Michael Roof on "XXX State of the Union" and "The Dukes of Hazzard"

Michael Roof on His Character’s Evolution from “XXX” to “ “XXX State of the Union:” Michael Roof takes on the role gadget man – similar to ‘Q’ in the James Bond franchise – in both “XXX” movies. Roof wanted his character to get in on the action in the first film, however that never happened. But apparently the filmmakers were listening to Roof’s requests. In the sequel, Roof gets to do much more than just come up with cool gadgets. “In the first movie I wanted to be the guy that got to go, that got to be on the mission and be a part of it. And this film, from the very beginning I get thrown into it. Any situation where it’s cool [for] you to throw a dork into it, it might be okay. I haven’t seen it. I’m looking forward to it,” said Roof.

On Stunts in “XXX State of the Union:” “We did a lot of our own stuff but the stunt men, they were nuts. They were really nuts.”

Define ‘Nuts’: “Well, explosions – they’d be like, ‘No, it’s cool,’ and a door would fly over their heads and they wouldn’t flinch. I’m like 50 yards away ducking behind a car, looking over a tank barrel. They’re ballsy dudes, man.”

New Gadgets in This Action-Packed Sequel: “A thing called the Glove. Electro-numatic suction. It doesn’t mean anything to you. Me either. It was dialogue on a page that I learned. But it’s a glove – not like Michael Jackson or anything. It’s cool.”

Comparing “XXX” to “XXX State of the Union: “This one doesn’t stop as soon as it starts. The first movie was cool – a lot of cool stunts – but the story was a lot different. This is a thriller more along the lines ‘Die Hard.’ You don’t know what’s going to happen. And then Sunny Mabrey and Nona Gaye and it’s just a great cast. Speedman, Dafoe, Xzibit…”

Ready for Another “XXX” Adventure: “As of now I’m back in the third one. We just have to see if people hate me. If they hate me, then they’ll probably kill me. I’ll be like, ‘Here’s your gadget,’ and they’ll shoot me in the face.”

Up Next – “The Dukes of Hazzard” with Jessica Simpson: “I play Dil Driscoll. I’m a bad guy. I’m a stereotypical, creepy, redneck idiot. Nothing like this character. Nothing like Toby.”

”Dukes” Marks Michael Roof’s First Role as a Bad Guy: “I’ve never played a bad guy before. But it’s a funny bad guy. Jay Chandrasekhar and the Super Trooper guys, they did the first draft and they wrote the movie. So you can take it as far as it’s going to go, but they made it as real as possible. Burt Reynolds, Willie Nelson… That’s going to be interesting. The first 10 minutes of ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ I start three fist fights. I grope Jessica Simpson. Me and Seann William Scott – you’ll see. It’s awesome.”

On Being Paid to Grope Jessica Simpson: “I’d do that 45 times a day, all day long. I just couldn’t get it right but it was all right. All good (laughing).”

Michael Roof Defines His “Dukes of Hazzard” Character: “It’s a brand new character. A typical villain of the ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ that comes to town. Just butt-tight Wranglers. I look like Garth Brooks with a big black hat. I had like seven socks rolled up in the front of my… I have like a 33 waist and I wore a 29. They had to help me put them on everyday. I’ve got seven socks – they stuffed them in the front so I had like this giant bulge… Why did I say that? I did – it’s funny. If you watch the movie, look. It’s funny. It’s like [Randy] Quaid in ‘Christmas Vacation’ where he’s walking with the dog food and he’s got the giant…”