Enrico Colantoni

Enrico Colantoni (b. February 14th, 1963)
a.k.a. Rico Colantoni

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Just Shoot Me's Flip Photographer Gets Amusingly Alienated in Galaxy Quest
For the sci-fi comedy smash Galaxy Quest, Enrico Colantoni boldly went where he had never gone before, portraying the naive leader of an extraterrestrial race under siege. He and his fellow Thermians come to Earth to hire commander Peter Taggert (Tim Allen) of the NSEA Protector and his brave crew -- unaware that the historical documents they had viewed from across the cosmos were actually episodes of a long cancelled Star Trek TV clone called Galaxy Quest. Colantoni, best known as Elliot on NBC's hit comedy Just Shoot Me, tells Barnes & Noble.com's Donald Liebenson that being a member of Galaxy Quest,'s eclectic ensemble -- which includes Allen, Sigourney Weaver, and Alan Rickman -- was out of this world.

Barnes & Noble.com: How did this role come about for you?

Enrico Colantoni: Like most jobs. They say they'd like to see you. You go in humbly. You act as if you own the role. It's crazy. When someone gives you the opportunity to play an alien, you think, "Well, I can do anything because I'm going to play an alien." The director laughed. They made me an offer. It was difficult saying yes because I wanted to make sure we were going to have fun. When he called me back and said he promised we would have fun, I said okay.

B&N.com: Did (director) Dean Parisot keep his promise that you would have fun making the film?

EC: Well, you've got somebody like Tim Allen, who cannot not have fun. And just where the story takes place, it just cannot not be fun. I don't know how we would have really gone into the film not looking for the joy in it because the film deals with innocence and with finding the hero within all of us. It would make any actor just want to go, "Yea," and jump up for joy.

B&N.com: Your character, Mathesar, had a particularly odd manner of speaking. How did you find that voice?

EC: It was my homage to Jeff Bridges in Starman and C3PO (from Star Wars), that kind of crazy innocence.

B&N.com: Did I detect a little Teletubbies influence as well?

EC: I'm sure there's a little. I watch (it) with my three-year-old son. And friends that I went to to school with years and years ago said, 'Yeah, you were walking like that then.' I was the only guy they knew who could walk right leg-right arm first and then left leg, left arm.

B&N.com: Did you have thoughts about the "Star Trek" phenomenon when you signed on?

EC: I was unaware of all the conventions and how seriously people take all this stuff until I saw the documentary Trekkies (before making Galaxy Quest,). Beyond that, I have a fascination with extraterrestrials. Why not? Who are we to think we're the only intelligent beings in the entire universe?

B&N.com: Was it intimidating to work with Sigourney Weaver, whose Lt. Ripley from the Alien films is such a sci-fi icon?

EC: She took care of us. She's such a wonderful leader. I'm sure she's aware of the reputation she has (as a distinguished dramatic actress) and the responsibilities that come with that. But she brought such a beautiful balance to everything. She knew how to deal with Tim, which was different than how she dealt with me, which was different than how she dealt with Alan. She was great.

B&N.com: Do you prefer comedy?

EC: I like drama. I never really embraced comedy. I always ran away from it. When I got (the TV series) Hope and Gloria it really, really surprised me. It's been a wonderful lesson for me because I tend not to have a lot of fun and to take everything seriously. So (doing) comedy is a wonderful gift.

B&N.com: When you look back on making the film, what is your fondest memory?

EC: What I remember the most is how childlike Tim would be, and how he would try in a wonderful way to push everybody's buttons. Tim would just be bouncing off the walls, and you couldn't shut him up sometimes. I loved to watch him and see Sigourney's and Alan's reactions. Sigourney would be there, kind of mothering him, and Alan just would look at him and try not to break up.
July 11, 2000