Justin Kirk on Terry Gilliam, Weeds and Networking at the Playboy Mansion

Over the course of six seasons on Weeds, Justin Kirk has portrayed one of the most colorful characters on television. As Andy Botwin, the crafty partner-in-crime/brother-in-law/love interest to Mary-Louise Parker's anti-heroine on the Showtime series, Kirk has enrolled in rabbinical school, smuggled Mexicans across the border, impersonated his dead brother to access a bank account, burned nearly $200,000 on vintage arcade games, dated an OB-GYN played by Alanis Morissette and baptized a trailer park resident in an inflatable pool. And thanks to a recent renewal by Showtime, Andy Botwin will live to explore other absurd scenarios during a seventh season next year.

Recently though, the actor, who earned an Emmy nomination for his work in Angels in America, co-starred with David Arquette in Terry Gilliam's short film The Legend of Hallowdega. Part mystery and part NASCAR mockumentary, Kirk stars as the host of a Mythbusters-like series, who attempts to solve several legends surrounding the Talladega Raceway. In anticipation of the hilarious film -- which you can now watch here -- Kirk phoned Movieline last week to discuss his own Talladega experience, remember his favorite episode of Weeds and recall that one fruitful trip to the Playboy mansion.

Describe The Legend of Hallowdega for people who maybe haven't heard of it yet.

It's sort of a faux episode of a show that I am the host of called The World of the Unexplained in which I go around the world and try to solve mysteries. I might be dating myself here, but it's sort of like Leonard Nimroy's In Search Of. I am this guy who fancies himself a real adventurer even though he is really kind of a dumb ass. And that is where we start. The particular episode that we shot was about uncovering the mysteries of the Talladega racetrack, where there have been a lot of crashes over the years. That part is actually based in some sort of truth.

Were you drawn to the project in any part because you are a fan of NASCAR?

No. I was in Detroit shooting Amy Heckerling's movie Vamps and on the last day, my manager called me and said "I have this weird thing with Terry Gilliam." I said, "Let's do it." So we went down to Alabama and stayed in a hotel off the interstate and shot for a few days on the racetrack. It was kind of cool.

And it looked like you had the chance to interact with real racecar drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Darrell Waltrip?

No, that was all pretend. They put me in front of a green screen and I just sort of nodded meaningfully, as if I was listening to them talk.

The illusion is shattered. Talladega Nights perpetuates the stereotype about NASCAR fans. Did you have the chance to interact with any NASCAR fans while you were down there?

Wait, there is a stereotype? No, we were shooting on an empty Talladega racetrack so I actually didn't interact with any NASCAR folks at all. But I loved everyone down there.

I was hoping for some story about how you met NASCAR fans and they were really enlightened and educated.

Let's go with that. I like that angle.

Did you believe any of the NASCAR legends about ghosts you heard while down there?

I believe anything that anyone tells me. I have found that that is the best way to go through life. When I was younger, I used to be more skeptical but then I found out that most things were true. So I believe tabloids. I believe legends. I believe anything anyone tells me.

What did you take away from your experience working with Terry Gilliam?

Well, what I took away from the experience was an Indiana Jones-style fedora that my character wore in the movie. On the last day Terry did a little artwork on it and gave it to me. So I took that away.

What kind of artwork?

I can't tell you that.

Fair enough, do you mind talking about Weeds for a little?

I would love that.

Weeds was just picked up for a seventh season. Do you think that because the Botwins have managed to escape the law relatively -- if not psychologically -- unscathed for six seasons now, the Weeds world has become less realistic?

<span

class="pullquote right">I would rather be part of something that is entertaining than realistic. The thing that makes it good for us is that the writers change up the show every couple of years. I think if we were still sitting around Agrestic, it would be pretty frustrating for viewers at home to be able to keep watching. So the fact that it becomes a new show every couple of years is definitely a plus, at least for the actors.

You and Kevin Nealon have such great chemistry. Are all of Andy and Doug's interactions scripted for the most part or do you guys improv?

Kevin definitely comes from a background where he is comfortable improvising. I always prefer a great scene on the page rather than throwing in my own stupid two cents but we pretty much go with what's on the page. Kevin and I get along really well so our scenes are always fun to do.

Andy has been on so many strange adventures on the show. What has been your favorite?

Ahhh, what is my favorite adventure for Andy? I will say this. When I was a fetish porn star back in season three I think, that was just a fun day at work. The writer of that episode had become a very good friend of mine, as was the director. So I was just dressing up in all of these porn archetype outfits and that was so cool. It was just a day when we sort of looked around and thought, "Here we are just having a good time with our friends and it's going to be on TV."

Do you want to see Nancy and Andy consummate their relationship or do you think that would be the end of the series?

Consummate is really the key word. I like the story. I like the dynamic of their relationship that is explored over the seasons. I don't know if it would be the best idea for them to actually get it on but I stopped saying "this would be good" or "this wouldn't be good" on Weeds a long time ago.

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