Eddie Trunk is the host of the popular VH1 talk show “That Metal Show”. The show recently kicked off its 12th season and is already shaping up to be one of the best yet. Media Mikes had the chance to talk with Eddie recently about the history of the show, what it’s like working with co-hosts Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine and shed some light on his new book.

Adam Lawton: How did the show initially get started?
Eddie Trunk: I had been pestering VH1 for a very long time and it was something that I brought to them. What some people may not realize due to the channel not be as readily available as it is now is that I had been hosting on VH1 Classics since 2002. Before “That Metal Show” I was doing all different types of interviews and VJ work for them. During that time I was always pushing to do my own show which would feature the music I loved and have guests on that I could talk with like I do on my radio shows. It took a long time to get them to come around to the idea. Finally in 2008 they decided to give it a shot and shoot a pilot. The show went through a lot of evolution as there were a number of different people attached to it on all different levels. Things eventually happened in that they came to me asking to bring in some other host and not just have me by myself on. They wanted guys that weren’t serious in an effort to mix up the chemistry. I had the perfect guys in mind. Don and Jim were friends of mine and they were often on my radio show. We brought them in, had a great meeting, shot the pilot and here we are 100 episodes later.

AL: Other than the recent move from New York to Los Angeles what do you think has been the biggest change in the show since its inception?
ET: The biggest was something that I had been pushing for since day one. The show started out as only a half hour and after the fourth season we went to an hour. Coming from radio I loved the time you have where you can just sit and talk to someone. TV is completely different and it’s hard to make that change when your show is only a half hour. When it really comes down to it the show is 21 minutes because of commercials. It was agonizing for me for some time trying to fit everything in to that time frame. Once we switched to an hour things felt much better to me. The only thing now is that with it being an hour I want it to be two hours. (Laughs)

AL: Can you tell us about the idea of bringing in guitarists, bassists and drummers to perform during the show?
ET: The ultimate goal is to have a band play one day but we can’t do that because we just don’t have the budget. We simply cannot afford to bring on an entire band or pay the publishing which is very expensive and a lot of people don’t realize that. We try and work around that buy just bringing in single musicians to do some shredding and stuff. We have had drummers, bassists and predominately guitarist as they lend themselves to the gig a little more. This season we split things down the middle with four shows being with a guitarist and four shows being with a drummer. We have a lot of fun bringing those guys in and it’s a great opportunity to showcase sometimes the little lesser known guys. For example Richie Kotzen has always been a favorite of mine and in America he is barely known. To have him featured on our show has been great as lots of people have been emailing me for more info on him.

AL: In the shows 12 seasons has there ever been a guest that you thought would never end up on the show but actually did end up being on?
ET: Steve Harris from Iron Maiden was tuff. He doesn’t live in American and the Iron Maiden camp is extremely protective of their brand and how they do things. I have always had a great relationship with them but in order to get everyone on board the stars have to align themselves. The season that Steve was on ended up being a last minute score for us because Steve had just announced he was going to be doing a solo album and the band happened to be in Los Angeles. I went to their manager and just asked to have him on. Steve ended up coming down and having a blast. We hope to have him back one day. They guys who don’t live in America are a challenge logistically. Tony Iommi was another one that I was really excited to have one.

AL: What is it like working with Jim and Don behind the scenes?
ET: Things are the exact same as you see on the show. We all bust each other’s balls. Those guys as stand up comics are going to be a little better at it than most people but it comes with the territory. Their role is to throw things a little off balance. Behind the scenes we all put a lot in to the show. As a co-producer the show is kind of my baby so a lot falls on me to sort of be the referee and also to get the guests as I have a lot of history with most of them. Don and Jim work hard as well coming up with concepts and we are all very much involved as it’s a team effort.

AL: Besides the remaining shows for this season what else do you have in the works?
ET: I just completed my second book which is the follow up to “Eddie Trunk’s Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Vol. 1”. I just found out that Vol. 2 will be coming out on September 24th. The book is an exact sequel to my first book. The format and everything is the same except that there are 35 completely different bands in this one. I am really excited for that to be happening. I will also be continuing my two radio shows as this year I am celebrating my 30^th year in radio. I am always out there looking for ways to make my projects bigger and take things to the next level.

Sabrina Carpenter is a 13 years old actress and a very talented musician. She is a Hollywood Records artist and her song “Smile” was released on “Disney Fairies” CD. She was also recently cast in the series pilot for “Girl Meets World”, the sequel to “Boy Meets World”. In Disney Junior’s “Sofia The First”, she voices and also sings for the role of Princess Vivian. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Sabrina about her role in “Girl Meets World” and about the pilot.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your character, Maya Fox, in upcoming series “Girl Meets World”?
Sabrina Carpenter: Maya is Riley Matthews’ best friend. She is a little darker than Riley. She cares so much for her. I think that is what keep her sane is having Riley by her side. They are two opposites but love each other so much and have such an appreciation for each other.

MG: How was it shooting the pilot episode?
SC: It was so much fun. We were also very lucky to have some of the original cast from “Boy Meets World” visit us on set. That was so amazing. We are working with some really amazingly talented writers and producers, along with a great cast. We are so lucky that Ben (Savage) and Danielle (Fishel) are back on this show as well. I think that everybody is going to love it!

Click here to read our interview with Sabrina for her role in Disney Junior’s “Sofia The First”

What do you do if you have a popular television show with popular stars as it approaches its new season? If you’re TNT you add everyone’s “go to” girl, Heather Locklear. From early 80s favorites like “T.J. Hooker” and “Dynasty” through the highly successful “Melrose Place” then on to “Spin City,” Locklear has always brought fans and, more importantly, ratings to her programs. Next week she joins the cast of “Franklin and Bash,” starring Mark Paul Gosselaar, Breckin Meyer and Malcolm McDowell as Rachel King, the law firm’s newest partner. The new season begins Wednesday, June 19 at 9:00 p.m. EST with an airing of back-to-back episodes. To celebrate her new gig Ms. Locklear sat down for some questions.

Media Mikes: When you first joined the cast, was it instant chemistry between you and Mark and Breckin or did it take a bit of time for you all to gel?
Heather Locklear: You know what, I think anyone would have instant chemistry with those two boys. So that was pretty much right away. We were joking and laughing right away.

MM: And what was it about the role that interested you in being a part of this show? It’s very much a comedy mixed with a drama.
HL: Right. First because of that, that’s different. And also because I’ve never played a lawyer before. And when shows are on a couple seasons already, it’s always nice to go in on that when they are well-oiled machines.

MM: What do you like about the character?
HL: I like that she’s strong and she’s well educated…she knows world leaders and knows her stuff…her business.

MM: Do you see Rachel and Malcolm McDowell’s Stanton having a power struggle over the firm down the line? And what is Malcolm McDowell like to work with?
HL: You know, I do see that down the line. But with Malcolm, I mean yes I do see that a little bit because he hands over the reins to her to, you know, to get everyone in shape. And I step on toes a bit. But it’s so fun working with Malcolm. He’s so twinkly and sparkly and such fun. Have you met him?
MM: No, but we’ve interviewed him for our site in the past.

MM: Because of your popularity – especially on television series – you must get many offers. What was it about this show that made you say ”yes, this is the show that I want to do?”
HL : Let me tell you something. I don’t get many offers. I get a few maybe. But because the show is like a “Boston Legal” – I loved “Boston Legal.” I loved “Ally McBeal” It’s similar to that. It’s a fun show. And it was different than what I’ve done in the past.

MM: If you had to name your three favorite roles what would they be?
HL: Like the shows?

MM: Yes.
HL: Oh, I loved “Melrose Place.” I loved “Spin City,”… both of them with Michael (J. Fox) and Charlie (Sheen). And I loved doing “Saturday Night Live.” That was fun.

Chris Chittick was the TVN storm chaser and videographer from Discovery Channel’s series “Storm Chasers”. Since the show has ended Chris still has been chasing storms.  He recently teamed up with tornadohunter.com to continue the chase.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Chris about his work and his love for chasing storms.

Jennifer Kish: How has your life changed since the show Storm Chasers?
Chris Chittick: My life has changed after Storm Chasers not too much really. Still doing what I love to do. Just joined a new team, tornadohunter.com is the name of the website. There a great group of guys. Pretty much same as the way it was before just out on the road non-stop chasing. Tornadoes and any kind of extreme weather.

JK: What can you tell me about about your new chasing team tornado hunters?
CC: We are based out of Saskatchewan. It consists of our driver Ricky Forbes. Greg Johnson, who is our main meteorologist and photographer. I control all of the video stuff. There is a great dynamic, young team and we are just out on the road driving for miles until we get the job done.

JK: You use to change with long time chase partner Reed Timmer.. Do you ever miss driving into tornadoes?
CC: Reed and I split ways. We still have a good relationship but as far as driving into the tornadoes, we have our vehicle the Tornado Hunter and it is completely lined with lineX stuff so we can get just as close to the tornado as we did in the Dominator.

JK: Tell me more about your tornado alley photo expedition tours. What can people expect to experience during one of these tours?
CC: Kind of what we do as far as our tours offered on tornadohunter.com. It’s a full out experience where you come out on the road with seasoned veterans. Greg is a world class photographer and I consider myself a world class photographer as well. It’s real in life workshop as far as video shooting/ photo shooting. You learn a lot on the road, your part of the team. Your not just sitting there you actually become part of the team. We ask you what you think of as far as weather goes and we will ask you to help deploy probes. It’s a full experience, life on the road as a storm chaser. For the I’m going to say soccer mom, doctor, lawyer or whatever, you don’t get to experience that kind of stuff in every day life. The adrenaline is unbelievable.. the ups and the downs it’s just an amazing trip.

JK: Your recently updated your chase vehicle.. What kind of updates were made?
CC: As far as updates go its a F150 EgoBoost completely lined with lineX. LineX material is bullet proof/bomb proof. We have ADD bumpers in front and in back. We have a truck bed with topper on it and that we we deploy probes in the back of the truck. Main thing is the lineX which allows us to get closer then before. The main issue is not the tornado itself but the flying debris. So if we can just protect ourselves from flying debris that allows us to get close and capture imagery that no one else has been able to capture.

JK: What do you do when your not chasing tornadoes?
CC: I like to golf. When we are not chasing we are either working on the truck or we do speaking events. Photo and photography workshops. We do other extreme things as well, our driver is into motor cross and extreme downhill mountain biking. Greg has a full family. I’m single so it’s kinda difficult to get a family when you are the road all the time. Trying to move on day to day. Next couple months we are moving into hurricane season so we will start prepping and getting ready for that. Then any other extreme weather we will getting ready for that as well.

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Ricky Schroder rose to fame as a child actor in the late 70’s and early 80’s winning a Golden Globe for his role in the 1979 film “The Champ”. Schroder then went on to play the role of Ricky Stratton on the popular hit television series “Silver Spoons”. Since that time Ricky has appeared in a variety of feature films and television series. His newest project “Starting Strong” which airs June 2nd on Fox is a collaboration with the United States Army to give people interested in joining the military a real life look at what it takes to become an Armed Forces member. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Ricky recently about the project and what it was like working with the U.S. Army.

Adam Lawton: How did you first get involved with the Army?
Ricky Schroder: I approached the Army and asked them what I could do to help. I had wanted to do something to help and be able to do my part. We have been at war now for quite a long time and after the events of Sept. 11^th I was compelled to get involved somehow.

AL: What were your impressions when the project first got underway?
RS: There was a big learning curve for me. You think you know about the Army and what it’s all about but you really don’t know until you go in to the Army or spend time there. You have to sit down and really talk to these men and women over weeks and weeks. You then really start to understand more about the Army. That’s what “Starting Strong” does. It gives people the behind the scene look at what it’s like to live, eat and breathe in the Army. The show isn’t about boot camp or things like that. It is more focused on Military job specialties. There are 150 of these jobs ranging from mechanics to medics. We show a civilian what it’s like to do one of those specific jobs for a week.
At the end of the week they either decide to enlist or they don’t. My perception of the Army was completely different than that of reality. These soldiers and their families are both serving. They have a very tight bond. I really learned a lot about America’s Army.

AL: Did you do a lot of pre-production and research before starting to shoot?
RS: The stuff people will be seeing is first hand footage. Neither I, the civilian we brought along nor the production team had ever been through any of this training before. We learned just like the person with us. There were a lot of surprises along the way. Sometimes the ones who we thought would surely enlist after the experience chose not to and others who we thought wouldn’t did end up enlisting. It was something that was pretty hard to predict.

AL: Did the Army have a large hand in the production aspect of things?
RS: Of course they did. They controlled what classes the civilian was going to be places. Since this wasn’t scripted we actually had to fit in the training rotation that the Army already had going. We were pretty much under their direction throughout the filming. The Army also helped with who was going to be able to participate in the program. They were definitely a partner the whole way through. They did not however dictate as to how the end result appeared. The production is completely transparent. We put the young person in those scenarios and what happened is what you see.  The Army was a great partner and their idea of doing this was to communicate with Americans in a new way.

AL: Do you feel having the Army involved was one of the harder parts of the shoot?
RS: I don’t think it was difficult in any way I think it was essential. You couldn’t do some of the things we were able to do without them. We really needed them. The more difficult things were probably having all the camera guys and such running around in the heat for 10-12 hours a day. We really had to make sure we were getting the full story behind why these young people were thinking of enlisting. Sometimes they didn’t know why they were doing this. It was quite challenging getting the young people involved with the production to really identify why they were there.

AL: As this point in your career are you leaning towards doing more of the production side of things as opposed to be in front of the camera?
RS: I want to be able to do as much as I can weather it be acting, directing, writing or producing. I have quite a few more options at this point because I am able to do those things. I certainly want to be a performer still. Performing is something that I have done my entire life and it’s something that I hope will never stop.

AL: Can you tell us about the distribution plans for the show?
RS: It will air on 16 of the Fox channels affiliates. These are some of the biggest cities in America. It is also going to have a massive digital distribution. You will also be able to find it on www.goarmy.com/startingstrong as well as www.youtube.com/goarmy

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Debuting in 2003, The Venture Brothers follows the animated misadventures of super scientist and former “boy adventurer,” Dr. Thaddeus ‘Rusty’ Venture, his Hardy-Boy-like teen sons Hank and Dean, and their self-proclaimed arch nemesis, The Monarch. The show has created an amazing universe of heroes, villains and henchmen throughout its first four seasons while sending up everything from Johnny Quest to Hunter S. Thompson. Leading up to this Sunday’s fifth season premiere on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, creators, co-writers and stars, Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer got on the phone to discuss the show’s diverse roster of characters, super science, and the challenges of animating convincing tin foil jokes.

Lauren Damon: Your show revolves around a lot of Super Scientists, is there anything in actual modern science that’s freaked you out or sounded like something from the show?
Doc Hammer:  I’m personally not that educated. So I’m personally not up on actual scientific discovery.
Jackson Publick: I have recently subscribed to Popular Science.
Doc: So he knows all the things that are popular.
Jackson: I’m super excited that they might be figuring out warp speed and when they grew a human ear on a mouse’s, I’ve never forgotten that.

LD: How about the 3D printers?
Jackson: I’m not that excited by the 3D printer—Somebody showed me a Green Lantern ring they made with a 3D printer the other night. Actually it was a White Lantern ring, calling it a “White Power” ring, which is weird!
Doc: Do you have to wear glasses for the 3D printer?
Jackson: No, it’s a printer that makes a 3D object for you. Out of like, resin or something, it just carves this thing for you.
Doc: Oh yes. You know what? Those are more like 3D fax machines than they are 3D printers.

LD: You have so many characters on the show, do you find that you have favorites to write or watch interactions between?
Doc: Oh yeah, you can tell just by watching the show.
Jackson: Yeah, you can tell who we’ve turned into pairs, we like those guys.
Doc: And you’ll start seeing pairings that are not appropriate. Like Hank and 21 for some reason are weird pairing…
Jackson: Yeah, yeah.
Doc: They’ve been together and we kind of keep throwing them together because they interact well. Because they both have this kind of love and exuberance. And then there are just classic pairs. I mean 21 and 24. Even though we murdered one…
Jackson: I like when we put 21 and the Monarch together.
Doc: 21 and the Monarch is another…I think when we put them with The Monarch, he was trying to hang out with them…That’s when we realized these guys will interact well because they’re so different.
Jackson: And the power dynamics of their relationship—
Doc: Yea.
Jackson: ‘The creepy boss is trying to be my friend now…I don’t know what to say, he shoots guys sometimes when he doesn’t like what they say.’
Doc: Yeah, and weird combinations show up. Billy and Doc are funny because Billy dresses Doc down a lot. It’s an odd combination—
Jackson: Also he lifts him up a little bit.
Doc: He does! He does, because he fanboys on him. But at the same time he—
Jackson: Yea he’s like ‘I can’t believe that’s what a fucking mess the thing I’m fanboying about has become!’
Doc: Yeah, it’s a weird thing. It’s a weird thing because he loves Rusty Venture but I think he can barely tolerate Dr. Venture.
Jackson: ‘Please try once try to be what you used to be!’
Doc: [In Billy Quizboy’s voice] “I used to love you and you’re nobody! You’re a horrible person!”

LD: Last season, with the death of Henchman 24, Henchman 21 went through so many changes, did you anticipate such an arc when you singled out these henchmen at the beginning?
Doc: Oh no, those two guys were anonymous henchmen!
Jackson:Yeah, we just got sick of them being anonymous. And we liked two voices we did.
Doc: Yeah they were made up on the spot. I mean it was just two voices that we used to do while reading people’s emails. [Both laugh] So we just put them in the show. I mean, I remember when it first happened, you know Jackson was trying to do that every time we would get a nerdy e-mail. He would get like 21 and then he did that weird Ray Romano voice. We just did it not knowing that these characters would be around for ten years.

LD: What type of e-mail would instigate the Romano voice?
Jackson: It was just him. I think we would just pick on him because we had like watched like past episodes—
Doc: We would pick on him and we would use his use his voice for just being not us but not being a character on the show. But now we can’t.
Jackson: Right. To express the opinion of someone—usually a negative one. [in Henchman 24’s Romano voice] ‘HEY WAY TO GOOOOO’
Doc: ‘GOOD JOB.’ That kind of crap.

LD: And, as opposed to 21, which character do you think has changed the least over the course of the show?
Doc: Has changed the least? Doc, actually.
Jackson: Yeah.
Doc: He’s gone through a lot of revelations but his basic character has not changed so much. Even Brock has had more changes than Doc has and Brock is rock steady.
Jackson: Even Hank has had more changes.
Doc: Hank, the boys, have had a lot of changed.

LD: Your characters have such great names, working on this for ten years are you  just constantly thinking of new potential characters?
Doc: It’s like a bi-annual thing.
Jackson: Yeah, I forget the good ones…
Doc: I think both of us have notebooks filled with idiot names and then there are actual documents of names of episodes that don’t exist. Like “Return to Spider Skull Island” was just a bad episode name that we wrote around.

LD: Does that happen often?
Doc: More than it should. I don’t know about often.
Jackson: Probably yeah, like two episodes out of every season we like, just have a working title the whole time we’re making it and then when we’re making the credits, we have an argument about what to name it and then we both make a list of about forty things and try to hone in on one.
Doc: Oh yeah. The amount—just like the season premiere, we both probably wrote forty different titles for. All of them would have been fine in anybody else’s book, and of these eighty, of the eighty titles that we came up with “What Color is Your Cleansuit?” was the one that we liked. Which is insane. That was just a good one for us.

LD: Any names from season five that you’re particularly excited about that you can share?
Doc: We’re very particularly excited about season five, but we can’t give out any spoilers because season five is coming and the episodes themselves—
Jackson: Oh! You can drop a name out, can’t you?
Doc: What? Titles? Characters?
Jackson: Or name.
Doc: Go ahead! I’m not gonna do it. I have a firm line on spoilers. But you can do it.
Jackson: We’ve already told people that there is an Augustus St. Cloud. Which we were excited about him this season. He exists. What’s the best episode title do you think?
Doc: Best episode title?! Pick yours…Mine are awful.
Jackson: [laughing]
Doc:  I have awful episode titles. They’re always awful. Name one of yours. One of yours that isn’t clever or just stupid. Those are my favorites.
Jackson: Right.
Doc: “O. S. I Love You” is a good title.
Jackson: There ya go.
Doc: That’s not bad.

LD: You’ve had a lot of gross stuff on the show—half-formed clones and skinsuits are jumping to mind—has there been anything that’s made you as grateful as I am that it’s all animated?
Doc: Like disgusting things that happened? Well nobody wants to see anybody turn into a caterpillar, we did that in episode three.
Jackson: Oh that would look so much better if we did it in episode five.
Doc: Oh, right? Yeah…
Jackson: It really just kind of looked like he was wearing a caterpillar costume, it was very just flat and stiff back then.
Doc: Some of the things that we do are bad ideas. Like we make a lot of jokes that really don’t work as well in cartoons as we think. Like we made a terry cloth joke. And you can’t animate terry cloth. It looks just like color.
Jackson: Right, or tin foil. We did eventually get good tin foil though…
Doc: We kept asking for tin foil and eventually we got tin foil.
Jackson: We did the worst tin foil hats for season one and then we did like amazing ones last season that the Korean studio even called us and went ‘Hey, can you simplify the tin foil design please?’ It was like five hundred facets of tin foil…
Doc: And you couldn’t really move it. You could only draw it once and then have tin foil floating. The first season just looked like a gray hat—
Jackson: Like a gray walnut shell is what it looked like.
Doc: Yeah, you knew it was tin foil. But you can’t make tinfoil jokes, you can’t make terry cloth jokes—
Jackson: My god, I want to make corduroy jokes so bad!
Doc: And you can’t show corduroy because you can’t really animate corduroy…
Jackson: I know!
Doc: We can barely get a car to turn the corner nicely. We’re never gonna get corduroy on that screen.

Venture Brothers premieres Sunday, June 2nd on Cartoon Network. Also making a return this year is the show’s exclusive weekly Shirt Club, not seen since season three. More info can be found, here. 

In the meantime, Adult Swim has released a full four-season recap video hosted by Henchman 21 to get you all ready for the new season!

Ian Somerhalder is known best for his role of Damon Salvatore on The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries, which is gearing up for its fifth season this Fall. Besides acting Ian is very involved with various charities including The IS Foundation, which aims to empower, educate and collaborate with people and projects to positively impact the planet and its creatures. He also recently got involved on the advisory board of RYOT.org, which is a website that is working to get young people to be engaged with the news. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Ian again about new role and what his fans can do to help.

Mike Gencarelli: Honestly Ian, I have to ask with being an actor, activist and co-founder of the Ian Somerhalder Foundation; what do you do to balance your time?
Ian Somerhalder: It’s easy. I am energized by all the love and enthusiasm and positive energy around me. I meet amazing people every day that blow my mind with their wisdom and ideas. I believe that I become part of everyone I meet and they all become part of me – so that’s a lot of energy churning around in one body! But I do love spending time with my family – they keep me grounded and there really is no greater source of comfort than being at home.

MG: How did you get involved on the advisory board of RYOT.org?
IS: I’ve been friends with co-founders Bryn and David for years. The idea for RYOT came out of dozens of late-night conversations about the helplessness we all felt when reading the news. We wanted to find a way to make news empowering rather than depressing, so we spent a year building the site and launched it in October. It’s been amazing to watch it grow and see how many people love it and use it every day.

MG: The philosophy behind RYOT.org is that there are many ways to make a difference. How important is it for you to “make a difference”?
IS: RYOT’s founding principle is that everyone can make a difference. RYOT means “peasant” in Hindi and part of our inspiration was the MLK Jr. quote “A riot is the language of the unheard.” The way we see it, you don’t have to be rich or famous or an aid worker on the ground in Haiti or Africa to make a difference. There are ten thousand ways you can make an impact every day in your own community, or in many cases, right from your computer or phone. I try and make a difference by working on environmental issues: Supporting products that are sustainable and energy-efficient, and organizations/legislation that are working to preserve the planet. Taking action to help others is so important to our own fulfillment in life. We actually have a really great, recent article about this on RYOT.org, click here.

MG: Why do you feel that it is important for young people to be engaged with the news?
IS: This is our future we’re talking about! The more engaged we are, the better we understand other cultures and points of view, and the better our understanding, the more compassionate we are to others’ stories and struggles. Compassion is a necessity in this world, not a luxury.

MG: Tell us what your fans can do to help out with RYOT.org and ISF?
IS: We are always looking for volunteers who want to join the ISF family. We have an AMAZING team right now who work tirelessly to keep our mission moving forward and to educate the world about what we do. You can head over to http://www.isfoundation.com/get-involved to get in touch with us. You can make a HUGE impact by setting RYOT.org as your homepage. RYOT gives a portion of all revenue to non-profits so just by getting your news from RYOT and sharing stories, you’re making a difference. Last but not least, make sure to follow RYOT and ISF on social media! (@ryotnews, facebook.com/ryotnews and @is_foundation, facebook.com/isfoundation)

Rashad Evans better known as “Suga” is a former UFC Light Heavy Weight Champion who on June 15th will return to the ring after a three-month break to fight Dan Henderson for a chance at the #1 contender position in the Light Heavy Weight bracket. Media Mikes caught up with Rashad recently to discuss his preparation for the fight and to see if he has any plans to appear in more feature films and television series.

Adam Lawton: What initially interested you in trying out for season 2 of “The Ultimate Fighter”?
Rashad Evans: I watched the first season of the show and thought it was something that I needed to try. I knew Josh Koschek from wrestling and through his work at the University of Buffalo. He told me he was getting into and after seeing him on the show I knew it was something I had to do. The real opportunity came when Dan Severn was inducted into the Hall of Fame. I was affiliated with Dan at the time and he told me that the UFC was looking at one of his guys as they wanted a heavy weight. Dan told me he thought I would never be a heavy weight but I asked them to still let me try. He said that he would give them a heads up about me but I would still have to do the video and all that stuff. I did all that and I guess they liked what they saw so I went to Las Vegas and did the try out.

AL: You have been one of the few coaches on the show that have been on both sides of things. What was it like going back to a show you won but this time as a coach?
RE: Going back as a coach was a little bit of a look at how far I have come along in my career. When you are riding a roller coaster you very rarely get a chance to look and see what is going on. Prior to being on the show initially I didn’t have any sort of perspective. Going back as a coach I was able to see where I came from and look in to the eyes of the guys competing and see their mind set. It was really cool to experience all those emotions again and quite refreshing actually.

AL: Have you been trying any new training techniques to physically get ready for your fight with Dan Henderson on June 15^th?
RE: I actually haven’t tried anything new. I have more so gone back to the old way of doing things. I have gotten out of my grinding mode which is more of a mindset than actually grinding my body down. I am doing those extra little things that I have to do to make sure that I am ready for the fight. Everybody has different things they do to get ready but I have to make sure I am doing what I need to do. It may be getting up at 5am to get my running in or to be at the gym hitting the heavy bag after practice. Those are the things I have to do and the sacrifices I need to make to ensure I am ready for the fight.

AL: How have you been preparing mentally knowing that this could be one of your last shots to contend for the title?
RE: I haven’t tried to put a lot pressure on myself or putting myself in the “do or die” mode. I know I don’t want to go out losing 3 matches in a row. I don’t want to back myself in to a corner where I am afraid to try and do things. However I do know there is a sense of urgency to go out there and put on a good show. I also am putting a sense of urgency on my performances to come. Once you see behind the curtain things can be a little bit disheartening. Having been in the UFC for awhile now and seeing how things happen it can kind of not motivate you as your going through the motions of things. You have to be able to find something within yourself that allows you to challenge yourself independently from any chance to fight for a title. You have to have the will to go in that ring in fight. When I first started it wasn’t about television or people reading about things I have done it was about me going out there and having fun. Somewhere along the line I had gotten out of that.

AL: Do you find taking extended time off between fights makes it harder to want to get back in the ring?
RE: Yes, It does challenge you more after taking an extended break. When I came back prior to the Tito Ortiz fight I was really pumped up and didn’t have a lot of down time or distractions. When I came back for the Jones fight I had a lot of stuff going on at that time. I was going through a divorce and all the things that come with that. It was a really difficult time in my life. The last 2-3 years of my life have been hard and I have been tested both emotionally and spiritually. In order to get past that stuff I have had to put myself in the right frame of life and competing.

AL: When you’re not in the ring you have ventured in to both television and movies. Do you see yourself wanting to do more of that after your career in fighting is over?
RE: I would be very happy if that is what I am able to do after my career in fighting is over. I would love to do television and be able to give the fans my perspective on fights. That is something that is fun to do. It is also a challenge. It is a fun challenge and I love this sport. It has saved my life and to be able to stay close to it in some capacity would be really amazing.

Tom Green first broke in to mainstream media with his wildly popular television show “The Tom Green Show” which aired on MTV in the late 1990’s. Tom has also appeared in a number of films such as “Charlie’s Angels” “Stealing Harvard” and “Road Trip”. On May 28th the TBS show “Who Get’s the Last Laugh” will feature a prank orchestrated by Tom as he competes against two other comedians in an effort to earn money for their prospective charities. Media Mikes had the pleasure to talk with Tom about the upcoming appearance and what he likes most about performing standup.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us about your upcoming appearance on “Who Get’s the Last Laugh”?
Tom Green: I had a lot of fun doing that show. I was a huge fan of “Punked” so when I was asked if I wanted to do it I was really excited. I thought it would be fun to be able to punk someone myself. Having done a lot of pranks when I was younger I felt like this would be a good opportunity to maybe win some money for the Cancer charity I was playing for. It was hilarious working on the skit and we had a really great time doing it.

AL: Can you give us any hints about the prank you set up?
TG: There are three comedians on the show and we each get to pull a prank. The show is set up very similar to “Punked” in that I was in a booth directing the actors. Our skit is based around needing a babysitter. When the babysitter shows up they realize that they are looking after a full grown adult who turns out to be a little bit nuts. I essentially direct the actor who is playing the adult. I talk to him over an ear piece telling him what I want him to do. The situation gets pretty crazy.

AL: How much of the prank was improvised?
TG: That was the fun part for me. We shot it several times with different people so there was quite a bit of room to improvise. We were cracking ourselves up in the control booth as the stuff was just hilarious. There was a lot of improv in there even though the situation and camera angles are all pre-determined. We just worked within the boundaries of that.

AL: How does this show stand out above other hidden camera shows?
TG: This show is fun in the sense that your bringing in three comedians that do comedy for a living to guest star. They get to compete for their various charities which that alone is quite a bit different. It’s interesting because I had never done a prank like that myself. I think it’s a fun thing to see people out of their elements.

AL: What do you prefer? Directing the prank or being park of the prank?
TG: I directed and performed all the pranks on my show so I have a lot of experience doing those things. This was sort of different because I was able to just come in and have fun with things. There was really no pressure which made the experience very enjoyable.

AL: Can you tell us about some of the other projects you have going on?
TG: I am currently out on tour performing stand up all over the country. Standup is something that I have really been throwing myself into within the past 4 or 5 years. I am really enjoying it. My first stand up special “Tom Green: Live” which was shot for Showtime is currently available on Netflix. I have a new podcast called “Tom Green Radio” that people can check out on iTunes and at www.tomgreen.com. I interview tons of hilarious comedians and interesting people. I also just started really getting into my new YouTube channel which is www.youtube/tomgreen. You are going to be able to go there and see a lot of my classic pranks. If people are in to that stuff they surely will want go and check that out.

AL: What do you like most about being out on the road and performing live?
TG: I have been going at it pretty hard in the last 4/5 years playing hundreds of shows. It’s something that I love to do. I started doing it when I was a kid and have done it intermittently over the years. It has been great being out on the road and seeing a lot of cool places. I have been all over from New Zealand to London and the shows have been getting great reviews. This has been a new chapter in my comedy career and it’s been nice being able to go out there night after night and get good responses. It’s a great feeling and something I want to keep doing for a long time.

John Krasinki plays the role of Jim on the hit NBC series “The Office”. Greg Daniels is one of the show’s writers and developers. The series is set to end it eight year run this May with the last episode containing an extra 15 minutes of footage. Media Mikes had the chance to speak recently with John and Greg about their experiences and what they will miss most about working on the show.

Adam Lawton: What do you think you are going to miss most about playing Jim.
John Krasinski: You’re trying to get tears and I appreciate it. I’m saving my tears for Barbara Walters. There’s so much to miss. I was a waiter before this show, so what I miss most about this character is way too complexly entwined in my real life. So to me, this was a winning lottery ticket, except with a winning lottery ticket you just get money, and with this you get a whole change of your life. And everything about my life has changed and become better, and I feel so lucky to be where I am. So, it’s hard to separate the two, because I’m so sort of meshed in the experience. I will say, and I don’t know if this a good answer or a bad answer, but I think the thing I’ll miss most is playing a character that people believe in so much and attach themselves to in various degrees. There are some people who think they are Jim. There are some people who are looking for Jim. And, you know I think to me, and I know to Jenna playing the Jim/Pam relationship and realizing how important it became to so many people was such an incredible honor. I felt like I was given a tremendous responsibility and that responsibility I really will miss because it’s just so much fun to play a character that people are watching and rooting for and loving. I really appreciate that.

AL: Will Steve Carell be involved in the series finale at all?
Greg Daniels: I think that Steve felt, which I agree with that that Goodbye Michael episode was his goodbye, and that he didn’t want to overshadow the endings that the other characters deserved after all these years, you know, and so I think he made a good call. Obviously, it’d be wonderful to have him back, but you know.

AL: What has “The Office” fan base in general meant to you over the years?
JK: I think there’s a lot of shows that can say, they owe it all to their fans. But, we actually technically can say that we owe everything to the fans, because I for one think that, you know our show is so fan-driven in such a specific way, as evidenced by iTunes. I mean, I think that when we first came out the only reason, in my opinion, that we made it past just, you know these pickups that Greg and I were talking about is because people actually decided they liked the show so much, and it was such a small group at the beginning, that they would pay money to see the show, rather than just wait for it on Tuesday or Thursday, whatever time it was back then. I remember that was life-changing for me to see, because you know to be part of something like that was incredible. I was walking down the streets of New York and someone would just stop on their way to work and say, “Oh, my God, you’re on my iPod.” And I was like two things, “What’s an iPod? Also, what are you talking about?” And they just held up this thing. I also think that during the early speculation of what our show would be when people were, you know obviously being really hard on the show without seeing it, because everybody thought that it was going to be terrible because the English one was so good, as soon as that first – I remember Diversity Day hitting and just every other person on the street would come up to me and say, “The show is awesome. The show is awesome.” I think we owe absolutely everything to the fans.
GD: I completely agree with that.

AL: Can you describe for us what the last few days on set were like?
JK: I don’t think there were any tears. There was just a celebration that this thing was finally over, right Greg? I think for so many people this wasn’t just a job, and there’s no way it could be just a job. This was a huge incredibly emotional family and connection that we all had. I mean, to say it was emotional would be a complete understatement. I think that, you know knowing what that we’ll see these people still in our lives, and it was still that emotional, it says a lot about how much we are all defined by this show and how much we honor how defined we are by the show. I just think that we know that this will – I think no matter what any of us go on to do, I think that this show will probably be, you know what we’re most known for, and that’s incredible. And I think for people to feel so good about that and feel that they were a part of something so special, not only in the television world, but in their personal lives, was massive. I’ll never forget, we were all joking around. I was, as per usual, crying laughing as we exited the – I’m a crier laughter  which is a bummer, but I was crying laughing with Craig and we were all joking around waiting in the hall every time we exited. And then, one of the times we came back, instead of saying, “Going again,” Greg randomly appeared and just said, “Ladies and gentlemen, that’s the end of The Office.” And it was – it really was, I mean even talking about it now, it’s – you know it was a gut punch. It’s a life-changing event and there’s just no way to describe it. It’s not like ending college. It’s not like anything, really. It’s a part of your life that defined you, and to have it go away is so incredibly bittersweet. I think the only thing that helped us all is that we’re so proud of the work, and that we’re so proud that we got to have a Series Finale. You know, I think that we – you know that’s a very rare thing. And growing up I remember the “Cheers” Finale and, you know “M*A*S*H”, and all these amazing Finales, and I remember them being very, very important. For us to be a show that even got there is incredible, and I think that we’re just all so proud of the work. And that’s, I think, the only thing that prevented us all from just having a complete meltdown.
GD: Yeah, very special. There’s the lot that we shot it in is all by itself in Van Nuys, and we had lunch with each other every day and there was nobody here who didn’t work on the show on this little lot, and so we did get very close. One of the hard parts about the Finale, I think, is that, you know you have to be professional and you have to act and you have to, you know try and keep the tone a certain way when you’re on the set and everything, in terms of like writing and directing. It’s very difficult if it also means that, you know you’re going to say goodbye to everybody you’ve been hanging out with for eight years, and you’re – you know you’re going to have to find a different place to have an office in. And so, there is like a lot of weird overlap between the end of your personal work experience and, you know what’s going on on screen, so it was very sad.

AL: Do you have a favorite episode that sticks out for you?
JK: That’s a really hard question. To me, it’s like saying, what’s your favorite movie? You’ve got to have more of like a top ten. For me I have favorites for so many different reasons, again personally and professionally, I think that there’s so many important moments, some having to do with my characters and others not. I think the first moment that I can remember the most was shooting the first day of “Diversity Day”, because the pilot was pretty much word for word the British show, which I know we weren’t all super excited about, but we could understand why we had to do it to see how it stacked up against the other show. And then, our first sort of running at our own pace was “Diversity Day”. I actually remember people looking around the room at each other, you know as if you do when you saw something incredibly special and important. We all knew that something very, very special was happening, and that this show tonally and from a writing perspective was just really, really incredible. I remember that moment feeling like it set the tone for what this show is.Personally for me, two episodes that I’ll never forget is, “Casino Night”. I remember shooting that last scene and Greg had the set cleared and the lights were low and there was like an importance put on this, and you realize that it wasn’t an importance because of us, like you know that the actors needed it necessarily. It was more like, “We’ve got to get this right for the people that are watching.” People, like Greg was saying earlier, are so invested in a way that you never thought people would watch TV and be so invested that you can’t just at the end of the episode say, “I love you,” and kiss. It has to be very real and very special and exactly how they think the characters would do it, and that was amazing. That was an amazing night. And then, the other thing that I remember defining the show was “Booze Cruise”. That will always be one of my favorite episodes on many levels. I think it’s hilarious and one of my favorite episodes.
GD: I loved that episode too but I would also have to add that “The Job” and “Business School” were great episodes as well. There’s just so many. I mean the first season had all these very comical episodes, I thought, where we weren’t really too concerned with the likeability of anybody, but I kind of loved them just – for the comedy sake. And – you know, and then we had some very good mixes of touching episodes, I think. It was good. We had some good stuff.

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Naomi Grossman played the role of Pepper in “American Horror Story: Asylum”.  She completely transformed for her role in the show.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Naomi about her role in “American Horror Story: Asylum” and her highlight from the show.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your audition for the role of Pepper in “American Horror Story: Asylum”?
Naomi Grossman: They didn’t let on as to who or what the character was… I just knew she was petite, given that I was one of the few non-little people in the waiting room (and well, I’m only 5′). There were two parts to the audition. First was an improv. They gave us a ball, and asked us to persuade the casting director to play with us, like a child. Now, in retrospect, we know that was early Pepper. Then, we did one of Jessica Lange’s monologues from Season One. Which obviously showcased the later, evolved Pepper. But none of this made sense to us at the time. I mean, why read scenes that had already been shot, much less by the star herself? But now we know they just wanted to see if we had range.

MG: Take us through your transformation to become Pepper?
NG: I went in for a good seven or so preliminary makeup-meetings. First, before I was even cast, they took a bunch of pictures of me, which they manipulated to see how I would look as the character. That, and of course Schlitzie from the 1930’s, were their models. Then they made casts of my head and hands– I had to sit very still while they poured silicone over me, which hardened and would later be cut out to make my various prosthetic pieces. There was a specialist brought in to punch in the hair for the eyebrows and arms, and another to create the teeth. I met with an optometrist to fit me for contact lenses. Once all these pieces were in place, they put them together in an initial makeup test. At first, they covered my hair with a bald cap. It looked fine for my money, but these guys are consummate professionals. They (and the camera) see things we non-makeup folks can’t. So it was decided that they would shave my head– which made their job each morning much easier. Not that they had an easy job! Every day they applied the various prosthetic pieces one-by-one with adhesive, then painted them with an airbrush. Then I’d go to hair to get my pony curled, and to my trailer to get into wardrobe. But this was just my physical transformation– becoming Pepper as an actress was a whole other process.

MG: At what point did you find out what the role entailed in terms of the look?
NG: The day I was cast. I went in for my initial makeup meeting and they showed me the pictures of me that they’d manipulated. They told me I would look like this “Freaks” character named Schlitzie, who from that point forward, I watched non-stop.

MG: What research, if any, did you do to get into character psyche?
NG: Obviously, watching “Freaks” was pivotal. I read a lot about microcephaly. I’d practice, emulating Schlitzie’s movements and expressions alone in my apartment. I worked with a coach, with whom I shaped a bit of a back story. Because even though Pepper didn’t say much at first, she needed to be a full character, with a past and dreams and needs like any other. And of course, I wanted to be sensitive since this is a real condition… I was deathly afraid of hate-mail. Especially given my comedy background where we’re encouraged to make fun. But this was obviously not the place.

MG: How was it working with the musical number in the episode “Name Game”?
NG: That was a blast. I was truly in my element. I remember the AD over a microphone saying, “Everyone can go bigger except Pepper.” There were a ton of us packed in that common room, dancing seemingly nonstop, while “The Name Game” played on a loop. We shot top to bottom, the entire song at a time. There was minimal blocking for the principles, and cameras on cranes swirling around. I remember worrying how (with my one working eyeball) I’d navigate through all those dancing extras, without bumping into a big, expensive, moving camera or worse yet, Jessica Lange. I danced up a sweat in that sweater and fat suit, so the makeup people were constantly running out to poke and fan me between takes. Needless to say, I was sore the next day– I hadn’t spent the day crouched over like that since Pepper went pee!

MG: Are you shocked with the fans reaction to your character?
NG: Of course. There’s just no way to anticipate these things. You don’t take a little co-star or guest-star part expecting to be tattooed on people’s limbs! Or made into street art, promoting you as President! I knew it was a cool character, but the cast was star-studded– who’s going to pay attention to me when there’s Chloe Sevigny and Marc Consuelos and Adam Levine? For all I knew I was just one of many pinheads. It wasn’t until my first day on set that I was able to look around and see that I was, in fact, the craziest one in the asylum.

MG: Looking back on the season, do you have a highlight?
NG: All of it. From the moment I was cast, to the season’s end– it was one big highlight. Having zero expectations. Then suddenly, becoming my own internet meme, and taking over Tumblr. Driving by the “Pepper for President” posters around town. Seeing my face tattooed on a fan’s leg and chiseled into pint glasses. Making front page of the “Huff Po,” and “Best of 2012” by Entertainment Weekly. Watching my IMDb star meter shoot from 93K to 3K, then 3K to 300, settling somewhere between Catherine Zeta Jones and J-Lo. Stepping onto the red carpet and feeling those cameras flash. Hearing a fan shout, “We love you, pinhead” from the audience at Paly Fest. Getting my very own chair. Being affiliated with such a high-profile show, nominated for 17 Emmys! Working so intimately with powerhouses like Jessica Lange and James Cromwell. Having such a fun, over-the-top character to play… then watching her evolve, basically getting two roles in one, as well as the chance to really use my acting chops. Singing and dancing and delivering babies and monologues. Never having to do my hair again. From the superficial to the profound, it was all a highlight.

MG: Since Ryan Murphy is good with returning actors, any word about season three?
NG: No word. But even at the height of the Peppermania, I never knew if or when I’d be back. We pinheads are used to being clueless!

Butch Hartman has created a bunch of great animated series including “The Fairly OddParents”, “Danny Phantom” and “T.U.F.F. Puppy”.  “The Fairly OddParents” is returning, thanks to fans requests, for its 9th season this month. Media Mikes had a chance to ask Butch a few questions about the new season and what fans can expect.

Mike Gencarelli: After over 10 years of “The Fairly OddParents”, why do you think that fans are still screaming for more?
Butch Hartman: I think it’s because, like any show with great characters and great writing – WE HAVE GREAT CHARACTERS AND GREAT WRITING! (Sorry, I just though since the fans were screaming I should scream, too!)

MG: How do you feel the series has evolved over the years?
BH: The main characters – Timmy, Cosmo and Wanda – have become more of a tight unit. They are definitely a family. Also, we’ve added so many other awesome characters to the show – Timmy’s Mom and Dad, Mr. Crocker, Mark Chang, Poof, Foop, etc. – that there’s a little something for everyone in there. I feel that’s the way every great show should be.

MG: Compared to all the other series you’ve created and worked on, what sets “The FairlyOddParents” apart?
BH: What sets it apart is the length of time it’s been on the air. The time we’ve had to really, really develop the show has really helped us make it better. Great character traits and performance can only be discovered once the writers and producers have really had time to explore each character’s personalities and quirks. That, and the fact we all have magic wands to stir our coffee.

MG: What can fans expect from the upcoming season?
BH: Fans will see more episodes involving Crocker, Timmy’s Dad, and Sparky, our newest character. He’s a fairy dog with magical ‘dog’ powers. Like the power to make chew toys out of thin air!

MG: The series is now produced in HD. Can you please tell us about the decision to produce it in HD? What production adjustments, if any, needed to be made to accommodate the shift?
BH: HD was just a natural decision. The world and all its technology is moving that way and we had to move along, too or get left behind.

MG: Can you tell us about The Fairly OddParents documentary, “The Making of Sparky: A DOG-umentary”?
BH: Yeah! It’s a four minute documentary that shows you how we went about creating a brand new cartoon character. It’s free to download on iTunes! So…download it! It’s awesome!

MG: Both of The Fairly OddParents live-action movies were big successes. Are there any more movies in the cards for the future?
BH: Fans will have to stay tuned to find out!

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Brandon Auman is the writer of great TV shows like “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” and “Iron Man: Armored Adventures”. He also has done features like “Dead Space: Aftermath” and most recently “Iron Man: Rise of Technovore”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Brandon about “Iron Man: Rise of Technovore” and what we can expect next.

Mike Gencarelli: Since “Iron Man: Rise of Technovore” is animated, is the scale ever a concern when you are in the writing process?
Brandon Auman: Not really, the beauty of writing 2D is that you’re not as constrained as you are in live-action or CG animation. I really love 2D animation and I’m so glad that Japan is keeping it alive, they feel like the last bastion of hope on this front. TV Studios really want to move completely into CG and as it gets cheaper, they will. I fear 2D is a thing of the past. My favorite sections of the film are in 2D and it looks beautiful. Some may complain there is a lack of animation, but that’s very anime. Long pauses on beautiful drawings. If the paintings are cool, who cares?

MG: I loved that you incorporated The Punisher into the story; tell us about that decision?
BA: Everyone at Marvel loves the Punisher. I pushed for him early on, thinking the idea would get shot down, but everyone loved it. I was really excited; finally I get to write some Punisher action! He rarely makes appearances in TV animation, but when he does, he always comes off… well, not Punishing. More like the “Kinda” Punisher. Who can’t kill bad guys, but maybe shoot a billboard down on top of them.

MG: What do you enjoy most about working with superheroes and with the animation genre?
BA: I love everything about it. It’s just so much fun, it’s a total dream job. I haven’t really left the genre either, because now I’m story editing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for Nickelodeon. They’re sorta superheroes. Well they’re ninjas, and the stories are smaller… but it’s close.

MG: What other new projects do you have in the works for Marvel animation?
BA: I have a few things happening there. I wrote a bunch of episodes on “Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.” that I’m excited about. I get to work pretty closely with Henry Gilroy, Todd Casey and Jeph Loeb, three awesome creative guys at Marvel. I was always a big fan of Jeph’s work, so it’s really exciting, and I’ve worked with Henry many times in the past, he’s terrific.

Megyn Price is best known for her TV roles like Claudia Finnerty on “Grounded for Life” and currently Audrey Bingham on “Rules of Engagement”. “Rules of Engagement” is gearing up to end its seventh season and hit 100 episodes. Megyn is getting a chance to set behind the director’s chair this season to direct her first episode, “Timmy Quits”, which airs on April 29th. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Megyn about the episode and what we can expect.

Mike Gencarelli: Let’s talk about the episode “Timmy Quits”, what made you step behind the director’s chair?
Megyn Price: It was something I have wanted to do for several years now. It started looking into it a few years ago to see if it would be possible with our show. The thing is with acting, you can get a little tiny acting job to start out. But there are NO tiny directing jobs [laughs]. It is the big kahuna or nada! So I was backed by CBS, Sony, my bosses and it was fantastic that I got this episode to direct. Not many people get their first directing gig on a prime-time sitcom on a major network. It was huge.

MG: What was your biggest challenge directing and starring in the episode?
MP: I had done a ton of homework on the directing side. I had shadowed a lot of different TV comedy directors. I had seen a lot of different styles and I felt like I needed to learn how to do it. After working on over 200 episodes of television throughout my career in front of the camera, it is just so comfortable to me, like being on a bicycle. It makes total sense in my brain since I have lived on a TV set for 20 years of my life. That part of it, I kept waiting to feel nervous about the directing but it didn’t happen. I never felt nervous or out of control. The thing that was very challenging though was not being a crappy actor, when I was directing. That was not the problem that I expected. I can act with one eye open and two hours of sleep [laughs]. I found myself thinking about the set and the way it was being shot and that the opposite way to think to be a good actress. You need to just stay in moment when you are acting. So when I was in my director’s head and then trying to rehearse as an actor, I was the worst [laughs]. So I talked with one of my friends, who is a director, and he gave me this tip to make up some move or sentence that clicks your brain over back to acting mode before you step onto the set. When we were getting ready to shoot, I put our hand on our assistant director’s shoulder and I said “Ok Carlos, you are calling action and cut”. Just saying that to him made it easy for me just to focus on acting. I didn’t want to ruin the one episode I was directing by with crappy acting [laughs].

MG: No pranks or hijacks from the cast and crew?
MP: You know what, they were all so sweet. I think they thought that I was nervous, so they were all really nice to me. I showed up the first day with a riding crop and acted all bossy on purpose [laughs]. So they thought that was funny.

MG: How did it come about for you to direct this specific episode this season?
MP: It is always the producers who chooses. I felt very fortunate though. A lot of the episodes of “Rules” are just about being funny. This was a script has something actually real happens in it. This was a little scary for me having to go serious there for a minute, then pop back to being funny. It was really interesting for me since I am much more interested in doing comedy that has reality in it. You want to care about these characters each week. So I felt really lucky that I got one of the scripts that really has some sincerity in it along with being very funny and well written. It was very interesting experience…which is such a boring word but it was! I was so excited getting up and going to work every day.

MG: Any plans to direct more in other projects as well?
MP: Absolutely! Hopefully someone will let me [laughs]. This experience has really lit this fire for me. I felt like a million bucks and felt very creative again doing this. I have been on a couple of shows that have gone on for many years and it is almost impossible not to get a little complacent in your job over that time. You have this steady job for seven years and are doing the same thing over and over. So doing this took me out of that comfortable position and made me inspired. I swear to God, I started writing again. It just woke me up. I wrote a TV project and I am in the middle of writing a feature. So it really energized me in my career and I have felt since. Also I feel like having lit this fire right when the series was ending was so beneficial for me with what is happening next, which I have no clue what that may be.

MG: After seven seasons, what is your secret for keeping straight against Patrick Warburton?
MP: I don’t know. We have such a great relationship outside of work. He and I both love that couple so much and we love their fights. We don’t laugh because we are so in love with what we are saying. The interactions between them are just great. Sometimes I also do laugh at him on-screen though, which is something I had to fight for. My point is that when your husband is being funny you can laugh at him! I laugh at my real husband when he is being an idiot during fights. Actually we can’t even have fights since we just start laughing at each other. So it makes it a little more real.

MG: How was it shooting the 100th episode of the series?
MP: If everyone looks like them have been crying…that is because they had been [laughs]. It was a little rough, since as a cast and human beings we have gone through a lot in seven years. Most of it all was great. There have been babies being born, marriages, divorces, and more marriages. There has been a lot of life that has happened in seven years. So as a cast, we became incredibly close on a deep level. Oliver (Hudson) and I had our first kids within a month of each other. I remember I was holding my one month old baby and his wife was in my dressing room asking me how she would know if she was in labor [laughs]. When you go through stuff like that with your friends it changes you. So we were looking back on the past seven years and it was hard.

Sibel Kekilli currently co-stars on HBO’s “Game of Thrones” as Shae, the concubine and lover of Peter Dinklage. She started as a guest star in the first season and has since become a series regular in season 3. Media Mikes had a chance to briefly ask Sibel a few questions about the show and her character.

Mike Gencarelli: What did you feel your biggest change/challenge for Shae was going into the third season of “Game of Thrones”?
Sibel Kekilli: To survive. Most of the time you don’t know whether your character will survive the episode or not. George, Dan and David are able to write you out easily out; they are the authors.

MG: How is it working with a cast of 28 characters? Do you find it hard to stand out?
SK: I am very fortunate that most of my scenes are with one of the leading actors, as to mention these wonderful actors like Peter, Lena or Sophie. And I do believe that Dan and David pay very much attention to each character’s individuality to ensure that everyone has their moment.

MG: Have you ever had the opportunity to chat with George R.R. Martin about your character?
SK: Yes, I did. And he was telling me, that the Shae on the screen is different but much better than his Shae in the books… well, actually, he was laughing. George R. R. Martin is a great author.

MG: Have you read ahead in the books to see where you character is going?
SK: As the scripts sometimes really differ from the books, I have not read them so far.

MG: How can you reflect on the fandom surrounding this show?
SK: It is crazy. The fans are very unique, with lots of passion about every little detail, and since it is a novel adaption, it is a really tough challenge for them, when something happens that differs from the books. Yet, that does not mean that they don’t like it.

MG: After being involved with the show during production, do you still watch each week during the season?
SK: Not every week. In Germany the show airs a bit delayed.