Let me say this: I have said, any time, if it's Martin Mull, I will say yes. If it's Christopher Guest, I will say yes.
I'm a comedic actor, not to mix words, but it's something I think about. A comedic actor. I like to think that Christopher Guest, Phil Hartman, Peter Sellers and Alec Guinness are comedic actors. And Dan Aykroyd, too. Those are my heroes.
'Waiting For Guffman' was different right away from 'Spinal Tap,' because we didn't show the interviewer. That person became invisible immediately. That created a different way of tuning it and ultimately editing it.
'Spinal Tap' began as a mock rock band that we four - Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and myself - developed for an appearance on a TV pilot at the end of the 1970s. On our own initiative, we wrote and recorded most of the songs and performed them live in several music clubs around L.A. before any cameras rolled.
Music documentaries are tricky because of 'Spinal Tap.' That movie has stood the test of time.
I've always loved improvised movies like Christopher Guest and the 'Spinal Tap' era of comedy.
Comedy scares me a lot. I feel like it's way harder than drama. I think my safety net is definitely drama, and I would love to kind of be able to be able to push into the comedy world and do something kind of like a Christopher Guest kind of style show. That, to me, is my kind of comedy. Like, Ricky Gervais comedy. That's my kind of thing.
'Spinal Tap' influenced me, I think, specifically in making me really pay attention to tone.
'This is Spinal Tap' was a film we felt really had to be done like that. It wouldn't have worked any other way. And it turned out to be the first time a fiction film had really been made in a documentary format. I continued to do that, obviously, because it's a fun way to work.
The first 'Saturday Night Live' season I was heavily interested in was the one with Martin Short, Billy Crystal, and Christopher Guest. There was just something about Martin Short in particular. I really related to him and hung on his every word and mannerism, so I started impersonating all of his characters as an 8th grader.
Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara are two of my favorite actors.
Everybody I run into goes, 'Hey, 'Best in Show!'' Or, 'Hey, that dog movie!' which I don't mind because I'm not too good on titles.
I've gotten to portray things in [Christopher Guest's] movies that I wouldn't have in others.
I could not do the film Spinal Tap because I was already at MTV and it was occupying all my time.
I will remember the night I won the New Comedy Awards, as I was young and unformed, so that sticks in the mind. I've also done a fantastic gig at the Royal Albert Hall, which was amazing. Appearing in the Christopher Guest film was also a real highlight, even if I was only in it for a couple of minutes.
I remember seeing 'Spinal Tap' at a young age and being like, 'That's how you perform comedy.'
People still quote my lines from 'Best in Show.'
I would love to interview Michael McKean and his wife, who wrote the songs for 'A Mighty Wind,' which is my favorite Christopher Guest movie. I'm just a sucker for any funny guy that has a wife who is intelligent and that he collaborates with.
Getting those parts in the Christopher Guest movies was the second biggest helper to my career after 'Fernwood.'
Christopher Guest movies are my top of the line favorites.
I just look back, and I say, you know, Christopher Guest just raised my whole career to another level.
I was in the pilot for Spinal Tap before it was a movie.
Some of the Christopher Guest movies, when I'm not really like myself, when I have my hair dyed blonde or had a faux-hawk haircut. Those I like to watch because it takes you away from your real self.
Chris Guest movies are funny.
