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February 26, 2003
Joshua Malina on The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
[Clip of Will's disastrous first meeting with Mr. Justice -- Mr. Bartlet -- Mr. President, that is.]
Joshua Malina enters, in a black button down shirt, jeans, and without glasses. He seems a bit nervous, but is relatively relaxed and funny, though he and Craig don't quite seem to get each other's humor the whole time.
[Applause]
Craig Kilborn: They're excited.
Josh Malina: Yeah.
Craig Kilborn: So, The West Wing and -- Now, is it true that you're replacing Rob Lowe? Because in my world, you don't replace a Rob Lowe.
Josh Malina: Well, I think any Rob Lowe or Sam Seaborn fan would tell you that he is irreplacable.
Craig Kilborn: Yeah.
Josh Malina: But--
Craig Kilborn: I think Sebastian [a silly character from Craig's show] would back me up on that.
Josh Malina: Unquestionably yes. But frequently when a -- When a major star leaves a television show, they will, you know, replace him with a person of similar appearance. Kidding!
Craig Kilborn: I got it. I got it. A little self-deprecating there.
Josh Malina: Yes.
Craig Kilborn: No, but how long have you been on that show?
Josh Malina: I've been on the show for, I think, nine episodes.
Craig Kilborn: Okay, is it going well?
Josh Malina: And now I'm a regular regular.
Craig Kilborn: What is the internet chatter saying about you and your character? [Laughter]
Josh Malina: Yes, thank you. I am a little bit of a lurker, technically, which means that I don't really participate in the posting of messages, but I will peruse what's being said.
Craig Kilborn: And what are they saying?
Josh Malina: Although it's largely positive, there are those that will not accept me as Rob Lowe's replacement. I've been referred to as "that horrible little man." [Laughter] Who has replaced Rob Lowe.
Craig Kilborn: Right. See, you don't seem like that horrible right now. You seem decent enough.
Josh Malina: Do I seem little? [Laughter]
Craig Kilborn: No! No.
Josh Malina: Thank you.
Craig Kilborn: You seem fine. Now, Aaron Sorkin is, of course, the creator of that show.
Josh Malina: Yes, as well as the playwright of "A Few Good Men," and then wrote the tele -- you know, wrote the movie, created Sports Night.
Craig Kilborn: He's a big -- [Applause] I met Aaron. He's a huge Republican.
Josh Malina: But he's able to write on both sides of the issue.
Craig Kilborn: He can write on both sides, but he is Republican. That's key.
Josh Malina: I think not.
Craig Kilborn: So what kind of man is he? Why does he keep hiring you, 'cause he had you on Sports Night?
Josh Malina: I've been in everything, actually, I think he's ever written.
Craig Kilborn: Yeah.
Josh Malina: I am a mighty Sorkin player. [Laughter]
Craig Kilborn: Because he -- he always needs little, horrible lurkers. [Laughter]
Josh Malina: Yes. Yeah.
Craig Kilborn: No. Are you -- are you indebted to him? Are you thankful that he, uh--
Josh Malina: Oh, absolutely. Yes. He's done very, very well by me. If you subtract him from my career, there's not a lot there.
Craig Kilborn: Right, right. And you hang out with him?
Josh Malina: Ah, yes, yes. I got to know him -- Basically, I grew up in New Rochelle, New York, he grew up in Scarsdale, sort of five minutes away. He went to high school with my cousin, so I knew him a little bit. And then when I graduated from college in 1988--
Craig Kilborn: From Carnegie Mellon.
Josh Malina: Ah, from Yale.
Craig Kilborn: Oh! Wow. [Applause] Take that, Rob Lowe.
Josh Malina: That's right. Uh, my mother -- when I graduated, my mother, who is a kapo in the Jewish Mothers' Mafia. [Laughter] She said you really oughta call Aaron Sorkin. That's what Jewish mothers do. He's Jewish. You're Jewish. Call him.
Craig Kilborn: Right. You're supposed to call each other.
Josh Malina: Yeah. It was the single best, you know, piece of advice I was ever given.
Craig Kilborn: Now, we're gonna -- can I switch to another project of yours?
Josh Malina: Certainly.
Craig Kilborn: You're working in a movie called View from the Top.
Josh Malina: In which Rob Lowe appears as well.
Craig Kilborn: Is that right?
Josh Malina: Yes.
Craig Kilborn: Oh. So you guys, you guys get along?
Josh Malina: Yes, actually. He's a delightful man.
Craig Kilborn: I know. I know him. He's a great guy.
Josh Malina: And rather tall.
Craig Kilborn: He's a good guy. He's good people.
Josh Malina: Yes. And actually, he looks like a -- a -- another species. He's such a good-looking man.
Craig Kilborn: He is handsome
Josh Malina: Yes, he is.
Craig Kilborn: And he hasn't aged much. So who else is in the movie View from the Top?
Josh Malina: It's quite a cast. It's Gwyneth Paltrow. [Applause] This could take a long time. Uh, Candace Bergen, Christina Applegate, Kelly Preston, Mike Myers.
Craig Kilborn: Okay.
Josh Malina: Yeah. And Chad Everett.
Craig Kilborn: Is this a comedy, or what is it?
Josh Malina: Yes. One hopes. It is a comedy -- it's sort of a dark comedy about flight attendents.
Craig Kilborn: And Aaron Sorkin did not have anything to do with it.
Josh Malina: This would be that rare project--
Craig Kilborn: Oh, this is -- oh, congratulations! You're in the business now, you've done it! You've branched out.
Josh Malina: Thank you. I've really grown up.
Craig Kilborn: Now they tell me in your personal life that you are one heck of a poker player.
Josh Malina: Do they?
Craig Kilborn: Yes.
Josh Malina: I do play a lot of poker.
Craig Kilborn: To the point where, when you're a struggling actor, you would, uh, you would pay for your rent through your earnings from poker.
Josh Malina: That is true. I certainly have done that, yes.
Craig Kilborn: So you'd go up to Vegas, or--
Josh Malina: No, that's the beauty of California. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week you can go to the Bicycle Club, Hollywood Park, and, uh, gamble, gamble, gamble.
Craig Kilborn: Yeah. So, you've been doing this for years?
Josh Malina: Yes, yes. Avid, avid poker player.
Craig Kilborn: Does your mom make a call and say you should play--
Josh Malina: She's hooked me up with Jewish poker players around the world. [Laughter]
Craig Kilborn: Well, how good are you? I mean--
Josh Malina: Well, you know, everything is relative. Certainly, relative to the people I play with on a regular basis, I'm very good.
Craig Kilborn: Yeah.
Josh Malina: That's the thing, you have to find that core group of people that aren't as good as you.
Craig Kilborn: Oh, so you take their money.
Josh Malina: I certainly attempt to, yeah.
Craig Kilborn: And this is just straight poker where you get the royal flush and the whole thing, right?
Josh Malina: Yeah, that's correct. I like playing Hold 'Em. Hold 'Em is my specialty.
Craig Kilborn: Tell me--
Josh Malina: A variation on seven-card stud, you have two hold cards, round of betting, three in the middle, round of betting, fourth in the middle, round of betting, fifth in the middle, you wind up with two of your own, five community cards from which to make your best hand.
Craig Kilborn: Right. I got that. Now, would you do -- if you went up to Vegas and played poker there in a casino, would you do as well?
Josh Malina: Yeah, I think so. I mean, I play in the casinos here--
Craig Kilborn: Or is it just with your stiff friends, who really don't know what they're doing?
Josh Malina: No, no. There's a lot of money to be made in these poker casinos as well. A lot of very loose players who want to gamble, gamble. If you play tight, you win money.
Craig Kilborn: This is not for me, this is for the viewers out there, 'cause I don't really care, but what's the most, what's the most you've made?
Josh Malina: Uh, during very tight times, when the acting work wasn't happening, I won twelve-grand in two weeks. And that was my big, uh-- [Applause] My gambling winning's being applauded.
Craig Kilborn: Do you walk away, or how does it work with poker? Can you walk away from the table, or do you have to stick--?
Josh Malina: You can walk away at any time. You may, you know -- they may not appreciate it.
Craig Kilborn: Have you lost a lot?
Josh Malina: Twelve-thousand in two weeks also. [Laughter]
Craig Kilborn: Really? Seriously?
Josh Malina: No. But I've certainly lost. You gotta lose sometimes. But overall, I'm a long-term winner.
Craig Kilborn: And it, and you're--
Josh Malina: It's a marathon, not a sprint.
Craig Kilborn: Yeah. You're proud of this, right? The poker?
Josh Malina: I guess. I, you know, proud enough to talk about it on national TV.
Craig Kilborn: Talk about it on our show, yeah. All right, we are out of time, buddy. This is good. The West Wing Wednesday on NBC, and A View from the Top, that's opening March 22. Pleasure meeting you.
Josh Malina: Nice to meet you, too.
Posted by Ryo at February 26, 2003 01:22 AM