(continued)

Though Will Arnett was more than happy to answer our questions, he also had a few of his own. Here, the Horton Hears a Who star discusses Swedish bands, Celine Dion, and the dangers of coffee with Radar editor Matt Thompson.

---

Will Arnett: So, let me ask you, are you nervous interviewing a big star like me?
Radar: No. I'll tell you what makes me nervous, though: drinking coffee during an interview.

Why? Afraid they'll have a coffee freakout?
No, afraid I will. I once had to call the Dutch director Lars von Trier on his lunch break. Which, being on Copenhagen time, came quite early in the morning for me. I had an espresso right before talking to him and was a jittery mess the whole time.

Wait. He's not Dutch. He's Danish, isn't he?
Yes.

That was the first problem. You called him Dutch. You probably thought his nickname was Dutch.
I called him Von Dutch, actually.

Oh, no. Remember them? What's up, 1999? So, tell me, where are you from, Matt?
Connecticut. Originally.

Originally—why do you keep saying originally?
I only said it once! We moved.

Everything is very conditional with you. Where'd you go to school?
Middlebury College.

Getting back to you ... How was the bud up there in Middlebury? It's a pretty strong bong school, right?Classic. Now it's coming together. How many ski days a year?
Actually none. I did not ski. I snuck on the slope once as a freshman and decided I hated everything about skiing. You're Canadian, though, so you're probably required to ski.

We skied a lot.
Speaking of Candian stereotypes: What do you think of Celine Dion wrapping up her stint in Vegas?

Oh, man! Is she done now? Down over at Caesar's? They built a nice big theater for her, didn't they?
They did. I wonder what they're going to do with it.

I should make a couple phone calls. Get in there and do a show.
Do some dramatic readings of those commercial voice-overs you do.

Just do some VO work on the stage. That's brilliant. I can't wait to call them and be like, "Listen, if you want to pack this stadium, you'll do the right thing and let me read VO copy."
Sounds like a new high for you. Speaking of high points and low points, I saw in an interview that you said Arrested Development was the best pilot you've ever been in. That makes me wonder, what's the worst?

I remember there was something really snarky I said in that quote.
Something to the effect of: "And I want every other pilot I've been in to know that."

That's so rude! But anyways, I still stand by that statement. Years later. The statement that shook the entertainment industry. That rocked it to its foundation. What was the worst ... I don't know. Some experiences weren't as great as others. I don't want to call people out just because they wrote a terrible show. So, getting back to you ... How was the bud up there in Middlebury? It's a pretty strong bong school, right?
It is. Though it's routinely put to shame by UVM.

You're going to get some pretty sticky bud at UVM. Good times. So do you have any family in the city?
My brother is a zookeeper at the Bronx Zoo.

Here come the lies.
No, dead serious. He told me once there's a blind guy that comes by exhibits all the time. And it's like, what are you doing?

He likes the sound of animals eating.
The sound of sad animals.

Oh, my God. That sounds like a Simon and Garfunkel album. Or a Swedish band. "Hello? Hello, Stockholm. We are Sad Animals." I spent a little time in Sweden over the past couple years. My brother-in-law lives over there. There are actually a few good bands from Sweden. They like to consider themselves to be superhip, the Swedes.
They're kinda precious.

A little bit. They're kinda detached. They use that as a weapon. It's like that Ben Folds line of fighting the battle of who could care less.
Right.

Points for quoting Ben Folds. I didn't even mention the five.
Did you know that there were only ever three people in the Five?

That's the kind of shit we're up against, man. Ben Folds Five and there's only three of them. Thanks a lot. I need that over the holidays. Not related: You gonna get liquored up for the holidays?
I'm guessing no.

Matt, take it easy this year. Do everybody a favor, alright? Please.
I have no idea what to say to that.

What you can say is, "No, thank you, I've had enough." How about saying that every once in a while? [Points out the window.] Hey, was that Tim Gunn?
Where?

You know, the fashion guy. He has that show. Gunning for Fashion, I think it's called. I'm sorry, I'm so jittery from the coffee. I feel like I'm ready to jump out the window.




This article is from the April issue of Radar Magazine. For a risk-free issue, click here

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