Tony Hale sat down with The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk in the latest episode of “At Home With The Creative Coalition,” a podcast featuring unplugged and uncensored conversations with today’s biggest stars. In the newest episode, Hale talks about discovering that he landed his role in “Arrested Development” just days before his wedding, compares his character on “Veep” to a real bodyman, reveals why he was nervous before carrying Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ purse at the Emmys, and more. Highlights below.
At Home With The Creative Coalition” is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio and more.
Listen now at:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-florida-with-love-with-guest-tony-hale/id1521900273?i=1000540535617
For planned coverage, please link to:
http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast
Highlights from “At Home With The Creative Coalition” featuring Tony Hale —
On the story behind his 2013 on-stage Emmys bit with Julia Louis-Dreyfus:
“She had called me that morning of the Emmys, and said, ‘Hey, I have an idea. If I win, I’d like for you to carry my purse.’ And I remember thinking, ‘Okay, you are going to win, and that’s terrifying.’ Because this is live TV, and we got to come up with something. So we came up with a little bit of, like, me whispering to her to not forget her family, but other than that, it was kind of a free-for-all. And I’ll never forget, when they called her name and she turned around to look at me and I was like, ‘Okay, now or never. Showtime!’ And so I just ran up there, and that’s crazy. And thankfully it worked out.”
On landing the role as Buster Bluth on “Arrested Development” right before his wedding:
“Back then, you put yourself on tape and you sent that VHS tape all the way to L.A. from New York. There was none of this digital stuff. And so, you know, I just kind of put myself, I remember this casting director named Marcia DeBonis who’s also an actress, she put me on tape for ‘Arrested Development,’ and they sent out the tape and I kind of forgot about it just because, that year, I had met my wife, and we had been dating for about a year and we were planning to get married, and I was very focused on the wedding. And then I got the call that they wanted to fly me out to L.A. for a callback. And I was like, ‘What?’ That had never happened to me. And so then I went out to L.A. for the callback and ended up getting it and shooting the pilot in that same trip, which was very strange. And then I flew back and kind of was just like, ‘Well, that was weird. That was crazy.’ And then 10 days before I got married, the show got picked up and I had to tell my wife, like, ‘I think we’re moving out to L.A.’”
On working with Jason Bateman:
“Jason [Bateman] was really a huge name, and they were just very welcoming and normal. And again, I was so overwhelmed. I was probably the guy that was like, ‘Ahhhh!’ But very funny, and the thing about Jason that I have so much appreciation for is he was surrounded by such broad characters and very crazy, wacky energy, and he, even though he’s considered the straight man, he had to bounce off that energy constantly and turn it. He would have to turn the joke, always, because we would be throwing him such crazy things, and he would have to dryly turn it. That’s a real skill, it really is.”
On meeting a real bodyman while preparing to shoot “Veep”:
“I think it was during the pilot, and we got the chance to meet somebody who was our character, really. So I got to meet a guy who was a bodyman. And this guy, you know, he was with a famous politician, and he, you know, he didn’t have a life. He didn’t have a life for two or three years. He was 24/7 this politician’s life, and he never saw his family, he never saw anybody. But the difference with him was that he left that job and then went on to do other things. My character stayed in that job into his 40s. Because he had no life, no identity outside of Selena, and he didn’t want any life outside of Selena.”
On whether he’s a political person:
“Not really. Not really, no. Well, there were two things, which the plus of that was. My character really didn’t have to be very political, because he really just cared about how she looked, and that she loved him. That’s the only thing he really cared about. But also, I kind of liked that I wasn’t so political because I think the show ‘Veep,’ even though it’s obviously centered around politics, it’s really about office politics, and any business can relate to it, because this character — everybody’s just trying to get ahead, and Selena would just do anything to get ahead. And also, it’s like, she was the popular kid, and everyone circled around her, and it’s like, everybody deals with that, every office deals with that crap.”
On child actors:
“I have a lot of admiration for kids in the business because I think it’s tough. I think it’s tough to be that age getting into the business, because not only are you kind of having to deal with a crew and all that stuff, and kind of learn the world of shooting, but, you know, you have to go school half the day. And, I don’t have to go to school half the day. And then you got to show up with a good attitude right after it. And also, we were shooting this in the middle of COVID, and the kids, I really respect how they just kind of stepped up.”
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More about “At Home With The Creative Coalition”
Hosted by The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk, “At Home With The Creative Coalition” brings listeners intimate portraits, key moments of discovery, and “art and soul” conversations with iconic entertainment industry personalities from the big screen to the boardroom, from L.A. to D.C. Listen now at http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast.
Upcoming guests include Mädchen Amick (“Riverdale”), Shiri Appleby (“UnREAL”), Justin Bartha (“The Hangover,” “National Treasure”), Kerry Ehrin (“The Morning Show”), Evan Handler (“And Just Like That…,” “Californication”), Michael Imperioli (“The Many Saints of Newark,” “The Sopranos”), New York Times Bestselling Author Susan Isaacs (“Compromising Positions”), Aasif Mandvi (“Evil”), Rachel Mason (“Circus of Books”), International Bestselling Author Patrick McGinnis (“The 10% Entrepreneur,” “Fear of Missing Out”), Yolonda Ross (“The Chi”), Steve Schirripa (“Blue Bloods,” “The Sopranos”), Reid Scott (“Echo”), Alena Smith (“Dickinson”), and Matt Walsh (“Veep”).
Previous guests include Jason Alexander (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), David Alan Basche (“The Exes”), Asante Blackk (“This Is Us”), Carly Chaikin (“Mr. Robot”), Wilson Cruz (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Alan Cumming (“Briarpatch”), Ethan Cutkosky (“Shameless”), The Creative Coalition President and actor Tim Daly (“Madam Secretary”), Lea DeLaria (“Orange Is the New Black”), Griffin Dunne (“This Is Us”), Michael Fishman (“Roseanne,” “The Conners”), Jim Gaffigan (“The Jim Gaffigan Show”), Willie Garson (“Just Like That”), Judy Gold (“The Other F Word”), Nicholas Gonzalez (“The Good Doctor”), Clark Gregg (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), Patricia Heaton (“Everybody Loves Raymond,” “The Middle”), Jon Huertas (“This Is Us,” “Castle”), Jason Isaacs (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Richard Kind (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Chad Lowe (“Supergirl”), Marlee Matlin (“CODA,” “The West Wing”), AnnaLynne McCord (“Let’s Get Physical”), Eric McCormack (“Will and Grace”), Wendi McLendon-Covey (“The Goldbergs”), Katherine McNamara (“Shadowhunters”), Marta Milans (“Shazam!”), Rob Morrow (“Billions”), Kathy Najimy (“Duncanville”), Haley Joel Osment (“Future Man,” “Entourage”), Bill Prady (“The Big Bang Theory”), Jessica Queller (“Supergirl”), Anthony Rapp (“Rent”), Mona Scott-Young (“Love & Hip Hop”), Julie Taymor (“The Lion King”), Krista Vernoff (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Alfre Woodard (“Clemency,” “Luke Cage”), Constance Zimmer (“Good Trouble”), and David Zucker (“Airplane!,” “Scary Movie”).
More about The Creative Coalition
The Creative Coalition is the premier nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community. Founded in 1989 by prominent members of the creative community, The Creative Coalition is dedicated to educating, mobilizing, and activating its members on issues of public importance. Actor Tim Daly serves as the organization’s President. The Creative Coalition also creates award-winning public service campaigns including #RightToBearArts to promote the efficacy of the arts. The Creative Coalition harnesses the unique platforms of the arts community and entertainment industry to make positive impacts on social welfare issues. For more information, visit https://thecreativecoalition.org.
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