Alan Tudyk Exclusive QandA

03-10-2007 14:36

Q: What happens when a guy born and raised in Texas announces to his parents that he wants to go to Juilliard? Do they start looking at you funny?A: My parents are very supportive. But they were definitely of the mind set that actors don’t really need schooling. So they said, “If you want to do this, go ahead, but it’s not something we’re interested in supporting financially.” I said that I wanted to do it, and I was fortunate enough to get in… And my parents would come and visit me once in a while.Q: You started in the revival earlier this year of Prelude to a Kiss on Broadway, and the New York Times review said you lacked “the glamour” of the shows original star, Alec Baldwyn. Is that the biggest insult you’ve ever gotten? A: Well, [Alec Baldwyn] is a very glamorous man. (Laughs.) He already had a bit of a name when the play first premiered. I don’t think “Tudyk” is a huge name right now or has lots of glamour around it. But you can’t really take reviews too seriously. There was a line in that review about how my looks “straddle the line between handsome and goofy.” They put that line up on the poster boards in the lobby. And there’s just enough truth to that statement, so you’re like, “Damn, why did you have to write that?”Q: Was there ever a point in your career where you thought, “This next project is going to turn me into a huge star”?A: I was so excited (about I, Robot). It was with Will Smith, and all of my scenes were with him and Bridget Moynahan. I mean, it’s called I Robot, and I’m playing the robot. So I thought this was going to give me massive exposure. But they CGI-ed me. You don’t get much exposure when you’re not actually exposed.Q: You played Steve the Pirate in Dodgeball. Are you ever going to be able to live that one down?