CooperTalk

Steve Cooper talks with actor Fred Melamed. Fred's voice became a familiar presence on television, serving as the sound of the Olympics, Mercedes Benz, CBS Sports, USA Network, the Superbowl, and numerous commercials and television programs. He became known within the industry as a voice actor, appearing in the Grand Theft Auto series, and dubbing several actors' entire performances in films. But it was for his portrayal of sensitive villain Sy Ableman, in Joel and Ethan Coen's 2009 film, A Serious Man, which was nominated for Best Picture, at the 2010 Academy Awards, that he became most widely known. In addition, Melamed has appeared in a host of Woody Allen films, including Hannah and Her Sisters, Radio Days, Another Woman, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Shadows and Fog, Husbands and Wives, and Hollywood Ending. He has also played significant supporting roles in Suspect, The Good Mother, The Mission, The Pickup Artist and other films. On television, some of his roles have been Larry David's smug psychiatrist, Dr. Arthur Thurgood, on Curb Your Enthusiasm, tough-guy jurist Judge Alan Karpman on The Good Wife, Judge Nelson on Benched and many more. This summer he can be seen as one of the stars of Hulu's Casual.

Steve Cooper talks with drummer Matt Starr. Matt is a Los Angeles based drummer/vocalist, clinician, educator, Modern Drummer contributor and producer. He recently filled in for Mr. Big drummer Pat Torpey on their latest tour. He spent 3 years as the touring & recording drummer for KISS founding member Ace Frehley. He is also a member of Burning Rain and in the past has worked with Kevin Dubrow, Dizzy Reed, Love/Hate, Beautiful Creatures and many others. He is the creator of Who's Next Publishing and his songs have been placed in dozens of television programs and movies.

 

 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Melinda McGraw. Melinda was a regular this past season on the shows NCIS, State of Affairs and Crisis and can be seen in the new TNT series Proof which premieres this month. She has played numerous recurring roles in television for over two decades. From her first major role in The Commish, she went on to appear in prominent guest roles for shows such as The X Files, The District, Inconceivable, The West Wing, Journeyman, Ben and Kate, Men of a Certain Age, Hank, Desperate Housewives, The West Wing and Mad Men. She also held regular roles in several television shows, albeit they were cancelled within one season The Pursuit of Happiness and Center of the Universe. She has also had prominent roles in films, such as Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, The Dark Knight and Weather Girl.

Steve Cooper talks with comic Craig Shoemaker. Craig is most known for his unmistakably engaging, iconic, baritone-voiced character, The Lovemaster. But his stand-up has been seen by millions in his decades of successful stand-up comedy. His specials have been aired on Showtime, HBO, ABC, CBS, NBC and just about every other major network and has been seen in TV shows and movies like Parks & Recreation, The Bold and The Beautiful and Scream 2. He also has been heard in Pleasantville, many characters in numerous animated series, and all the voices (and even the title song) for the BBC cartoon, Big Foot, Little Foot. He currently has dedicated using laughter as healing modality. With his recent retirement from stand-up comedy he is now focusing his efforts on his new organization dedicated to the cause Laughter Heals and he has also just released a best selling comedy album The Last Stand (Up). 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Peter Murnik. Peter started to study acting in Hollywood in 1985, and has never looked back. He is best known for his current role of Hershel Jenkins in Granite Flats and as trooper Tom Bergen in Justified. His Journeyman career has now spanned nearly 30 years, including over 50 guest-starring spots on episodic TV series, roughly 100 commercials, and 30+ movie roles. Some of his credits include Quantum Leap, Father of the Bride, Seinfeld, Northern Exposure, It's My Party, ER, Hard Rain, Armageddon, JAG, Desperate Housewives, Rizzoli & Isles, Shameless and many more. He is also a lover of classic cars, motorcycles and dangerous, outdated and high-powered machinery of all sorts and is an avid surfer. He briefly held the World record for long-distance windsurfing and is known as Cal Worthington's Evil Twin for his ability to sell classic cars around the world. 

Steve Cooper talks with actor Mark Moses. Mark is probably best known for his roles as Duck Phillips on Mad Men, Dennis Boyd in Homeland and Paul Young in Desperate Housewives. He made his film debut in the Best Picture Academy Award winner Platoon and then appeared in Born on the Fourth of July and The Doors, each directed by Oliver Stone. Among his other movies have been Ridley Scott’s Someone to Watch Over Me, Ronald Maxwell’s Gettysburgh, Mimi Leder’s Deep Impact, Sean McNamara’s Race to Space, Brett Ratner’s Red Dragon and After the Sunset, Robert Luketic’s Monster-In-Law, John Whitesell’s Big Momma's House 2, Joshua Stern’s Swing Vote and Clint Eastwood’s Letters from Iwo Jima. He is also a very familiar face to TV being a regular on series including Grand, The Single Guy, The Killing and Manhattan and guest starring on numerous shows including Criminal Minds, Family Ties, The Practice, Blue Bloods, Elementary, Scandal, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Covert Affairs, The Closer, Human Target, Castle, Law & Order: SVU and many, many more. He can be seen starting in June playing President Jeff Michener in The Last Ship.

Steve Cooper talks with comic Jamal Doman. Jamal is a Philadelphia native who started doing stand-up in his hometown in 1993. In 1998 he moved to Hollywood and quickly became an industry favorite. Soon he landed spots on such shows as Showtime At The Apollo, BET's Comicview, Martin Lawrence Presents The 1st Amendment, Comics Unleashed and Who Wants To Date A Comedian. For the love of his country, he has also performed around the world for US troops in such places as Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan, Kuwait, South Korea, Iceland and Guam. He has also starred in such films as Repos, The Greatest Song and Streets! Jamal is also an internet sensation with his videos getting thousands of views. His Juicy T.-Certified Pimp webisodes are considered classics and has a huge following with his King of Captions on Instagram.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Nick Searcy. Nick a consistent presence in American film and television for almost twenty years and a Peabody Award winner, has starred in independent films as well as studio blockbuster hits, including The Ugly Truth, The Last Song, Castaway, The Fugitive, Head of State, Runaway Jury, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, Blood Done Sign My Name, The Dead Girl, An American Crime, Moneyball and Fried Green Tomatoes among others. On television, Nick was a series regular on five different shows: 7 Days, American Gothic, From the Earth to the Moon, Rodney, and Easy Money. He has guested on many shows such as The West Wing, Boston Legal, Hawaii Five-0, Mom, Hot in Cleveland and CSI. He also has shocked horror fans in the features Deadly End, Cold Storage and Timber Falls. He is recently finished filming the last season of the FX Network’s Justified, where he portrayed Chief Deputy Art Mullen.

Steve Cooper talks with TV writer/producer Lew Schneider. Lew got his start in stand-up comedy working the clubs in NY and around the country. His comedy was seen on Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist and HBO's One Night Stand. He also hosted Nickelodeon's game show Make the Grade which led to starring in two sitcoms, Wish You Were Here and Down the Shore. Soon after that he started writing for television where his credits include The George Wendt Show, The John Laroquette Show and the Naked truth. He eventually joined the staff at Everybody Loves Raymond and served as Supervising and Executive Producer throughout it's 9 year run and won 2 Emmys. Since then he has written for shows such as American Dad, The New Adventures of Old Christine and Men of a Certain Age. Currently he is Co-Executive Producer on The Goldbergs and directed an episode this past season.