Patrick Warburton – Rules of Engagement

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

A. Well, I’ve been working on a new show, a CBS midseason replacement show called “Rules of Engagement.”  It’s with a great cast and great writers and we all feel good about it.  You never know what’s going to happen with something, you gotta get it out there and see how it is received.  There are a number of things that fall in place with a midseason show.  You have to be able to squeeze into a good spot, if you don’t squeeze into a good spot already the odds are stacked against you.  We gotta get that good spot and people have to like it and watch it.  It is certainly tough for it to get a full half hour show and with our show it seems to me with a successful watch and get enough shows out of the order that you could see the potential of the show.  Times have changed, nine years ago there were over sixty half hour shows on the air and now there are only about twenty of them.

Q.  What can you tell us about the show?

A.  You’ve got the older couple that’s been around the block a few times and then you’ve got the single guy.  He’s played brilliantly by one David Spade, it’s really the chemistry I’d say everyone involved in the show and the cleverness in the writing that makes it an exceptional show.  What’s again, I’m in the midst of it, so it’s hard to have a real clear perspective on something that you’re in the midst of.  It feels pretty good so we’ll see what happens with it. 

Q.  You’ll also be seen in the upcoming film First Time Caller.

A.  I’ve learned that the title has been changed and it’s new name is I’ll Believe You.  The projected launch date is around March 2nd or March 3rd.  Supposedly it’s going on fifteen hundred screens nationally.  That’s a really good release for that movie.

Q.  You’ve also been doing the film festival circuit for the film The Civilization of Maxwell Bright.

A.  I’ve traveled all around the country with that, domestically I’ve been to Dublin, Ireland with it.  I believe it’s been to other parts of the world that I have not traveled with it.  It’s been great festival wise with this film, it’s been very well received in festivals.  Now they’re in the process of trying to get the film out there theatrically and that’s no easy task with a little movie that was shot on video.  They made the transfer to thirty-five millimeter and it looks a lot better.  It’s a good movie, it’s a movie I stand behind and a movie I believe in.  It obviously doesn’t have the same production value as an eighty million dollar studio picture.  But ultimately, a film has got to be about the story and the performances and how cohesive that all is and how it all works.  What kind of an emotional impact the film has and sometimes inspirational.  Many of those things have nothing to do with if you spent eighty million dollars on it or if you spent three hundred thousand dollars on it.  That’s why I believe in this film, it does seem to have everything outside of a production value. 

Q.  When the film makes its way around to theaters near viewers, why should they take the time to check it out?

A.  Well, from a purely salesman point of view I would say check out this movie if you like to see someone do something entirely different.  I usually play silly and goofy characters.  This is quite the departure for me, there is nothing at all cute and funny about this guy.  It’s a bit abrasive and off-putting and it was a tremendous opportunity for me to do something entirely different than anything I’ve ever done before.  I personally enjoy seeing people do things outside of what their perceived range would be.  I believe there are some of us in this project that I would categorize that way.  My character is absolutely horrendous by nature.

Q.  Speaking about your comedic skills, does comedic timing come naturally to you or are you constantly working at it?

A.  I don’t like talking about comedy, I tell you who I think is funny, I love Christopher Guest in anything he does.  I will tell you what comics I love, these days I love listening to Mitch Hedberg or Jim Gaffigan or my buddy Mike Wilson.  He’s a great impersonator, I think that takes a real talent.  I on the other hand, I’ve been fortunate to work with some great creators and writers.  Everything comes together but I don’t really consider myself to be a remarkably funny guy.  I sort of found myself playing some characters that turned out to be humorous.  But, I’m not one to analyze what is or isn’t funny. 

Q.  What do you think it is about the show “Family Guy” that continues to draw in viewers?

A.  I think that “Family Guy” is very funny, don’t get me wrong.  I do believe at times it can be hit and miss, that’s the nature of the beast when you really put it out there.  When you really take chances, when it’s funny it’s very funny, and sometimes you say to yourself that didn’t work.  For something to be as daring as “Family Guy,” you gotta take chances and risks.  I believe that the success that “Family Guy” has achieved is primarily due to the really risky and risqué stuff that they do.  The barriers that they bust through, whatever is taboo or considered politically incorrect and they just take a sledgehammer to it.  To get away with it is shocking, I think that’s what makes the show work and brings people back to it.  Let’s see who they are going to trash this week and how far over the line they’ll go this week.  For that matter, it makes me cringe when my son watches it.  But, what are you going to do, it’s funny and it’s rank but it’s just entertainment.  It’s just good, old fashioned entertainment; just not so clean. 

Q.  You do a lot of voiceover work, what makes this type of work so appealing to you?

A.  What’s great about doing voiceover work is being a participant in something that is obviously much greater than I contributed to.  Those who conceived the project, they write it, they create it, there is the artist that put in huge man hours into the art of the show.  So ultimately, what we as voiceover artists end up contributing is contributing only a small percent of the total project. We go in and work for an hour or so, or a few hours, but when all is said and done you have a total project that has great art and timing.  It has all the other aspects that you have nothing to do with it, you’re just part of the team.  Often times you don’t know what the final project is going to look like or how that show is even going to flow.  I remember when I did The Emperor’s New Groove, I didn’t know what a Kronk was.  The Emperor’s New Groove was a Disney movie that I had the opportunity to work on and it was a phenomenal experience.  When I first saw the dialogue for this character named Kronk, I didn’t know what a Kronk was.  I didn’t know if it was a beast, if a Kronk was a machine, I had never met anyone named Kronk.  I really didn’t think of Kronk as a man, when I first created the voice for Kronk, what I thought a Kronk sounded like I wasn’t even sure it was a man.

Q.  What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A.  Thanks always for the support, I am very thankful to my fans, particularly those that have seen some of the more obscure things that I’ve done.  I love it when someone comes up and says, “Hey, I saw The Woman Chaser, and I dug that.”  Or, “I saw The Dish or The Civilization of Maxwell Bright and I came to see it because I like you and I like your work.”  To me, that does mean an awful lot, you kind of feel like they’ve been along with you through the journey.  For me, it’s been kind of a trippy journey and it’s great to have been able to work consistently.  As an actor, you do want to diversify, so I have taken chances and I have tried to do some very different stuff. When your fans take note of that, when they go see it, when they seem to appreciate it, it does make it meaningful.  It makes it more so meaningful, so to say that it doesn’t bother you to get a bad review from a critic, to a degree you have to have a thick skin in regards to critics.  Ultimately, your fans are your critics and when they appreciate what you’ve done it does mean a lot.  It means a lot to me and I know in particular with the very specific things, those things that didn’t really get out there in such a public fashion as other projects.