Interview: Matt Walsh Talks ‘The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon’
There’s been a podcast theme recently of celebrities doing “talky” interview-style shows with their friends and doing stunts like they would on The Jimmy Fallon Show. There have also been a few audio dramas with big stars in them with varying degrees of quality, but very few, if any, scripted comedic audio dramas. Suffice it to say, The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon co-produced by Spotify and Funny or Die occupies a unique space in the podcast world.
It’s starring the actual Kevin Bacon, playing himself in a role that mocks Hollywood culture and the game 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon with the conceit that the man who’s connected to everyone doesn’t have any friends. It also stars his actual wife, Krya Sedgwick, and comedian Matt Walsh as Randy Beslow, an actor/stalker who wants to kill Kevin Bacon, hence the title.
Whenever he meets anyone, Randy Beslow describes to them how Kevin Bacon ruined his life, starting with beating him out of the starring role in Footloose. When misfortune strikes Randy instead of saying “I’ve been screwed,” he yells “I’ve been Baconed!”
One day Randy Beslow decides he’s had enough and so, along with his attractive best friend Jeff, they set out for Hollywood to kill Kevin Bacon. Bacon accidentally hits him with his car, invites him over to his house, and they become friends, allowing Randy to come up with ever more creative ways to kill the friendless A-lister who spends his time at the store converting his change into rolls, and pitching a sci-fi action movie about a frog and a toad who become friends. The amusing side-plot involves Jeff constantly being approached by people assuming he’s a movie star, and Kyra Sedgwick assuming the identity of her old TV show The Closer and investigating just what Randy and Jeff are up to.
Matt Walsh has been a recognizable face for a long time as one of the founding members of UCB and their television show, and more recently for starring in the long-running television show Veep. I caught up with him on the phone to talk about the show.
You have a terrific podcast I’m really enjoying it.
Matt Walsh: Thank you. I think it’s really funny, and it was super fun to make. I like Kevin Bacon exposing his life for comic fodder.
How many Degrees of Kevin Bacon were you before this project? My car was once used in an episode of his show The Following.
Matt Walsh: Your car? Well, that’s pretty good. That’s gotta be at least a second degree right? We actually did a few camping scenes together as friends in a horror movie called The Darkness.
I didn’t find that one, you’ve got quite the IMDB page man. It’s been fun watching your career over the years from UCB and on. What do you make of the whole Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon mythos?
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon?
Had you thought about it more much before this?
Matt Walsh: I think at some point I played it. It was a cultural phenom. His life became synonymous with the interconnectivity of show business. Somebody cracked the code that you could connect any actor in six moves with Kevin Bacon, which somehow went viral before the internet. He’s had sort of an A list life so it’s hard to not be aware of Kevin Bacon and grow up in America.
I played a version of that game in college with a lot of friends.
Matt Walsh: Was it a drinking game?
Ha. No. Have you ever played a character this over the top before? I know you have a comedy background, but is this kind of frantic character something that’s in your wheelhouse?
Matt Walsh: On the UCB TV sketch show, I played a lunatic detective who was very emotionally volatile so I can play emotionally volatile people.
I have a good scream.
Yes, you do. “I’ve been Baconed” was such a funny line. What did you enjoy most about the role?
Matt Walsh: I thought the process was akin to doing live theater in a sound studio in Burbank. We were very playful in rehearsal and the director would throw out ideas and Kevin was very fluid and up for different versions of things. Honestly, we were in the studio working like rats and I don’t think since Fleetwood Mac went without cocaine have a group of people worked so hard on a studio project.
It sounds like you guys did a lot of improv?
Matt Walsh: The head writer Dan Abramson and the contributors from Funny or Die wrote really funny scripts, but there were always tweaks to talk through and we got to try new things. It was a good process. Kevin couldn’t have been more down to play.
That’s always nice to hear about somebody at that level.
Matt Walsh: Yeah, and his wife played along.
That was the weirdest part for me, that Kara Sedgwick is in this.
Matt Walsh: They’re engaging with the idea of celebrity and a personal and public life. Obviously, they seem to have a nice family for themselves, but I think they had fun with sending up the ideal of celebrity.
It reminds me quite a bit of Bojack Horseman how it takes a look at how lowbrow Hollywood people might be, like going to the change machine to exchange quarters for instance. Does any of the silliness ring true to you about the inanity of it?
Matt Walsh: I think it’s possible to be famous and be lonely. I don’t think that fame always delivers what people think it’s going to give them. It’s probably peppered throughout with truths, like meeting insane celebrities at parties is very common. Seeing Arianna Huffington talking to Shaquille O’Neal at a party in LA, those kind of random celebrity pairings happen all the time.
Coming up as an actor was there ever anyone you were jealous of and how did you deal with it?
Matt Walsh: I think that jealousy can maybe be healthy if you respect the art. I think jealousy will burn you up ultimately. The bad side of jealousy is when you get to the point where you’re obsessed and feel like you’ve been unrightfully abused by society or by the gods.
But if you see something and you’re blown away by it, like the way the Beatles heard Pet Sounds and decided they had to have a better album, that’s good competition, that’s people setting the bar and you want to challenge yourself to do something great.
Jealousy can be a great motivator.
Matt Walsh: I think you have to want to make something great, otherwise why would you go to work?
Is this the kind of show that you always wanted to be in given the creative freedom of a podcast?
Matt Walsh: Well, yeah, and I rode my bike to work. That never happens in LA. If I could ride my bike to work every day. That would be amazing.
Is this your first time starring in or hosting a podcast? I know you’ve done many guest spots, but it’s hard to figure out if you have because there’s another Matt Walsh out there who’s a radio commentator.
Matt Walsh: Me and a buddy named Scott hosted a podcast for three years called Bear Down that was about the Chicago Bears and then it turned into UCB Sports and Leisure because I’m a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade. We also had a fictional interview show where we would travel the world meeting interesting people. So I had two podcasts before.
Were you a fan of any other fiction podcasts before this one?
Matt Walsh: The radio play era for me is indelibly imprinted from back in the Dr. Demento days as a young man I would listen on Sunday nights and there was the Fireside Radio Theater and stuff like The Goon Squad. I haven’t followed any comedy podcasts recently, but when I see well done radio play comedy either live or listen to it, I really enjoy it.
Can you give us any teasers for the rest of the series?
Matt Walsh: Randy Beslow’s friend Jeff continues to get more attention, which is very frustrating for Randy and there’s some real friendship moments between Kevin and Randy. Also, there’s a really talented actor named Will Greenberg who does a great Matthew McConaughey impression at a party.
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to hear how it ends.
The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon is a free Spotify Original not available on other platforms. The first four episodes are available now and the final six out of ten land every Monday.
Previous Story
Podcast Spotlight: The Michael Cheney Show
Next Story
Ask How to Audio Drama: Getting Lost in the Noise
Comments
Comments are closed.