Kevin Heffernan is a member of the comedy group Broken Lizard. He co-stars in the new film “The Babymakers” along with fellow Broken Lizard member Jay Chandrasekhar, who also directed. Kevin is currently touring the stand-up comedy circuit with fellow Broken Lizard member Steve Lemme. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Kevin about Broken Lizard, “Super Troopers 2″ and “The Babymakers”.
Mike Gencarelli: How was it working with Jay Chandrasekhar solo compared to a Broken Lizard production?
Kevin Heffernan: He is a total dick…no he’s good. It was great. It was a project we put together a while back. It was closed and then fell apart and then closed then fell apart. So it was great to finally do it. It wasn’t that different from shooting a Broken Lizard film. We used a lot of the same crew and it is sort of like family. I’ve worked with Jay a lot so it was really smooth. Smooth sailing.
MG: Tell us what you enjoyed most about playing Wade?
KH: It is kind of funny since that with some of the early reviews, it has been said that it is a bit of a departure from our Broken Lizard work and features more mature material. But the fact of the matter is that I got to play the “Broken Lizard” asshole character. So it was fun for me. I got to be a jerk and a dumb guy. It ended up not being too far away for us. We dealt with issues with having kids and stuff but I was still running around with my pants down.
MG: What was your favorite experience from “The Babymakers”?
KH: Jay and I haven’t worked on something together since “The Slamming Salmon”. So it was fun to get back into that. You kind of realize the more movies you do the more comfort you have. There is a lot of improv on this. We got to come up with a lot of funny stuff. The other nice thing was working with a guy like Paul Schneider. I didn’t know Paul before but he has a lot of indie film cred. He is a real actor [laughs]. Unlike us, you know. To spend time on a set with a guy who is that talented was different than hanging out with my college buddies.
MG: What do you like most about working in comedy genre?
KH: I think it is just the sensibility of it. Being on set is fun, the atmosphere is just very fun. It is the base instinct of trying to make people laugh. I guess I could do drama but I really don’t seek any of that stuff out. I just love doing comedy.
MG: After “The Slamming Salmon”, you plan to direct again?
KH: Yeah, I would love to do more directing. We got a lot of irons in the fire currently. We had a couple of movies that have come close in the last year and one of those I was going to direct for Broken Lizard. So I still want to do that. You just gotta ride the wave a little bit. We made this movie. Then Steve Lemme and I got the stand-up tour also, which we actually just shot for a special last month. So we are editing that together right now. I like doing multiple things, that way you don’t get bored but I hope to direct again soon.
MG: Tell us about your stand-up tour with Steve Lemme?
Steve told me you and him are working on a new Broken Lizard script, any details?
KH: We got a couple of things we were working on right now. One we really like where we (Broken Lizard) all play minor league umpires. So it is funny kind of “Bull Durham” movie…but with umpires [laughs]. That is kind of secondary though. The big push is really for “Super Troopers 2”. The hold up is just a negotiation with Fox right now. They own the first one and the rights to the second one. So its moving along just slowly.
MG: You guys also have a TV pilot in the works, any update?
KH: Steve and I actually just pitched a new idea to a few places including NBC. They seem to really be into a few of the new ideas we have, so I think we should have something moving forward soon hopefully.
