"Best in Show"

October 19, 2000

Actor and comedian Fred Willard, who cracked up audiences with his hysterical turn in "Waiting for Guffman," is back--and this time his performance is for the dogs, literally, as a commentator in the hilarious new mockumentary, "Best in Show."

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Warner Bros Host: Welcome chatters! Today we are laughing it up with Fred Willard who is getting rave reviews for his performance as a dog show commentator in "Best In Show." We'd like to welcome Fred Willard! Thank you for being here and chatting with us today. First, congratulations on a wonderfully hilarious performance and all the well-deserved raves.

Fred Willard: It's a pleasure! It's a fun movie and I was pleased to be part of it.

Warner Bros Host: Let's start with our first question. So what is it like to be "the funniest man on the face of the earth?"

Fred Willard: (laughs) Well, I wouldn't know, but I imagine it would be a wonderful feeling. And I imagine it would be hard to get through a serious conversation, but you'll have to ask someone else. Jay Leno said "the funniest man in the world."

Misty Lake View: You are so incredibly funny! What inspired you to go into comedy?

Fred Willard: When I started out, I found that if I did a drama, the audience would tend to chuckle at the line readings. One of my first scenes was Tennessee Williams' "Mooney's Kid Don't Cry," and every night the audience would laugh. Finally one night, the director had to make a curtain speech and say, "What you're about to see is a drama, although there are some funny lines." So I guess it was just my way of speaking.

Frankenstein: I understand that there was no actual script for "Best In Show," just a slim outline. Could you describe what you were given to work from, and the experience?

Fred Willard: There was a 15-page outline for the whole script. All it said in the script was "Buck Laughlin and Trevor Beckwith describe what they see." Now verbally, Chris Guest told me my character was an ex-college football coach, an ex-athlete, who hadn't taken the time to learn anything about dogs. And that's really all we had.

Warner Bros Host: What was that like?

Fred Willard: Well, it's very freeing, but also very nerve-wracking because you're creating your own character and your own script. So your part rises or falls just on your creation, and you can't demand re-writes.

Nancy Boy: You've worked with so many amazing people. Who have been your favorites?

Fred Willard: Christopher Guest, of course. Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara--I've been a big fan of theirs since their days on SCTV. Another favorite is Robert Klein, who I worked with for one year at Second City in Chicago. He's still one of my favorite comedians.

Silly Wench: You were the absolute funniest thing in an already really funny movie. Did you know from the outset that you would figure so prominently? Or were you put in a lot because you were so funny?

Fred Willard: In "Waiting for Guffman," 30 hours of film were shot and boiled down to 82 minutes, so I figured I would be in "Best In Show" even less than that. I thought a lot of it would be voiced over, with an occasional on-camera glimpse. Because of the fear of being left on the cutting room floor, I may have re-doubled my efforts, as if to say to Christopher Guest, "Try cutting THAT out!"

Alibi: You are an amazing improvisational actor. What kind of training did you have to get to be so great?

Fred Willard: I did one year at Chicago's Second City, where I learned how to develop a scene. I also did about five years with a comedy group called Ace Trucking Company where we learned to work fast and be joke-oriented for a night club audience. Also, many sketches on Jay Leno's show where, just before I go on, they say, "Don't worry about the script--just make Jay laugh!"

Winkin: Do you have any pets? Dogs in particular?

Fred Willard: No. I had a cocker spaniel as a young boy. But we do feed several homeless cats in our house, and that results in frequent visits from raccoons, opossums and a very cute family of skunks.

Freida K: What advice would you give to a person trying to break into the comedy/movie business?

Fred Willard: Try to develop about five minutes of stand-up material, and get up at the smallest, most obscure club you can find. Don't worry if it's not too funny. It will still bring you to people's attention. As an actor, join a theater group or acting class--not so much for the training, but you make friends that, for years to come, could possibly help you and you could help them.

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