Carlos Alazraqui – Reno 911!

By starrymag | May 22, 2020

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) What are the recent projects that you have been busy working on?

A) Other than doing some Zoom standup comedy, I’ve been promoting my movie and getting some distribution numbers from different companies. I have a movie called Witness Infection that I co-wrote with Jill-Michele Meleán and is directed by Andy Palmer. It stars Erinn Hayes, Rob Belushi and myself. We finished filming last December and got the pickup last June. We’re in a lot of festivals now that they are virtual. I’m working on that. I do a lot of Instagram stuff. I’m working on some voiceover stuff from my house.

Q) Where do we pick up with Garcia in the new Quibi episodes of “Reno 911!”?

A) In the first twelve episodes I’m pretty light. When the subsequent episodes come out I’ll be doing a few things with my old partner Jones (Cedric Yarbrough). We have a sort of a storyline that is pretty unique that I don’t want to give it away. It has the most intimate moment between each other than we’ve ever had – not in a contact way. We become closer. I’ll leave it at that vagueness. I get to do some buffoonery as well. I do some PSA’s with Wendi [McLendon-Covey] and a very fun call with guest actor Jim Rash.

Q) What made you want to return to the series?

A) They asked and I said, “Yeah! Let’s do it! Let’s play again!” Obviously, the show has a track record. It was a while since I was a part of it. When they said, “Do you want to come back to it,” I said, “Heck yeah!” We did a couple live shows and some things to promote a local sheriff in Torrance. I have the uniform and a year ago Christmas I did a bunch of spots for a marathon on Comedy Central with Kerri and Tom and Ben. I was right there with them and I said, “Absolutely! Let’s do it.”

Q) Were you looking forward to bringing back any of your side characters?

A) I remember being able to do Chief Carl back in the day. Certainly not as much of an environment to do that anymore. I know I briefly played a guy on his wedding day that was in a car with his wife. I forget about the other ones that I’ve done!

Q) What kind of backstory have you created for Garcia that maybe fans would be surprised to learn?

A) In this latest version he has some questions about what it means to be a true citizen of the United States and what it means to do what is right. He is always a guy I thought was a bit Barney Fife and a bit more stringent with the rules. I wanted to make him a guy that was going to obey the rules at every time and that life should be fair and anybody who isn’t fair is a criminal. That’s just the background I wanted to give him and that’s pretty much the latest iteration of the show. So, he’s still that same guy. He wants things to be fair, right and just. He takes the world against him.

Q) It’s been said that you break the most during filming. What is it about these moments that leave you in stitches?

A) I don’t know. It’s so underhanded and so subtle, especially Tom [Lennon] when he does his morning briefing. He doesn’t tell us what he is going to do. Many of the morning briefings are brought to you by “this week’s sponsor.” The names he thinks of for sponsorship are just freaking hilarious and they always get me. If I’m near Wendi, I’m going to go. If there is the slightest chuckle from her it’s going to trickle over to me like an electric current and then we both go. We both went in the morning briefing this year.

Q) Do you have a background in improv?

A) I was a quintessential jock in high school, even in college playing soccer and running track. I started doing comedy in college. I did it for seven years and got “Rocko’s Modern Life” for voice over and continued standup. I took improv classes that were very horrible. We would just meet at a theater and play games. After doing “The Stephanie Miller Show” on UPN with Karen Maruyama, I decided to take one course at The Groundlings and I didn’t pass. I kind of went back to standup and radio. There was an audition for a sketch show where I met Tom and Kerri. It was not going to be improv and they stated that they were never really good at improv beyond playing games. They tried to play games and they weren’t good at it, but I was – like Cedric or Wendi – have an extended background in improv. I had done a little. When you’re a standup and there is a bachelorette party on a Friday night late show you’ve got to be able to improv your way out of it. [laughs] So, I had the skills of being a standup comic and being on the frontlines. I just loved to do sketch. I was doing characters in my act anyway so it wasn’t too far of a stretch. But the act of listening, giving back and not wanting to get the funniest punchline took some schooling and I really learned a lot from Cedric, Niecy [Nash] and Wendi. Just how to be real and let it take its course without trying to hit a punchline. Wendi is just phenomenal about bringing depth to a scene. I remember having really fun stuff with her. In the old series we had sort of a love interest going on and she wanted to come on to me to get rid of me. We had a scene in a car where we pull over and it just gets hot and heavy, but the way she handles it was perfect for Garcia’s character. So, I learned as I went.

Q) What are some of your favorite classic “Reno 911!” episodes?

A) We all talk about Kenny Rogers because that was a special, real guest and a really sweet person. I loved the Halloween episodes where Cedric and I got all the eggs chucked at us. The FBI came to chastise us at the city morgue. I think the crosswalk episode where I tell a bad joke and Cedric punches me. He gets relegated to crosswalk duty. I think that’s one of my favorite episodes because everybody had an even scene to go and visit him. The movie Reno 911!: Miami. Being able to go to Miami and do crazy stuff. I really liked the Halloween episodes and really messing with each other. It was fun.

Q) What do you think it is about this show that has made it so iconic?

A) People like to see self-deprecation. Ben talked about we deal with some serious issues that the view of police has changed in twenty years and there are issues of Black Lives Matter and how cops behave. We had to sort of address it and we do it in a way where if we’re talking about it then we’re the ones doing something stupid and being politically incorrect – the characters are. So, there is no self-awareness there. There is self-awareness from the creators that we want to talk about these issues. But we’re just bumbling around. Besides being pure buffoonery and physical comedy and goofy sketches there is some weight to it and I think people appreciate it – that we’re able to tackle some really serious issues in a funny way. That’s what gives it weight and gives it longevity.

Q) You are a part of social media. What has the fan response to the new episodes been like so far?

A) People are really excited about it. They miss the show and they miss my character. Like I said, I’m a little light in the first batch of episodes. I’m sure they’ll be anxious to see what happens in the next. People really are excited the show is back. Jamie Lee Curtis tweeted, “Where have I been all my life?! How did I miss ‘Reno 911!?’” Steven Spielberg has been really happy about the show. Again, he was someone who had never seen it before and was surprised. So, we’re gaining new fans that are pretty prominently known and new younger fans that have never seen the show. It’s being well received. It’s always fun to be a part of something that people are really excited about.

Q) What have you personally taken away from being a part of the show?

A) I kind of marvel at the fact that I was allowed to play with these guys – with all of their extensive background with “The State” and as improv artists and their theatrical backgrounds. I was just a jock that got into standup comedy and made my way into all of these jobs. I’m pretty lucky considering the degree to which I’ve been properly trained. [smirks] I believe I’m talented, but yeah. I’m pretty lucky to be a part of this group. I kind of still marvel it at it like, “I’m glad you still chose me! It’s awesome!”

Q) You do both on screen and voiceover work. Do you have a preference?

A) I always say it is relative to the project. You can be on set and wait around all day on a really great project and go, “I’m bored. I hate this, but it’s a great on-camera gig.” Or you can be doing video games and shooting your voice out going, “I hate voiceover.” If I had to say my two favorite projects it would be “Reno 911!” and “Rocko’s Modern Life.” I have a reverence for both. They were both so special, but it really matters on what the show you’re working on. Certainly, with voiceover you can go and get it done. I can do it from my house. I can do jobs in my booth and that’s really cool. But being able to fire a weapon in the old days with Zach Galifianakis with a huge Gatling gun and a cop car explodes or if I’m running around with Kenny Rogers in a car – you can’t beat that! So, it’s relative to the project.

Q) What advice would you give to others interested in getting into voiceover?

A) Outside of myself, Dee Bradley Baker has a really great site online about what it is like to be a voiceover actor, things to do and what to expect. The advice is to make your own projects, little thirty second YouTube animated things with stick figures. Make it yourself. Do all of the voices. That’s a shortcut to the traditional method of making a YouTube link to all of your voices or a proper voice reel and sending it out to agents and hoping to get selected. You can do both. You can do traditional and then, “I’m going to do a goofy project about moles living underground and taking over the world.” That’s my new project and I wrote it and I’m doing all of the voices. Do your own stuff. That’s what I did with my movie. While I was absent from “Reno” and getting occasional gigs, I thought, “What do I want to do? What are the characters I want to play? What are the things I want to make? Can I afford to make it?” I pitched several projects with Mindy Sterling and Nicole Sullivan and Lorraine Newman. I made these short projects. I made these short films and I keep trying to pitch these shows continually. If it’s voiceover or on camera, it’s to be self-motivated. That’s what Ben [Garant], Tom and Kerri [Kinney-Silver] did! They were self-motivated. “Reno” doesn’t get made because somebody else thought of it. It really came out of desperation. They pitched a pilot to FOX and we got passed on. They thought, “We’re going to follow ‘Cops,’ so let’s make a show that is a parody of ‘Cops.’” That’s how “Reno” was born – just out of innovation and necessity. I think it’s a really wonderful story. That works for voiceover, too. I’m auditioning all the time for stuff. But at the same time, I’m trying to create my own content. I’m currently pitching with a producer named David Lincoln a show called “Off the Curb.” It’s perfect for Quibi and it would be wonderful if it happened. It’s an improvisational cartoon and it is based on four guys outside of a café – much like Do the Right Thing. It stars John DiMaggio, Gary Anthony Williams, Cedric Yarbrough, Fred Tatasciore, myself and Eric Bauza. I play a Filipino waiter who was based on my college professor. There are four guys outside of a café talking about, “Man! Frankenstein would whoop Dracula’s ass!” “Oh, hell no! First of all, Dracula would come up on Frankenstein and sucker punch him right in the mouth!” We did like five episodes and it’s on YouTube right now. That’s my baby. It’s my baby I’ve had for a few years. I’m pitching that and other animated shows and live action shows. I’m constantly just trying to create, create, create content for myself. Put it up! See what happens.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of you and the work you do?

A) I want to say thank you! It sounds really trite, but it’s really because of people that enjoy what you do that you keep going. I miss conventions and signing things for people in person, but the closest is to say hello online and do Zoom stuff and do Instagram stuff and have fans comment. We really appreciate you. It matters. It matters that you care and it matters that you like what we do. It keeps us going. I want to say thank you.