G: If you and I got in a fight right now, who would win and why?
AA: Probably you because we are at the W Hotel, you are a white man and they would see my big black ass … actually you know what, I would win because it’s Super Bowl weekend, and then they see this little white man messin’ with this big black man in the lobby of a hotel. They would figure the little white man is the troublemaker because the NFL is in town … I’d whoop your ass, though.
G: You have a lot of projects coming up. What project are you the most excited about?
AA: Really, man, I am the most excited about the one that just dropped, honestly because I just finished my 17th movie. Seven of those 14 movies have debuted at No. 1. “”Kangaroo Jack”” is the first movie that I was the star of that debuted at No. 1, so “”Kangaroo Jack”” is my baby right now. All the other films, I may have been the No. 3 guy, but “”Kangaroo Jack”” is one where people actually came to see it because I was in it, so “”Kangaroo Jack”” is No. 1 for me right now.
G: Who do you look to for inspiration?
AA: I don’t really necessarily look to anyone for inspiration with my work, but people whose work I respect. I will just go down the list: Robin Williams, Robin Harris, Tom Hanks, Eddie Murphy, James Earl Jones. A lot of people forget that Tom Hanks started out as a comedic actor — “”Bosom Buddies,”” “”Big”” and some of those early films — but he is is also a great actor who has range that started out in the comedy world. Robin Williams is the same. I aspire for greatness; whether or not I reach it is another story, but I am gonna die trying.
G: Do you want to move into genres other than pure comedy?
AA: I am glad you asked that question, because a lot of people mistake me for a comedian, and I take that as a compliment because those are two different worlds: the comedy world and what I do as an actor or comedic actor. I have trained at this since I was 9 years old. I mean, comedy is something that comes second nature to me, that is who I am, that is in my being, but I am 32 years old. I have a lot more to offer than just Anthony Anderson, the comedic actor. I went to a high school for the performing arts, I went to Howard University, I got accepted to UCLA on a talent scholarship. Before I get typecast and pigeon-holed as a funny guy, which I don’t mind — it’s a great gig and it pays my bills — but there is more to me than just that. Eventually, it is important to me that people will see that I am just not one note. Not to say that is what I think I have been in these 17 films; they are all different characters in the same vein.
G: You work with rappers acting all day long — do you have any desire to rap?
AA: HAHA … you know what, man, I don’t, but every now and then, when I hear a hot beat, I am like, wow, I might sound good on top of that shit. I definitely have a respect for what rappers do. I have a respect for those who have a respect for my craft. Look at what Cube has done. He has created more opportunities for actors as a rapper than a lot of people in the industry have. I’m on their side. I’m a product of hip-hop; that’s my generation.
G: What is more challenging for you, working with an imaginary kangaroo or being a father?
AA: Aha! Oh, being a father man; my daughter is 7, and my son is 3. With an imaginary kangaroo, I only have to do so much. Being a father, I have to pretend, I have to create, I have to caretake and I have to nurture. But it’s a challenge that I welcome and I look forward to. My children are my lineage. They are my record to the world, to let the world know that I was here. That kangaroo was fun — we worked with a CGI kangaroo, we worked with a puppet kangaroo, where a puppeteer literally shoved his whole arm up the puppet’s ass and manipulated him. And we worked with a real kangaroo … you know, real kangaroos are just like deer on crack. So we nicknamed it Whitney-roo. Here comes Whitney-roo. Show me a receipt! That’s always funny to me.
G: Five words about upcoming film “”Cradle 2 the Grave.””
AA: Exciting, sexy, adventurous, fun, suspense.
G: Give me four words to describe Anthony Anderson.
AA: Funny, talented, caring, cocky.
G: Let’s do some word association: BOOYA.
AA: HAHA. The first thing that came to mind was tribe. HAHA, there it is.
G: You met your wife before you were a “”star.””
AA: I met her at Howard University, and I knew she was the one because she let me get it on the first night. Thirteen years; it’s been the longest one-night stand of my life, but I love her.
G: What is the best movie you have seen this year?
AA: “”Kangaroo Jack.”” One movie I must see: “”Rabbit Proof Fence.”” It’s the story of aboriginal people that were taken from their homes, put in white homes and told that their parents were dead. They are called the stolen generation. I worked with one of these guys on “”Kangaroo Jack.”” His name is David Numjabaro. His aboriginal name means blackheaded python who sits atop the rock in the sun. All the aboriginal people want is an apology, but the Australian government won’t apologize because then they would have to admit that it happened. I am pretty sure that will be the best movie I have seen.
G: Tell me about your TV series?
AA: It is called “”All About the Andersons.”” Loosely based on my life — you know, it is the age-old story. A struggling actor moves home with his son. It’s really about what I went through when I came home from college. After a year or so of being at home, my father took the phone jacks out of the house and put a pay phone in the living room, he put a pay washer and dryer in the garage, he told me that I had to buy my own food. Once I did that, he started putting padlocks on all the refrigerators. That’s real shit, and the show is peppered with that. It is really about the relationship between the father and son. It will be on the WB fall schedule this year.
