May 13, 2022
Celebrity Q&A: Kevin James
Kevin James is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is best known for his roles as Doug Heffernan on The King of Queens, and as Paul Blart (pictured) in Paul Blart: Mall Cop and its sequel. Q: Why Paul Blart: Mall Cop?A: I wanted to play a guy in a uniform. It made me laugh, the idea of me with authority. Me without authority is even funnier. They are not real police; nobody respects them.
Q: How did you prepare to play a mall cop?A: It is not easy being a mall cop. You gotta know where Cinnabon is, how to find the food court and the washrooms. If there is a little liquid spilled on the floor, you have to set up pylons and direct traffic. That could take up a whole day. And they wear polyester pants that do not breathe.
—Now Toronto
Q: Were there a lot of jokes that did not work?A: Plenty. Jokes that went on too long. Sometimes when it goes on too long and you can stick with it, it becomes so ridiculous that it starts to become funny again. Like Family Guy—I love that they do that. It is literally five minutes of something, and they just commit to it. We tried that, and sometimes it never comes back to funny and you just have to cut it.
—Now Toronto
Q: Do you have an Uncut Gems in you? [Editor’s note: “Uncut Gems” refers to a movie of that name released in 2019, which garnered an Oscar nomination for comedic actor Adam Sandler.]A: I would love to be able to do something like that. It is dependent on the story. That is everything. I would hate to do a movie just to do a dramatic role, to just say, “Hey, look, I’m not falling down the steps!”
—USA Today—Will Kosmal, Celebrity Q&A Editor