CooperTalk

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.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Dante Basco. Dante is an actor, voice actor, poet, and dancer. He is best known for voicing Zuko in the Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender, Jake Long from the Disney series American Dragon: Jake Long and playing Rufio in the 1991 live-action Peter Pan film Hook. In his early years, he was part of the Streat Freaks breakdancing crew. When he got into acting, he started taking on minor roles in television. He had guest roles on television shows Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and had a recurring role in Moesha. He played a gay teenager in the 1999 film But I'm a Cheerleader and starred as breakdancer Ramos in the film Take the Lead with Antonio Banderas. He also has produces a Poetry Slam night, started a production company in Hawaii and writes plays and screenplays.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Larry Poindexter. Larry is currently best known for his role in 2003's S.W.A.T. where he played by the book LAPD Captain Tom Fuller who went head to head with Samuel Jackson's Hondo and also from playing the father in MTV's The Hard Times of RJ Berger. Daytime audiences know him best from General Hospital but he has also appeared in Days of Our Lives and Santa Barbara. He has acted in over 30 movies including America Ninja 2, Going Beserk, Judgment Day, 17 Again and Material Girls. A very familiar face to TV he has been a guest star on numerous series including The Mentalist, NYPD Blue, Happy Days, Nip/Tuck, CSI: Crime Investigation Scene, Will & Grace, Bones, Crossing Jordan, How I Met Your Mother, Franklin & Bash, Californication, Rizzoli & Isles, Drop Dead Diva and CSI Miami.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Kevin Weisman. Kevin is known for playing Marshall Flinkman on the ABC series Alias, which ran for five critically acclaimed seasons. Recently, Kevin worked on Stephen Merchant's HBO comedy series,Hello Ladies. He has worked with esteemed director Rob Reiner on Flipped, reunited with JJ Abrams and Jeff Pinkner on Fringe, and with Anthony Zuiker on all three installments of CSI, in addition to Zuiker's New York Times Best Selling digi-novel, Level 26. Other television projects include a recurring role simultaneously playing dual roles, both the mysterious, Mr.Blonde and the straight shooting, intense Detective Hawkins on NBC's critically acclaimed drama, Awake. Kevin also portrayed an airplane engineer, who elects to fight the system as a corporate whistleblower on the USA hit show, Fairly Legal. Other work includes: Human Target, (Fox), Chuck (NBC), October Road (ABC), The Glades, and The Ghost Whisperer (CBS). Additional guest spots include CSI Miami, Miami Medical, The Forgotten, Numbers and CSI NY. He also played Steve Balfour, the sarcastic cameraman, on the cult hit, Moonlight starring Alec O'Loughlin. Previous television credits include recurring and guest starring roles on Felicity, Roswell, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Frasier, E.R., Just Shoot Me and The Drew Carey Show.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Gregg Binkley. Gregg is best known for his roles as Kenny James on the NBC's My Name is Earl and as Dan the Del Taco spokesman. He has had guest spots on shows including Gilmore Girls, Malcolm in the Middle, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Yes Dear, The Drew Carey Show, Full House, Wizards of Waverly Place and The Millers. He has also appeared on the big screen in such movies as Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation, Galaxy Quest, The Man That Wasn't There and The Changeling. Most recently he was seen as series regular Barney on Fox's Raising Hope. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Brian Palermo. Brian a member of the sketch comedy group The Groundlings  has appeared in a number of television shows, commercials and movies. He is also a writer whose credits include Warner Brothers' Histeria! and Disney's Dave the Barbarian and Weekenders. His film credits include The Social Network, Daddy Day Care, My Life in Ruins and Big Momma's House among others. His TV appearances include Beverly Hills 90210, Zeke and Luther, State of Georgia, The Middle, Gary Unmarried, Friends, Malcolm in the Middle, Entourage, Will and Grace and many others. He has also appeared numerous times on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno mostly in sketches within the show, though in April 2011 he started doing 'correspondent' pieces and has a recurring character on Tyler Perry's House of Payne.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Richard Karn. Richard earned a B.F.A. at the University of Washington in their Professional Actor Training Program and played in off-Broadway and Broadway productions (his Broadway debut was playing a suit of armor in Me and My Girl), in the 1980s. However, it was his role as the shy, but confident Al Borland on the 1990s television sitcom Home Improvement that made him a star. He discovered it by accident after he ran a stop sign, was sent to traffic school, and met an agent who told him about the Home Improvement audition. Looking back at the success of the series and his beloved character, it seems hard to believe that the actor kept his job as an apartment manager during the first season, unsure of the fledgling show's future. During his years on the sitcom, he appeared as a host for TV specials and in made-for-TV films, including ABC's Picture Perfect and HBO's Bram Stoker's Legend of the Mummy. Following Home Improvement, he found a new niche as a game-show host, replacing Louie Anderson as the host of Family Feud, and Patrick Duffy as the host of Bingo America. He is an avid golfer and has become a national spokesman for the Mr. Handyman franchise.

Steve Cooper talks with host/comedian/actor Matt Iseman. Matt currently hosts NBC's American Ninja Warrior. He has appeared  in commercials for Pontiac, Dodge, JC Penney, PlayStation, Bank of America, Off! and Lamasil. He fulfilled a life long dream to be a superhero when he was featured in a campaign for Net10 as Captain Obvious. He began his hosting career with the show Scream Play on E! which allowed him to combine his love of movies and dangerous stunts. He then got lucky as he ran the streets of Las Vegas hosting Casino Night for GSN. Shortly thereafter, he started a 5 year run as the Goto Guy on Clean House, the #1 show on the Style Network. He also hosted a spin-off show called Clean House Comes Clean and tackled 5 Messiest Homes in the Country, garnering ratings 400% higher than Style had ever seen and earning him a Daytime Emmy. He made his movie debut in Transformers 2 and made appearances on the Drew Carey Show, NCIS, Courting Alex and had a recurring role on General Hospital. He's appeared on Premium Blend on Comedy Central, Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen and he's a regular panelist on RedEye. His CD, I Want a Happy Ending, has become an iTunes sensation. You can also hear his comedy on SiriusXM, Pandora and countless radio stations around the nation.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Doug Jones. Doug is a former college mascot, a mime and a contortionist who moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. He has appeared in close to 100 commercials and his acting resume is very extensive. He is best known to fans for his role as Abe Sapien in Hell Boy and it's sequel and as the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and has appeared in many science fiction projects such as Hocus Pocus, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Pan's Labyrinth.  He has also appeared in such TV shows as Sons of Anarchy, Criminal Minds,CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Teen Wolf and recently played Dominique Wilkins in The Neighbors and will be seen in the upcoming season of Falling Skies and Guillermo del Toro's The Strain.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Brian T. Finney. Brian has been acting on stage, TV and film for over 25 years. He has been a member of The Actors' Gang since 1994. He received the prestigious Ovation Award for Best Actor in 2001 for his role in Underneath the Lintel performed at the Gang. Also with the Actors' Gang he has traveled to New York and London to perform in Embedded as well as Hong Kong, Melbourne, Athens and all around the USA in the production of 1984, both directed by Tim Robbins. On television he has had a recurring role on Reno 911!, and has been seen in Modern Family, Grimm, Maron, Weeds and Turn as well as many other shows and movies. He can often be seen in commercials, of which he has appeared in close to a hundred.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Mark Beltzman. Mark has been acting,writing and directing since 1981. He was a founding member of Improv Olympic and of the legendary group, Barons Barracudas. He has worked and directed many improvisational and theatrical productions at Second City in Chicago and Los Angeles, including Second City Alumni Jam.He has also acquired a great deal of knowledge about the creative process while performing in such notable productions as: Mo Money, Billy Madison, The Wedding Singer, Speed 2, Star Maps, Employee of the Month, Seinfeld, Roseanne, Norm, Curb Your Enthusiasm, According to Jim, Cold Case, House, True Jackson VP, The Young and the Restless and Pretty Little Liars and is a very respected Improv teacher who has teaches classes around the world and is an amazing Tuba player.

Steve Cooper talks with news correspondent Josh Mankiewicz. Josh began reporting for Dateline in February 1995, and since then, he has contributed a mix of breaking news stories, news analysis, investigative reports and clever features to the broadcast. He has covered a wide range of stories including Hurricane Katrina, the 1996 and 2000 presidential campaigns, the terrorist takeover of Japan’s embassy in Lima, Peru, the mysterious mental disorder known as Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy, the story of John Walker Lindh, the American who joined the Taliban, and numerous aspects of airline and airport safety and security. Prior to joining Dateline, he served as a correspondent for Fox Broadcasting Company's newsmagazine Front Page. Before he joined Fox Broadcasting, he was a political reporter for KCAL-TV, Los Angeles from 1991 to 1993. He also worked as political correspondent for WCBS-TV, New York where he covered local, state and national elections from 1986 to 1991 and from 1982 to 1986, he was a correspondent with ABC News.

Steve Cooper talks with writer David Wild. David is  an American writer and critic in the music and television industries and a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine. His published books include Friends: The Official Companion, Seinfeld: The Totally Unauthorized Tribute, Friends Til' the End and others. He was the host of the television series Musicians which aired on Bravo and his writing credits for television include over two dozen series and specials. In 2001 he was nominated for an Emmy for his work on America: A Tribute to Heroes. He is also a regular guest on The Adam Carolla Show and brings a music guest or a musical selection to feature on the show.

Steve Cooper talks with comedian/writer Mick Betancourt. Mick has written scripts for several television shows on major networks. He was born in Chicago but now resides in LA. He sold his first television show to CBS television at age 30 and has since written on or produced shows such as Breakout Kings, Black Donnellys, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Chicago Fire, The Mob Doctor, Detroit 187, Necessary Roughness, Ironside and Chicago PD. Recently he directed his first short film which was well received at independent film festivals. He also has performed at The Chicago and Montreal Comedy Festivals as well as performed stand-up on NBC, Comedy Central, HBO and TBS and hosts the popular podcast The Mick Betancourt Show.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Clive Farrington. Clive is the vocalist who founded the popular 80' band When in Rome. Michael Floreale and Andy O'Connell were recruited by him to replace departed members of his Manchester-based group Beau Leisure. Floreale and him began to write songs together. Later, Farrington and Floreale saw Andrew Mann, a beat poet, and had him join their performances. The group was signed by Virgin UK and when their song The Promise became popular, hitting the top of Billboard's Dance Club Play chart, Virgin ordered an album. A remixed version of The Promise was the first single from their self-titled debut album. It was an instant success, barely missing the Top Ten in the United States, peaking at No. 11. After the band broke up The Promise was heard in the movie Napoleon Dynamite and found a brand new audience. Clive recently moved to the US and is playing with his version of When in Rome and also collaborating with other artists.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Reed Diamond. Reed got his first big break in the movie Memphis Belle. Since then he has made an impact in both films and TV. He has co-starred in many shows including Homicide: Life on the Street, Judging Amy, The Shield, Journeyman, Dollhouse, 24, Bones and The Mentalist and has been a guest star on the series Cold Case, The West Wing, Medium, Law & Order, CSI, Castle, Monk, White Collar, Revolution, The Glades and Criminal Minds and many others. He has also been in numerous movies such as Moneyball, Good Night, and Good Luck and Much Ado About Nothing. He can be currently seen on the hit series Franklin & Bash.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Regan Burns. Regan has a long list of TV guest appearances that include Weeds, Curb Your Enthusiasm, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Without a Trace, CSI, Supernatural, Las Vegas and Back to You to name a few. He’s also had recurring roles on Reno 911, Sonny with a Chance, Titus, Once and Again and Rodney. A veteran of 100 plus commercials, Regan starred in famous campaigns for CapitalOne, Burger King and AFLAC. He hosted two seasons of the Spike TV game show Oblivious and three seasons of AMC’s Cinemania and he appeared regularly as a personality on AMC’s The Movie Club and PAX-TV’s Balderdash. He also co-hosted  GSN’s pilot of Annie Duke Controls the World and starred in the pilot of Craig Ferguson’s Really Big Improv Show for CBS. In 2007 he starred in a season of the improv/sitcom hybrid Halfway Home for Comedy Central and he  currently stars in the Disney Channel’s Dog with a Blog.

 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Joe Nieves. Joe moved to LA from Brooklyn to become an actor and started landing roles in shows such as Arli$$, Becker, The X-Files, Judging Amy and Six Feet Under. After that he was seen in NYPD Blue, ER, The Young and the Restless, Without a Trace and many others that led him to being a regular on Day Break which was followed by guest star roles in hit series including Cold Case, Prime Suspect, Castle, The Shield and Gray's Anatomy. He has also had recurring parts in 24, The Mentalist and was Carl the Bartender in How I Met Your Mother. His movie credits include The Bling Ring and the upcoming West End.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Jon Polito. Jon a veteran of over 100 films is most recognized for his work with The Coen brothers, as well as his many television appearances as a series regular and guest star. Notable Motion Picture roles are in Millers Crossing, The Big Lebowski, Barton Fink, The Man Who Wasn't There, The Crow, Blankman, and The Freshman with Marlon Brando, and his cameo performance in Gangster Squad. On Television he starred as a series regular on Crime Story, Ohara, Hearts are Wild, The Chronical, and the critically acclaimed Homicide, Life on the Street. Notable guest star roles include the befuddled landlord Sylvio on Seinfeld, his only role as a woman, Rhonda, on The Chris Isaak Show, Danny Devito's brother Frank on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and recently an ex-mobster on Castle. He starred on Broadway with Faye Dunaway in The Curse Of An Aching Heart and with Dustin Hoffman in the 1985 Tony award winning revival of Death Of A Salesman, which he also filmed for CBS. He received the Best Actor OBIE award for Off Broadway theater in 1980.

Steve Cooper talks with musician dUg Pinnick. dUg is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist, songwriter, and co-lead vocalist for the band King's X. He has fifteen albums with King's X, four solo albums, and numerous side projects and guest appearances to his credit. He is known for his gospel-like voice and his heavily distorted bass tone, played through multiple Ampeg SVT-4 amplifiers. In March, 2014 his side project Grinder Blues with the Emmy Award-winning Bihlman Brothers signed a deal with Megaforce Records and are scheduled to release their debut record in July 2014. He also recently released a CD with the supergroup kXm that also includes George Lynch and Korn's Ray Luzier and he still stays busy touring and recording with King's X.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Jere Burns. Jere is best known for his roles as ladies' man Kirk Morris on the television series Dear John, psychiatrist Anson Fullerton on the television series Burn Notice and as Wynn Duffy in Justified. Over his career he has been a regular on many other shows including Bob, The Mommies, Something So Right, Good Morning, Miami, Help Me Help You, Breaking Bad and Bates Motel. He has also appeared on Grey's Anatomy, Hawaii Five-0, CSI, Trust Me, Psych, According to Jim and many others. He currently is about to start shooting the film Tribeca.

Steve Cooper talks with singer/songwriter John Easdale. John is the lead singer for the band Dramarama who was founded in NJ in 1982 and disbanded in 1994. They formally reunited in 2003 following an appearance on the VH1's Bands Reunited show. They have performing ever since with different line-ups. Their song Anything, Anything (I'll Give You) was a staple of 80's music and still is very popular to this day. John also does acoustic sets and is working on a solo album.

Steve Cooper talks with talent manager Bruce Smith. Bruce is a graduate of Queens College located in Queens, New York where he majored in communications. He was the founding member of the 60's Tribute Band called Kivetsky with whom he performed for ten years. From 1979 to 1983, he worked as a booking agent for a Long Island based talent agency where he was responsible for band placement in the northeast United States. In 1983, he started Omnipop solely as a personal appearance agency for bands and comics with placement in clubs and colleges throughout the country. He remained in the east coast office until 1990 when he opened the west coast office. He is the president of Omnipop and is head of the west coast office and is responsible for the placement of their clients in film, television and commercials.

Steve Cooper talks with comedian Bobby Slayton. Bobby is often referred to as The Pitbull of Comedy and has been performing his own intense style of stand-up comedy for over 30 years, becoming one of the best known, respected, and energetic comics working today. Audiences around the country may recognize him from his scene-stealing roles in movies such as Get Shorty, Ed Wood, Bandits and most recently Dreamgirls.  He’s been seen on dozens of television shows including The Tonight Show and Politically Incorrect.   His many appearances on HBO have included Comic Relief and his own stand-up special.   He was a series regular on the HBO series Mind of a Married Man and played Joey Bishop opposite Ray Liotta and Joe Mantegna in the critically acclaimed film The Rat Pack. His distinctive gravelly voice has often been heard on animated shows like Dr. Katz and Family Guy, as well as many popular radio shows across the country including Howard Stern, Kevin & Bean, and Tom Leykis.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Ethan Embry. Ethan appeared in more than 100 TV and Radio commercials before he was a teenager. At the age of 13 he starred in a handful of movies including John Hughes' Dutch and Albert Brooks' Defending Your Life. Through his career he has also appeared in many movies such as Vegas Vacation, White Squall, Empire Records, That Thing You Do, Disturbing Behavior, Can't Hardly Wait and Sweet Home Alabama. He has been in numerous TV shows like Murder She Wrote, Work With Me,CSI: Crime Investigation Scene, Hawaii Five-0, Numb3rs, CSI: Miami, Grey's Anatomy and Drop Dead Diva and has been a regular on the series Dragnet, Brotherhood and Once Upon a Time to name a few. He currently is one of the stars in the dark comedy Cheap Thrills.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/writer Stephen Tobolowsky. Stephen worked primarily in theater during his early career and wrote and directed a few plays including Two Idiots in Hollywood and True Stories. His film career took off in the 1980's thanks to roles in The Philadelphia Experiment, Nobody's Fool, Spaceballs and Mississippi Burning. Since then he has appeared in many popular movies including Bird on a Wire, Basic Instinct, Groundhog Day, Murder in the First, Mr. Magoo, The Insider, Memento, Freaky Friday, Garfield and Wild Hogs. He has also done a substantial amount of voice work, most recently taking on the role of Uncle Ubb in The Lorax. He has been even more prolific in television over the past few decades. He's appeared on a diverse range of shows including Seinfeld, Mad About You, Chicago Hope, The Practice and Curb Your Enthusiasm and has had recurring roles in CSI: Miami, Deadwood, Heroes, Glee and Californication.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Tim Bagley. Tim is one of the most sought-after character actors in the entertainment industry. He is most recognized for his roles as "Harold Krenshaw" on Monk and Larry on Will and Grace or as Dr. Pellagrino in Judd Apatow's films, This Is 40 and Knocked Up. He has been a series regular, recurred, or guest starred on countless television shows; Some notable TV highlights include his performances on Grimm,     Shameless, Southland, 1600 Penn, Zombieland, Two Broke Girls, Hot In Cleveland, $#*! My Dad Says, Desperate Housewives, Pushing Daisies and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Tim currently stars opposite Lisa Kudrow on Showtime's Web Therapy. Some film highlights include the upcoming psycho-thriler, Unpeacable, The Space Between, Employee of the Month, Finding Bliss, Operation Endgame, Accepted, The Day After Tomorrow, Happy Texas, Austin Powers 2 - The Spy Who Shagged Me and his first feature film The Mask.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Kathleen Rose Perkins. Kathleen is best known for playing Carol Rance on Showtime's critically acclaimed series, Episodes. A familiar face to TV she has had recurring roles in such shows as Help Me Help You, Trust Me, Gary Unmarried, 'Til Death and NCIS: Los Angeles and had guest star spots on Grey's Anatomy, Man Up, Private Practice, Castle, The Mentalist, Lie to Me, Without a Trace, CSI: Miami, American Horror Story, Royal Pains and Person of Interests and many others. She also appeared in the movie The Island and will be in the upcoming Ben Affleck directed movie Gone Girl.

Steve Cooper talks with drummer Ray Luzier. Ray in currently the drummer for Korn. He started playing drums at age five and is a self-taught drummer. He graduated from the Musician’s Institute 1989 and returned a couple years later as an instructor teaching Rock-style drumming. Prior to Korn, he had played with an amazing list of musicians: David Lee Roth, Billy Sheehan, Robert and Dean DeLeo (Stone Temple Pilots), Richard Patrick, and many others. He became a full time member of Korn in 2008 after the departure of David Silveria.  He still teaches in his spare time by offering drum clinics. He also has a side project, the band KXM that also includes dUg Pinnick of King's X and George Lynch of Dokken and Lynch Mob fame.

Steve Cooper talks with radio host/voiceover actor/television personality Shadoe Stevens. Shadoe was the first program director of World Famous KROQ-FM. He created one of the first Alternative Rock formats in the country. As Vice President of Programming, he created a new music format that consisted of nothing but "cutting edge, exciting new music. Within 6 months it became a number one station. As a radio personality during this period, he won the Billboard Magazine Personality of the Year Award. After leaving radio for the worlds of television and film, in 1988, he was offered the position of hosting American Top Forty. Casey Kasem left the show, and Shadoe became the new host for the next 6 years. During this time, it became the most successful and widely syndicated radio show in the world. It was broadcast in 120 countries to an estimated 1 billion listeners every week. At the same time, he appeared on Hollywood Squares, which for three years was a top 5 syndicated show. As a regular on the show, he became a household name. The show continued in successful syndication for another three years. He starred in two network series for CBS, Loose Cannon and for four years the Top 20 series Dave's World. He has frequently been a guest star on a wide range of hit TV series including: Beverly Hills 90210, Baywatch, The Larry Sanders Show, Caroline in the City, Clueless, Burke's Law, Fast Track, and Sonny Spoon. As a voice-over artist, he has been the voice of Hollywood Squares, Comic Relief, the Grammy Awards, the Emmy Awards, and countless commercials. He is currently announcer for The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on CBS.