Coopertalk

Steve Cooper talks with actor Lance Barber. Lance just reprised his role of Paulie G in HBO’s critically-acclaimed The Comeback, where the New York Times described him as “among the great villains of television comedy.” Lance is an alumni of Chicago's Second City and has been seen in recurring roles on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Californication and United States of Tara. He has also appeared on Masters of Sex, Grey’s Anatomy, Justified, How I Met Your Mother, Harry’s Law, The Crazy Ones and The Big Bang Theory and his film credits include The Godfather of Green Bay, For Your Consideration, Gangster Squad and Leatherheads.

Steve Cooper talks to Actor/Comic Mark Valley. Mark is making his third appearance on CooperTalk and has been a fixture on Prime Time TV for years. After graduating West Point he did extra work in Germany. He then moved back to the US and landed dozens of commercials and a part on NBC's Days of our Lives. He then began to star in many TV series including Pasadena, ER, Keen Eddie, Boston Legal, Fringe, Human Target and Murphy's Law, ABC's Body of Proof and also had a role in Zero Dark Thirty. He starred in the series Crisis last season, guest starred on Hot in Cleveland and currently can be seen as a recurring character on CSI: Crime Investigation Scene and is producing a documentary about his hometown in New York.

Steve Cooper talks with writer/comic Amy Dresner. Amy was the first guest ever on CooperTalk. She's a recovering comedian and currently a columnist for The Fix magazine where she has written over 40 pieces. She has also freelanced for Refinery 29, Alternet, After Party Chat, Salon, The Frisky, Cosmo Latina, Unbound Box and others. One of her short stories was published in the anthology True Tales of Lust and Love. She is has been interviewed by Huffington Post Live on the connection between addiction and creativity.     

Steve Cooper talks with comic Steve Hofstetter. Steve made his national TV debut came on ESPN's Quite Frankly, where Stephen A. Smith yelled at him for three minutes. He has also appeared on CBS' Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, Showtime's White Boyz in the Hood, VH1's Countdown, Sundance's On the Road in America and ABC's Barbara Walter's Special. One of the top booked acts on the college circuit, the original writer for collegehumor.com has also released five albums and three books. He has written humor columns for the New York Times, SportsIllustrated.com, and NHL.com. While his live shows are routinely sold out, he is best known for his writing, first published at age 15. At 18, he co-founded Sports Jerk of the Week, an irreverent website featured by press like USA Today's Baseball Weekly, Sports Illustrated and CNN. And at 20, he took a year off of school to head up web content for the New York Yankees. While an undergraduate at Columbia University, he was a well-read columnist for the Columbia Daily

Steve Cooper talks with actor Alicia Coppola. Alicia starred on CBS’s Jericho, the only television show in a decade to be renewed after cancellation due to popular fan response. You also know her from the 141 episodes of primetime television that she has done in her twenty-year career: From the role of Lorna Devon on NBC’s long running soap opera Another World for which she was nominated twice and won the Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Younger Leading Actress to starring in television series such as TNT’s Bull, NBC’s Cold Feet, to name a few and she is highly recognizable for her roles in CBS’s CSI and Two And A Half Men, NBC’s Law And Order; Criminal Intent, Crossing Jordan, USA’s Suit and the Feature film National Treasure 2, Book Of Secrets.  She has recently recurred on ABC Family’s Nine Lives Of Chloe King and USA’s Common Law. She recently appeared as Talia Hale on the flashback episode of MTV’s Teen Wolf. It brings her back to her home network where she began her career during her college year

Steve Cooper talks with comic Steve Simeone. Steve has spent the last ten years slowly honing the craft of Stand Up Comedy. He is a regular performer at Hollywood’s most prestigious Comedy Clubs, The Comedy Store, The Improv, and The Laugh Factory.  When he’s not headlining clubs on his own he can be seen on the road with The Playboy Comedy Tour, Pauly Shore, and Andrew Dice Clay.  A proud member of Comics On Duty, Steve has entertained our troops around the globe on four continents.  He has been on television  in the shows NBC’s Spy TV, Current TV’s The Schmoes Know, TBS’s “Minding The Store and Comedy Central's Stand-Up Revolution. He also hosts the popular podcast Good Times: With Steve Simeone. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor David Ury. David is an actor/comedian best known for his role on Breaking Bad, where he was crushed by an ATM. A chameleon character actor, he has played various dirt bags in films and dramas, as well as a 12 episode run as Don the Donut Man on Disney's Zeke and Luther. He's had recurring roles on Grimm, Raising Hope, Heroes, Life, Hollywood Heights, and the Young and the Restless and guest starred on shows such as Major Crimes, The Mentalist, CSI: Crime Investigation Scene, Community, Masters of Sex, Justified, Touch and Mom. He began his acting career on Japanese television as the "zany Japanese speaking foreigner and learned to speak Japanese fluently while at college in Tokyo and has translated over 150 books into English. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Alan Ruck. Alan is best known for his role as Cameron Frye, Ferris Bueller's hypochondriac best friend, in Ferris Buehler's Day Off and as Stuart Bondek, the lecherous, power-hungry member of the mayor's staff on the hit series Spin City. His first film role was in the 1983 drama film Bad Boys and has appeared in numerous films since then such as Class, Three for the Road, Young Guns II, Speed, Three Fugitives, Star Trek Generations, Extraordinary Measures, The Happening and Ghost Town. His long list of TV credits include Psych, Grey's Anatomy, Stargate Atlantis, Cougar Town, Drive, Scrubs, The Bronx is Burning, Medium, Burn Notice, Hawaii Five-O and NCIS. He also made his first Broadway appearance in Biloxi Blues in the early 80's and starred in a version of the Producers in 2005.

Steve Cooper talks with comedian/voice actor Rachel Butera. Rachel is most recognized for her impressions on the Howard Stern Show, and most recently as a contestant on America's Got Talent. She does stand-up all around LA, and incorporating the voices of Wanda Sykes, Rosie O'Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg, Cyndi Lauper, Joan Rivers, Jodi Foster, among many others. She draws her humor from her crazy family and the rich New Jersey characters she grew up with. She currently provides voices for FOXADHD's Golan Insatiable, Adult Swim's King Star King, Comedy Central's Trip Tank and you can hear her in various radio and TV commercials. Look for her in an upcoming episode of The Impression Guys from Soul Pancake on YouTube, and as a guest star on the Josh Robert Thompson Show.

Steve Cooper talks with musician/actor Sean McNabb. Sean got his first big break in music playing bass for Quiet Riot when he was 21. He has recorded over 35 CD's in his discography. He has also toured and recorded with House of Lords, Great White, Lynch Mob, Montrose, Edgar Winter, Maya, Bad Moon Rising, Rough Cutt, and XYZ. He can be heard on the Dr. Phil Show in the music tracks and the I'm Loving It, McDonald's breakfast commercials. He has also performed with several pop artists, country, blues, and folk singer/songwriters. In addition to music, he is acting in Hollywood in film and television, most recently on FX TV's Sons of Anarchy. He starred along TV and Broadway greats in Los Angeles plays. He has appeared in films, TV and in commercials. He was on the cover, and was profiled, by the Beverly Hills Times as a rising star in the world of acting. 

Steve Cooper talks with Brad Carter. Brad is a multi-talented actor, musician and comedy writer who recently earned critical acclaim as incarcerated criminal Charlie Lange opposite Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey and Oscar nominee Woody Harrelson in the HBO Emmy nominated series True Detective. He also joined the final season of Kurt Sutter’s critically acclaimed FX series Sons of Anarchy in the recurring role of Leland Gruen opposite Charlie Hunnam and will soon star in SyFy’s new highly anticipated series Ascension. Additionally, he is soon to release his debut, self-produced studio album and in 2015 and he will share the silver screen with Johnny Depp in Warner Bros suspense thriller Black Mass. In 2014, he made history when he underwent Deep Brain Stimulation surgery in an effort to slow down the progression of his battle with Essential Tremor. The seven hour procedure, which he allowed to be filmed live, consisted of implanting electrodes into his thalamus to get relief from a Tremor disease that had pl

Steve Cooper talks with TV writer Michael Platt. Michael got his start in stand-up performing around NYC and on the road, appearing on shows such as Evening at the Improv, Caroline's and on Comedy Central and later opened on the road for Howie Mandel. He crossed over to the writing field when he got a staff job for the Rhea Perlman's sitcom Pearl. Since then he has written or been a producer for numerous shows including Weeds, Glory Daze, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Howie Mandel Show, What About Joan, Betas and Sullivan & Son.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Erik Palladino. Erik has been in over 20 feature films. He has starred in movies U-571 alongside Matthew McConaughey and Harvey Keitel, Finders Fee opposite James Earl Jones and the teen comedy Can't Hardly Wait. In 1999, Palladino landed his breakthrough series regular role, one month after returning from the U-571 shoot in Rome, on ER as Dr. Dave Malucci, which he played in season six until season eight in 2001. In 2005, he was one of the leads of the critically acclaimed FX television series Over There as Sgt. Scream, the leader of a squad of U.S. 3rd Infantry Division soldiers involved the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. He has guest starred on many shows such as 666 Park Avenue, NCIS: Los Angeles, Harry's Law's,  Castle, Rizzoli & Isles, White Collar, NCIS, Burn Notice, Fringe, Private Practice, CSI, Judging Amy, Murphy Brown, Joan of Arcadia Law & Order: SVU, Numb3rs and Criminal Minds to name a few and is also the singer of the rock band Hearing Red.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Alex Fernandez. Alex is an accomplished actor and with voice-over work artist. Through the latter you may have heard him in Spawn, Pet Shop of Horrors, Spicy City, Final Fantasy X, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, Dead Rising, Saints Row and many others. As an actor he has had recurring roles or been a regular on series such as Dallas, The Bridge, Devious Maids, Commander in Chief, Prison Break, Army Wives, NCIS and Killer Women and has guest starred in numerous shows including Stalker, The Mentalist, Criminal Minds, Modern Family and Rizzoli & Isles. He is also directs and performs in stage productions throughout the L.A. area. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Thaao Penghlis. Thaao is better known for roles in U.S. daytime Soap Operas such as Santa Barbara, Days of Our Lives where he played Tony DiMera and General Hospital where he was Victor Cassadine. He has also appeared on many major crime shows such as Kojak, Cannon, Hart to Hart, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe and Magnum P.I. plus he starred in the late 80's remake of Mission Impossible. An accomplished stage actor and master storyteller he is about to release his second book about his travels titled Places, The Journey of my Days, My Lives.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Larry Hankin. Larry is an American actor, producer, director and performer. He studied acting at Syracuse University and started his career doing stand-up comedy where he opened for acts such as Woody Allen and Miles Davis. He is known for his roles on the TV series Seinfeld and Friends as Mr. Heckles and has appeared in over 100 other shows. One of his notable roles was in the movie Escape from Alcatraz, in which he acted with Clint Eastwood. He also had a significant role with the actor Adam Sandler in the movie Billy Madison. He has had cameo roles in a number of John Hughes films, Planes, Trains & Automobiles and Home Alone as well as minor roles in the movies Running Scared and The Sure Thing and numerous others. He received an Academy Award nomination for the short film, Solly's Diner. One of his recent popular appearances includes a role as a junkyard owner in Season 3 of TV's Breaking Bad. He currently is writing, producing, directing and starring in a series of short

Steve Cooper talks with actor Perry King. Perry has had a very versatile career starring in roles in film, television and on Broadway. He first became a favorite with American TV audiences playing Dectective Cody Allen in Riptide. In 1995 he starred as Haley Armstrong on Melrose Place. He also had a recurring role as Heather Locklear's love interest on Spin City and has had guest starring roles on shows such as Will & Grace, Cold Case, Without a Trace, Big Love, Brothers and Sisters, Drop Dead Diva, The Mentalist and numerous more. He played the President in The Day After Tomorrow and has been in countless films including The Lords of Flatbush, The Possesion of Joe Delaney, Mandigo, Lipstick, Class of 1984 and Switch. He currently is about to start shooting The Divide which he is producing, directing and starring in.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/comic/voice-over artist Carlos Alazraqui. Carlosis the World's 1,247TH Most Interesting Man. Currently he is the breakout voice of El Chupacabra in the Disney Toons Film, Planes. El Chu will also be appearing in the Planes sequel coming out July 2014. Starting out as a stand up Comic and winning the San Francisco Comedy Competition in 1993 and then moving to Los Angeles to start his voice over career as the voice of Rocko, on Nickelodeon's Rocko's Modern Life. Soon after he was Mr. Weed on Family Guy and then on to The Taco Bell Chihuahua. On camera Carlos is best known for his super accurate portrayal of law enforcement officer, James Garcia on Comedy Central's Reno 911!. Since then Carlos has guested on CSI, Pushing Daisies, Big Time Rush, Las Vegas, and appeared as Nestor in both Happy Feet and Happy Feet 2.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Louis Herthum. Louis got his first big break after moving to LA from Louisiana by being cast as Deputy Andy Broom in the CBS hit Murder She Wrote for five seasons and hasn't looked back. His impressive resume includes recurring roles in TV shows such as Longmire, True Blood and The Gates and has guest starred in numerous series including Men of a Certain Age, Criminal Minds, Stalker, CSI: Miami, The Mentalist, NCIS, The Riches and Breaking Bad. His film credits include Thank You Phillip Morris, Favorite Son, The Rain Makers, The Mist, The Last Exorcism and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He also produced seven movies including the documentary The Season Before Spring. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Mircea Monroe. Mircea currently can be seen co-starring in the Showtime series Episodes as Morning Randolph and as Tansy Truitt in Hart of Dixie. She has numerous other TV film credits including Sullivan & Sons, Supernatural, Franklin & Bash, Without a Trace, Anger Management, Magic Mike, The Mentalist, Ghostfacers, Drive, How I Met Your Mother and White Collar.