UD Profile
Lakers, L.A. Women and Britney-Spotting

Sometimes it's OK to keep things simple. That's the lesson you gain from a conversation with Michael Rapaport, the lovable New York transplant who, rather incredibly, has appeared in some 70 productions since bursting onto the scene in 1992's Zebrahead. Here, the Larchmont resident talks women, casual dining and the comedy of LA life.

UD: You've been living in LA on and off since 1990. Where in town do you like to eat?
MR: I have a lot of favorites with my kids. We like to go to Swingers on Beverly. We like to go to Toast on Third Street. I love a restaurant called Cha Cha Cha in Silverlake. There's a place in Santa Monica called Babalu that I really, really, really like. My kids, they like to go to Lucky Strike bowling. And Larchmont is a big part of my life.

UD: Any LA bars you like?
MR: No, I'm not a bar guy. I go out every now and then to the little spots, but I don't drink and I never have, so I'm not really into bars.

UD: Do you have any hidden gems?
MR: I don't think there's anything hidden in Los Angeles. Except for like Silverlake and places like that, but I don't really know those areas.

UD: What do you find funny about LA?
MR: Well, the people are hilarious. Los Angeles is the only place where you can be in a restaurant and there will only be people from one business—meaning show business. Like you can guarantee. Not just the patrons, but the people who work there are aspiring, you know, whatevers. And the fact that you can run into this actress or this pop singer in the supermarket. The fact that you see that on a daily basis is definitely fascinating.

UD: Have you seen someone lately that has surprised even you?
MR: Oh, everybody. Britney Spears the other night, with her wig on and her fake contact lenses. I don't remember what club, but I was like, Oh, sh*t, there's Britney Spears.

UD: What do you like about LA women?
MR: Obviously beautiful women come to this city from all over the planet. They're not as rough around the edges as the girls from New York, and I'm saying that in a complimentary way about the girls in New York. If you're out here and you're mildly attractive to very attractive, it's 99.9 percent that you're in show business. And that seems to chip away at people's personalities.

UD: If LA were a woman, who would she be?
MR: Holy sh*t. If LA were a woman, she'd be a mix of Marilyn Manson, Marilyn Monroe, Gisele, frickin' Naomi Campbell, whoever the bisexual hipster of the week is...and you gotta throw a little Paris Hilton in there.

UD: Any places in LA where you like to shop?
MR: Nah. I'm not really into buying clothes. It's not really my thing. Honestly, I steal my clothes from my shows.

UD: Which city is better for dating—New York or LA?
MR: The only thing about Los Angeles that's better than New York is Runyon Canyon. So I go with New York.

UD: Lakers or Knicks?
MR: I mean, Kobe's incredible. I love watching him. The Lakers have somehow gotten themselves into an underdog thing, which is interesting. And the Clippers are a fun team. But I'm definitely Knicks. That's like loyalty to a fault.

UD: Should we expect any cliffhangers in the season finale of The War at Home?
MR: Yeah, we definitely have an interesting cliffhanger. I say that I'm going to get a vasectomy, my wife says she's going to get her tubes tied, and then we have sex. And comedy ensues because things didn't really go down the way we said they would.

UD: You have a great cameo in the Popcopy sketch on Chappelle's Show. How did that come about?
MR: I ran into Dave on the street in New York. We were with our kids outside that cheesy place in midtown, the Brooklyn Diner. He was like, "I'm doing this pilot, and I don't think anything's going to happen with it, but we're actually doing this skit, would you want to do something?" And I said, "Sure, man, I would love to." And you know, I came down, it was real quick, and the rest is history for him. I get a lot of comments about that thing, and obviously it's something I'm proud of.

UD: Some of your characters have been less than bright. Does it take a smart man to play a dumb guy?
MR: I have to say yes. Because people actually think I'm dumb. I think it's something about the way my face is shaped.

UD: We still think you should have ended up with Phoebe on Friends.
MR: Me, too, man.