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Sipping coffee on a sunny patio off the Sunset Strip, Canadian comedian and recent L.A. transplant Bruce McCulloch admits that what he really wants to do is direct——and act and write and tour and front a live band, and…well, you get the idea. Gearing up to simultaneously promote his third feature comedy, Stealing Harvard starring Tom Green, Jason Lee and Megan Mullally, and his second soon-to-be-released CD entitled The Drunk Baby Project, McCulloch’s mood is surprisingly calm and reflective, especially when he says his approach to storytelling is going through another change. "They say everybody when they’re really young writes about their families, then they write about their relationships, and then they sort of write about the world," he says. "So, I’m probably in that stage when the things that are starting to interest me are more about the world and less about how I see the world and how the world sees me." McCullough is still best known as a founding member of cult comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, where he developed many off-kilter characters, including oversexed pick-up artist Cabbage Head, secretary Kathy with a K, pouty pop star Tammy and Gavin, the most irritating four-eyed person under the age of 14. But being identified solely as a Kid is not always a pleasure for the man of many faces (not to mention nylons, miniskirts and vegetable headpieces). "It’s hard being a man in your early 30s being defined by a group. And I think as you get a little bit older, you want to be yourself," he says. All of the Kids (McCulloch, Dave Foley, Mark McKinney, Scott Thompson and Kevin McDonald) have branched out since the series ended in 1994, but the group continues to tour regularly between films and other projects. "We’re just long enough away from the show that it feels fun to be back together," McCulloch says with a laugh. Also a singer/songwriter/guitar player, McCulloch is quick to say that touring with the group feels a lot like touring with a rock band, but definitely not as a rock star. "I’ve always been excited by the physical, sexual energy of music," he says. "Rock n’ roll was something I brought to the group. The other guys were more comedy fans." It all begins with music, according to McCulloch, who says that Drunk Baby Project is a mix of music, storytelling and poetry from his skewed point of view. "Every now and then, it’s good to get together with good friends and go to the tragically hip studio and make a record," he explains. Directing, in comparison, is a lot more complicated. "It’s like this thing, this dirty jean jacket you wear for two years," he says about working within the studio system. "Being a director is more like being a party coordinator, rather than sitting around thinking of shots." The diversely talented McCulloch calls himself a writer first and foremost. He recently rewrote a script that will be his next film, Company Man, while wrapping up the post-production on Harvard, and adds that plans are in the works for a second Kids in the Hall movie. The Kids previously chucked most of their familiar characters to make Brain Candy, an unexpected take on depression and drug-induced happiness. "No one could believe what we wanted to do, including ourselves. But it’s better to be young and fearless," says Bruce, adding that the next film will probably be smaller and decidedly more independent. One could see McCulloch, his Harvard cast and fellow Kids as part of the comedy misanthropes of the ‘90s that are now in the mainstream spotlight. But Bruce takes the prospect of losing his anonymity in typical stride. "There are a lot of us geeks out there," he says with a smile. "Things kind of move quietly from the fringes to the center as time goes on." |
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BRUCE
McCULLOUGH