Here’s a dirty little secret that I’ve noticed a lot of websites don’t acknowledge, and we try to be as upfront as possible about: a lot of interviews are done round table style with a dozen or so outlets asking some questions. So it was an absolute treat to get to speak with Fred Willard, who makes a guest appearance tonight on Pushing Daisies, one on one. The character actor is one of the funniest men in the movie business that you can recognize, but may not always know who he is. For context he was most recently in WALL-E as the president of the BnL Corporation, and that is the first live action performance in a Pixar film.
Mr. Willard himself is just as funny and charming as he is in his films, with an ease of quality that makes you feel like you’re talking to someone who not only has a project to promote but a genuine interest in the fan’s enjoyment of his work. He opened the interview by letting me know my family in California should be safe from the outbreak of fires.
This week’s Pushing Daisies features Fred as The Great Hermann, a magician. If you’ve watched the show then you can guess exactly what’ll be happening, but it’s not something I or Fred want to spoil for the audience ahead of time. Suffice it to say that a trick goes wrong and Emerson is on the case to find the killer. ”[He’s] flamboyant, with the cape and the top hat,” Willard says of his character. ”I call them in to investigate the death of some of my pets, and they think I’m crazy.”
Willard approached the role in a Houdini style, referencing some of the tricks as things that Houdini might have done. In that way he says, ”It was a very physical role.” And of course the people at Pushing Daisies saw Fred as the perfect choice to play a character that is, ”over the top and kind of serious, but a bit of a buffoon underneath.” When he was asked to play the part the director pulled him aside to just ensure that Fred was aware that while things in the show have heart and substance, everything is just a little over the top. In that way I think Willard would be a perfect addition to the cast. Of course that’ll be difficult considering how guest appearances usually go on Pushing Daisies.
Not that Fred would be opposed to returning to the show. We were throwing ideas around on how to get him back on, and I’d like to suggest maybe this time they serve some pies. Travesty of travesties was confirmed when I found out the cast and crew are not fed pies. The pies on the show are just set pieces. But at least the cast is just as wonderful as I imagine, with each of them joking around and having fun on the set. Speaking of a conversation he had with Chi McBride (Emerson Cod) Fred said that he asked about Chi’s shoes. Chi explained he had feet problems and then said, ”’You know Fred. You never stand when you can sit, and you never sit when you can lie down.’”
Fans of Fred Willard’s work in the Christopher Guest films will be sad to hear that there’s nothing going on right now with that team. Although Fred mentioned that he usually gets a call from Guest or Eugene Levy right when they finish an idea and want him on board, so there’s still a chance we’ll see something in the next two years or so.
You can catch Fred Willard tonight at 8:00pm EST on ABC’s Pushing Daisies.
