GMMR Exclusive Interview with Bret Harrison of “The Loop”

If you are a regular reader of Give Me My Remote, then you know I’ve been praising Fox’s new comedy, The Loop, and urging you to give it a chance. I watch it every week and find myself laughing out loud, which can’t be said for many of the “sitcoms” out there today. I know this won’t mean much to you people, but my friend Kim LOVES this show (and Bret), and Kim doesn’t like any TV, so that should tell you something.

The Loop features a phenomenal cast which includes vetrans like Mimi Rogers, Philip Baker Hall, and of course, the star of the show – Bret Harrision.

I was lucky enough to talk with Bret recently about The Loop, how he balances work and play, and even a bit about one of his famous friends. It’s been a few weeks since we first chatted, but it took me forever to get this pulled together. I think The Loop needs our help, so check out a recap of our conversation and then make sure you tune into The Loop this week at 8pm on Wednesday and again with a new episode airing in its normal timeslot, Thursday at 8:30pm on Fox.

GMMR: So man there’s a lot going on for you these days?

Bret Harrison: Yeah, I’ve never had this much stuff going on at one time. You know I love it actually. It’s real fun. It keeps me alive…ha ha.

GMMR: Have you been doing a lot of interviews?

BH: Interviews, publicity, you know. Just been talking to a lot of great people about the show. And I hope this works. It’s just I’m so so proud of this show. I’ve done publicity for other things before, but love doing this now because it’s really easy for me because I truly am so excited about it.

To be honest, sometimes you have to do publicity for something and you kind of fake it. Oh yeah, the movie’s great…blah blah. But for this I’m truly excited about The Loop, so it’s easy.

GMMR: The show has a great buzz right now.

BH: You know Pam Brady is one of the creators of the show, and she’s a big writer on South Park. She also wrote the Team America movie, which is phenomenal, pushes to the comedy limit, right?

Each episode is almost like a little mini movie in a way. It’s a one camera show, but the directors are Jay Chandrasekhar who did Dukes of Hazzard and Super Troopers, Betty Thomas of Hill Street Blues, and Rawson Marshall Thurber who directed Dodgeball so it’s just cool to know that there are some really, really cool people behind the show. And people like Mimi Rogers and Philip Baker Hall, who has done over 100 movies, and they have obviously responded to The Loop – the script, and we are all having so much fun doing it.

GMMR: So for those who haven’t yet seen The Loop, why don’t you tell them what it’s all about.

BH: I think The Loop is like Office Space meets Animal House. I play Sam Sullivan, who is like Wyle E. Coyote, stuck in the middle of trying to make his two worlds happen, and everyone else around his is like the Road Runner.

It’s a guy who wants to do it all, but the truth is, he’s the first guy out of all of his friends to get this corporate executive job. Not only is it a job, where his friends aren’t really doing anything, but Sam’s at a position where he’s a top executive at a young age – a position most 40 year olds work their whole lives just to get to, so even though he’s in his 20’s, he’s kind of this genius kid. But, on the other hand, he’s still trying to be young, and party and hang out. His friends are having hot tub parties at 4pm or attaching a zip line from the apartment to the falafel cart across the street – and he wants to participate in this stuff. It’s all about trying to find that balance.

GMMR: You’re a young, working guy. Do you see any of yourself in Sam Sullivan?

BH: Oh man, I identify with this character more than anyone else I have ever played. I don’t think I’m as neurotic and crazy as Sam, but I do think I relate to the working and the partying. I’m not saying I’m a crazy party animal or anything. Ha. But for instance, we are going to American Idol parties every week to promote the show, and there are free drinks, but I keep thinking – wait a second, you’ve got to be up tomorrow morning at 6am, so it’s tough. You’ve got to watch yourself.

And tonight, I’m going to a party. Adam Brody was on the cover of Nylon Magazine, so there’s a big party for him. There’s always something, so just like Sam, I have to watch myself and balance myself. It’s all about balancing the work and the play…ha ha.

GMMR: You mentioned veteran actors Mimi Rogers and Philip Baker Hall. Tell me a little about working with them.

BH: Philip Baker Hall plays my boss, and Mimi Rogers is the number two in command. Mimi Rogers’s character, Meryl, is constantly sexually harassing Sam. But Sam is used to it in a way, so he’s running around the office trying to pull papers together and Meryl is right there, pinching his butt, and Sam doesn’t even think twice about it. But Sam’s naïve so I don’t think he would report her or anything. On the other hand, Meryl is the one Sam can go to for advice about his job.

And Philip, man, at the table reads, we can’t wait to get to Phil’s part because he always has these big crazy monologues. They keep getting longer and longer every week, but they’re so funny. I think Will and Pam found a great voice for Phil. And he pulls it off excellently.

GMMR: Now that we know a little about your co-workers, tell us about the other side of Sam’s life – his friends and roommates.

BH: Sam’s got this older, dead beat older brother, who should have been working well before Sam. He always has odd jobs like at Toys R Us, or Pier One Imports, or selling Sully’s Soggy Sandwiches. He’s not really a go getter like Sam is.

Sam is also living with Pipe and Lizzy, and Piper is the girl he’s kind of had a crush on forever, but he doesn’t know how to deal with it. He’s kind of awkward with girls, and doesn’t know what to do about his crush on her. Lizzy’s a bartender who is absolutely gorgeous – kind of like a Coyote Ugly girl, and her skirt is a little short sometimes. Ha ha. She’s a crazy drinker, and she works at a bar, but also partakes at drinking in the bar, soooo.

With all this going on, Sam somehow has to make it all work. It’s tough.

GMMR: So how did The Loop come your way?

BH: The creators, Will Gluck and Pam Brady, they were fans of Grounded for Life, and they had a meeting with me. At the time I wasn’t sure if Grounded for Life was coming to and end or not, but they talked to me about the script, and immediately after I read it I just loved it. And they kind of had me in mind, apparently from the beginning, when they were writing this character. That was the first time that happened to me. It’s like – wait, what, you know who I am? From Grounded for Life? I mean that show had a cult following, but c’mon. And then it was a difficult situation because it was mine to lose. When I went to audition for the studios and the network I wasn’t really going up against anybody, so it was really cool that I had all these producers in my corner, but on the other hand, I kept thinking, man if I lose out on this, I guess I’m just really bad…ha ha.
GMMR: That had to be such a great feeling, to have a role written with you in mind.

BH: Aw, Kath, it was insane, and it still is. Every time I see an article, or when I drive on the Fox lot and see this huge billboard. It’s very, very surreal.

GMMR: I was a big fan of Grounded for Life, but to be honest I first recognized you from your brief stint on The OC.

BH: You know, Adam Brody has come on and done a brief stint for the show.

GMMR: You and Adam are roommates or something, right?

BH: Well we were roommates, but we aren’t now. We’re really good friends, and we write together, and we are producing Revenge of The Nerds together, so you know we are good buddies, but not roommates anymore. But I’m so excited to have him on the show. He’s going to play Keith, the boss’s gay son. Ha ha He said “you know, I really want to come on the show, but I want to play a new character. I kind of get stuck in these roles that are very similar to myself, and I want to play something.” So I pitched it to Pam and Will, that Adam should play Russ’s gay son, and they loved it.

Oh and The Dandy Warhols just came on and played during that same episode. Yeah, we have a lot of good music that drives the show – Kaiser Chiefs, Snow Patrol, The Killers.

GMMR: So you mentioned that you are producing Revenge of the Nerds. What’s the latest with that? Is it moving forward?

BH: Wow, thanks for asking. We were I the process for 2 years developing it. The writing, and the hiring of different writers. We are have a draft that we really like, and we’re out to directors now. And hopefully we will be shooting it this summer. Obviously it can be pushed back, because God knows things are always being pushed back, but it’s definitely moving along.

GMMR: I know you were in a band. With everything going on, do you get to play much anymore?

BH: Yes. Hopefully we’re going to go on a little mini-tour in May, up the West Coast. But we’ve been playing a lot lately, and just practicing. We recently played a showed at The Knitting Factory. After a couple of years, we’re starting to find our sound and it’s going well.

GMMR: It certainly sounds like you are enjoying life these days.

BH: Absolutely. It’s really a great time. And with the show out now, I am so excited!!

GMMR: Well thanks for taking the time to talk with me. I know you’re busy these days, so I appreciate it.

BH: No, thank you so so much. It was great talking to you, and I that we can chat sometime again soon.

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