Gavin, and the result is a clash of two worlds -as all the other characters have their lives turned upside down little by little by her insights and views on their problems.

Q) What made you want to be a part of this show?

A) Originally, the fact that Christopher Lloyd was attached to it made it incredibly exciting! I have been a huge fan of Christopher Lloyd for forever! I remember my family and I sitting around watching an episode of “Taxi” where he was in a cabin and he couldn’t shut the door because the wind was too strong. It went on for five minutes and everyone in my family was dying laughing. I’ll never forget that!  The fact that I could work with him made it really exciting.  I was also a fan of the show “Just Shoot Me” and Steve Levitan had worked on that project and was attached to this one, too. And they said they’d have Fritos there.

Q) What is it about the show that you think keeps viewers tuning in?

A) I think people really want to see my chest, and find out what tight outfits I will be wearing that week. And that sex tape of mine that was being passed around years ago, doesn’t hurt either. People just want to see Pam. Most people would rather watch her sleeping, then watch me do anything awake. But also there is a lot more going on there that people are surprised by when they watch “Stacked.” I think the audience sees that the show is a lot more highbrow than they thought it was going to be. I definitely feel that the characters keep people coming back, but I think it’s originally Pam. If anything, I think there should be more of her on the show. And me too.

Q) What is it like working with Pamela Anderson?

A) She’s sweet! I think if I was as attractive as her, I wouldn’t be as nice as she is.  She’s a very beautiful woman who is like a legend almost and here she is forced to memorize my name! It’s a lot of fun and she’s a lot more of a normal person than I ever would have pictured her to be. It’s very comfortable working with her. I thought it was going to be more nerve-wracking on me, but she really makes me quite comfortable. She is so nice, it makes me feel bad about myself for having the thoughts I do.

Q) Do you have a most memorable moment from filming “Stacked?”

A) One time during the curtain call, Pam just tackled me. I think a lot of guys would probably love that, but when it’s actually happening you just are kind of amazed. Like you just won the “Luckiest Jerk in the World” lottery. You don’t have time to really enjoy it. She tackled me and jumped on top of me for at least two minutes while the crowd was cheering. I just froze. Like a deer in head lights. Literally. At the time, I didn’t really enjoy it. I was thinking, “Get this crazy girl off of me!” Also, it’s great when Christopher Lloyd tells me stories about “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” or “Taxi.” Getting all sorts of stories from him is amazing. If you come straight up to him and ask him for a story he won’t do it, but if you can trick one out of him- those are good times!

Q) You are also a standup comedian. Is comedic timing something that comes natural to you or is it something that you are constantly working at?

A) Man, you are nice. Thanks. I watched the greats do it, like Jackie Gleason and the Marx brothers. People like that have great timing and I think growing up, just watching people like them, you pick up on it. Stand-up is definitely something that you have to do every day. You can’t take a break from standup. You have to perform as much as you can because you can lose it.

Q) Who do you look up to in the entertainment industry?

A) I like the people who keep changing like Bill Murray. I really look up to Bill Murray. Look at Steve Martin and Bill Murray and how they just worked consistently since the day they first came on to the scene. Especially Bill Murray, how he continually grows with what he is doing. He doesn’t keep doing the same thing over and over again. I just really admire that. I admire longevity. Nowadays, you have to be 25 years old and attractive to be on TV or in movies. The people who break those barriers, because they are just so damn good; those are the people who I admire. I am a big fan of old comedy, too. I am a huge fan of black and white movies like the Marx brothers, Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, etc. I could watch those movies continuously! And I have to get my weekly doses of George Carlin, Pryor and Bill Cosby.

Q) What is your latest obsession? A book? A movie? A sport? A band?

A) I am infatuated with ghosts. I am watching this television show on the Travel channel called “Most Haunted.” I am totally fascinated by it! It’s a bunch of people with night vision cameras and they go into haunted mansions in Europe. They sit in the dark and hope to catch ghosts on tape. I am fascinated by that stuff now.

Q) What do you do in your spare time?

A) I spend time with my girlfriend, Julia. I am writing a screenplay now. I do some hiking, which is weird because I am a fat guy, but I’m trying not to be a fat guy. I don’t do much. Did I mention Fritos?

Q) What would you like to say to all of your fans and supporters?

A) Thanks for looking past Pam’s breasts to check me out. Thanks for not muting the TV and watching it with the sound off. I appreciate it!  They really have  kept us on the air, which is pretty cool. Thanks to Pam for letting me ride on your coattails, too.