Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Movies | Tagged: Colin West, exclusive, interview, jim gaffigan, Linoleum, Rhea Seehorn, Tony Shalhoub

Linoleum Director on Bringing Personal Story to Life, Gaffigan & More

Writer and director Colin West spoke to Bleeding Cool about his latest Shout! Studios drama Linoleum, his personal inspiration, cast & more.

Writer and director Colin West came a long way in his over ten years as a filmmaker with his first short, So It Was with Us, in 2012 before going on to film eight more shorts before his feature debut in 2021's Double Walker. His latest film is Shout! Studios' Linoleum follows Cameron (Jim Gaffigan), the host of a failing children's science show, who tries to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut by building a rocket ship in his garage; a series of bizarre events occur that cause him to question his own reality. West spoke to Bleeding Cool, the film's personal inspiration, how the comedian tackled the dramatic role, and what supporting cast members in Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul) and Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Ms. Maisel) added to the film.

Linoleum: Bringing a Family Story to Life

Bleeding Cool: What is the inspiration behind 'Linoleum?'
West: The film was inspired by my grandparents' relationship. They met when they were in high school, together for their entire lives until they passed away a few years ago in their seventies. It was a look at their relationship subjectively. That's how I started the screenplay, although it took me about five years to find how it came together. That was the initial seed, and then I took a lot of pieces of my life and insecurities to create this character who was dealing with this midlife crisis.

What made Jim Gaffigan an ideal pick for the lead?
It's funny; this group of comedians ends up playing more dramatic roles from time to time. You look at Adam Sandler or Jim Carrey; these are standout roles. Jim is finding his time now in that way. He's an incredible dramatic actor. He loves it and has been passionate about [the craft] for many years. He's been in many indie films now as far as dramatic roles go. He was attracted to the project because of his dual roles.

In our initial conversations when we were casting the project, he was coming in with such a collaborative mind that it was clear how passionate he was about the project, the script, and how he loved our team's ambition with this script. He plays two characters in the movie as, Cameron and Kent, who oppose each other. That was an attractive and exciting thing for him. It was exciting to come across his name and immediately light up and say, "My gosh! Jim's perfect!" We were thrilled he wanted to do the project.

How did the supporting cast come together? What did Rhea Seehorn and Tony Shalhoub's presence bring to the set?
I loved our supporting cast here, so I'm glad you're talking about it because not everybody brings it up. There's such a powerhouse of a world built with these characters. Rhea Seehorn is absolutely unmatched, and she came in with incredible ideas that formed her character in the best way possible. She was such an asset to the project. Gaffigan and her worked together so well and had such a good time even became friends behind the scenes as well. She has such impressive filmography working in film and TV for many years.

[Rhea's] such a professional; her work blows me away. Everybody on set also was, and I see a lot of the younger cast, too, looking up to her and how she approached scenes because she was so confident with that, and we had such a fun collaboration. The other actors coming on with Michael Ian Black, Jay Walker, and Tony Shalhoub were also a joy to work with. Tony only came on for a day. He's in a couple of scenes and brought this great aura to the set; everybody bowed down to this legend of cinema that showed up on our set. Working with him was such a joy; he was a fun guy but very professional.

[Tony] nailed it as this character who plays Cameron's "doctor" in many ways. It's funny because that character in the first viewing of that film, you think like, "Who is this? This doctor is crazy. What is he even saying?" Watching it a second time, you realize it's Cameron who's misinterpreting everything that the doctor is saying. That role was fun for Tony to dive into headfirst as this heady doctor.

Linoleum, which also stars Katelyn Nacon, Gabriel Rush, Amy Hargreaves, Roger Hendricks Simon, Elisabeth Henry, and West Duchovny, is in theaters.

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