Trailer Park Boys will be boys...
From holding the world record in Internet Scrabble to playing the infamous Mr. Lahey on the cult television series Trailer Park Boys, or even acting alongside Kevin Spacey in The Shipping News, John Dunsworth references qualify him as a modern day Renaissance man.
He proved this by simultaneously eating a turkey sandwich and navigating his car through the fog along the Nova Scotia's Atlantic shoreline while doing a phone interview. All Trailer Park credentials aside, Dunsworth is one talented East Coaster.
What started as role in the pint-sized Canadian flick, entitled One Last Shot, in 1998, the character of Mr. Lahey has morphed into a Canadian symbol for lower class authority figures. The television series, Trailer Park Boys, first aired on Showcase in April 2001 and the cast of Julian, Ricky, Bubbles and, of course, Mr. Lahey are currently shooting their six season.
“To be part of the Trailer Park Boys goes way beyond my expectations,” said Dunsworth, who thought he would spend the rest of his life in St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia making $30,000.
Dunsworth, who was born in Nova Scotia and continues to call it home, has dedicated his life to strengthening the art of live theatre and acting on the east coast. In 1970 he revived Halifax's waterfront by opening Pier One Theatre, the first and what some consider the most successful alternative theatre company in Halifax. For years Dunsworth was best known for his work as a Halifax-based casting director, working on films like Dolores Claiborne and Two If By Sea.
He was offered the role of First Mate in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, but turned it down due to commitments associated with the Trailer Park Boys. Dunsworth bluntly said,”Fuck off, I'm busy,” to Titanic first assistant director, Josh McLaglen.
He believes the reason why Trailer Park Boys has survived six seasons, in a Canadian climate that is particularly harsh on home grown productions, is due to the show's unique self-awareness.
“A lot of stuff on TV is a derivative…what we are doing is copying ourselves,” Dunsworth said about the show, which is shot as a documentary that follows Julian and his hoodlum group of friends through their crisis-filled lives in Sunnydale trailer park.
In 2004 the show filtered into the American market, via BBC America, and has steadily gained fans ever since. The film Trailer Park Boys: The Big Dirty, which will be released in 2006, is currently in post-production and Ghostbusters director and fellow Canadian, Ivan Reitman, has signed on as executive producer.
The Trailer Park Boys is the brainchild of writer/director/producer Mike Clattenburg, who also directs This Hour has 22 Minutes for CBC.
“[Clattenburg] has a very distinct vision and it didn't come from sticking his head in the sand,” Dunsworth said. “He's taken the view of the world and stuck it into Sunnydale… The show is about people who have small plans and can't even get them right.”
The secret to Trailer Park's success is the underdog factor, which most people can relate to. Everyone knows a guy like Ricky, who tries so hard but inevitably screws up, or even someone like Mr. Lahey, who uses his miniscule authority to push others around. This familiarity has obviously resonated with Canadians, considering well over half a million tuned into the season finale in 2004.
“Bullies are the worst people in the world and now I'm one of them,” said Dunsworth about how much his own personality clashes with that of Mr. Lahey's. It's not acting like a drunk, sexually confused trailer park supervisor that he finds challenging, but rather the demanding task of mastering Mr. Lahey's fast-paced dialogue that Dunsworth has the most trouble perfecting.
Randy, played by part-time actor, full-time bottled water salesman Patrick Roach, serves as Mr. Lahey's trusty assistant and sexual confidant on the show. Roach's character is best known for romping topless around Sunnydale letting it all hangout in tight, form-fitting polyester pants, which only exaggerates his less-than-perfect physique.
The show implies Mr. Lahey and Randy have an on again, off again gay relationship, but Dunsworth said the characters are not recognized as pillars in the gay community, even though the two rode in the 2004 Halifax Gay Pride Parade. Instead, Dunsworth rhymed off a couple classic Trailer Park jokes to lighten the conversation.
“Randy thinks same sex is boring. Who would want to have the same sex all the time? He also thinks oral sex is just talking about sex,” Dunsworth said without skipping a beat.
As part of the Canadian Comedy Awards and Festival, Dunsworth and Roach will bring their trailer park humor to Yuk Yuks on Saturday, October 22 at 8:00 and 10:30 pm. Tickets are $25 and available through the Centennial Hall Box Office at 672-1968 or contact Yuk Yuks directly at 850-5233. Dunsworth said the neither of the two actors has done stand-up before, but the two feed off the crowd with games and audience interaction.
“We're not that good at it to be honest,” Dunsworth said in a typical, negative Mr. Lahey-like voice.
He proved this by simultaneously eating a turkey sandwich and navigating his car through the fog along the Nova Scotia's Atlantic shoreline while doing a phone interview. All Trailer Park credentials aside, Dunsworth is one talented East Coaster.
What started as role in the pint-sized Canadian flick, entitled One Last Shot, in 1998, the character of Mr. Lahey has morphed into a Canadian symbol for lower class authority figures. The television series, Trailer Park Boys, first aired on Showcase in April 2001 and the cast of Julian, Ricky, Bubbles and, of course, Mr. Lahey are currently shooting their six season.
“To be part of the Trailer Park Boys goes way beyond my expectations,” said Dunsworth, who thought he would spend the rest of his life in St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia making $30,000.
Dunsworth, who was born in Nova Scotia and continues to call it home, has dedicated his life to strengthening the art of live theatre and acting on the east coast. In 1970 he revived Halifax's waterfront by opening Pier One Theatre, the first and what some consider the most successful alternative theatre company in Halifax. For years Dunsworth was best known for his work as a Halifax-based casting director, working on films like Dolores Claiborne and Two If By Sea.
He was offered the role of First Mate in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, but turned it down due to commitments associated with the Trailer Park Boys. Dunsworth bluntly said,”Fuck off, I'm busy,” to Titanic first assistant director, Josh McLaglen.
He believes the reason why Trailer Park Boys has survived six seasons, in a Canadian climate that is particularly harsh on home grown productions, is due to the show's unique self-awareness.
“A lot of stuff on TV is a derivative…what we are doing is copying ourselves,” Dunsworth said about the show, which is shot as a documentary that follows Julian and his hoodlum group of friends through their crisis-filled lives in Sunnydale trailer park.
In 2004 the show filtered into the American market, via BBC America, and has steadily gained fans ever since. The film Trailer Park Boys: The Big Dirty, which will be released in 2006, is currently in post-production and Ghostbusters director and fellow Canadian, Ivan Reitman, has signed on as executive producer.
The Trailer Park Boys is the brainchild of writer/director/producer Mike Clattenburg, who also directs This Hour has 22 Minutes for CBC.
“[Clattenburg] has a very distinct vision and it didn't come from sticking his head in the sand,” Dunsworth said. “He's taken the view of the world and stuck it into Sunnydale… The show is about people who have small plans and can't even get them right.”
The secret to Trailer Park's success is the underdog factor, which most people can relate to. Everyone knows a guy like Ricky, who tries so hard but inevitably screws up, or even someone like Mr. Lahey, who uses his miniscule authority to push others around. This familiarity has obviously resonated with Canadians, considering well over half a million tuned into the season finale in 2004.
“Bullies are the worst people in the world and now I'm one of them,” said Dunsworth about how much his own personality clashes with that of Mr. Lahey's. It's not acting like a drunk, sexually confused trailer park supervisor that he finds challenging, but rather the demanding task of mastering Mr. Lahey's fast-paced dialogue that Dunsworth has the most trouble perfecting.
Randy, played by part-time actor, full-time bottled water salesman Patrick Roach, serves as Mr. Lahey's trusty assistant and sexual confidant on the show. Roach's character is best known for romping topless around Sunnydale letting it all hangout in tight, form-fitting polyester pants, which only exaggerates his less-than-perfect physique.
The show implies Mr. Lahey and Randy have an on again, off again gay relationship, but Dunsworth said the characters are not recognized as pillars in the gay community, even though the two rode in the 2004 Halifax Gay Pride Parade. Instead, Dunsworth rhymed off a couple classic Trailer Park jokes to lighten the conversation.
“Randy thinks same sex is boring. Who would want to have the same sex all the time? He also thinks oral sex is just talking about sex,” Dunsworth said without skipping a beat.
As part of the Canadian Comedy Awards and Festival, Dunsworth and Roach will bring their trailer park humor to Yuk Yuks on Saturday, October 22 at 8:00 and 10:30 pm. Tickets are $25 and available through the Centennial Hall Box Office at 672-1968 or contact Yuk Yuks directly at 850-5233. Dunsworth said the neither of the two actors has done stand-up before, but the two feed off the crowd with games and audience interaction.
“We're not that good at it to be honest,” Dunsworth said in a typical, negative Mr. Lahey-like voice.
