Ron Livingston returns to his comic roots with an all new show
Festivals can be an overwhelming experience in which there’s too much to do with too little time. Whether it’s deciding between your favorite director or an up-and-coming star, the circuit of a festival can be a doozy. But that did not seem to be the case with this year’s well-organized Vulture Festival. From the pristine and fun lounges to the helpful staff, Vulture made their festival the envy of all by making sure the fans come first.
Taking place over the May 20-21 weekend, Vulture prepared panels, viewings and discussions with some of the industry’s top dogs, including Aziz Ansari, Stephen Colbert, Senator Al Franken, Edgar Wright, Michael Shannon, Sarah Jessica Parker and many more. And with so many of the events taking place in a singular location, moving from spot-to-spot was a breeze.
Vulture kicked off its annual weekend festival with a snazzy launch party at the exclusive Boom Boom Room at the top of the Standard Hotel. It was a decadent affair, complete with endless booze, beautiful people and some thumping tunes from Questlove. We had the opportunity of running into “Office Space” legend Ron Livingston as he casually sipped on a cocktail with yet another gorgeous person. The actor was kind enough to take time away from his leisurely conversation to discuss his upcoming show “Loudermilk,” being in New York during the Spring, and moving back and forth between comedy and drama.
What Brings the Actor to Vulture
Mr. Livingston has had quite a busy year. Having recently wrapped on the Diablo Cody-written, Jason Reitman-directed “Tully,” as well prolific actor John Carroll Lynch’s directorial debut “Lucky” and a quirky road trip comedy named “The Long Dumb Road,” Livingston has seldom had a moment to rest it seems. But it appears that the hectic film schedule has not deterred the actor from pursuing more projects, with his new TV show “Loudermilk” coming on air this fall on DirectTV and AT&T U-verse.
When asked what brought him to the festival, Mr. Livingston replied, “I’m here with a show called “Loudermilk” that I’m doing with Pete Farrelly and Bobby Mort that’s a half-hour comedy about recovering alcoholics.” The actor went on to graciously thank Vulture by saying, “the Vulture folks were kind enough to include us in the festival so we’re going to be doing a screening tomorrow of the pilot and a panel afterwards.” But beyond that, Mr. Livingston appeared happy to be in the Big Apple during its changing seasons, saying “Also, it’s a great opportunity just to get another look of New York at a beautiful time of year.”
Drama, Comedy—It All Makes the Actor Better
“Office Space” was like few other films of its time. The Mike Judge directed feature fit perfectly into the 1990s era of newly standardized software office jobs that were soul sucking. It soon became a pop culture icon, coming to be referenced as a hilariously truthful representation of dreary office life. What characters like Dilbert had constructed on paper, Ron Livingston brought to life with his affectless, and ennui-stricken character. It was a character that would come to define much of Livingston’s career.
But then again, Livingston has had a wonderfully successful career as a drama actor, having played the main character in the lauded miniseries “Band of Brothers” as well as more recently as a main cast member for a seminal season of “Boardwalk Empire.” But to the dismay of his drama fans and to the glee of his comedy ones, it appears that Livingston is returning to his comedy roots with his new TV show, “Loudermilk.” When asked how it felt oscillating back and forth between the genres, Livingston said, “I’ve kind of gone back and forth [between comedy and drama] throughout. It might seem that most of the stuff I was doing was dramatic because a lot of the comedy stuff I was doing was podcast stuff or a couple different things at Upright Citizens Brigade every once in awhile.”
The actor went on to explain that he can never decide which one is best, thus letting himself drift to the projects that he finds most interesting. “There’s also the independent stuff I would do. I don’t think it’s that I ever got too far away from comedy. A lot of it depends on what order the people are watching this stuff. I think I’ve really liked the opportunity to do a little of everything so far. I don’t know if it’s made me a better actor but it certainly has made me enjoy it more.”
Check out “Loudermilk” this fall exclusively on DIRECTV and AT&T U-verse.
