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November 30, 2003
TV star wagers on series
By HEATHER SALERNO
THE JOURNAL NEWS
Gambling has busted many a Hollywood star, but poker represents a full house to Joshua Malina. The New Rochelle native says his card-playing brought him a jackpot: He befriended the future "West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin (who grew up in Scarsdale) at a poker table, leading to his current role on the Emmy-winning drama.
Poker's pulled him through rough spots, too. Not long after moving to L.A. a decade ago, a jobless Malina played for 15 days straight and paid off his credit cards with $12,000 in winnings. (Don't try this at home.)
"Poker has been like the nexus of my entire career," he laughs. "Every strand somehow goes back to a poker game."
Now the game has dealt him another good hand. He's an executive producer of "Celebrity Poker Showdown" (9 p.m. Tuesdays on Bravo), a six-
part reality series in which Ben Affleck, Martin Sheen and 23 other stars face off in a charity tournament.
"The betting can be huge, the action fast and furious," says Malina, 37, using a rare day off from "The West Wing" for a telephone chat. "I think we're going to suck you
into the poker even if you come into it thinking, 'Well, I really just want to see what Ben Affleck is like when he's not playing a role.' " J. Lo's other half helps kick off Tuesday night's premiere, when he'll challenge opponents like "Ocean's 11" star Don Cheadle and David Schwimmer of "Friends" to a game of No Limit Texas Hold 'Em. (With its big pots and quick play, experts call it "the Cadillac of poker.")
The home audience gets the inside scoop in this game, however: Cameras hidden in the poker table let viewers see each player's cards. "Our show," Malina says, "is posing the question: 'They can act, but can they bluff?' "
The winner of each week's game moves on to the Jan. 13 championship round, from which the top dog walks away with $100,000 for a favorite cause.
The series, filmed over one week last month at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, reveals the stars' personalities through their card-playing approaches. Schwimmer and Tom Green showed up "with serious game faces," says Malina. Comics Mo Gaffney and Nicole Sullivan hired poker coaches. Rookies Shannon Elizabeth ("American Pie") and actress-writer Carrie Fisher welcomed advice from more experienced players.
Malina's "West Wing" co-star Allison Janney never "even attempted to have a poker face," he notes. "But her charm can be disarming as well."
The actor compares the program jokingly to the classic '70s competition "Battle of the Network Stars." "It was fun to see people you saw regularly on TV completely out of context — Robert Conrad is running an obstacle course!" he says. "As a kid, that always held a real allure for me, and I think we have a similar feel."
The inspiration for "Showdown" grew out of the weekly game Malina and screenwriter pal Andrew Hill Newman have attended for years at the home of Hank Azaria (best known as the voice of Apu, Moe, Chief Wiggum and others on "The Simpsons").
"Hank's probably the most entertaining person to play poker with, so somewhere simmering in our consciousness was that this would probably be fun to watch," Malina says. "It's one of those rare instances where you have an idea, and you follow through and it works out."
The same could be said for Malina's professional life, which took off after he graduated with a theater degree from Yale and made his acting debut in the 1989 Broadway production of Sorkin's "A Few Good Men."
That led to roles in every one of Sorkin's projects, from the critically acclaimed series "Sports Night" to the films "The American President" and "Malice." He joined "The West Wing" last year after Rob Lowe left and Sorkin created the part of speechwriter Will Bailey for his friend.
Malina acknowledges the deep loss he and the rest of the ensemble felt when Sorkin and his fellow executive producer, Tommy Schlamme, told them they were leaving at the end of last season.
"It was like a bombshell, actually," he says.
Sorkin was infamous for turning scripts in late, sometimes forcing the program to start shooting an episode before he was finished writing it. Although Sorkin had won back-to-back Emmys for best drama, Warner Bros., which produces "The West Wing," reportedly wanted him to run the show more efficiently.
"I think Aaron took a good, long hard think about it and said, 'I don't work this way,' " says Malina. "He didn't deliver things late because he wanted the show to go over budget; that's just how Aaron works. He's a pressure-cooker writer."
Malina admits to some worries that the series might "turn into a soap opera." His fears were unfounded, he says, and he praises the show's current leader, John Wells.
Wells, in fact, is responsible for the latest twist for Malina's character, who in recent episodes took a job outside the West Wing as the newly appointed vice president's top aide.
Malina has settled permanently on the West Coast with his wife, Melissa, and their children, Isabel, 5, and Ari, 18 months. Still, he knows that in his business, nothing is permanent.
"Frankly, my future on the show, your guess is as good as mine," he says. "All I can say is that, as an actor, nothing is ever set in stone. I don't ever say, 'Oh great, I'm going to be on 'West Wing' now for four more years.' All I'm ever looking for is a good storyline, and I feel like I'm getting it."
If not, he can always turn back to the card table to hunt for a job. After all, his poker buddy Affleck isn't exactly an industry lightweight.
"I actually played with Ben earlier this week," says Malina. "I keep referring to him as my new best friend."
Posted by Jo at November 30, 2003 09:20 PM