CooperTalk

Christine Blackburn - Episode 330

Steve Cooper talks with actor/comic/host Christine Blackburn. Christine has performed stand-up, wrote, produced and acted in her own one-woman show The Big Picture and has appeared in over 60 national commercials throughout the years. She spent two years as the co-host of the USA Network series Ready For The Weekend Movie and on the acting front‚ has starred in three feature films, Halloween Party, Interviewing Norman and the Wedding Video. Currently her podcast, Story Worthy just celebrated it's 3rd anniversary and is going strong and her game show Shotgun Story Worthy - the first Storytelling Game Show! is performed around LA frequently. Her first book PIT to LAX : My Story Worthy Life will be released in March.

Joe Nipote - Episode 329

Steve Cooper talks with comic/actor Joe Nipote.  Joe has headlined comedy clubs across the country and became a favorite opening act for many headliners in Vegas, Reno, Tahoe, and Atlantic City for such artists as Tina Turner, Captain & Tenille, The O'Jays, Dwight Yokum, Judy Collins, Barbara Mandrell, Robert Goulet, Frankie Avalon, Ben Vereen and many, many more. He went on to host WRIF in the morning for a year in 1987. His hunger for stand-up and acting drove him out of the radio booth and back out to LA where he quickly landed the co-starring role on the Paramount series Viper in which he played, Franklin 'Frankie' Xavier Waters for all four seasons. Joe went on to star in the movies, Casper, Soul's Midnight, The Fourth Tenor and Back by Midnight (Rodney Dangerfield's last 2 movies) and of course Meatballs II in which he starred as Boomer. He recently starred in HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm and Disney's Zack & Cody, The Suite Life On Deck. He has also crossed over into the another ring of performing, the boxing ring, as he has been announcing Boxing and MMA fights for HBO's Boxing After Dark and Showtime, The New Generation and currently is promoting the children's book he wrote titled Eggy Yolk and the Dirty Rotten Dozen.

Gregory Behrendt - Episode 328

Steve Cooper talks with comic/writer/musician Gregory Behrendt. Gregory started his stand-up career in San Francisco and later appeared on The Tonight Show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien and recorded a special for HBO and two for Comedy Central. He landed a job on Sex and the City as a script consultant that led him to co-authoring the New York Times best seller He's Just Not That Into You which later became a major motion picture. He also hosted the talk show the Greg Behrendt Show and Greg Behrendt's Wake-Up Call. He currently is back to doing stand up comedy and performing with his band the Reigning Monarchs.

Wendy Liebman - Episode 327

Steve Cooper talks with comic Wendy Liebman. Wendy returns to CooperTalk for the fourth time. She has been doing stand-up for over 25 years and has been a regular on the Late Show with David Letterman and has appeared on the Tonight Show with both Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Jimmy Kimmel Live! In addition she was the first comedian to appear on the Rosie O'Donnell Show and has done comedy specials for HBO, Comedy Central and Showtime. She has also performed or been seen on dozens upon dozens of various other TV shows, was recently seen on America's Got Talent and continues to headline across the country.

Lance Barber - Episode 326

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.

Mark Valley - Episode 325

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.

Amy Dresner - Episode 324

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 Hofstetter - Episode 323

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 Spectator and a voice of the Lions. After a summer writing for Maxim, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated for Kids, he turned his column into two books, and syndicated it in several newspapers. He currently is the host and executive producer of Laughs on Fox networks.

Alicia Coppola - Episode 322

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 years at NYU, as the hostess of the iconic popular MTV game show Remote Control alongside co-host Colin Quinn. She recently released the book Gracefully Gone which is a decade long dialogue between her father Matt, and her as he lay dying from brain cancer while she struggled to grow up within that murky shadow.  It is a fusion of two journals; her father’s writings from his 1980 diagnosis until his 1983 remission and her journal from 1989-1991 as she cared for him until his passing. 

Steve Simeone - Episode 321

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. 

David Ury - Episode 320

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. 

Alan Ruck - Episode 319

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.

Rachel Butera - Episode 318

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.

Sean McNabb - Episode 317

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. 

Brad Carter - Episode 316

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 plagued him for years. The video immediately went viral as he played the guitar during the seven hour procedure garnering hundreds of millions of views worldwide. In all, Brad had two brain surgeries and a 3rd surgery to implant the pacemaker in his chest.

Michael Platt - Episode 315

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.

Erik Palladino - Episode 314

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.

Alex Fernandez - Episode 313

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. 

Thaao Penghlis - Episode 312

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.

Larry Hankin - Episode 311

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 movies.

Perry King - Episode 310

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.

Carlos Alazraqui - Episode 309

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.

Louis Herthum - Episode 308

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. 

Mircea Monroe - Episode 307

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.

Michael McGrady - Episode 306

Steve Cooper talks with actor Michael McGrady. Michael made his foray into television was quickly as he was cast in one of the nations first Cherry Pepsi commercials. From then on he has worked steadily in the industry for almost 30 years. He has guest starred on countless shows such as 24, CSI: Miami, Leverage, Prison Break, Rizzoli & Isles, Hawaii Five-0, Longmire, Breakout Kings and Castle. He has co-starred in the series Low Winter Sun, Southland, Mob City and Day Break and currently can be seen playing Frank Barnes in Showtime's hit series Ray Donovan.

Zack Ward - Episode 305

Steve Cooper talks with actor Zack Ward. Zack gained immortalization in his first role as schoolyard bully Scott Farkus in the timeless movie A Christmas Story. However he has a resumé spanning much further than the long-standing holiday favorite. The Canadian actor is well known for his role as Dave Scovil on the darkly humorous, Emmy-nominated sitcom Titus, and has participated in a number of prime-time shows including Crossing Jordan, NCIS, Cold Case, Mike & Molly, Chicago Fire, Lost and Hawaii Five-O. He can also be seen in two video-game inspired films: BloodRayne 2 and Resident Evil: Apocalypse and has appeared in movies such as Transformers, Almost Famous and Freddy vs. Jason. He recently producer and co-starred in the suspense thriller Don't Blink which was released on October 14.

Season 4 Seinfeld Writers - Episode 304

Steve Cooper talks with Steve Skrovan, Bill Masters and Jon Hayman. The three wrote for Seinfeld in season 4 under the title Program Consultants. Their job was to tell stories and pitch ideas for scripts. Season 4 was one of Seinfeld's best and included episodes such as The Contest, The Virgin, The Bubble Boy, The Junior Mint, The Smelly Car and The Movie which the three of them co-wrote. All had successful stand-up careers and have amassed an amazing amount of writing credits between them including shows such as Everybody Loves Raymond, Hot in Cleveland, The Chris Rock Show, Murphy Brown and Caroline in the City. Skrovan has won two Emmys.

Alejandro Patino - Episode 303

Steve Cooper talks with actor Alejandro Patino. Alejandro is best known for his role as Cesar on the FX hit The Bridge. He has been steadily working in Film, Television and on Stage for over 20 years after getting his break in the movie Bowfinger. He has 58 film credits including Our Family Wedding, The Runaways, Holyweed, Freeloaders and the blockbuster Iron Man 2. You can also see him in Fast & Furious and The Soloist. In A Border Story, he turns in a compelling performance as the lead character Eliseo Gomez an immigrant in search of a better life for his family. On television, he has appeared in the mini-series Kingpin, 5 television movies with recurring roles on ABC’s Desperate Housewives and Weeds on Showtime. He recently filmed 2 pilots, Mr. Sunshine starring Matthew Perry, executive produced and directed by Thomas Schlamme, Dick Wolf's Lost & Found and has a long list of episodic television credits including It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Cold Case, Las Vegas, My Name Is Earl, Medium, Criminal Minds, House M.D. and Huff to name a few. 

Mark Brazill - Episode 302

Steve Cooper talks with TV writer Mark Brazill. Mark started his career doing stand-up comedy and quickly made many television appearances and headlined clubs across the USA. After he opened for Dennis Miller he got recruited to be a writer on The Dennis Miller show. After the ending of that show he started to write for In Living Color. He later joined the writing staff on 3rd Rock from the Sun and eventually created the long running Fox hit That 70's Show. He also created the sitcoms Mr. Rhodes and That 80's Show. He left the business for 7 years and owned an 100 acre farm but recently came off of his hiatus. He currently writes for Disney XD's number one show Lab Rats and is creating a series with Jason Lee for TBS.

Cathy Ladman - Episode 301

Steve Cooper talks with comic/actor Cathy Ladman. Cathy She has not only appeared on The Tonight Show nine times, but was also the only female comic to appear on the last two of Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show Anniversary shows. She’s made four appearances, thus far, on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, did her own HBO One Night Stand comedy special, and was awarded the American Comedy Award for Best Female Stand Up Comic. She is an acclaimed television and film actor. Her film credits include Charlie Wilson’s War, The Aristocrats and White Oleander. Her TV appearances include Mad Men, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Everybody Loves Raymond. She's done several TV pilots, including Caroline in the City, in which she had a recurring role and a bunch of others that barely saw the light of day. She also appeared regularly on ABC's Politically Incorrect and Comedy Central's Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist. Besides writing her standup act and original scripted projects, she was on the writing staffs of The Caroline Rhea Show, Caroline in the City and Roseanne. She also wrote an episode of King of Queens and other sitcoms. Her theatre credits include a successful run Off-Broadway in, The JAP Show: The Princesses of Comedy, the 25th Anniversary production of Last Summer at Bluefish Cove in Los Angeles, which was nominated for several GLAAD awards, and she and HBO developed her first solo show, Scaredypants and took it to the Aspen Comedy Festival. Her second solo show, Does This Show Make Me Look Fat? will be opening in Spring of 2014.

Mark Boone Junior - Episode 300

Steve Cooper talks with actor Mark Boone Junior. Boone is best known for his role of Bobby Munson in FX's hit series Sons of Anarchy. He has had a successful acting career spanning three decades, appearing in a plethora of films across all genres. He has appeared in blockbuster hits such as Warner Bros. Batman Begins which was directed by Christopher Nolan who also directed him in Memento. He has also appeared in Armageddon 2, 2 Fast 2 Furious, The General's Daughter and Die Hard II. Boone's additional film credits include Get Carter, Of Mice and Men, The Thin Red Line, Seven and many others including Trees Lounge in which he starred opposite his long time writing partner and friend Steve Buscemi. In addition to his numerous film credits, Boone has also starred in a myriad of television roles in hit shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Law & Order, Seinfeld and Carnivale.

Art LaFleur - Episode 299

Steve Cooper talks with actor Art LaFleur. Art has had many guest-starring roles on television series that include JAG, Angel, Webster, Benson, Northern Exposure, Home Improvement, ER, Boy Meets World, The Practice, Malcolm in the Middle, Cold Case and The Mentalist. He is also a familiar face to the big screen where some of his roles include Babe Ruth in The Sandlot, the Tooth Fairy in The Santa Clause 2 & 3 and Chick Gandil in Field of Dreams. He also has appeared in numerous other movies such as The Man with One Red Shoe, City Heat, WarGames, Cobra, Death Warrant, Jack the Bear, Forever Young and Bad Guys.

Jeannette Godoy - Episode 298

Steve Cooper talks with director Jeannette Godoy. Jeannette has a varied background, having begun her career as a choreographer for commercials, feature films and music videos. She is well known for her choreography in Sir Mix-A-Lot’s famous video Baby Got Back. She later became a stylist for feature film and commercials but it was her desire to share her poignant, method of storytelling that led her to pursue directing. Her passion for filmmaking was evident in her work, which garnered praise from major sources during her rookie year of directing.  She was nominated for Shoot Magazine’s prestigious New Director Showcase and Best Work You May Never See, Shots Magazine Young Directors Award at Cannes and Shots Best New Directors of 2011.   Since then she has worked with companies such as Zest, NHL Team the Phoenix Coyotes, Gannett and Nike, and collaborated with agencies like Barkley, Cramer Krasselt and Partners + Napier. She has also crafted a documentary short film Free 2 Be Me which premiered in film festivals throughout the US.

David Marciano - Episode 297

Steve Cooper talks with actor David Marciano. David is best known for his roles as Detective Steve Billings in The Shield and Virgil in Homeland. He has been a regular on many other series including Mind of a Married Man, Judging Amy, Due South and Civil Wars. He also has guest starred on countless shows including NYPD Blue, Nash Bridges, Wiseguy, JAG, CSI: Crime Investigation Scene, NCIS, Lie to Me, House M.D., CSI: NY, Criminal Minds and Law & Order: SVU.

Lombardo Boyar - Episode 296

Steve Cooper talks with actor Lombardo Boyar. Lombardo is a veteran of the US Army and was part of the 82nd Airborne Division. After he got out he decided to pursue acting. Some of his notable performances include a brief part as convenience-store robber Ramon Garcia on Fox's 24, a starring role as burglar Eddie Tesoro in P.S. Your Cat is dead, his live-action performance as Sergio del Rio on Steven Bochco's Over There and guesting on a semi regular basis as Chuy on The Bernie Mac Show. He has lent his voice to the movies Happy Feet and Happy Feet 2 and many other projects. He recently was one of the stars of The Joe Schmo Show and the hit series Murder in the First and has appeared in Southland, Cold Case, NCIS, Shameless, Breakout Kings and many other shows. 

Lisa Sundstedt - Episode 295

Steve Cooper talks with comic/writer Lisa Sundstedt. Lisa is a successful stand up comic, singer, writer and voiceover actress. She has narrated dozens of shows for E! including Maxim Hot 100, The 101 Guiltiest Guilty Pleasures & 50 Most Shocking Celebrity Confessions. Some of her VO commercial campaigns include Blue Bunny Ice Cream, Safeway/Pavilion's, Ford,AT&T radio, Blackberry, Beringer Wines and Mattel just to name a few. She has been featured Chelsea Lately on E!, The Chelsea Handler Show on E!, Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, Tracey Takes On on HBO, The Test on FX, Hudson Street with Tony Danza on ABC, Shasta McNasty, Jerry Lewis Telethon, Nashville Now on TNN, Robot Chicken on Cartoon Network (various voices) & over 20 National Commercials. She was also featured on Web MD’s mental health section under Bipolar Experts Answers as the comedic host. For the last 15 years she has been the face behind the comedy brand Pretty, Funny Women where she teaches female comics and produces stand-up shows at the top clubs in the LA area. 

Jack Plotnick - Episode 294

Steve Cooper talks with actor Jack Plotnick. Jack got his first big break playing recurring characters on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Since then he has been a staple on TV and in movies. He has been a co-star or a regular on shows such as Action, Drawn Together, Reno 911, Ellen, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Joan of Arcadia, Lovespring International and The Mentalist. He has also guest starred in series such as Two and a Half Men, House M.D., Supernatural, Nip/Tuck, Glee, Dads, Seinfeld, Franklin & Bash, Criminal Minds and many others and has appeared in dozens of national commercials. His movie appearances include Meet the Fockers, Mystery Men, Beverly Hills Chihauhau and Reno 911! Miami. He recently made his directorial debut in a film he stars in and co-wrote, Space Station 76 and will be directing a play he also co-wrote on Broadway next year.

Jeff Stilson - Episode 293

Steve Cooper talks with writer/comic Jeff Stilson. Jeff got his start doing stand-up comedy and has performed on numerous TV shows such as HBO's 14th Annual Young Comedians Special, TV Nation, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, HBO Comedy Half-Hour, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Comedy Central Presents. He then transitioned to writing and won two Emmys, one for The Chris Rock Show and one for the Osbournes. He has also written on such shows as The Late Show with David Letterman, Lopez Tonight, Last Comic Standing, The Daily Show, Da Ali G Show, Politically Incorrect and The Wayne Brady Show. In addition he writes for many award shows and wrote and directed the documentary Good Hair. 

Max Gail - Episode 292

Steve Cooper talks with actor Max Gail. Max is best known for his role as Detective Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz in the sitcom Barney Miller and as Harold the owner of the taxi company in D.C. Cab. He has also starred in other TV series including Whiz Kids, Normal Life and Sons & Daughters. He has made many appearances in other shows such as Cannon, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Due South, The Streets of San Francisco, The Drew Carey Show, Quantum Leap, Psych, Gary Unmarried, Legit and NCIS. He recently co-starred in the hit 2013 movie about Jackie Robinson, 42 and his production company Full Circle produces documentaries.

Jeannette Rizzi - Episode 291

Steve Cooper talks with comic/actor Jeannette Rizzi. Jeanette has developed the brand, Blindsided. After years of dealing with her best friend's suicide during high school and battling her own depression, she decided to overcome her problem and deal with the affects of suicide and try to help prevent it. She wrote a one woman show, Blindsided which was a humorous and touching look into her life. After the success of that she started her own podcast of the same name where her and her co-hosts, one a comic one a therapist, deal with different problems that people face. She now has embarked on the making the documentary, Blindsided that will take suicide head-on and attempt to help with finding answers and embracing the healing process.

LaMonica Garrett - Episode 290

Steve Cooper talks with actor LaMonica Garrett. LaMonica currently can be seen of FX's Sons of Anarchy where he plays deputy sheriff Cane. He may also look familiar from his role in the critical acclaimed Sigourney Weaver series Political Animals, has been seen on CBS's Mike & Molly, had a recurring part in BET's The Game and guest starred on Arrested Development. Some of his other credits include Suits, NCIS: Los Angeles, CSI: Miami, NCIS, Dark Blue and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. He also has been in numerous national commercials and was one of the stars of the full-contact basketball league Slam Ball.

Spencer Garrett - Episode 289

Steve Cooper talks with actor Spencer Garrett. Spencer got introduced to the entertainment field at a young age, his mother was an actress and his father was a talent agent. After college he gravitated towards the industry and studied with the legendary teacher Sanford Meisner. Throughout his 25 year career he has consistently worked on many different projects. His various TV credits include Franklin & Bash, Masters of Sex, Star Trek: Voyager, Judging Amy, The Practice, The X-Files, Carnivale, JAG, Law & Order, Cold Case, Luck, Mad Men, Major Crimes and Satisfaction. He is also a familiar face on the big screen appearing is such movies as Yes Man, Mississippi is Burning, Charlie Wilson's War, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Thank You For Smoking and Public Enemies.

Deana Carter - Episode 288

Steve Cooper talks with singer/songwriter Deana Carter. Deana is the daughter of legendary Nashville studio guitarist Fred Carter Jr. After college graduation she worked in a few hospitals deciding to pursue a musical career at the age of 23. For several years she worked odd jobs as she continued to develop her songwriting skills and sing at Nashville nightclubs. Eventually one of her demo tapes made its way to Willie Nelson while another wound up in the offices of Capitol Nashville. Nelson, who remembered her from childhood, was impressed with her songs and asked her to perform at Farm Aid VII in 1994 where she was the only female on the bill. Within a year, Capitol Nashville had signed her to a contract. Boasting six songs she co-wrote, her debut album, Did I Shave My Legs For This? was released to strong reviews in late summer of 1996. By the end of the year the record had climbed to the upper reaches of the country charts and had made inroads to the pop charts going gold in the process. Everything's Gonna Be Alright followed in late 1998. In 2001, she realized her dream of performing with her father on the holiday album Father Christmas. I'm Just a Girl, a recording that leans strongly towards pop was released on Artista Nashville in 2003. The Story of my Life followed in 2005 on Vanguard and a second Vanguard release, The Chain came out in 2007. She then concentrated on songwriting after a series of life events kept her away from recording. She signed a deal with Warner Chappell and began returning to Nashville regularly. She and Matraca Berg had co-written You and Tequila and when the Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter version was released in 2011, the single hit the Top Five on the country charts and sold over a million digital copies. Since she was writing full-time anyway, she decided to record as well. She formed her own label, Little Nugget Records and released Southern Way of Life this year.

Shi Ne Nielson - Episode 287

Steve Cooper talks with actor Shi Ne Nielson. Shi Ne is an up and coming actress that's been in a string of popular television shows including: Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, CSI: NY, The Young & the Restless and has appeared in numerous national commercials for companies such as Lexus, Radio Shack, Farmer's Insurance and AT&T to name a few. She also is a recurring character on ABC Family's new hit drama Chasing Life. She portrays Raquel Avila, the hard-nosed political editor of the Boston Post and the heroine's ruthless rival. A graduate from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Shi Ne continues to study improv and acting throughout Los Angeles and is one of the stars of the popular web-series The Devil Interviews.    

                                                                                              

Paul Greenberg - Episode 286

Steve Cooper talks with writer/actor Paul Greenberg. Paul got his acting start by being a part of the Canadian sketch group The Vacant Lot. Since then he has appeared on various shows including as The Jenny McCarthy Show, Random Play, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Reno 911 and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He has also done voices for the cartoons Invader Zim, The Ant Bully and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius to name few. He is an Emmy winning writer and has worked on many series and award shows such as Jackass, Blue Collar TV, Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Lady Gaga & The Muppets' Holiday Spectacular, The Primetime Emmy Awards, The Annual People's Choice Awards, The MTV Movie Awards and The Annual Tony Awards. He currently co-stars with David Higgins in the series International Ghost Investigators: Hollywood Division.

Darren Carter - Episode 285

Steve Cooper talks with comic Darren Carter. Darren is a CooperTalk favorite and is making his 4th appearance on the show. When he takes the stage he takes the audience with him. A whirlpool of impressions and observations with on-point improvisation keeps the crowd rolling through the night and on through the morning if they are lucky. From The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to Be Cool with John Travolta to Comedy Central, BET and Showtime, the aptly named Party Starter and sometimes even Rooster gets recognized on the daily by his many adoring fans.

Yakov Smirnoff - Episode 284

Steve Cooper talks with comic Yakov Smirnoff. Yakov has been a mainstay in the entertainment scene since the late 1970's and was a regular guest star on the award winning NBC sitcom, Night Court. He has been a popular guest of numerous national TV shows including the Tonight Show. You've seen him on HBO and enjoyed his humor on his critically acclaimed Showtime special. He has also co-starred in movies with Robin Williams in Moscow on the Hudson, Tom Hanks in The Money Pit, Meryl Steep and Jack Nicholson in Heartburn and Richard Pryor in Brewster's Millions. He was invited to perform at the White House for several presidents and honored guests. President Ronald Reagan called him a "national treasure." Since 1992 he has performed at his own theater in Branson, Missouri, where he has entertained over four million visitors and produced several outstanding award-winning shows. In his newest endeavor, "The Happily Ever Laughter Tour", he takes his comedy to a new level to showcase laughter's effects on relationships and envisions a world where sadness and tears are replaced with love and laughter and his funny philosophies can also be heard at Missouri State University and Drury University where he is a professor who teaches about the relationship of love and laughter. 

Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez - Episode 283

Steve Cooper talks with drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez. Johnny professional drumming career began at age seventeen with a USO tour to South Vietnam. At nineteen, he was playing in local big bands, the LACC Studio Jazz Band and the Si Zenter Big Band. During the same time, Hernandez played in a variety of pit orchestras and backing acts, like Bob Hope, Billy Daniels and Gordon McCray. In the 1970s, he played with The Helen Reddy Band and served as the house drummer of "The Midnight Special" television show. There, he played with acts, such as Frankie Avalon, Petula Clark, Keith Carradine and Martin Mull. After having been heard, drumming with Toni Basil's band by composer, Danny Elfman and his longtime orchestrator, Steve Bartek, Hernandez was hired as a session drummer on Elfman's first film score, "The Forbidden Zone" (which continues to have a worldwide cult following). Hernandez joined the original lineup of the famous band, Oingo Boingo, a position he held for seventeen years, until their breakup in 1995. During that time, the band released eight albums, toured the world and played thousands of concerts. After the breakup of Oingo Boingo, Hernandez joined the band, Tito and Tarantula and was featured in the Robert Rodriguez film, From Dusk Till Dawn. For the past seven years, Hernandez has been touring with his own, Boingo Dance Party, a high energy, wild Oingo Boingo music show that features former members of Oingo Boingo.

Mario Joyner - Episode 282

Steve Cooper talks with comic Mario Joyner. Mario is best known as the host of MTV's Half Hour Comedy Hour from 1988-1992 and has done numerous stand-up appearances on TV shows including Late Night with David Letterman. He is a longtime friend and collaborator of comedians Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld. He appeared regularly on The Chris Rock Show and Everybody Hates Chris. He also guest starred in the Seinfeld episodes The Engagement and The Puerto Rican Day, playing two different characters, and voiced the character Jackson in the film Bee Movie. He has opened on national tours for Chris Rock (during his No Apologies tour) and for Jerry Seinfeld. He made his film debut in 1989 in Three Men and a Baby, and later starred in Hangin' with the Homeboys and Pootie Tang. During the October 12, 2010, episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, in an interview with Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Stewart credited Joyner with the joke: "Sort of in the way that murderers get sometimes, like, I found Jesus and I'm OK now." "Well, when did you find Jesus?" "Right after you found me." He currently is working on the web series Digital Dan which he wrote, directed and co-stars in.

Jerry Minor - Episode 281

Steve Cooper talks with actor/comic Jerry Minor. Jerry comes from the famed Second City stage, where he was the first performer ever to appear with every Second City stage, performing with the companies in Detroit, Chicago and Toronto for a total of 10 stage revues. A former cast member of Saturday Night Live and HBO's Mr. Show with Bob and David, he was also in the cast of the groundbreaking but short-lived 4-camera sitcom for HBO, Lucky Louie, as Louis CK's African-American neighbor who suffered Louie's clumsy attempts at friendship. He has appeared on such television shows as Arrested Development, The Awful Truth with Michael Moore, and on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Trigger Happy TV, Crank Yankers, Community and was one of the stars of ABC's Carpoolers and makes regular guest appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live. His feature credits include Semi Pro with Will Ferrell, Beer League with Artie Lange, plus appearances in Anchorman, Let's Go to Prison, directed by Bob Odenkirk, and Junebug.