- Don't 'Shoot' Actor Enrico Colantoni

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Don't 'Shoot' Actor Enrico Colantoni

On Sigourney Weaver, His Birthday, Blessings And David Spade (But Not Necessarily In That Order)

HOLLYWOOD GIVEAWAYS:
Who Won Those CDs?

After three dazzling seasons playing photographer Elliott DiMauro on the mega-hit NBC comedy "Just Shoot Me," Enrico Colantoni is one of America's favorite television personalities. And following his standout performance as the leader of the aliens in the comedy feature "Galaxy Quest," Colantoni is proving once and for all that nice guys can finish first.

The Maple Leaf Birthday Rag
Colantoni is back in Los Angeles, fresh from visiting his native Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he took in the All-Star hockey game and schmoozed with the hometown crowd.

"How are you doing, bro?" he asks me.

Although television audiences know him best as the brash and free-wheeling Elliott on the NBC sitcom "Just Shoot Me," Colantoni is surprisingly unassuming and soft-spoken.

Colantoni's birthday is Feb. 14. That's Valentine's Day, folks.

I ask him if having to share his special day with the lovers of the world is like having his birthday on Christmas.

"You know what, Steve? It really sucks," he says. We both laugh and agree that it's like a "two-for" when it comes to gift giving.

Malik "It's my birthday, but to (a woman) it's Valentine's Day. I'm grateful that I'm married because we just celebrate the whole thing," Colantoni says.

And this year there is much to celebrate.

Colantoni's acting career is taking a breathtaking surge. Rocking the big screen as the odd but lovable alien in the hit comedy "Galaxy Quest," Colantoni ignites the screen and showcases his tremendous versatility.

Character Quest
I ask Colantoni about his strange yet empathetic character Mathesar, the leader of an endangered alien species called the Theraman who come to Earth seeking help from the has-been cast of a defunct '70s television "Star Trek"-esque space show.

"(Mathesar) is a squid," Colantoni says. "A lot of my friends who've known me for years tell me I used (to act like him), just goofing off. It's funny that friends from 15 years ago say, 'Yeah, you used to do that thing all the time.'

"I auditioned kind of like that. Once I got the job, they actually scheduled a half-hour rehearsal for us. And we just said, 'Okay, he's a squid (in his natural form). He tries to walk like a human being. What if his arms and legs move at the same time?' And that was it. Fifteen minutes later, there's our character."

By the end of the movie, the audience has fallen in love with the quirky Mathesar.

Colantoni says the secret is Mathesar's innocence. "We identify with people who just don't understand things," he says.

Sign My Cast
"Galaxy Quest" also paired Colantoni with some big-name Hollywood hitters. I ask about working with three-time Academy Award nominee and space babe Sigourney Weaver.

"It was a little intimidating at first, because of who she is and what she has done," Colantoni says. "But she's such a classy lady. I think part of her innate job description is to make everybody else feel comfortable."

And what about working with "Home Improvement's" megastar Tim Allen?

"Tim Allen likes to make people laugh. Unfortunately, I found him very funny," Colantoni says.

He says the cast and crew had a lot of fun, but there was a downside to working on the movie.

"We had so much fun," he says. "But (we filmed) in the middle of summer in Los Angeles, and those costumes don't breathe, man."

Colantoni "Galaxy Quest's" winter release coincided with several dramatic pictures at the box office and has gone on to become the sleeeper hit of the season.

Colontoni is pleased with the comedy's success.

"Because when something is that funny with a little heart, when it's not just played for laughs, you walk away saying, 'My God, I feel inspired.'"

Calling Spade A Spade
I ask Colantoni about working on the NBC smash "Just Shoot Me." Although he also co-starred as Louis on "Hope & Gloria" for two seasons before his current gig, he is perhaps better recognized for playing the womanizing Elliott DiMauro.

He speaks candidly about his co-stars and says he enjoys each one for the unique contributions they bring to the show.

"(David) Spade's a sage. Not too many people want to know that about him," Colantoni says. "He's so profound. He's so sensitive. I just love watching him -- just how he thinks comedically."

On sexy co-star Wendie Malick, Colantoni says, "She's beautiful." But he means that her beauty is more than skin deep.

"George Segal finds everything funny," Colantoni says of the veteran actor, who plays a magazine editor on the show. "He sees the humor in everything. And there isn't a day that goes by that he's not laughing (so) hysterically that you think he's having a heart attack. And that kind of energy is stuff that makes everybody just relax."

As for costar Laura San Giacomo, get ready for characters Elliot and Maya to take their relationship to the next level -- if you know what I mean.

So has anything really crazy ever happened on the sitcom set?

"Nothing outrageous happens on that show, and I know nobody wants to hear that," Colantoni says. "We have so much fun just in the energy of fun and love (of acting our scenes). We're always laughing. Everybody loves being there and acknowledges everyone else. There's no backstabbing."

Amazing Grace
"Every day I count my blessings. I am blessed," Colantoni tells me.

Colantoni The accomplished actor speaks humbly about his phenomenal success.

"The biggest break I got was when I got accepted to the Yale School of Drama," Colantoni says. "They taught me how to detach myself from the art of acting. And then I could begin to see it as a craft as opposed to a part of me that I couldn't differentiate. They trained us to be intentional in our choices and fulfill them.

"It was a surprise to me that it actually worked -- that the intention I set for myself actually paid off. It was big surprise." Asked what's on his mind for the future, Colantoni doesn't mention a new television series or a blockbuster film. There is no talk of winning an award or making more money. Instead, the actor is thinking of ways to share his gifts with others.

"What I really want to do is form a theater company that works with elementary and high school kids," Colantoni says. "I seem to be more interested in validating their own imaginations, because that's what I missed most as a kid."

It's obvious that beyond the trappings of fame and fortune, there's a humble guy with a heart of gold.

And I, for one, don't think it's an accident that his birthday falls on Valentine's Day.

What's The Buzz?

Out of the Closet: Actress Kathy Najimy is bidding goodbye to NBC's waning "Veronica's Closet." Najimy, who has co-starred as Olive for three seasons, says she wants to focus on her film career. What was that about rearranging chairs on the deck of the Titanic?

No On Knight: "Party of Five's" openly gay actors Mitchell Anderson and Wilson Cruz were among several celebs who led an enthusiastic protest against California Prop. 22. Prop. 22 is, at best, an anti-gay measure that is being championed by the interminably grumpy Pete Knight, a Republican from Palmdale, Calif. Hey, I've got a proposition, Pete: Read up on a little document called the Constitution. It talks about what makes our country so darn great -- a little thing called "freedom."

Mackenzie

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