CooperTalk

Steve Cooper talks with actor Alan Ruck. Alan is best known for his role as Cameron Frye, Ferris Bueller's hypochondriac best friend, in Ferris Buehler's Day Off and as Stuart Bondek, the lecherous, power-hungry member of the mayor's staff on the hit series Spin City. His first film role was in the 1983 drama film Bad Boys and has appeared in numerous films since then such as Class, Three for the Road, Young Guns II, Speed, Three Fugitives, Star Trek Generations, Extraordinary Measures, The Happening and Ghost Town. His long list of TV credits include Psych, Grey's Anatomy, Stargate Atlantis, Cougar Town, Drive, Scrubs, The Bronx is Burning, Medium, Burn Notice, Hawaii Five-O and NCIS. He also made his first Broadway appearance in Biloxi Blues in the early 80's and starred in a version of the Producers in 2005.

Steve Cooper talks with comedian/voice actor Rachel Butera. Rachel is most recognized for her impressions on the Howard Stern Show, and most recently as a contestant on America's Got Talent. She does stand-up all around LA, and incorporating the voices of Wanda Sykes, Rosie O'Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg, Cyndi Lauper, Joan Rivers, Jodi Foster, among many others. She draws her humor from her crazy family and the rich New Jersey characters she grew up with. She currently provides voices for FOXADHD's Golan Insatiable, Adult Swim's King Star King, Comedy Central's Trip Tank and you can hear her in various radio and TV commercials. Look for her in an upcoming episode of The Impression Guys from Soul Pancake on YouTube, and as a guest star on the Josh Robert Thompson Show.

Steve Cooper talks with musician/actor Sean McNabb. Sean got his first big break in music playing bass for Quiet Riot when he was 21. He has recorded over 35 CD's in his discography. He has also toured and recorded with House of Lords, Great White, Lynch Mob, Montrose, Edgar Winter, Maya, Bad Moon Rising, Rough Cutt, and XYZ. He can be heard on the Dr. Phil Show in the music tracks and the I'm Loving It, McDonald's breakfast commercials. He has also performed with several pop artists, country, blues, and folk singer/songwriters. In addition to music, he is acting in Hollywood in film and television, most recently on FX TV's Sons of Anarchy. He starred along TV and Broadway greats in Los Angeles plays. He has appeared in films, TV and in commercials. He was on the cover, and was profiled, by the Beverly Hills Times as a rising star in the world of acting. 

Steve Cooper talks with Brad Carter. Brad is a multi-talented actor, musician and comedy writer who recently earned critical acclaim as incarcerated criminal Charlie Lange opposite Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey and Oscar nominee Woody Harrelson in the HBO Emmy nominated series True Detective. He also joined the final season of Kurt Sutter’s critically acclaimed FX series Sons of Anarchy in the recurring role of Leland Gruen opposite Charlie Hunnam and will soon star in SyFy’s new highly anticipated series Ascension. Additionally, he is soon to release his debut, self-produced studio album and in 2015 and he will share the silver screen with Johnny Depp in Warner Bros suspense thriller Black Mass. In 2014, he made history when he underwent Deep Brain Stimulation surgery in an effort to slow down the progression of his battle with Essential Tremor. The seven hour procedure, which he allowed to be filmed live, consisted of implanting electrodes into his thalamus to get relief from a Tremor disease that had plagued him for years. The video immediately went viral as he played the guitar during the seven hour procedure garnering hundreds of millions of views worldwide. In all, Brad had two brain surgeries and a 3rd surgery to implant the pacemaker in his chest.

Steve Cooper talks with TV writer Michael Platt. Michael got his start in stand-up performing around NYC and on the road, appearing on shows such as Evening at the Improv, Caroline's and on Comedy Central and later opened on the road for Howie Mandel. He crossed over to the writing field when he got a staff job for the Rhea Perlman's sitcom Pearl. Since then he has written or been a producer for numerous shows including Weeds, Glory Daze, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Howie Mandel Show, What About Joan, Betas and Sullivan & Son.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Erik Palladino. Erik has been in over 20 feature films. He has starred in movies U-571 alongside Matthew McConaughey and Harvey Keitel, Finders Fee opposite James Earl Jones and the teen comedy Can't Hardly Wait. In 1999, Palladino landed his breakthrough series regular role, one month after returning from the U-571 shoot in Rome, on ER as Dr. Dave Malucci, which he played in season six until season eight in 2001. In 2005, he was one of the leads of the critically acclaimed FX television series Over There as Sgt. Scream, the leader of a squad of U.S. 3rd Infantry Division soldiers involved the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. He has guest starred on many shows such as 666 Park Avenue, NCIS: Los Angeles, Harry's Law's,  Castle, Rizzoli & Isles, White Collar, NCIS, Burn Notice, Fringe, Private Practice, CSI, Judging Amy, Murphy Brown, Joan of Arcadia Law & Order: SVU, Numb3rs and Criminal Minds to name a few and is also the singer of the rock band Hearing Red.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Alex Fernandez. Alex is an accomplished actor and with voice-over work artist. Through the latter you may have heard him in Spawn, Pet Shop of Horrors, Spicy City, Final Fantasy X, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, Dead Rising, Saints Row and many others. As an actor he has had recurring roles or been a regular on series such as Dallas, The Bridge, Devious Maids, Commander in Chief, Prison Break, Army Wives, NCIS and Killer Women and has guest starred in numerous shows including Stalker, The Mentalist, Criminal Minds, Modern Family and Rizzoli & Isles. He is also directs and performs in stage productions throughout the L.A. area. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Thaao Penghlis. Thaao is better known for roles in U.S. daytime Soap Operas such as Santa Barbara, Days of Our Lives where he played Tony DiMera and General Hospital where he was Victor Cassadine. He has also appeared on many major crime shows such as Kojak, Cannon, Hart to Hart, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe and Magnum P.I. plus he starred in the late 80's remake of Mission Impossible. An accomplished stage actor and master storyteller he is about to release his second book about his travels titled Places, The Journey of my Days, My Lives.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Larry Hankin. Larry is an American actor, producer, director and performer. He studied acting at Syracuse University and started his career doing stand-up comedy where he opened for acts such as Woody Allen and Miles Davis. He is known for his roles on the TV series Seinfeld and Friends as Mr. Heckles and has appeared in over 100 other shows. One of his notable roles was in the movie Escape from Alcatraz, in which he acted with Clint Eastwood. He also had a significant role with the actor Adam Sandler in the movie Billy Madison. He has had cameo roles in a number of John Hughes films, Planes, Trains & Automobiles and Home Alone as well as minor roles in the movies Running Scared and The Sure Thing and numerous others. He received an Academy Award nomination for the short film, Solly's Diner. One of his recent popular appearances includes a role as a junkyard owner in Season 3 of TV's Breaking Bad. He currently is writing, producing, directing and starring in a series of short movies.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Perry King. Perry has had a very versatile career starring in roles in film, television and on Broadway. He first became a favorite with American TV audiences playing Dectective Cody Allen in Riptide. In 1995 he starred as Haley Armstrong on Melrose Place. He also had a recurring role as Heather Locklear's love interest on Spin City and has had guest starring roles on shows such as Will & Grace, Cold Case, Without a Trace, Big Love, Brothers and Sisters, Drop Dead Diva, The Mentalist and numerous more. He played the President in The Day After Tomorrow and has been in countless films including The Lords of Flatbush, The Possesion of Joe Delaney, Mandigo, Lipstick, Class of 1984 and Switch. He currently is about to start shooting The Divide which he is producing, directing and starring in.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/comic/voice-over artist Carlos Alazraqui. Carlosis the World's 1,247TH Most Interesting Man. Currently he is the breakout voice of El Chupacabra in the Disney Toons Film, Planes. El Chu will also be appearing in the Planes sequel coming out July 2014. Starting out as a stand up Comic and winning the San Francisco Comedy Competition in 1993 and then moving to Los Angeles to start his voice over career as the voice of Rocko, on Nickelodeon's Rocko's Modern Life. Soon after he was Mr. Weed on Family Guy and then on to The Taco Bell Chihuahua. On camera Carlos is best known for his super accurate portrayal of law enforcement officer, James Garcia on Comedy Central's Reno 911!. Since then Carlos has guested on CSI, Pushing Daisies, Big Time Rush, Las Vegas, and appeared as Nestor in both Happy Feet and Happy Feet 2.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Louis Herthum. Louis got his first big break after moving to LA from Louisiana by being cast as Deputy Andy Broom in the CBS hit Murder She Wrote for five seasons and hasn't looked back. His impressive resume includes recurring roles in TV shows such as Longmire, True Blood and The Gates and has guest starred in numerous series including Men of a Certain Age, Criminal Minds, Stalker, CSI: Miami, The Mentalist, NCIS, The Riches and Breaking Bad. His film credits include Thank You Phillip Morris, Favorite Son, The Rain Makers, The Mist, The Last Exorcism and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He also produced seven movies including the documentary The Season Before Spring. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Mircea Monroe. Mircea currently can be seen co-starring in the Showtime series Episodes as Morning Randolph and as Tansy Truitt in Hart of Dixie. She has numerous other TV film credits including Sullivan & Sons, Supernatural, Franklin & Bash, Without a Trace, Anger Management, Magic Mike, The Mentalist, Ghostfacers, Drive, How I Met Your Mother and White Collar.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Michael McGrady. Michael made his foray into television was quickly as he was cast in one of the nations first Cherry Pepsi commercials. From then on he has worked steadily in the industry for almost 30 years. He has guest starred on countless shows such as 24, CSI: Miami, Leverage, Prison Break, Rizzoli & Isles, Hawaii Five-0, Longmire, Breakout Kings and Castle. He has co-starred in the series Low Winter Sun, Southland, Mob City and Day Break and currently can be seen playing Frank Barnes in Showtime's hit series Ray Donovan.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Zack Ward. Zack gained immortalization in his first role as schoolyard bully Scott Farkus in the timeless movie A Christmas Story. However he has a resumé spanning much further than the long-standing holiday favorite. The Canadian actor is well known for his role as Dave Scovil on the darkly humorous, Emmy-nominated sitcom Titus, and has participated in a number of prime-time shows including Crossing Jordan, NCIS, Cold Case, Mike & Molly, Chicago Fire, Lost and Hawaii Five-O. He can also be seen in two video-game inspired films: BloodRayne 2 and Resident Evil: Apocalypse and has appeared in movies such as Transformers, Almost Famous and Freddy vs. Jason. He recently producer and co-starred in the suspense thriller Don't Blink which was released on October 14.

Steve Cooper talks with Steve Skrovan, Bill Masters and Jon Hayman. The three wrote for Seinfeld in season 4 under the title Program Consultants. Their job was to tell stories and pitch ideas for scripts. Season 4 was one of Seinfeld's best and included episodes such as The Contest, The Virgin, The Bubble Boy, The Junior Mint, The Smelly Car and The Movie which the three of them co-wrote. All had successful stand-up careers and have amassed an amazing amount of writing credits between them including shows such as Everybody Loves Raymond, Hot in Cleveland, The Chris Rock Show, Murphy Brown and Caroline in the City. Skrovan has won two Emmys.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Alejandro Patino. Alejandro is best known for his role as Cesar on the FX hit The Bridge. He has been steadily working in Film, Television and on Stage for over 20 years after getting his break in the movie Bowfinger. He has 58 film credits including Our Family Wedding, The Runaways, Holyweed, Freeloaders and the blockbuster Iron Man 2. You can also see him in Fast & Furious and The Soloist. In A Border Story, he turns in a compelling performance as the lead character Eliseo Gomez an immigrant in search of a better life for his family. On television, he has appeared in the mini-series Kingpin, 5 television movies with recurring roles on ABC’s Desperate Housewives and Weeds on Showtime. He recently filmed 2 pilots, Mr. Sunshine starring Matthew Perry, executive produced and directed by Thomas Schlamme, Dick Wolf's Lost & Found and has a long list of episodic television credits including It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Cold Case, Las Vegas, My Name Is Earl, Medium, Criminal Minds, House M.D. and Huff to name a few. 

Steve Cooper talks with TV writer Mark Brazill. Mark started his career doing stand-up comedy and quickly made many television appearances and headlined clubs across the USA. After he opened for Dennis Miller he got recruited to be a writer on The Dennis Miller show. After the ending of that show he started to write for In Living Color. He later joined the writing staff on 3rd Rock from the Sun and eventually created the long running Fox hit That 70's Show. He also created the sitcoms Mr. Rhodes and That 80's Show. He left the business for 7 years and owned an 100 acre farm but recently came off of his hiatus. He currently writes for Disney XD's number one show Lab Rats and is creating a series with Jason Lee for TBS.

Steve Cooper talks with comic/actor Cathy Ladman. Cathy She has not only appeared on The Tonight Show nine times, but was also the only female comic to appear on the last two of Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show Anniversary shows. She’s made four appearances, thus far, on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, did her own HBO One Night Stand comedy special, and was awarded the American Comedy Award for Best Female Stand Up Comic. She is an acclaimed television and film actor. Her film credits include Charlie Wilson’s War, The Aristocrats and White Oleander. Her TV appearances include Mad Men, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Everybody Loves Raymond. She's done several TV pilots, including Caroline in the City, in which she had a recurring role and a bunch of others that barely saw the light of day. She also appeared regularly on ABC's Politically Incorrect and Comedy Central's Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist. Besides writing her standup act and original scripted projects, she was on the writing staffs of The Caroline Rhea Show, Caroline in the City and Roseanne. She also wrote an episode of King of Queens and other sitcoms. Her theatre credits include a successful run Off-Broadway in, The JAP Show: The Princesses of Comedy, the 25th Anniversary production of Last Summer at Bluefish Cove in Los Angeles, which was nominated for several GLAAD awards, and she and HBO developed her first solo show, Scaredypants and took it to the Aspen Comedy Festival. Her second solo show, Does This Show Make Me Look Fat? will be opening in Spring of 2014.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Mark Boone Junior. Boone is best known for his role of Bobby Munson in FX's hit series Sons of Anarchy. He has had a successful acting career spanning three decades, appearing in a plethora of films across all genres. He has appeared in blockbuster hits such as Warner Bros. Batman Begins which was directed by Christopher Nolan who also directed him in Memento. He has also appeared in Armageddon 2, 2 Fast 2 Furious, The General's Daughter and Die Hard II. Boone's additional film credits include Get Carter, Of Mice and Men, The Thin Red Line, Seven and many others including Trees Lounge in which he starred opposite his long time writing partner and friend Steve Buscemi. In addition to his numerous film credits, Boone has also starred in a myriad of television roles in hit shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Law & Order, Seinfeld and Carnivale.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Art LaFleur. Art has had many guest-starring roles on television series that include JAG, Angel, Webster, Benson, Northern Exposure, Home Improvement, ER, Boy Meets World, The Practice, Malcolm in the Middle, Cold Case and The Mentalist. He is also a familiar face to the big screen where some of his roles include Babe Ruth in The Sandlot, the Tooth Fairy in The Santa Clause 2 & 3 and Chick Gandil in Field of Dreams. He also has appeared in numerous other movies such as The Man with One Red Shoe, City Heat, WarGames, Cobra, Death Warrant, Jack the Bear, Forever Young and Bad Guys.

Steve Cooper talks with director Jeannette Godoy. Jeannette has a varied background, having begun her career as a choreographer for commercials, feature films and music videos. She is well known for her choreography in Sir Mix-A-Lot’s famous video Baby Got Back. She later became a stylist for feature film and commercials but it was her desire to share her poignant, method of storytelling that led her to pursue directing. Her passion for filmmaking was evident in her work, which garnered praise from major sources during her rookie year of directing.  She was nominated for Shoot Magazine’s prestigious New Director Showcase and Best Work You May Never See, Shots Magazine Young Directors Award at Cannes and Shots Best New Directors of 2011.   Since then she has worked with companies such as Zest, NHL Team the Phoenix Coyotes, Gannett and Nike, and collaborated with agencies like Barkley, Cramer Krasselt and Partners + Napier. She has also crafted a documentary short film Free 2 Be Me which premiered in film festivals throughout the US.

Steve Cooper talks with actor David Marciano. David is best known for his roles as Detective Steve Billings in The Shield and Virgil in Homeland. He has been a regular on many other series including Mind of a Married Man, Judging Amy, Due South and Civil Wars. He also has guest starred on countless shows including NYPD Blue, Nash Bridges, Wiseguy, JAG, CSI: Crime Investigation Scene, NCIS, Lie to Me, House M.D., CSI: NY, Criminal Minds and Law & Order: SVU.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Lombardo Boyar. Lombardo is a veteran of the US Army and was part of the 82nd Airborne Division. After he got out he decided to pursue acting. Some of his notable performances include a brief part as convenience-store robber Ramon Garcia on Fox's 24, a starring role as burglar Eddie Tesoro in P.S. Your Cat is dead, his live-action performance as Sergio del Rio on Steven Bochco's Over There and guesting on a semi regular basis as Chuy on The Bernie Mac Show. He has lent his voice to the movies Happy Feet and Happy Feet 2 and many other projects. He recently was one of the stars of The Joe Schmo Show and the hit series Murder in the First and has appeared in Southland, Cold Case, NCIS, Shameless, Breakout Kings and many other shows. 

Steve Cooper talks with comic/writer Lisa Sundstedt. Lisa is a successful stand up comic, singer, writer and voiceover actress. She has narrated dozens of shows for E! including Maxim Hot 100, The 101 Guiltiest Guilty Pleasures & 50 Most Shocking Celebrity Confessions. Some of her VO commercial campaigns include Blue Bunny Ice Cream, Safeway/Pavilion's, Ford,AT&T radio, Blackberry, Beringer Wines and Mattel just to name a few. She has been featured Chelsea Lately on E!, The Chelsea Handler Show on E!, Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, Tracey Takes On on HBO, The Test on FX, Hudson Street with Tony Danza on ABC, Shasta McNasty, Jerry Lewis Telethon, Nashville Now on TNN, Robot Chicken on Cartoon Network (various voices) & over 20 National Commercials. She was also featured on Web MD’s mental health section under Bipolar Experts Answers as the comedic host. For the last 15 years she has been the face behind the comedy brand Pretty, Funny Women where she teaches female comics and produces stand-up shows at the top clubs in the LA area. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Jack Plotnick. Jack got his first big break playing recurring characters on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Since then he has been a staple on TV and in movies. He has been a co-star or a regular on shows such as Action, Drawn Together, Reno 911, Ellen, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Joan of Arcadia, Lovespring International and The Mentalist. He has also guest starred in series such as Two and a Half Men, House M.D., Supernatural, Nip/Tuck, Glee, Dads, Seinfeld, Franklin & Bash, Criminal Minds and many others and has appeared in dozens of national commercials. His movie appearances include Meet the Fockers, Mystery Men, Beverly Hills Chihauhau and Reno 911! Miami. He recently made his directorial debut in a film he stars in and co-wrote, Space Station 76 and will be directing a play he also co-wrote on Broadway next year.

Steve Cooper talks with writer/comic Jeff Stilson. Jeff got his start doing stand-up comedy and has performed on numerous TV shows such as HBO's 14th Annual Young Comedians Special, TV Nation, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, HBO Comedy Half-Hour, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Comedy Central Presents. He then transitioned to writing and won two Emmys, one for The Chris Rock Show and one for the Osbournes. He has also written on such shows as The Late Show with David Letterman, Lopez Tonight, Last Comic Standing, The Daily Show, Da Ali G Show, Politically Incorrect and The Wayne Brady Show. In addition he writes for many award shows and wrote and directed the documentary Good Hair. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Max Gail. Max is best known for his role as Detective Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz in the sitcom Barney Miller and as Harold the owner of the taxi company in D.C. Cab. He has also starred in other TV series including Whiz Kids, Normal Life and Sons & Daughters. He has made many appearances in other shows such as Cannon, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Due South, The Streets of San Francisco, The Drew Carey Show, Quantum Leap, Psych, Gary Unmarried, Legit and NCIS. He recently co-starred in the hit 2013 movie about Jackie Robinson, 42 and his production company Full Circle produces documentaries.

Steve Cooper talks with comic/actor Jeannette Rizzi. Jeanette has developed the brand, Blindsided. After years of dealing with her best friend's suicide during high school and battling her own depression, she decided to overcome her problem and deal with the affects of suicide and try to help prevent it. She wrote a one woman show, Blindsided which was a humorous and touching look into her life. After the success of that she started her own podcast of the same name where her and her co-hosts, one a comic one a therapist, deal with different problems that people face. She now has embarked on the making the documentary, Blindsided that will take suicide head-on and attempt to help with finding answers and embracing the healing process.

Steve Cooper talks with actor LaMonica Garrett. LaMonica currently can be seen of FX's Sons of Anarchy where he plays deputy sheriff Cane. He may also look familiar from his role in the critical acclaimed Sigourney Weaver series Political Animals, has been seen on CBS's Mike & Molly, had a recurring part in BET's The Game and guest starred on Arrested Development. Some of his other credits include Suits, NCIS: Los Angeles, CSI: Miami, NCIS, Dark Blue and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. He also has been in numerous national commercials and was one of the stars of the full-contact basketball league Slam Ball.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Spencer Garrett. Spencer got introduced to the entertainment field at a young age, his mother was an actress and his father was a talent agent. After college he gravitated towards the industry and studied with the legendary teacher Sanford Meisner. Throughout his 25 year career he has consistently worked on many different projects. His various TV credits include Franklin & Bash, Masters of Sex, Star Trek: Voyager, Judging Amy, The Practice, The X-Files, Carnivale, JAG, Law & Order, Cold Case, Luck, Mad Men, Major Crimes and Satisfaction. He is also a familiar face on the big screen appearing is such movies as Yes Man, Mississippi is Burning, Charlie Wilson's War, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Thank You For Smoking and Public Enemies.

Steve Cooper talks with singer/songwriter Deana Carter. Deana is the daughter of legendary Nashville studio guitarist Fred Carter Jr. After college graduation she worked in a few hospitals deciding to pursue a musical career at the age of 23. For several years she worked odd jobs as she continued to develop her songwriting skills and sing at Nashville nightclubs. Eventually one of her demo tapes made its way to Willie Nelson while another wound up in the offices of Capitol Nashville. Nelson, who remembered her from childhood, was impressed with her songs and asked her to perform at Farm Aid VII in 1994 where she was the only female on the bill. Within a year, Capitol Nashville had signed her to a contract. Boasting six songs she co-wrote, her debut album, Did I Shave My Legs For This? was released to strong reviews in late summer of 1996. By the end of the year the record had climbed to the upper reaches of the country charts and had made inroads to the pop charts going gold in the process. Everything's Gonna Be Alright followed in late 1998. In 2001, she realized her dream of performing with her father on the holiday album Father Christmas. I'm Just a Girl, a recording that leans strongly towards pop was released on Artista Nashville in 2003. The Story of my Life followed in 2005 on Vanguard and a second Vanguard release, The Chain came out in 2007. She then concentrated on songwriting after a series of life events kept her away from recording. She signed a deal with Warner Chappell and began returning to Nashville regularly. She and Matraca Berg had co-written You and Tequila and when the Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter version was released in 2011, the single hit the Top Five on the country charts and sold over a million digital copies. Since she was writing full-time anyway, she decided to record as well. She formed her own label, Little Nugget Records and released Southern Way of Life this year.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Shi Ne Nielson. Shi Ne is an up and coming actress that's been in a string of popular television shows including: Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, CSI: NY, The Young & the Restless and has appeared in numerous national commercials for companies such as Lexus, Radio Shack, Farmer's Insurance and AT&T to name a few. She also is a recurring character on ABC Family's new hit drama Chasing Life. She portrays Raquel Avila, the hard-nosed political editor of the Boston Post and the heroine's ruthless rival. A graduate from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Shi Ne continues to study improv and acting throughout Los Angeles and is one of the stars of the popular web-series The Devil Interviews.    

                                                                                              

Steve Cooper talks with writer/actor Paul Greenberg. Paul got his acting start by being a part of the Canadian sketch group The Vacant Lot. Since then he has appeared on various shows including as The Jenny McCarthy Show, Random Play, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Reno 911 and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He has also done voices for the cartoons Invader Zim, The Ant Bully and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius to name few. He is an Emmy winning writer and has worked on many series and award shows such as Jackass, Blue Collar TV, Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Lady Gaga & The Muppets' Holiday Spectacular, The Primetime Emmy Awards, The Annual People's Choice Awards, The MTV Movie Awards and The Annual Tony Awards. He currently co-stars with David Higgins in the series International Ghost Investigators: Hollywood Division.

Steve Cooper talks with comic Darren Carter. Darren is a CooperTalk favorite and is making his 4th appearance on the show. When he takes the stage he takes the audience with him. A whirlpool of impressions and observations with on-point improvisation keeps the crowd rolling through the night and on through the morning if they are lucky. From The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to Be Cool with John Travolta to Comedy Central, BET and Showtime, the aptly named Party Starter and sometimes even Rooster gets recognized on the daily by his many adoring fans.

Steve Cooper talks with comic Yakov Smirnoff. Yakov has been a mainstay in the entertainment scene since the late 1970's and was a regular guest star on the award winning NBC sitcom, Night Court. He has been a popular guest of numerous national TV shows including the Tonight Show. You've seen him on HBO and enjoyed his humor on his critically acclaimed Showtime special. He has also co-starred in movies with Robin Williams in Moscow on the Hudson, Tom Hanks in The Money Pit, Meryl Steep and Jack Nicholson in Heartburn and Richard Pryor in Brewster's Millions. He was invited to perform at the White House for several presidents and honored guests. President Ronald Reagan called him a "national treasure." Since 1992 he has performed at his own theater in Branson, Missouri, where he has entertained over four million visitors and produced several outstanding award-winning shows. In his newest endeavor, "The Happily Ever Laughter Tour", he takes his comedy to a new level to showcase laughter's effects on relationships and envisions a world where sadness and tears are replaced with love and laughter and his funny philosophies can also be heard at Missouri State University and Drury University where he is a professor who teaches about the relationship of love and laughter. 

Steve Cooper talks with drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez. Johnny professional drumming career began at age seventeen with a USO tour to South Vietnam. At nineteen, he was playing in local big bands, the LACC Studio Jazz Band and the Si Zenter Big Band. During the same time, Hernandez played in a variety of pit orchestras and backing acts, like Bob Hope, Billy Daniels and Gordon McCray. In the 1970s, he played with The Helen Reddy Band and served as the house drummer of "The Midnight Special" television show. There, he played with acts, such as Frankie Avalon, Petula Clark, Keith Carradine and Martin Mull. After having been heard, drumming with Toni Basil's band by composer, Danny Elfman and his longtime orchestrator, Steve Bartek, Hernandez was hired as a session drummer on Elfman's first film score, "The Forbidden Zone" (which continues to have a worldwide cult following). Hernandez joined the original lineup of the famous band, Oingo Boingo, a position he held for seventeen years, until their breakup in 1995. During that time, the band released eight albums, toured the world and played thousands of concerts. After the breakup of Oingo Boingo, Hernandez joined the band, Tito and Tarantula and was featured in the Robert Rodriguez film, From Dusk Till Dawn. For the past seven years, Hernandez has been touring with his own, Boingo Dance Party, a high energy, wild Oingo Boingo music show that features former members of Oingo Boingo.

Steve Cooper talks with comic Mario Joyner. Mario is best known as the host of MTV's Half Hour Comedy Hour from 1988-1992 and has done numerous stand-up appearances on TV shows including Late Night with David Letterman. He is a longtime friend and collaborator of comedians Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld. He appeared regularly on The Chris Rock Show and Everybody Hates Chris. He also guest starred in the Seinfeld episodes The Engagement and The Puerto Rican Day, playing two different characters, and voiced the character Jackson in the film Bee Movie. He has opened on national tours for Chris Rock (during his No Apologies tour) and for Jerry Seinfeld. He made his film debut in 1989 in Three Men and a Baby, and later starred in Hangin' with the Homeboys and Pootie Tang. During the October 12, 2010, episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, in an interview with Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Stewart credited Joyner with the joke: "Sort of in the way that murderers get sometimes, like, I found Jesus and I'm OK now." "Well, when did you find Jesus?" "Right after you found me." He currently is working on the web series Digital Dan which he wrote, directed and co-stars in.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/comic Jerry Minor. Jerry comes from the famed Second City stage, where he was the first performer ever to appear with every Second City stage, performing with the companies in Detroit, Chicago and Toronto for a total of 10 stage revues. A former cast member of Saturday Night Live and HBO's Mr. Show with Bob and David, he was also in the cast of the groundbreaking but short-lived 4-camera sitcom for HBO, Lucky Louie, as Louis CK's African-American neighbor who suffered Louie's clumsy attempts at friendship. He has appeared on such television shows as Arrested Development, The Awful Truth with Michael Moore, and on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Trigger Happy TV, Crank Yankers, Community and was one of the stars of ABC's Carpoolers and makes regular guest appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live. His feature credits include Semi Pro with Will Ferrell, Beer League with Artie Lange, plus appearances in Anchorman, Let's Go to Prison, directed by Bob Odenkirk, and Junebug.  

Steve Cooper talks with director/writer Anthony C. Ferrante. Anthony is best known for directing the cult hits Sharknado 1 & 2. He has also directed and wrote the feature films Boo, Headless Horseman and directed Hansel & Gretel. His screenplay credits include Atilla, Leprechaun's Revenge, America Horror House and Ghost Quake. He currently is also directing various commercials and choosing his next movie project.

Steve Cooper talks with comic/actor Bob Zany. Bob has appeared on over a thousand national T.V. shows, from The Tonight Show to a seventeen-year stint appearing on and co-hosting The Jerry Lewis Telethon. Currently, he can be seen on Showtime in Billy Gardell’s Road Dogs. His numerous film credits include Joe Dirt with David Spade, Stephen Soderberg’s The Informant playing Matt Damon’s attorney and is currently starring with Eric Roberts in 23 Minutes to Sunrise. He also has a documentary about his 35-plus year career, Close But No Cigar. Having performed in all 50 states & D.C., plus 7 countries from England to Israel, and headlining shows from Las Vegas to Atlantic City, he’ll bring years of experience and the FUNNY. No stranger to radio, he has appeared on the Bob & Tom Show with his Zany Report, plus numerous other radio stations across the country. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Gregory Harrison. Gregory is best known for his role as Chandler in the 1987 cult favorite North Shore and as Dr. George Alonzo "Gonzo" Gates on the series Trapper John M.D. He was the title character on the 1977-78 series Logan's Run after which he played the role of Levi Zendt on the 1978 NBC mini-series Centennial. His later role as a stripper in the 1981 movie For Ladies Only made him a favorite with women and gay men in the 1980s and he later played a villain on the final season of Falcon's Crest. He has starred on WB's Safe Harbor on One Tree Hill and has made guest appearances on numerous other shows such as Touched by an Angel, Drop Dead Diva, Judging Amy, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Joey, Hot in Cleveland, Psych and CSI: NY. He has been in over 50 made for TV movies including the Au Pair trilogy and recently wrapped the first season of the hit show Reckless.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/host/musician Zach Selwyn. Zach is best known as the host of History/H2’s hit series “America’s Secret Slang.” He has also hosted and starred on Science Channel’s hit shows Catch it Keep it and Punkin Chunkin, the comedic sports talk show Fanarchy on Versus in 2009 and starred in the Budweiser Clydesdale Fetch Super Bowl commercial – voted top ten of all time. Zach’s sketch comedy group led him to become a traveling comedic correspondent/actor on G4’s #1 hit live show Attack of the Show from 2006-2008. He also hosted “CQC” with Greg Giraldo. He has released 4 comedy albums including “Moose Knuckle” (2012) and “Pluck Yer Twanger” (2010). Zach has also acted in such films and TV shows as “Kickin It,” on Disney XD, “Glory Daze” on TBS, “Greek” on ABC Family Dead and Breakfast, Stargate Atlantis, and That 70’s Show. His first real break came as the runner-up and “most talented contestant” on the 2004 ESPN TV show “Dream Job.” He went on to host “Around the Horn” and a special on ESPN about Jimmy Rollins as well as anchor a pilot for ESPN in 2005. He recently shot a new pilot for CMT called #Merica and starred as a comedic host of “Guinness World Records Unleashed!” on TruTV.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/writer Mary Scheer. Mary, a member of the Groundlings is best known as one of the original cast members of the sketch comedy show MADtv and for playing Freddie's mother Marissa Benson on iCarly. She has also appeared in several television shows. Her credits include Reno 911, Primetime Glick, Dropping Out, X-Chromosome, 2 Broke Girls and Seinfeld and her movie credits include Elvira's Haunted Hills, Chump Change, The New Women and It Always Get Worse Kathy. Besides onscreen appearances, she has become a voice actress, lending her voice to numerous commercials and several animated projects like Family Guy and King of the Hill. Her voice also appears in the animated feature film Beyond Batman: Return of the Joker and she performed all female voices in Spike TV's game show MXC where in season 4 she became supervising producer.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Pat Finn. Pat attended high school at Loyola Academy in Wilmette and graduated from Marquette University. After graduation, he moved to Chicago where he worked as a beer salesman until joining The Second City National Touring Company. During this time, he was also performing improvisation with the ImprovOlympic in Chicago. After writing and performing in two Second City resident shows, Pat landed the part of George Wendt's younger brother on the George Wendt show. Pat has also had re-occurring roles on Murphy Brown, 3rd Rock From the Sun and Ed. His other television credits include series such as Friends, Seinfeld, The Drew Carey Show, That 70's Show, According to Jim, Less Than Perfect, King of Queens, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Las Vegas. His film roles include How High, The Bachelor, Dude Where's My Car, I Love You Beth Cooper, Santa Paws 2, Space Buddies and It's Complicated and he has had commercial success with campaigns for Got Milk, Sony PlayStation, DiGiorno Pizza, Holiday Inn, Toyota and others. He performs regularly with his improv group Beer, Shark, Mice. The cast includes veteran comedians Mike Coleman, Neil Flynn, Pete Hulne, David Koechner and Paul Vaillancourt. Based at the IO West theatre in Los Angeles, many of the troupe's performances are based on suggestions from the attending audience.

Steve Cooper talks with singer/songwriter Nick Richards. Nick is best known as frontman of 1980s new wave band Boys Don't Cry who are known for the hit single I Wanna Be a Cowboy, which peaked at No. 12 on the Hot 100 in 1986 and charted around the world. In 1983 he bought the Maison Rouge Recording Studios in London, where he put together the band. They are back together and releasing a brand new new album titled HEAR IT IS ! on august 14th 2014. the songs were penned by original members Nick and Brian Chatton. The album is on Nick's own label Microrich and the band will be touring the states for the rest of the year in support of the album. Nick has also produced many 80's albums to the biggest acts of that era.

Steve Cooper talks with comedian/actor/writer Jason Nash. Jason recently directed, wrote and starred in the hit movie Jason Nash is Married which is based on the web series he created which was based on his one-person show In The Land of Tall Buildings and Red Fire Engines. In 2010, he was a semi-finalist on Last Comic Standing and he developed a sitcom for CBS Television. He has also developed shows based on his stand-up act for Oxygen and IFC and he created and starred in the web series The Shaman, a comedic tale of a man who thinks he's Jim Morrison. He was a cast member of the VH-1 sketch shows Random Play and Ill-ustrated and Current TV's Supernews. In addition he has produced, wrote and appeared in segments for HBO's Funny Or Die Presents. He trained with the Upright Citizens Brigade and began his career as a member of the sketch group Price, Nash and Blieden. The three developed TV shows for Fox and NBC and were selected three times to perform at the Aspen Comedy Festival. Jason also co-created the wildly successful podcast Guys With Feelings, which can be heard on iTunes.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/comedian Jamie Kaler. Jamie gained fame by portraying the character Mike Callahan on the TBS comedy My Boys. He has appeared on such talk shows as the Late Late Show as well as having a role on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother and had a recurring role on Will and Grace. He also lends his voice to the show Robot Chicken as the suicidal blooper host. He is a member of the ACME Company, Acme Comedy Theatre's top-level sketch company and has made guest appearances on Monk, Friends and numerous other shows. He is a touring stand-up comic, has been seen in dozens of national commercials and is the host of the History Channel's show America: Facts vs. Fiction.

Steve Cooper talks with director/comic Jordan Brady. This interview is a live performance from Bob's Espresso Bar located in North Hollywood, CA. Bob's is owned by Robert Romanus who played Damone in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Jordan has been seen on TV doing his stand-up, directed features,hundreds of commercials and most recently did the documentaries I Am Comic and I Am Road Comic. This a bootleg recording straight off the camera and has a gritty sound quality.

Steve Cooper talks with president of production for New Wave Entertainment Brian Volk-Weiss. Brian is currently overseeing production on the second season of the Vh1 series Stevie TV and the new series for Bounce TV - Forever Jones, a series for the History Channel as well as pilots for MTV, Logo, E! and the Style Network. He previously managed New Wave‘s production on True Grime: Crime Scene Clean Up for Investigation Discovery, Pretty Wild for E!, TBS‘s Frank TV, HBO‘s Tourgasm, ABC‘s The Next Best Thing, and U.S. of Ant for Logo. He served as a producer on the feature films Employee of the Month, Good Luck Chuck and My Best Friend‘s Girl. New Wave Entertainment is the largest producer of stand-up comedy specials in the country, for which Brian is heading up production, working with such talent as Whitney Cummings, Jim Gaffigan, Jim Norton, Aziz Ansari, Jim Jefferies, Bill Burr, Mike Birbiglia and Marc Maron. In 2012, Brian was featured in Daily Variety‘s Comedy Impact Report. He has one pet African turtle.