Most people still associate Patrick Warburton with his recurring role on Seinfeld as David Puddy. But these days, Warburton can be heard on Fox's Family Guy, where he voices Joe Swanson, the show's paraplegic cop, and seen on CBS's mid-season sitcom Rules of Engagement, where the square-jawed actor matches his co-star David Spade laugh-for-laugh. Tonight, Rules premieres its fourth season, which Warburton eagerly discussed with Movieline last week.
How excited are you for Rules of Engagement to finally be back on the air?
Very. I think it is by far our best season yet and I feel like the show has progressed really well. With the addition of Adhir Kalyan to the show, it's the perfect cast now.
You've already taped the entire fourth season. Do you think those 13 episodes could finally get Rules the full-season pick-up that fans think it deserves?
We've deserved it in the past and we haven't gotten it but the show's even better now so I feel like we've done all we can.
What can you tell us about the baby arc this season between Jeff and Audrey?
In the season finale, Jaime Pressly is onboard as a prospective surrogate mother and it looks like she would be with us next season if our characters decide to do this.
Other series have jumped the shark once a baby has been added into the equation, and I read that you were hesitant for the couple to expand their family for that reason. Has your opinion changed? Are you confident in this storyline?
They have and that's why I don't think Megyn [Price] or I have been real proponents of it but this is a couple that has always wanted a child and the old-fashioned way doesn't work for them. They have gone to therapists and doctors so even though I am not entirely onboard for Jeff and Audrey to have a baby, I love the idea of bringing Jaime on the series next year. The interactions between Jeff, Audrey and [Pressley] were so much fun when we did the finale. I can only imagine how fun it would be to do a whole season with her. But once Jeff and Audrey actually get the baby, I don't know what they'll do with it -- hopefully just put it in daycare every day so the show doesn't change that much. [Laughs]
What kind of character does Jaime Pressly play?
You get a sense that she might be a little neurotic. Jeff and Audrey have an interesting interviewing process which seems to go awry but they salvage it at the very end. There's some good conflict there.
You and David Spade have great chemistry on-set and your exchanges are always my favorite moments on the show. I know you both worked on The Emperor's New Groove but had you met before?
Well, we never recorded together for that movie. The first time I think I ever met him was the premiere of The Emperor's New Groove. I have always been a fan of his. I enjoy working with him and David's a funny, charming guy. He wasn't an original cast member. After we shot the pilot, they were trying to figure out what to do with the show and we ended up bringing David onboard. So we were all thrilled. I have always felt that the cast had great chemistry. But I also felt throughout our first three seasons that there have been many things that needed to get fixed and this is the first year where everything just feels perfect. The writing was great this year. All the episodes worked. Our new cast member, Adhir Kalyan, was a great addition. So the cast is just better rounded now with six members as opposed to five.
Even though Jeff and Puddy are very different characters, they sometimes have the same dry, deadpan delivery. Is that delivery something that you developed in acting classes or is that an ability you've always had?
I don't know where I picked that up. I definitely see Jeff as being a more multifaceted character than Puddy. Puddy was kind of an odd bird there. You never got much from that guy. He popped in and out and seemed to operate on somewhat of a very base level. That delivery, I guess, was a specific choice I made when I went in to read for the role of Puddy. How he would talk, how he would say things, I figured it would be a little off-balance, a little different delivery than say, a typical New York City mechanic. When I went in to read for that part, there were a lot of guys auditioning who looked like real mechanics, so I figured I wouldn't get the role. It's hard for me to explain but when I looked at the dialogue for Puddy and saw, "Yeah, that's right," I decided to run the words together, "Yeahthat'sright." It all just made sense to me and I am sure my success in that audition and that role has affected other choices I have made with other characters I have done. But I don't think Jeff is really like Puddy except that they are both your typical alpha males.
You're also still working on Family Guy. Does that leave you time to audition for other projects?
Well, I have time to play golf during the week because shooting the average half-hour television episode takes about five hours a day. And Wednesdays are just an hour since that is when we do our table reads. My voiceover work on Family Guy is quick. What takes time is for me to drive out from Ventura County to the middle of LA to record. Once I am in the door, I am in there from a half hour to an hour. Seth [MacFarlane] just works really fast.
Your voice is so distinct and has led to an impressive voiceover resume. How much of your talent do you see as your voice?
Let's be careful when we use the "talent" word. I don't mean to sound overly self-deprecating but I love the fact that I have been fortunate enough to do a lot of cartoon work. Talented voice actors can actually sing, which I can't do or I don't do. Can I possibly train my voice? Is that something I can do? Maybe. I guess that's been a big part of my career for the last ten years. The final season of Seinfeld is when I expressed an interest in doing voiceover work. Disney was doing The Emperor's New Groove and then later I worked on the Buzz Lightyear TV series. Fortunately, both of those jobs worked out and I have gotten to do a lot of stuff with Disney, which to me is really special. I grew up in Orange County, going to Disney as a kid. I have 4 children and I still love Disneyland and so I love doing the cartoons. It's a great way to supplement the income and potentially be able to put four kids through college.
Do you have any ideas kicking around in your head for television shows or projects you would like to put into motion?
Yeah, there a few things but now there is this Facebook poker game that I am kind of addicted to. I am like a dog -- just give me something I am attracted to and the next thing you know I lose focus. One of these days I might grab that computer accessory that verbally types in whatever you have to say, I might get some creative writing done. I always end up dropping the ball on that usually.
You mentioned your 4 kids earlier. How much of your career right now is motivated from creativity and how much is motivated from wanting to support them?
It's great to have a job that you enjoy and you I still say, "Wow, I can't believe this is my job." Boy, did I luck out. I didn't do well in college and you go through those years in high school and then college thinking, "I have to make a living" and other times thinking, "I am not going to be able to transfer into a worthwhile university. I am just a failure. How could this acting thing possibly work out?" It's still a bit astonishing to me as I look back and think about how horribly things could have turned out. I am sure I could have gotten a job, I could have fared well doing something else possibly, but it's hard to believe that you could have this kind of fun and still provide a decent living for a family of six.