The Quickie

S@HMMY chats with famous funny parents

He's starred with hotties like George Clooney and Alex O'Laughlin and been on hot shows like Modern Family and The Shield. Get to know comic, actor, and poker player, Celebrity Guest Matt Corboy. 

If I don’t ask this, every man who reads Sahmmy.com will hate me. How hard was it to stop yourself from getting wood while acting with Michael Chiklis on The Shield?

Well, bald men don't do it for me, but Michael Chiklis is a hell of a lot of fun to act with! He rehearsed his lines with me in the make-up trailer as Charles Nelson Riley (he does a spot on impression) and then plays this hard character on screen. It is fun to watch.

If I don’t ask this, every woman who reads Sahmmy.com will hate me. How hard was it to stop yourself from making out with George Clooney?

I don't care who you are, I think everyone can agree that George Clooney is a large bucket of handsome. He is also a solidly generous, goofy and hilarious human being.  Take everything you have heard about him and double it. My favorite moment with him was on the final take of our scene in The Descendants where my character drives the family to the hotel, George put my Jeep in neutral without me noticing right before Alexander Payne called "action.". I revved that Jeep's engine so loudly as Clooney just laughed.

Alexander Payne is an expert in dark, subtle comedy, how did working with him affect your craft?

A.P. is the king of natural acting.  After every take he would say, "yeah, this just seems like two people talking." He wants you to keep it real. He often says, "if there is something else you would say to make this more real to you, then say it."  He is very easy going and sets a wonderful laid back tone on his sets.  He is also a great guy to talk with about old movies. 

You were born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, what Hawaiian holiday traditions do you continue with your family in your home in LA?

We take our shoes off at the front door, I still eat Spam and bring Spam Musubi to pot luck parties, and when our 5 year old, Finn, is finished eating he says, "I'm Pau." 

As a young boy, which cartoon or live action kids’ TV character did you have a crush on?

My favorite show growing up was The Smurfs.  I had Smurf stuffed animals, Smurf Figurines and begged my mom to buy me Smurf Berry Crunch cereal.  I thought Smurfette was THE BOMB! Is that weird? 

What character on Yo Gabba Gabba can you relate to the most and why?

We don't watch much TV in our house, but Finn and I have seen a few episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba.  I think I am a DJ Lance Rock guy. Mostly because of his awesome boom box and sick dance moves.  I can't dance and his boom box reminds me of the 80's. 

You and your wife are well trained improvisers how has that helped you as a parents?

Having kids is a crazy experience.  You have things being thrown at you from all sides at all times.  Kinda like an improv show or a tornado. It has really helped me to go with it, say yes, and see where it takes me. Finn has a costume trunk and is constantly dressing up and playing pretend with us, but he sometimes gets a little too caught up with being the director.  He'll tell Kara, "no, mom, after I say you're under arrest, you say No and then tell me You can't arrest me." I will turn to Finn and say, "hey buddy, Mom is REALLY good at this, let's just see where she takes it." 

What happened the first time you found yourself “in the weeds” as a parent and how did you recover?

The first meltdown we had was in the parking lot of UCLA hospital on day 2 of Finn's life.  Minute 6 of having him out of the safety of the hospital room. We got to the car with our new baby boy and could not figure out how to adjust the car seat so that he fit in it.  There were straps and buttons and adjusters that I was VERY unfamiliar with. I thought to myself, "this cant be good. if I can't figure out how to put him in a car seat, how am I going to figure out everything else."