Bill Engvall: Hawthorne and Comedy

Bill Engvall said it plainly: "I think that being a comedian made it much easier for me to transition into this role, because I think to do drama you h…" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

Comedian Bill Engvall gets serious and plays a cop on the hit TNT show Hawthorne alongside Jada Pinkett Smith and Marc Anthony. Premier Guide Miami recently caught up with Bill where he told us of his experience playing this role and working with Jada Pinkett Smith — who he says he is a big fan of. He also brought us up to date with other projects he is currently working on.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Hawthorne is now in its third season — what is the show about?

BILL ENGVALL: Jada Pinkett Smith is the star of the show who plays Christina. Last season she got beat up in the parking garage and lost her baby. So now I am challenged with this character Jimmy Dupree — an internal affairs cop brought on to help Marc Anthony's character Nick Renata investigate this beating. Through the three episodes that I am doing, it takes a lot of twists and turns and I think in the end people are going to be a little shocked about how I came out. This guy that I play is like a little southern boy cop who is your buddy, takes you out for a beer, you're not in trouble — I just need to find out some information — and then the next thing you know I am putting you in jail.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: As a comedian, how was it playing a cop — a more serious role?

BILL ENGVALL: It was really fun. I think that being a comedian made it much easier for me to transition into this role, because I think to do drama you have to be able to do comedy as well and vice versa. This is what I brought to this character — because he has a real sense of humor but there is a real dark side to this guy. I think that's what makes him more interesting because he has layers to him.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: How was your experience working with Jada Pinkett Smith, Marc Anthony, and the rest of the cast?

BILL ENGVALL: Think about how great that would be and then make that ten times. It was just so wonderful. They welcomed me from the minute I walked on that set. There was no 'oh you are a comedian so I don't know if you can act.' They really helped me out and it made it much easier for me to make that adjustment from being the funny guy to being the dark side cop.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Did you ever watch the show before accepting the role?

BILL ENGVALL: Oh yes, I am a Jada Pinkett Smith fan. I like shows that you don't see coming. I think the problem with television today is that things are too predictable. They don't give the viewer a chance to wonder a little bit, and that is what I like about the writing of this show. Even though it is set in a hospital it's not really a hospital show. It is really well written and you can have so much fun with it.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: How did you land the guest starring role?

BILL ENGVALL: I did an episode of Leverage last year where I played a bad guy, and I guess they saw that I could do drama. So they called and said they had this role they wanted me to do. And I said okay, I'm in. It started out as a one-shot and then it turned into three shows, which was great. I got to flush this guy out a little bit more.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Can we expect to see you taking on more serious roles?

BILL ENGVALL: I hope so — from your mouth to God's ears. I would love to do my own drama series or get cast in a great show like this.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Bring us up to date with what is going on with your comedy.

BILL ENGVALL: I am still doing my standup and I am still touring currently. I am also hosting a game show on Lingo and I just finished filming a Hallmark movie up in Vancouver. Everything is great in my world — I am staying busy, which is good.

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