Jack McBrayer On Kenneth The Page, Alec Baldwin And Mariah
WHEN Jack McBrayer began pursuing an acting career, the first quality that agents and casting directors noticed was not his quick wit, his excitable nature or his youthful countenance, which seems not to have aged a day since he left Conyers, Ga., to attend college. It was his accent, a Southern-fried drawl that would curl the toes of Tennessee Williams.
That was never a good thing.
"The first words out of their mouths would be, 'Can you lose the accent?' " Mr. McBrayer, 34, recalled in a recent interview. "And, unfortunately, I can, but it sounds like I'm making fun of people."
Yet as Mr. McBrayer honed his skills in the improvisational comedy theaters of Chicago, he realized there was no reason his inflection should impede his career. "We could be anyone and say anything," he said, and he became more comfortable playing other characters or "just playing a heightened version of myself."
And what would a heightened version of Mr. McBrayer look like? "Well," he said, "it's pretty much Kenneth the Page. "
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New York Times | DAVE ITZKOFF | April 6, 2008 09:24 AM