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Malcolm in the Middle

The Featured Presentation

Chris Masterson

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Masterson in Mystic Cosmic Patrol

Welcome to the fifth installment of our MYSTIC COSMIC PATROL WEEK ongoing feature!

Debuting today at Funny or Die, “Mystic Cosmic Patrol” is a nostalgic sitcom romp of mystical proportions. Created as an homage to kid-friendly shows like “Power Rangers” and “Ultraman,” the fast-paced webisodes combine monsters and comedic mayhem to create a parody worth every bingeable minute.

We recently sat down with series star Chris Masterson to discuss the high cost of red, embracing the more affordable blue, and reacting to a puke-inducing toilet.

TrunkSpace: What personality traits are required to lead the Mystic Cosmic Patrol? And why do most leaders of monster-fighting groups wear red?
Masterson: An inflated ego and a lack of awareness on how others view your actions. Well, this leader wears blue, but only because red was more expensive and Jack is nothing if not thrifty.

TrunkSpace: How did you become involved in the project and what drew you to it?
Masterson: The concept was brought to me by our executive producer, Tommy Meyer-Klipsch. I loved the concept of a “Power Rangers” type of a show starring six people with a mean IQ of 108, being tasked with defending Earth from evil space robots.

TrunkSpace: You’re also serving as producer on the series. What are your ultimate goals for it? Do you have a network home in mind that you believe best serves the project?
Masterson: I just want people who are fans of the genre to see it. Funny or Die has launched several of my favorite shows and characters so I’m pretty happy we found a home there.

TrunkSpace: You’re no stranger to comedy, but a lot of the humor you have delivered via previous roles was firmly rooted in reality. What was it like performing in a piece where anything, including a toilet creature named Potty Mouth, is possible?
Masterson: Pretty much the same for me. I think actors generally try to react realistically to whatever situation is presented to their characters, but from the point of view of the person they’re playing. In our case it’s through the eyes of a guy who’s pretty full of himself and is pretty certain he knows more than everyone else, but almost never does. And the world he’s in is just the world to him. The same way you or I might react to a neighbor’s dog getting loose and chasing us down the street is the way he’d react to being attacked by a puke-inducing toilet with arms, legs, and an attitude.

TrunkSpace: Flash forward a year from now and you’re walking the floor at a comic convention. You spot someone cosplaying as your “Mystic Cosmic Patrol” character. What goes through your mind?
Masterson: What the f@&k?!

TrunkSpace: It’s a great time for content creators, but more content also means that viewers are spreading themselves thin and DVRs are filling up with shows people mean to “get to eventually.” How does a show like “Mystic Cosmic Patrol” rise above the noise and find an audience?
Masterson: I hope we’ll have a pretty clear demo that’ll be sure to watch, regardless of what else is on because if you’re a fan of kaijū, the “Power Rangers,” and badly video’d 90s afternoon television (and if you have a sense of humor), you’re not gonna get much closer to that than us.

TrunkSpace: When do you feel the most energized and inspired as an actor? What is it that excites you about the craft?
Masterson: When it all starts coming together. When the various pieces that have been planned and rehearsed start to gel and I can tell it’s just starting to become something. That’s when I’m most excited to be doing it.

Masterson in Mystic Cosmic Patrol

TrunkSpace: Where are you the hardest on yourself as an actor?
Masterson: I’m never hard on myself as an actor. I generally give it all I have and when I feel I fell short, I think, “Ha, well that didn’t work out!”

TrunkSpace: You played Francis on “Malcolm in the Middle” for 151 episodes. If “Mystic Cosmic Patrol” gets picked up and finds the kind of success that enables it to stay on the air that long, would you be happy playing a character again for such an extended period of time?
Masterson: Absolutely.

TrunkSpace: Potty Mouth sets a nice table of villains to come. What other kind of villains would you like to see the blue patrol member lay the mystic cosmic smackdown on? It seems like it is an “anything you can imagine” situation, which leaves the door open for some character-creating fun.
Masterson: I’d like to see some sort of a human centipede inspired space robot that feeds off of Earthlings it appropriates into its “circle”. That or a giant walking Zoltar machine who shouts fortunes at people, which come true the next morning, but they’re always terrible, terrible fortunes…

“Mystic Cosmic Patrol” debuts today at Funny or Die.

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