Enrico Colantoni plays self on 'Suits LA': 'I saw the funny in it'

NEW YORK, March 27 (UPI) -- Galaxy Quest, Veronica Mars and English Teacher icon Enrico Colantoni says he knew he'd be in good hands when his former Just Shoot Me writer Aaron Korsh asked him to play a fictionalized version of himself in an episode of his new legal drama, Suits LA.

"Aaron and I go back to Just Shoot Me. I know he's got a funny bone. I didn't take it personally," Colantoni, 62, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview. "I saw the funny in it. I definitely recognized the funny in it."

The freshman show is getting a special mini-marathon run on NBC Thursday night, with three episodes airing back to back.

Colantoni's episode shows the beloved actor seeking legal representation after a war with his neighbor -- a young social media influencer whose embarrassing prank on Colantoni goes viral online -- gets out of hand.

Helping Colantoni fight criminal mischief and trespassing charges (he used a chainsaw to carve a penis and testicles into his foe's topiary) are attorneys Stuart (Josh McDermitt) and Rick (Bryan Greenberg).

"I didn't realize how funny it would be until I actually got to set because we get to play and you get to play with actors like Josh and Brian and [see] how generous they are," Colantoni said.

"It's like, 'Oh, wow, we can really go for it.' And, so, the reality far exceeded my expectations of what it was going to be like. So, I hope I get to do it again."

Colantoni admitted there are perils to playing exaggerated versions of one's self for laughs.

"People think that's who you are," he said.

"Sometimes you fall into playing a character that is so not like you, but people will identify you as that person. He plays such a bad guy. He must be a bad guy. So, you're always at risk."

For example, Suits LA viewers who don't know otherwise might assume Colantoni is a difficult person to get along with.

"Is there a version of me who is that person? Of course there is. He's dormant. He's six years old. But he was grateful to come out and play for a little bit," the actor quipped.

Colantoni's episode is poignant, as well as hilarious, because it shows a well-respected artist with decades of great performances on his resume being briefly bested by a new kind of star he doesn't understand or appreciate.

"It's remarkable," the actor said.

"You bust your ass and this guy on one YouTube video sensation is just like, 'Poof!,'" he added, referring to how his nemesis blew up and achieved instant fame.

Colantoni said he has experienced a glimmer of this phenomena in his real life.

"When my kids were younger, they were very interested in making films. They were very creative and grew up in LA. They were surrounded by it, so they had an interest in it," he recalled.

"And I go, 'Don't you want to make a film and have it premiere in New York City at the Ziegfeld or something?' And they go, 'No, I just want 1 million followers on YouTube.' It's like, 'What is that?' I didn't even know what that was, but that's what they wanted. It's incredible how things have changed."

The actor said he doesn't know if there is anything being made now that will still be watched repeatedly and quoted by heart the way 1999's Galaxy Quest is.

"I'm on a show now called English Teacher that sort of tries to capture what that youthful voice is and how it's in transition and the confusion between the generations and trying to make peace with how things are changing," he explained.

"I think I'm very fortunate to be on a show like that," he added. "Essentially, we're creating content about the transition, about how confusing things are. I think that's a reflection of where we really are. Not even to get into politics, but it's like, 'Wow, what IS going on?' A lot of the content that's coming out is really a reflection of that."

Galaxy Quest seems to stand the test of time because the sci-fi comedy about actors tasked with saving the world is a simple and uplifting story that anyone can relate to.

"It's pure. It really isn't confusing," Colantoni said. "It's just love."