Matt Walsh comes clean(-shaven) on what happens to his mustache when ‘Veep’s’ not filming
The Upright Citizens Brigade co-founder discusses what classic TV shows he’d like to be on, and his strange first acting job in a send-up of the Last Supper.
When Emmy contenders stop by The Times for live video conversations, we keep an eye out for interesting questions coming over social media.
And we had a good one for “Veep” cast member Matt Walsh, an Emmy nominee last year for his priceless portrayal of hapless press secretary Mike McClintock. The show’s executive producer, David Mandell, chimed in via Facebook, wanting to know where Walsh, currently clean-shaven, kept his mustache when the series wasn’t filming.
Walsh, a founding member of the improv sketch comedy theater Upright Citizens Brigade, didn’t miss a beat.
“There’s a Lloyd’s of London in Los Angeles where I can lock it up in a safety deposit box, and it’s insured — it’s worth more than anything in my life,” Walsh said. “And then I take it out. I start brushing it in September, and then get the glue people to come back. And I perma-glue it for the whole season.”
Mandell also had a follow-up question: Which of the show’s characters is [Donald] Trump? Mike?
“Well, Mike is a buffoon, so he is similar to Trump in that way,” Walsh said. “And the pettiness of Jonah. And Selina has a lot of Trump in her, actually, because she pretends to care about the common man but is disgusted by poor people. So we all have a little Trump in us … on the show.”
We had questions too, and Walsh answered them all, including his advice for current White House press secretary Sean Spicer (“He should quit”), what qualities he shares with Mike (messiness — keep clear of Walsh when he’s holding a cup of coffee) and what qualities he doesn’t (Unlike Mike, Walsh has never mistaken cocoa butter for zinc oxide).
We also talked about “Veep’s” continued evolution and excellence in this political era and where the show might go from here. (Before the interview, Walsh predicted the series, currently in its sixth season, would go at least another two years.)
You can watch the full interview here:
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