Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Movies | Tagged: Operation Taco Gary's

Operation Taco Gary's: Milligan on Mikey K's Sci-Fi Comedy & More

Dustin Milligan (Schitt's Creek) spoke to us about his latest sci-fi buddy comedy, Operation Taco Gary's, Mikey K, Simon Rex & more.

Dustin Milligan has always been a natural when for comedy since he made his on-screen debut in 2004 with projects like the Lifetime rom-com Perfect Romance and Netflix's Dead Like Me. He's expanded that across his 20+ year career with memorable roles in Miramax's Extract (2009), Lionsgate's A Simple Favor (2018), Prime Video's The People We Hate at the Wedding (2022), and the CBC's Schitt's Creek. Milligan's latest is Chroma's Operation Taco Gary's, an off-the-wall buddy sci-fi film about two brothers, Danny and Luke, played by Simon Rex and Milligan, who embark on a cross-country road trip that quickly devolves when they become involved in a global conspiracy. Milligan spoke with Bleeding Cool about first-time director Mikey K and the script's charm, working with Rex, and being the straight man in the zany comedy.

Operation Taco Gary's Star Dustin Milligan on Sci-Fi Conspiracy Theory Buddy Comedy

BC: What intrigued you about Operation Taco Gary's?

For me, it's rare to get sent a script that so perfectly aligns with my comedic sensibilities and the influences I grew up with, specifically in comedy. I was very lucky that comedy really was having a moment for a lot of my childhood and into my teens, and this harkens back to that. Mikey's script walks the line so well of being very dumb, but executing said dumbness in a very smart way, so getting a chance to not only just work with that material, and then Simon [Rex] as well, is so amazing, funny, and such a great guy. All that was just something that made it a dream come true in a lot of ways, and then the rest of the cast that ended up coming on board after the fact. It was truly amazing.

What sets Mikey apart from other creatives you've worked with?

The thing for him and probably one of his greatest strengths is that he's confident in what is funny, but doesn't take himself so seriously that everyone else's ideas can always be welcomed in and explored on the day or ahead of time. He's very collaborative, and that combination of someone who really does know comedy and specifically his own comedy and voice so well, there wasn't any insecurity or uncertainty. Though this is the first feature, there's always potential for that, but he always seems so sure of the comedy itself, and of this very strange path these characters were taking, and that only got more absurd.

It was such a joy to get to work with someone who had that clear vision, even as this was not a particularly high-budget film, but the story that he was able to draw out of that, as with any independent movie, there's always going to be challenges. He always rose to the occasion and was just cool, calm, and collected the whole time, carrying through that vision, which then gives the rest of us the confidence to have fun, explore, and play. Again, just a dive into the collaborative nature that he was spearheading.

You've developed great chemistry and rapport with Simon's character, and I was wondering how you developed it, especially as zany as comedy as this is? Was it hard to remain the straight man in all this?

My personal instincts comedically are to be huge, broad, and crazy. The straight man stuff is more of a…I have to think of it, it's always a great challenge to then look at how you can, especially with the character Luke, like how to funnel what would be this expanding into this explosive, wild frustration, and reaction to this building absurdity that Danny (Rex) keeps piling onto him as we go through the adventure.

It was also really cool because Simon and I are 10 years apart, so there's already a built-in natural way to exploit that age gap to then create a little bit of that awkwardness between the two characters. Simon's amazing, and right away, we were hitting it off. It was so smooth off camera, and then we were able to take that comfort, but then also, as I said, exploit some of the natural things that were just there between us and hone in on. Yeah, they're slightly stilted, slightly awkward relationship that slowly simmers throughout, and then eventually, it blows up, and the absurdity comes out in full force. Again, I can't say enough about the comfort and collaboration that were there between Mikey, Simon, and me the whole time. It was a privilege.

Operation Taco Gary's, which also stars Brenda Song, Tony Cavalero, Jason Biggs, Doug Jones, and Arturo Castro, is in theaters.

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