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Tim
Bagley guest stars on this
week's episode of Monk "Mr.
Monk and the Daredevil" as
Monk's nemesis Harold Krenshaw.
It will be Tim's fourth appearance
on the show.
Fellow fan Diana
and I had the chance to visit
the set during the filming
of this episode and the first
Monk star we had the honor to
meet was Tim.
I dropped his
agent an email a few weeks ago
and heard from him shortly thereafter.
I didn't mention that we'd met
on the set, but he remembered
nonetheless and graciously agreed
to answer questions by email.
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"It
was a pleasure meeting you,"
he wrote "and of course I remembered
meeting you! In your last email
you wondered how I remembered. Whoever
introduced me to you, I don't remember
now, mentioned to me that you were
a big fan of the show and asked
if I would meet you. I'm also a
big fan of the show, and was very
happy to meet another fan. I'll
try to answer your questions briefly.
They are good questions."
Did
you have to audition for Monk or
did they have you in mind for the
role?
Yes,
I did audition for the role. It
was written for an older man. If
I remember correctly he was supposed
to be in his 70s. I remember sitting
in a room waiting to audition with
a bunch of older men. A casting
assistant, Cheryl
Kloner, had recommended me to
the director of the episode, Jerry
Levine, and it just so happened
that he had worked with me on Will
and Grace, and agreed that I
might be good for the role, so they
called me in to audition with these
older men. |
 
Larry (Tim Bagley, Left)
and Joe (Jerry Levine, Right)
on Will and Grace
Did
you know the role would be a recurring
one?
I
did not know the role was going
to recur. That was not planned.
That was a thrill.
How do you see the character of
Harold Krenshaw? |
I
see Harold Krenshaw as a very sad
little needy man who sees a lot
of himself in Adrian Monk, and instead
of being best of friends with him,
he chooses to compete, and undermine,
and loathe him.
Harold
really seems to bring out Monk’s
negative emotions. Why do you think
that is?
I
think they see things in each other
that they dislike about themselves,
and so they are disgusted by each
other's behavior. |
Tim Bagley as Harold
Krenshaw |
Is
Tony Shalhoub fun to work with?
Yes!!!
Tony Shalhoub is fun to work with.
He is an actor's actor. Very generous,
kind, and really funny to play with.
He makes you want to step up and
be the best you can be. Very inspiring.
Do
you have any funny anecdotes about
filming any of your four episodes? |
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Harold and Monk
on a rooftop in
"Mr. Monk and the Daredevil"
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Every
time Tony and I do a scene where
we squabble and bicker, one of
us at some point will break and
start laughing. I really try to
stay focused, but he always throws
something in there that catches
me completely by surprise. He
never gives the exact same reading.
It's always different, which is
very refreshing, because you don't
know what to expect, but sometimes,
it makes me laugh out loud.
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What
was the most memorable part of filming
the most recent episode?
I had to wear a lime green unitard
for many of the scenes. Not something
you want to wear at my age, when
you have a few unkind areas you
usually try to hide. |
Also,
at one point, I was walking to the
sound stage and I walked past Chris
Rock, whose comedy I love. He
shoots Everybody
Hates Chris right next
door, and I had met him once before
with my friend, Wanda
Sykes. When I walked past him
I nodded a hello, and he looked
at that lime green unitard, and
cautiously nodded back, not too
sure who I was, or why he should
speak to a grown man in a lime green
unitard. |
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Chris Rock
from "Everybody Hates Chris"
Monk's studio next door neighbor |
I
didn't stop to remind him where
we met, because I was embarrassed
of the unitard. You may wonder why
I was wearing a unitard. That will
be revealed when you see the show.
Have
you been asked back for future episodes?
No,
I have not been asked back to do
another episode yet, but they know
that when they say 'jump' I say
'how high!' They all know how much
I love doing the show.
Compared to other work you've
done was Monk a challenge? |
Is
Monk a challenge? Yes, they always
write scenes for me that are challenging
in some personal way. As an actor
that's what you pray for. Whether
it's something that feels scary,
like jumping off a trampoline, through
the air, taking a bullet in my shoulder,
and landing on a mat, or if it's
an emotional scene in an area I
rarely get to explore as an actor,
the writers always throw something
challenging at me, and I absolutely
love stepping up to the challenge. |
The Frisco Fly? |
| Professionally,
is there anything you wish you hadn't
done?
Professionally,
is there anything I wish I hadn't
done. Oh my God, yes. Sometimes
I've taken jobs to pay the rent,
and then regretted them later when
they are being played over and over
in syndication. I've got a list
of them, but I can't share them
with you, because I don't want anyone
to know! Let's just say, when I
see myself late at night playing
an international terrorist, serial
killer of super models on VIP reruns,
a little piece of me dies each time
it airs. I've said too much.
Do
you prefer film or television or
stage work? And why? |
| I
enjoy film, TV and stage work. I
love it all.
When did you first know you
wanted to be an actor?
I
first knew I wanted to be an actor
when I was a kid and saw Sidney
Poitier in To
Sir With Love. I studied Art
and Psychology in college, but I
took an acting class as an elective,
and found that I really enjoyed
it. After college I took acting
classes in Los Angeles, got involved
with an improv company called The
Groundlings, and one thing led
to another. My first professional
job was Irv the mechanic in The
Mask. |
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What
is it about acting that attracts
you the most?
What
attracts me about acting? The personal
challenges. Conquering fears I may
have, like having to wear a lime
green unitard on national television.
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Harold in the
hospital
Mr. Monk and the Daredevil |
You’re
also a writer, correct? What, if
anything do you get out of writing
that you can’t get from acting?
Yes,
I am a writer. What I love about
writing is the creative control.
As an actor I perform words that
others have written, and the challenge
is to make it seem like it's flowing
naturally from me. As a writer,
I can say exactly what I want to
say in the way I wish to say it.
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I’ve
heard you’d written a one
man show about your experience working
in the Playboy Mansion. Do I have
that right?
Yes,
I did write a one person show about
being a butler at the Playboy mansion
called, "Clean Boy, Dirty Stories."
It was one of my first jobs out
of college, and it was quite an
education. I also wrote another
one person show called, "Happy
Hour," which won the Jury Award
for best one person show at the
Aspen Comedy Festival.
What are you
working on now?
Please
encourage people to check out what
I'm up to on my website - timbagley.com.
I hope this is helpful, and that
it works into what you're doing
on The Monk Fun Page. Good luck
with everything. |
  
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