Derek Wilson

It was recently announced that, in the near future, the world will be getting more “Future Man.” With a second season of the whacky time traveling series now on the horizon, we decided to revisit the Hulu comedy, and in doing so, make the show’s card carrying bro our very own wingman.

Kevin Caliber, a United States Marine Corps veteran who is also a fitness model and stuntman, stars in the series as Blaze, the 80s BFF of Derek Wilson’s Wolf. (Check out our interview with Wilson here.)

We recently sat down with Caliber to discuss his unexpected journey with the character, menacing neon outfits, and why fans would be lining up for an 80s style Wolf and Blaze sitcom.

TrunkSpace: “Future Man” is an extremely unique show that strikes a unique tone. Was it also unique for you in terms of the experience?
Caliber: Yeah. It’s one of those projects that as you read the script, you had no idea where it was going. Not to say that with every show you could tell that, but a lot of the times, whenever you read scripts, you kind of have an idea of where it’s going. You have an idea of the character developments. “Future Man” was one of those that, as you read it and as it goes along, they take it to places that you didn’t expect because they’re going to the far reaches of their imagination to get there.

TrunkSpace: And comedy must be so hard to read on the page, too, because unless you’re in the room with the creative team, it’s difficult to fully absorb tone, right?
Caliber: Absolutely. It was not until the first day on set because for me, I did episode 9 without doing a table read. They brought me right onto the set and I had no idea exactly what they were going for. In the script it says something like, “Oh, a couple of menacing guys come up,” and then we see the outfits that we’re wearing. It’s hard to be intimidating wearing shorty short hot pink shorts. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: Well, menacing in the 80s, right? (Laughter)
Caliber: (Laughter) Right. 80s tough guys.

Whenever I came back for the next episode, I went in for the table read, and that was the first time that we really get the chemistry of everybody saying it aloud, and you get the tone of the story as a whole, and now you’re kind of seeing where it’s going. So you see where the comedy is, and then even between the table read and whenever it does come to shooting it a couple weeks later, the script has changed because, obviously, they make changes all the way up until being on set. And they were such a funny comedy team to work with, that they would come to me between takes and give me different things to say. You would hear a laugh come from off-camera and I’d go, “Okay, I guess that was a good one.”

You’re always curious to see what they’re going to use because I’ve improvised before on sets, but that one, it wasn’t so much me improv’ing but them kind of improv’ing what I was doing and then making it up on the spot. I’ve never had a chance to work with a group like that.

TrunkSpace: In comedy, sometimes working on the fly is where the best material comes from because it’s a springboard for instantaneous laughter, which signals if something is working or not.
Caliber: Absolutely, and as long as you don’t fall victim to strictly trying to make the people in the room laugh… that’s when you kind of can get meta, and now you’re just trying to make each other laugh as opposed to what will translate.

I hear about some of these methods of the editing process that they go through with these tests (screenings) and then they show you the same movie or the same scene eight different ways because they filmed it every which way, just to see how crowds react to it. Well, what’s making the people in LA laugh doesn’t necessarily make…

I’m from Missouri so I go back to Missouri and I’m cracking jokes and people have no idea what I’m talking about because I’m speaking in LA language.

TrunkSpace: You have to go back to Missouri in your menacing “Future Man” outfit. (Laughter)
Caliber: (Laughter) Yeah, that will really throw everybody off.

I was an athlete and a little bit of tough guy growing up – just a good ol’ boy from Missouri, and then I joined the Marine Corps. I was just a down and dirty type of guy. Now some of the stuff that people see me in, and how I end up getting dressed, they’re like, “Whoa, when did you become such a little pretty boy?” And I’m like, “No, I’m still the same guy!” (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: So when Blaze first came into your life, did you know he would be a recurring character or did that sort of grow as the episodes went on?
Caliber: I did not know. Originally I thought it was a standalone from just that one episode. Even going into the audition, it was strictly as a day player, and then getting on set and working and then getting to know the writers… Kyle (Hunter) and Ariel (Shaffir) were there every day… I got the call again and then again. They were like, “I want to add you to this, can you do that?” I was on set, sitting behind the producers’ row, and one of the producers turns around and gives me a look. He says, “Hey, you got one more episode?” I was like, “Of course! I’m here for you! Add me to every one. I love this!”

TrunkSpace: What’s cool about that is that Blaze probably wasn’t defined as a character when you first read for him, but he grew into his own as you were working on him.
Caliber: Absolutely, and it wasn’t until I got the script for the “Beyond the TruffleDome” episode that you actually really get to know Blaze. And as I’m reading it – I was sitting on my couch with my girlfriend reading it – and I’m really excited. And then, spoiler alert here, as I’m reading it, I’m like “Oh my God, I’m a prostitute!” (Laughter) “Oh my God, I’m a drug addict!” (Laughter) “Oh my God, I can’t read!” (Laughter) “Oh my God, I’m homeless!” (Laughter)

It was just taking it to the next level, and that’s what made me laugh so much. Whenever I told anybody about it I was like, “It’s the 80s and we end up becoming coke heads because that’s what the 80s were,” and people would be like, “Aw, man, so they must have made you up to really look bad and really strung out?” And I’m like, “Oh no, they made me look gorgeous!” (Laughter) I’m like this prostitute druggie, but I’m still rocking supermodel status.

TrunkSpace: You kept it together. That’s what they did in the 80s!
Caliber: (Laughter) Yeah, exactly. I was Wall Street!

TrunkSpace: The 1980s was the era of the sitcom, and after watching Blaze and Wolf together, all we could think of was that a spinoff sitcom needs to happen!
Caliber: Oh my God! I can’t help but go down that rabbit hole every now and again. Whenever I get tagged in something on social media, on Reddit, on Twitter and Instagram, anytime that something is posted, that seems to be a recurring thing that sticks out to me. Every time I get the, “We need more of this! You glazed over it too quick! What happened in those years?”

I love all of the characters. Josh (Hutcherson) did an amazing job carrying the show. He was so fun and he was one of those guys that just laughed about everything along the way. He still couldn’t believe what they were having him do, and he was one of the producers on it, but you can tell he was all-in. And then of course, with Tiger and Wolf just killing it. But the consensus seems to be that everybody really loves Wolf, and I’m so happy for Derek. He was such a good sport. Such a cool guy. He brought it. He really brought that character to life in a way that was so unique and fun while still being… his innocence. He played it so well. I’m really happy that Wolf was the one that really kind of stood out to so many people.

TrunkSpace: Well, and Wolf couldn’t be Wolf without having a bro in his life like Blaze. Safe to say that everybody needs a bro like Blaze in their lives?
Caliber: Oh, absolutely!

Catch up on season 1 of “Future Man” on Hulu and look for season 2 later this year.

Weird gets a bum rap.

In high school, individuals labeled weird are often cast out, but years later, go on to do great things with their lives.

A lot of food that kids call weird when they’re just beginning to discover their taste buds end up becoming the sweet and savory staples of their adulthood diet.

And television shows far left of the procedural center may not be embraced by the “mainstream,” but it’s those series that go on to become the groundbreaking trendsetters of tomorrow.

One of those weird but wonderful programs is Hulu’s “Future Man,” a sci-fi/comedy mashup that follows a janitor’s journey to save the world. Executive produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the series strikes a very unique tone, but it’s star Derek Wilson, who plays Wolf, that makes us howl in delight. Future Man is not out of Hulu so be sure to check it out if you’re looking for a new series to watch. If you’re not from the US, you can still watch hulu nz if you use a VPN. There’s plenty of information online on how to do this.

Weird has never been so entertaining.

We recently sat down with Wilson to discuss portraying the most “badass warrior in the history of the planet,” why it took some time to get comfortable in Wolf’s boots, and how airing on a streaming platform meant getting away with far more than they ever thought possible.

TrunkSpace: Here’s what we love about “Future Man.” A promo exists where it says, and I quote, “It’s never too early to talk to your janitor about herpes.” That’s not a promo you’d see a lot of series rolling out.
Wilson: (Laughter) Right. Yeah, it’s pretty specific I guess, and random at the same time.

TrunkSpace: What first drew you to the series? Was it the tone? The premise? Something else entirely?
Wilson: It was, I think, the character, even though I didn’t really fully know what we were going to do with it. Evan Goldberg called me when I was shooting “Preacher” for them and said, “We’re about to shoot a pilot. You’ve got a couple weeks off from ‘Preacher.’ The character is the most badass warrior in the history of the planet. He lives in a sewer, and he eats garbage and rats, and oh, he’s from a video game.” I was like, “Yeah, that’s cool. Let’s do that.”

I didn’t know the tone. I didn’t know really what it was. I got the script, and I thought it was funny, but didn’t really put it all together. Even the first night of shooting, Seth (Rogen) came up to me and was like, “It’s a crazy character. Let’s just kind of rehearse in front of the camera and figure this out. We don’t really know either, so let’s just figure it out.” There’s a couple scenes in the pilot where it’s just trying to figure out something, the tone of it, and who this character is, and how far we can go.

Then when we went to series, it continued to develop. Even the first few episodes of the series, we’re still trying to figure out the tone. We had great moments in those first few episodes, and they’re good episodes, but we really started to find the tone and find our groove, as a whole – the writers’ room, the cast, everybody – in about the fourth episode, I think, which is pretty normal for a show. But this one especially, it’s just so… I mean, it’s a big swing.

TrunkSpace: Like you said, finding the point of view of a series can take some time, especially when you’re trying to have as unique a POV as “Future Man.”
Wilson: Yeah, you just have to dive in. I would come home from work shooting those first few episodes and talk to my girlfriend like, “Man, I don’t know what I’m doing here.” The character, it’s all fish out of water, so it always feels awkward. You don’t know if you’re nailing it or what. But it ends up, it just kind of works, especially for where the character starts to go about halfway through the season, and through the end. You kind of have to have that setup to go there.

TrunkSpace: Is there pressure involved playing, as you put it, the “most badass warrior in the history of the planet?”
Wilson: The three months before we started shooting, I definitely was in the gym as much as possible. (Laughter) During the pilot, my body was wrecked from doing all the fight training, because I just wasn’t used to that. I would go home and take Epsom salt baths every night. I was wrecked. I knew I had to be in good shape for this, because we have a great stunt team, but we do learn it all. We do as much as we can. I was in better shape by the time we got to Episode 2, which was shot a year after the pilot, because I had to be.

TrunkSpace: Was it one of those moments where you start to realize that your body has muscles in places that you didn’t know it had muscles, simply because new areas are sore? (Laughter)
Wilson: That’s right. I remember during the pilot, my hip flexors were so sore, because I was doing so many kicks, which I don’t do any sort of martial arts or anything. I’ve since learned the importance of knowing how to unlock your hip flexors to prevent soreness and injury which was something I hadn’t thought about before. So yeah, little muscles that I never really thought about that much, but it was good. It was good prep.

TrunkSpace: For an actor, was it a bit of a best case scenario to be working on “Preacher” and then have the creative team from that instantly think of you for this? That speaks volumes for that work you were doing.
Wilson: Yeah, it was amazing. I was in my house in Albuquerque shooting “Preacher.” It was a crazy day, because I still needed to make a little self tape to show to the people at Hulu, who didn’t know who I was. I was having technical difficulties. It was a really stressful day. Evan was like, “You gotta get me this tape in 45 minutes.” Three hours later, my internet is down, and I’m scrambling. He was calling me like, “Dude, you gotta get it to me. You gotta get it to me.” But it worked out, and I got it to him. (Laughter)

Two days later I was on set shooting this thing. It was crazy. Then I went back and finished “Preacher” that season, so it was nuts.

TrunkSpace: Is shooting a series for Hulu similar to shooting a series for a network? Is it paced the same?
Wilson: The pace of it was crazy, just because the production is huge. We shoot two episodes in 10 days. I know it’s only half hour episodes, but if you’ve seen the show, it’s a large production. People have said, “It’s got this cool low budget look.” Well, it takes a big budget to achieve that, and a lot of time. We were shooting really long days. But also, the big difference I noticed was the presence of the Standards & Practices was not as present on this, because it’s a streaming platform. We got away with a lot. They just kept saying nothing as we did the most outrageous things. Our scripts were turned in and the writers were like, “Oh, there’s no way they’re going to let us do that.” Then they’d just never say anything.

I know there were some nerves about the James Cameron episode. Even though I just watched it, and it… it’s not a send up of James Cameron. I really think it’s a tribute. It’s funny, but I think it’s very honorable. But maybe I’m just trying to be nice. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: So is it safe to say that “Future Man” couldn’t exist in its current form on a network, even cable?
Wilson: I can’t imagine. I really can’t imagine it. Yeah, I can’t imagine it anywhere else to be honest.

It’s just the right time for something like this. The right time and the right place.

Season 1 of “Future Man” is available now on Hulu.