Jamie Kennedy opens up about his career, what makes him laugh and his upcoming show at The DC Improv. Photo by Richard Gary.
Jamie Kennedy is nothing if not a show business survivor.
The multi-talented comedian, actor, rapper, producer and yes, even author, has ridden a tsunami of Hollywood fame for more than 15 years now. It hasn’t always been easy as success has come and gone — and lately come back big — for the 39-year-old funnyman.
This month, the Philly native brings his self-deprecating stand-up to Washington’s Improv for what promises to be a hilarious three-night run. Would-be hecklers might think twice about needling the comic, who produced the 2007 documentary “Heckler.” A quick YouTube search offers a funny, fair warning to those who hope throw Kennedy off-stride onstage.
In an expansive interview with On Tap, Kennedy talked about his big-screen breakthrough in “Scream,” the inspiration for the riotous white hip-hop parody “Malibu’s Most Wanted,” his new role as psychology professor Eli James on the CBS hit show “Ghost Whisperer,” and of course, his relationship with Hollywood hottie Jennifer Love Hewitt.
OT: You grew up in Philadelphia and started doing stand-up at age 19. A big part of your early act was impressions. You’ve since proved on “The Jamie Kennedy Experiment” television show that you are something of a master of disguise, as well. What’s the secret to impersonating someone?
JK: I think it’s just that you really have to commit and know who it is you’re impersonating. And if you really like doing that person then you’ll do it better. I used to do an impression of (former child star) Robby Benson. It’s kind of hard to do over the phone (laughs).
OT: Tell us about how you landed the role of Randy Meeks, the kid who knows all the tricks to horror movie survival in the 1996 smash hit “Scream?”
JK: It was basically “Scream” that put me on the map. I had done some commercials for local places in California — Vans Sneakers, some AT&T commercials — and then I started to get auditions. I went out for the movies and I got the “Scream” part. It was a low-budget horror movie — low-budget enough that they could take a chance on an unknown. They took that chance and the movie hit, and it became a big thing. But I was unknown at the time.
OT: You’ve been extremely busy lately with “Ghost Whisperer,” and you’ve got a new movie coming out in May, “Finding Bliss.” How do you find time for stand-up? Did you always do stand-up?
JK: It’s a great way to stay fresh, and it’s a good way to make money when you’re not acting or working as much. So (in the past), I would do some acting, and then I would go on the road and then I was getting better (at stand-up) so I was on the road more. Then I would stop and do some more movies, and then TV. It was back-and-forth. I’ve done it all along but I’ve ended up doing acting more. But it would take a lot for me to just give it (stand-up comedy) up.
OT: Here’s a D.C.-centric question. Your friend and colleague, Kal Penn, who you’ve worked with in several comedies, recently took a job in the Obama White House as a liaison to Asian communities. What do you think about that?
JK: It’s amazing. It’s awesome. Kal is a very smart guy. He went to UCLA. He’s very industrious, studious guy. His acting is just a part of who he is. He’s really world-conscious. He really got involved with the Obama administration. He’s not making much money as a civil servant, but he’s making a difference. I think some people (in L.A.) are like “What is he crazy?” I think other people respect it immensely. He’s always going to be able to act and I think it will add more credibility when he does decide to act again.
OT: Let’s talk about your first marquee role, in “Malibu’s Most Wanted,” in which you star as an endearingly clueless, privileged white kid who somehow thinks he’s a hard-core, hip-hop gangsta. What was the inspiration for that film?
JK: There were a lot of kids in California who were acting like they were hard-core thugs but they grew up in Beverly Hills. I thought it was just really ripe for spoofing. I started to record their dialogue and listen to that. I eventually developed this character named B-Rad and then did my TV show (“The Jamie Kennedy Experiment”). B-Rad was on the show and people liked it and then we spun it off into a movie. That’s how it started. I’m a fan of rap, yeah, but I was just doing it for comedy. I wasn’t trying to be a rapper.
OT: But you’ve got to have a little bit of flow to pull that character off, don’t you?
JK: A little bit (laughs).
OT: But seriously, that movie was cutting-edge in a way. You were among the first people in mainstream Hollywood to poke fun at white people trying to be black.
JK: Black people loved it. The only people who got mad were some white people. They thought it was offensive to black people, but black people loved it. At its core, “Malibu’s Most Wanted” is a social commentary wrapped up in popcorn. It basically is saying white people like the best parts of black culture but they don’t want to deal with the darker parts. They like the coolness, the hip-hop attitude, the style, the fun and the music but they didn’t want to deal with the guns or drugs or other things that would come along with certain parts of African-American culture, if you will. It’s convenient for them to like certain parts. White people like to try it on, but they can always slip it off.
OT: You wrote a book most people don’t know about called “Wannabe” that’s about breaking into Hollywood. Tell us about it.
JK: That’s a good book. I worked hard on it. It’s about all the things I did to get noticed in Hollywood. I was trying to be my own agent, so I was lying and pretending. I slept in my car. There’s a lot of funny stuff in there. No one knows you. You say you’re an actor, but everyone is an actor. Everybody is trying to do the same thing and you have to prove how you’re unique. When you’re hot, everyone wants to know you and then when you’re cold, no one wants to know you and then you get hot again, and then you really get to know who your friends are. It’s brutal, but it’s a deep process. It’s a real great cleansing.
- Kennedy on the CBS hit, “The Ghost Whisperer.” Photo courtesy of CBS.
OT: Now you’re finishing up the second season of “Ghost Whisperer,” one of the most successful shows on T.V. You play a brainy-but-engaging psychology professor. How’d that happen?
JK: My agent told me I could be in TV. They said I should start slow and just get on an existing show and play an existing character. Jay Mohr was leaving the show, and they were looking for someone new. I took a meeting and it worked out. I like the character because he gets to be more serious at times. But I don’t like the character because he’s too heady for me. I’m more of a guttural, emotional guy and I don’t say things so eloquent like my character does. I’m still learning some of words I have to say (laughs).
OT: Of course, this celebrity interview would not be complete without asking about your relationship with Jennifer Love Hewitt, one of America’s sweethearts and the star of “Ghost Whisperer.” Did you meet her on the show?
JK: No, I’d met her a few times before. And then I was on the show and things happened.
OT: Do you have any status reports for us?
JK: We’re coming along very nicely. She tried to call me during this interview and I pushed ignore, so I’m going to get in trouble for that.
OT: Before we let you go, tell us about your new movie, “Finding Bliss,” that opens in May.
JK: It’s a romantic comedy about a girl who gets a job writing and directing porn movies and she tries to make them very artful, and she does. And she learns the difference between sex and love, and how women get sex and love mixed up and confused. It’s a woman who looks at her sexuality through the world of porn in an artful way. The cast is LeeLee Sobieski, Denise Richards, Kristen Johnston, myself, Matthew Davis.
OT: What can people expect to hear about when you’re in D.C. later this month?
JK: It’s just stuff about my life. I do a little bit of politics, but not a lot. I’m not a big politics guy.
See Kennedy perform at the DC Improv February 19-21 at 8 and 10:30 p.m. Fri. and Sat. and 8 p.m. on Sun. Tickets are $25 with a two item minimum.
DC Improv: 1140 Connecticut Ave NW, DC; 202.296.7008; www.dcimprov.com;
[googleMap name="DC Improv" width="590" height="235" mousewheel="false"]1140 Connecticut Ave NW, DC[/googleMap]
