Michael McKean
Michael McKean
Michael John McKeanis an American actor, comedian, writer, composer and musician well known for his portrayal of Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski on the sitcom Laverne & Shirley; Charles "Chuck" McGill in the AMC drama Better Call Saul; and for his work in the Christopher Guest ensemble films, particularly as David St. Hubbins, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the fictional rock band Spinal Tap from the film This Is Spinal Tap. He co-wrote "A Mighty Wind", which won the Grammy Award...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Actor
Date of Birth17 October 1947
CountryUnited States of America
I think a band that doesn't have a sense of humor can come up with their own take on whimsy.Kind of lead-footed and ham-handed, but I think just all the better for that.
I never regret anything and I don't believe in regret. I think it's just a big time-waster.
The process depends on the situation, and I don't think there are any two songs that have gone exactly the same way... well, actually, that's not true.
I think you have everyone kind of pulling on the same end of the rope. It's not like you're Robin Williams and everyone else is a deaf mute. It's like - there's plenty of help.
I'm kind of the town pump. I think I have a pretty good ear for what sounds good in this style.
I'm not channeling anyone in particular, ... I just imagine myself living a life that I never live. I don't have the executive gene.
I made some friends who are still friends, and this is the city of my birth. I love living here when there's a reason to, other than just moving here. I still don't like the winters here, but it's an amazing city and I love it.
Eugene Levy came into the office with "A Mighty Wind" - that song - with the lyric complete, but the melody wasn't quite there yet, and he and Chris and I worked on the tune - and that's how that one became a three-person song rather than a one-person song. It's a different process every time.
Eugene Levy came into the office with ""A Mighty Wind"" - that song - with the lyric complete, but the melody wasn't quite there yet, and he and Chris and I worked on the tune - and that's how that one became a three-person song rather than a one-person song. It's a different process every time.
The whole process was just so much fun. Also, watching people who weren't primarily instrumentalists - watching them pick up instruments... Parker Posey never played the mandolin before.
They were kind of like little Stephen King stories... but these go back many hundreds of years.
As far as directing, yeah, I'd like to do that. But you've got to spend at least a year, year-and-a-half doing that. It's got to be something you really love. To direct a sequel to somebody else's work is not interesting to me. To do a teen comedy, I don't think is really something I'd want to spend a year of my life doing at this point.
Sometimes we have to look to other performers to kind of spark us, but there is something kind of ""old home week"" about us. So I've never really felt the battery run down on these shows.
I don't know whether the result is substantially different, but it feels a little different. I think the only song that I wrote all by myself in this is a tune called ""Killington Hill,"" which is not in the film but it's on the DVD.