Posted in: Amazon Studios, TV | Tagged: Chris Diamantopoulos, prime video, The Sticky

The Sticky: Chris Diamantopoulos Talks Series, "3 Stooges" Comparison

Chris Diamantopoulos (Mrs. Davis) spoke with us about his Prime Video comedy heist series The Sticky, "Three Stooges" comparisons, and more.

Few can dream of the diverse filmography of Chris Diamantopoulos since bursting into the scene nearly a quarter century ago in 2000's The Adulterer. He's been a force in TV, appearing in shows like NBC's Law & Order, Third Watch, Fraiser, The Office, Community, Hannibal, FX's Nip/tuck, HBO's The Sopranos, ABC's Boston Legal, Fox's Arrested Development, 24, and even managed to play Moe Howard in the 2012 Farrelly Brother's reimagining of The Three Stooges. That doesn't include his impressive filmography of voiceover work. Tapping into those slapstick comedic chops is his latest Prime Video comedy The Sticky, based loosely on the true story of "The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist," in which $18 million (CAD) worth of syrup was stolen from Quebec's national maple syrup, which accounts for more than 70 percent of the global supply. Diamantopoulos spoke to Bleeding Cool about working with co-stars Margo Martindale, Guillaume Cyr, and Oscar-winner Jamie Lee Curtis (who also served as producer), helping to bring showrunners Brian Donovan and Ed Herro's story to life, and reminding himself why he's not the "Moe" of this group.

The Sticky Star Chris Diamantopoulos on His Prime…Opportunity to Tap into His Comedic Chops in the Donovan-Herro Limited Series

Bleeding Cool: What intrigued you about 'The Sticky?'

What's not to be intrigued about 'The Sticky,' Tom?! Let's lay it out here: there is $20 million worth of maple syrup held in a warehouse in northern Canada left largely unguarded. Some morons decided that it would be a great idea to steal tens of millions of that and sell it on the black market. That's great!

Yeah. I mean, I imagine if it was a heist involving syrup, it would have to be Canada, right?

It's the perfect little setup there. The other thing that drew me in besides the story was the opportunity to work with Margo Martindale again and the chance to work with Jamie Lee Curtis, who's been one of my idols for as long as I can remember. 'A Fish Called Wanda' (1988) was like a movie that defined my teenage years.

What is it like working with Brian [Donovan] and Ed [Herro] as creatives and what are their visions?

I love Ed and Brian; our relationship started a little funny because I understand that they didn't necessarily see me as the guy playing the role of Mike originally when they had first written it. When I tried to get in there and meet with them, they were a little reticent, and I had to put my best foot forward and say, "Look, guys! You should meet me, and I'll tell you why. I have every reason in the world why I'm the right guy to play Mike." Once we met, it was love at first sight, and we hit it off. They've got a great sense of humor, work well together, and have interesting disparate energies. There's a good cop-bad cop, but it's not always one that's the good cop and one that's the bad. They switch it around, and it keeps the set lively. They've also got great enthusiasm and hunger. We have a lot of exciting things to see from Ed and Brian.

How do you break down your chemistry with Margo and Guillaume Cyr, and how well do you work together?

The chemistry with Margo, Guillaume, and I was instant. Margo is a long-lost, unrequited love, and I adore everything about her, from her energy, viciousness, immense talent, and leadership. She's got a beautiful dignity about herself, is a great storyteller, and has a bawdy sense of humor. I met Guillaume on this, and it was an instant friendship. He's a tremendously hard worker, instantly lovable, and the three of us, we're like this odd alternate dimension 'Three Stooges.' We had a ball.

Speaking of which, I remember reading a 'Variety' piece about the series, and Margo called it a 'Three Stooges' situation. Someone like yourself has a unique perspective on that, how much so did you feel was it like that on set?

It was very funny in some moments; I had to remind myself [laughs] not to do the classic Moe Howard scowl. At this point, it's probably somewhere embedded in my DNA. It's a situation that these three, they're three buffoons trying to pull off a ridiculous heist, but the stakes are high. You've got [Margo's character] Ruth Landry, who's possibly losing everything important to her in her life with her maple farm and her husband. You've got [Guillaume's character] Remy, who, for the first time in his life, wants to do something of consequence, and then you've got me, Mike Byrne, who poses a put-together mastermind criminal. What we realize quickly is some deep, dark demons, and there's a lot of desperation for him. This heist must work.

Was there anything about the production, scene, or stunt that was more difficult to execute than others?

We were shooting in northern Canada in the middle of the winter, and so the weather was treacherous. We'd start the day, and it was sunny, brisk, and cold. By the end of the day, it was massive sheets of snow falling. Contending with the physicalities of the space. They were a blessing as well, though, because they informed so much of the story. Personally, there was a lot of physicality to the show. I had to live a lot of things, and I had to perform a lot of physical moves with falls and all these things. It surprisingly wasn't just a job that I thought was going to be physically taxing, but it ended up being so. Not to mention a quick production schedule, so we wanted to make sure that we got quality, but within the parameters.

The Sticky is available to stream on Prime Video.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!