Playing a guy who was the good luck charm to single women who were looking for a serious relationship meant that Dane Cook had the opportunity to have a little fun with an assortment of actresses in some rowdy sex scenes. “The sex scenes were interesting because we had to do a montage that people see in the film,” said Cook. “I think one of the wildest montages sexual romp in that arena. It is weird. I mean, doing one love scene is awkward enough with a team of union guys standing around, but there was certainly a challenge there. When you’re doing scenes like that and you’re scantily clad, you’re basically wearing these little tiny felt bathing suits so no strings can be seen, so you’re basically wearing Kermit the Frog flesh. So it was Looney Tunes on the set doing those scenes. But again, once you see how it all comes together, then it’s not so bad at the end of the day. You won’t be blushing, hopefully.”
Cook can point out one particular scene he had a great time filming. “There’s a sex scene with Eleanor Skepple is her name,” revealed Cook. “A woman that I have to test the curse out on to see if truly I have the blessing or curse, depending on who you are, to make all women find their soul mate after they bed me down. And me and Mark had quite a good time with setting up that scene. I don’t want to give anything away, but it was a lot of fun.”
Not only does Cook share the screen with a batch of human co-stars, he also has screen time with some very adorable – and popular – critters. Good Luck Chuck continues the trend of penguins in films. “The penguins we had, because we had five, then they used CGI and they made it into a thousand penguins; but the five that we worked with – I almost likened them to like puppies,” said Cook. “They were very friendly. Granted, to be very direct, much like horses, they don’t really think about when they’re going to poo. They just kind of do their business. But I found them to be… They weren’t persnickety at all. They were very smart and fun to play with.”
In fact, Cook even had a favorite penguin. “The one that was really smartest, his name was Lekkers. He was cool. He would dive when you tell him to, and he was quite entertaining on those long, boring set ups when you’re sitting for two hours on a fake Sea World mock set.”
Cook’s been mixing things up by throwing in a dramatic role or two amongst the comedies, while trying not to neglect his stand-up work. Although he doesn’t actively seek out dramas, he’s always looking for a good script that’s going to challenge him. “I definitely am not going to kick a dramatic script out of bed, so to speak,” joked Cook. “I’m interested in doing everything and anything that I can to squeeze that creativity out of my brain. I guess I’m sort of a performance rat. That’s what I want to do. I love being on stage. If I’m not on a set, if I’m at home, I’m usually in my office editing or reconstructing my website or whatever it may be. I just love putting creativity into a performance, so if the right script comes along and I certainly am reading comedies and dramas now, then I’m ready willing and able to give it a shot. Hopefully something that challenges me and scares me a little bit. There’s always going to be comedy there and I look forward to doing many more.”
Speaking of comedy, Cook holds Steve Carell in high esteem. When asked who was the coolest actor and/or comedian he’s worked with thus far, the answer came quickly: Steve Carell. “You know, I did a movie with Steve Carell and that comes out in October called Dan in Real Life. It was myself, Steve Carell, and Juliette Binoche. I played brothers with Steve and we’re in a bit of a love triangle with Juliette Binoche. We both love the same woman. And I was such a fan of Steve’s, even The Daily Show and things like that, but when I finally knew that I was going to be brothers with him, I just…comedically, I didn’t even want to talk to him about comedy. You don’t even want to get into somebody’s head because you’re so kind of amazed at their approach. But seeing him do drama with me in scenes, and seeing him then switch it up and do some scenes comedic, I had a howl with Carell. I hope that people enjoy that movie as well when it comes out. But for me personally, just kind of as a fan, it was the downtime getting to know him a little bit between scenes that was very memorable.”
Fans of Cook’s style of comedy should be happy to note he’ll be back on the standup circuit soon. “I’m in Boston currently filming with Kate Hudson on Bachelor No. 2. Kate, myself and Alec Baldwin wrap on October 15th, and then I’m putting together a massive comedy tour that will coincide with my new comedy CD’s release. So look for new dates right around November, and I hope to hit maybe 18, 20, 25 cities. We’re putting it all together right now. 17 years later, stand-up comedy is just as crucial. It’s my nutrition; I adore it. It’s glamorous to me to this day, the idea of standing on stage without anybody editing, without any standards of practice, I can say what’s on my mind directly to people for the purpose of laughter. So more than you know, I’m getting back into it and coming back full force.”
