Dean Collins – Man of War

Q.  What are some of the current projects that you’ve been working on?

A.  I am doing a show right now called “The War At Home,” it’s on Fox.  It’s on after “The Simpsons” and it’s with Michael Rapaport.  I just finished a movie in the summer, it’s coming out I think April 21st, it’s called Hoot.  I also finished up a movie that just came out in theaters called Yours, Mine and Ours. 

Q.  What can you tell us about the premise for the movie Hoot and about your character?

A.  Hoot is based on a kid’s book, it’s actually about one main kid named Roy who moves from Montana to Florida.  He comes across a construction site where they are building a pancake house.  He soon realizes that there are little owls that he needs to save with a bunch of kids.  My character is Roy’s best friend in the film, my character’s name is Garrett.  In the beginning of the film Roy moves from Montana to Florida and doesn’t really fit in.  He still wears cowboy boots and everybody laughs at him.  I’m the one person who tries to engage in a conversation with Roy and my character is a goofy kind of kid, he’s pretty loud.  He’s somewhat obnoxious, but he means well.

Q.  How was getting to work with Luke Wilson on the project and reuniting with Logan Lerman?

A.  It was great, Luke Wilson, I know him from a lot of different movies and I’m a big fan of his.  He’s a great, cool guy all around and really nice. Logan Lerman is actually my best friend in real life and we worked on a show called “Jack and Bobby” together and it was a complete coincidence that we both did Hoot together, it was a blast.  I see him like every weekend, he’s a really cool kid and it was great working with him again.

Q.  Do you have a most memorable moment from working on this film?

A.  I don’t know, just working with such a cool cast like Brie Larson, Cody Linley and Logan.  I think my main memorable moment would be just working with an awesome cast and going on location.  We filmed in Florida and that was cool to get out of LA for a little while.

Q.  You mentioned working on the show “The War At Home,” for those viewers who haven’t been watching, why should they be tuning in?

A.  They should be tuning into “The War At Home” because it’s very funny and a somewhat edgy sitcom on Fox.  It’s like a normal family, it’s about a very edgy kind of family, it’s very real.  It’s a really funny show and it’s on before “Family Guy” and after “The Simpsons,” and it’s all around very funny.  Right when I got the script for it for my audition, I was laughing out loud.  It’s a really funny show so it keeps getting better and better as we get different episodes towards the end.  So yeah, it’s very funny.

Q.  Are you at all similar to the character that you play?

A.  I have a lot of similarities with my character on “The War At Home.”  The character I play is a little bit more manipulative than I am in real life.  I am not like that really, I can be, I definitely can be.  My character is into video games and I am not a big video gamer, but there are definitely certain similarities and traits between that character and myself.

Q.  We’ve interviewed a few of the cast members and they mentioned you all hanging out outside of work all the time, like a real family.  Do you all get together often?

A.  Yes, it’s crazy, I’ve worked on different shows where everyone is really friendly.  This show in particular, right when we started the pilot everyone was really nice.  When we got picked up for twenty-two episodes, straight when we went into the first episode, we all just bonded.  We were going to see Munich tonight but Michael couldn’t do it.  We go to the movies usually Monday or Tuesday night after work and Michael Rapaport and myself and various cast members just all hang out and have a good time.  Everyone is really cool, we all bond and get along well.

Q.  What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

A.  In my spare time I enjoy making my own homemade movies and editing them on my computer.  I like doing that a lot, I play the drums so I am into music and just friends, that’s about it.

Q.  Do you have a latest obsession?  Are you into any particular book, music group, sport or activity?

A.  There is a band called The Blake Collins band, he’s very good, it’s my brother.  I have to say I’m into The Blake Collins band and Elliott Smith and that’s about it for music right now.  Music is a big part of my life also. 

Q.  Now that it is 2006, what are you most looking forward to this year?

A.  I hope that the show I’m working on gets picked up for a second season and I am hoping I’ll get a project for this spring on my downtime when I’m not filming the show.  I hope that this year bigger projects come along the way, that’s mainly my biggest goal for the year.

Q.  What would you like to say to all of the fans and supporters of the show “The War At Home?”

A.  I would just like to say thank you very much for watching, I really appreciate it.  Continue to watch because it gets funnier every week and thank you very much.  It means a lot to me and the rest of the cast and everyone really appreciates it, so thank you.

“The War At Home” airs Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on FOX