One on One: Mitch Silpa

Published Jun 15, 2023, 4:00 AM

Paris isn't the only one who needs a life coach!  We all do.
 
Mitch Silpa is Terrence the life coach and he's in session!
 
He's telling all about working with Liza, his connection to Sookie/Melissa McCarthy and that Bridesmaids moment we love! 

I Am all In. Oh, Let's kiss you.

I Am all In with Scott Patterson, an iHeartRadio podcast.

All Right, Hey, everybody, Scott Patterson one on one interview I Am all In podcast I Heart Radio one eleven Productions. We are talking today to Mitch silpa who played Terrence for two episodes in two thousand and three and two thousand and four. He was Paris's life coach. She first appeared season four episode two, Laurelized First Date, The Laurelized First Date, Yale, and his last appearance was season five, episode ten. But not as cute as Pushkin, Terrence's Paris Galer's life coach of the summer four Paris begins Yale, she strives to be a better person with the help of Terrence. Terrence is a very zen and personality and is able to calm paar Us down using very strange techniques. In reality, Terrence comes off as a very nosy person who wants to control every aspect of her decision making process. He intrudes upon her relationship with Doyle as well as her everyday activities, and drives Paris' roommates crazy. Mitch Silpah is an American writer actor and director who starred in NBC's The Rerun Show, and He has appearances this show such as Brothers, Sisters, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Desperate Housewives, Gilmore, Girls On with Her, One on One, Kitchen Confidential, Reno, nine to One One, Joey, and Two Broke Girls. For the On the big screen, he made appearances as the notable character Steve in the twenty eleven comedy film Bridesmaids. He also appeared in Spy, The Heat, The Way Out, Happy Time, Murders, Welcome to Me, Unforgettable, and The Boss. He created, wrote, and produced with Jim Cashman, the Fox pilot Amy's Brother, starring Michael Uri and Annie Mamulo. Silpa Sorry Silpa also has been nominated for a Writer's Guild of America Award for his work on Saturday Night Live. Mitch also is known for his impersonation of magician David Blaine in the famous six part YouTube series David Blaine Street Magic two thousand and six. The series was vastly popular for the first video had over forty one million views, with the next two getting around sixteen million. Let's talk to Mitch Silpa. Hey, Mitch, how you doing? How you doing. Good to meet you.

Good to meet you too.

Well, thanks for coming on. We appreciate the time, of course. How'd you get your start in this career?

Oh god, I god, that's a really great question.

Like I always wanted to be an actor, but like I didn't start like studying like until my twenties, and then I went to I went, you know, I went to an acting class in Hollywood, and then I went to grad school at UCLA and got my MFA and theater and then, you know, for like seven years after my graduations, I worked at a hotel and did like little plays, and then I found the Groundlings oh in LA and started taking classes there and kind of worked my way up there, and then I made it into the main company and then that kind of opened up a lot of doors from me.

Oh sure. So if the people listening don't know what Groundlings is, it's it's an extremely sophisticated improv group. And what they did and Melissa McCarthy comes out of the ground Rings, and a lot of our great comedic actors and a lot of the great comedic roles that you see in film in the last twenty thirty years came out of Groundings or Second City brilliant, brilliant comedic actors who are steeped in improv. There's steeped in writing their own characters and creating their own characters. And Groundlings as a really in depth and rigorous program.

Yeah, it's intense.

It's very very intense, and anybody that does well there and comes out of there. And I remember as a cast we went to see Melissa in her Groundlings performance one night.

I wonder if you came, because Melissa and I were in it at the same time, and we were actually before you get into the main company, you have to go up through all their levels, but right before the main company is a Sunday company, and she was like six months ahead of me, and so she was she got in the main company six months before me and then but we were in a lot of main shows together, and she was actually got Gilmore Girls while we were in Sunday Company. She was like one of the first people that are like, oh my god, she's on a TV show, like Melissa's on a TV show.

But yeah, so yeah, I think I do think it was a Sunday actually, and it was. We had a wonderful time. We laughed, so hard our stops. It was. It was such a special performance that she gave. She did three or four different characters. It was just absolutely brilliant.

Yeah, Melissa was always somebody who was just kind of on fire on stage.

Like she's just like great, she's uncommonly gifted. Yeah, she really is. Just she can do anything. It's just weird. It's kind of like.

And she's such a good actress too. I mean, right, yeah that movie. Can you ever forgive me?

She was so good in that.

Yeah, she could win multiple Oscars, just in dramatic category. Yeah, no, one of the I always said, because people would always ask me, who do you think is going to be the breakout are of Gilmour, And I always said Melissa because of her ability to well, she was just she just had this, you know, this warmth and she was just great with everybody and this just awesome talent. And once I saw on the groundlings, I went, I don't know that I've I mean, she's as gifted as anybody I've ever seen in the history of film. Like, she's absolutely amazing. It's no accident that she's had the career that she's had. It was inevitable, so so tell us about the opportunities that opened up for you during Groundlings or after Groundlings. How did it help.

Well, the Groundings was well in a lot of ways.

It's like it's just like personally, like as you mentioned, the training there is so rigorous and I learned so much because I mean, improv kind of helps you with like everything, I mean, even like life stuff. It helps you have nothing else to like listen, you know, or make positive choices.

I mean those are like you know, improv rules.

But so I grew a lot from that, and also the opportunity to write for myself and produce my own material, like you know, helped me figure out that.

Oh I also love writing.

And my writing partner and I who came from the Groundings, we had sold to shows after we you know, became alumni and we're just you know, the training at the Grounding is you know, just having to having the limited amount of time to write and produce sketches and put it up that week and not keep anything too precious and just having to do it teaches you a lot to just do it because I mean, if you're writing, you can you can overthink something and then you know, become paralyzed and not write anything. So just a lesson of like just do it, just crank it out and do it, and if it sucks, that's fine.

I mean you really learn.

At first it hurts a lot when you put up a sketch and it tanks, or an improv just tanks. But then you get used to that and it's like, yeah, most things don't work, you know, like and then you you're just trying to find a few gems that do. And that's a you know, a big lesson. And then and just being seen there opened up, like me getting jobs and the people I worked with, I mean, because like when Kristin Wig, who also came up with me, you know, when she eventually got Saturday Night Live and she blew up and then she got to do Bride'smaids. She i mean offered me a part in that movie, which was the flight attendant in that movie.

And that was the first time I had ever been.

Offered anything in anything, and I could I'm like, I'm being offered.

But it also that came from her.

But Paul fig and jud Appatol had known a little bit of my work because of the Groundlings and because of like a video that Mikey Day and Michael Nton and I did that were these David Blaine parodies that they were aware of. So when when my name came up, they're like, oh, yeah, that guy, we can let him do.

The flight attendant.

But from my point of view, it was like, I can't believe I'm being offered something.

I don't have to audition for this.

By the way, after I'm done here, I'm going to go look at those YouTube videos. So you in personal da Blain thing.

Yeah, it happened like right when YouTube was starting, and Mikey, Mikey and Day and Michael Naughton wrote these sketches and cast me as David Blaine.

We did it on stage. He goes, hey, you want to shoot this in the back alley and put it on this new thing called YouTube, and then it just.

Like blew up. That's fantastic. H So let's talk a little bit about Gilmore. How did how did you get to roll Terrence?

I auditioned and it was like I hadn't had an I mean, everybody at the kind of the groundling say it felt like had gotten an audition, and I was like, I'm not getting an audition for Gilmore.

Girls, and then I finally.

Got one and I love the show and it was for Terrence the part that I got, and I was like really nervous, and I just wanted to do a good job and I didn't want to like have it get back to Melissa and like, I got a lovel and I I remember I walked in, I did it, and I just remember people laughed and then I got it, and I still remember when I got it.

I was like, oh my god, I got it, and uh my agent.

Goes, oh yeah, casting has a note They're like, don't go too big. I'm like, oh did I go. I'm like okay, I'm like, did I go too big? But they're like, yeah, no, just it's it's a very grounded show. But you know, they liked that you did a character, but don't go too big. So I'm like, all right, don't go too big. But I mean that was basically it. I auditioned and I got it, and uh, you know, and I knew that Lauren and Alexis had seen the Groundling shows and you know, so I knew that they kind of knew me. So it's still nervous, but it was everyone was lovely, like it was such a lovely set.

Mm hmm. Yeah. You could do your best work there. You feel very supportive, very lots of notes, lots of help. You know, you can't take anything personally. They're just you know, they're just trying to have the best show they possibly can.

Absolutely, And it was also I knew going into it just from Melissa that how we couldn't change like a word of dialogue, like it's not the it's a you know, like so I knew.

And luckily I had no speeches like everybody else did. I just had like lines, so it wasn't as hard.

What do you remember about your scenes with Paris with Liza, Oh my god.

First of all, I mean I never knew her before. I thought she was delightful, Like I just thought she was so funny and great and just very sweet. My biggest memory is, and I was thinking about this, was I did two episodes. In the second episode I did, there was a scene with Paris with Paris and Rory and Alexis had it either a cold or something was going on. She lost her voice during the scene, like during rehearsing it, and we had to like go home and come and then they needed me to come back the following week to shoot it, and I just remember, oh, I got extra money.

They have to pay me to come back.

So that was a memory, Like I remember she lost her voice, but yeah, no, I I think that Liza was just she's just so lovely, like really fun and like funny.

Yeah, those are fun scenes. Those are really fun scenes. Great concept to a life coach at that age. That's that's fantastic. So you've been in.

And also a terrible life coach. Like things I'm saying are like so bad.

So you've been in several Melissa McCarthy projects, The Heat Spy, Bridesmaid's, The Boss tell us about that.

Yeah, she and Ben also produced.

We're one of the producers on a pilot that my friend Jim Cashman and I wrote for our first pilot.

They wrote that.

We sold to Warner Brothers and Fox bought it and we got it made. But they were they were producers on that show too, So we've worked with them anyway. I mean they're they're friends, you know. Uh yeah, work with them many times.

Well, sorry, you had.

A question there, no no, what happened to God's Favorite Idiot? Is it still on? Is it? Is it still in production.

No, I I don't know. I mean I had nothing to do with that too, but it did airr and.

It was great. It was just it was fantastic.

I don't know if it was just was it just I mean it was just the one season or is it coming back for I don't I really don't.

Have any information about it. Find out what you I'll try, I'll get back to you.

I gotta know we want more of those episodes.

Sure.

So what's been your favorite movie that you that you worked on with them? Melissa?

Oh god, uh, well, like Bride's Maids was so much fun. But also Spy was a blast too because I got to go to Amsterdam for like three weeks and work maybe four fun days. But it was that was so much fun because Melissa and I got to have a fight scene and like I got to like float like when they you know, they put you.

On wires, and that was it was a blast.

And it was also Paul figue Is. I've been in three of his movies.

He's just like an angel man. He's such a gentleman and.

Like a joy to work for everywhere, and it's always funny to have a fight scene with Melissa.

Oh yeah, I mean, tell us what that's like going through the rehearsal process with her, you guys, tell us about it, tell.

Us about it.

Well, it was not. It was surprisingly not a ton of choreography. It was it was literally I don't even remember us having that much like fight choreography.

We were just like battling each other, like shaking each other.

I mean, there's so much trust between us and the plane shaking. It was just things were flying and she'd get pushed down. It was not like a ton of fight choreography. I think I had more of lessons about how to hold the gun than I did.

Like, our heart.

Scene was pretty loose. It wasn't really I mean, we could have easily gotten heart, but we didn't. We knew each other so well that it just felt like silly fun.

Right right. All right, So they a lot of people recognize you as a flight attendant and Bridesmaids Steve or Stove or Stove as Christian Week calls you in the movie Bridesmaids. Uh, tell us what it was like filming that scene with Kristen Week.

Well, it was like it was I worked three days in that movie and just to step on that set felt like I mean that airplane scene was filled with.

So many groundlings.

It was like Kristen and Melissa and Ben Falcone and Wendy McClinton Covey and Maya Rudolph and I mean in Annie Mamelo, who wrote the movie, is that.

We're all groundings. So it really it didn't.

It felt like someone like wrote a growling sketch, but someone gave us like a huge budget and they're like Annie and Christen are like, we wrote this air this airplane sketch, and you're the flight attendant.

But it was a blast.

It was like we got to shoot the scene. We would do the scene like scripted the first take, and then after that it was, you know, we would do the scene, but it was so we could say whatever. There was one take. I remember Paul figue led us. What felt like he let us go on for like nine or ten minutes. It was such a long time until I think I broke but and I don't even remember if anything it got in that the scene, but it was it was just so much fun and you know, and like you know, that movie was just a joy.

How many takes did you do of that scene? Because the comedy in there was incredible.

Well, I mean there's different.

I don't know how many now because it's been a while, but you know, and it's all broken up. And I learned that shooting on this the airplane that we shot on, it was a real airplane that they dismantled. And the trivia is it was the same airplane that was that was airplane that they used on airplane And so when we were shooting that scene, it's one of my favorite comedies of all time. And I told Kristen when we were shooting, I go, you know, that means this movie is going to be a huge like as a joke, and then it.

Really did turn out. But yeah, I learned that shooting on an airplane, said, it's not easy because when you turn.

The camera around, you they literally have to take the chairs out and like then put them back in. It takes a long time to turn the camera around. But yeah, I mean, I don't remember how many takes. I do remember there was one take I think I picked I know, I remember I picked Kristin up. I actually picked her up and put her back to her pet her backer's seat. And when I was driving home that night, I'm like I literally just picked up the star of the movie and even think about it.

But uh, yeah it was.

Were you able to give little suggestions that that popped into your mind your comment?

No, I was too nervous to do that, but they'd let me.

Say pretty much whatever.

And Kristen was always like saying something different every time she would exit, Like I do remember the take that got in when she said the line about its civil rights it's the nineties.

That was like the first time she said.

That, and I thought that was just like, what what here in the wrong decade?

I think I said, like like, oh, that got in. But it was just a joy. I mean like it was like making a movie with friends.

Oh man, that that just sounds.

Like a dream situation.

Yeah, but good on Paul fig for forgetting all of those Groundlings people together. You know, that's that's actually kind of a Ellian idea. You go to see the Groundlings and you know, I'm gonna cast all these people. Yeah.

Yeah, it was very cool.

And there's and the movie itself is like peppered with a lot of it throughout the Groundlings throughout the movie too. So it's also Kristin really like, you know, her first big movie and she's like, you know, populating it with a lot of the people she came up with it.

It was very cool of her too.

Yeah, that's great, all right. So we touched on this a little earlier about the David Blaine YouTube videos that you did. Street Magic has over forty one million views on YouTube.

Crazy.

How did the idea for these videos come about?

Well, it was I'd love to take credit for it, but I mean I could take a credit for one thing in it. But it was mikey Day and Michael Naughton wrote the sketch and you know, for a main show at the Growndings, and we I think Wednesday nights are pitch nights when we're writing new sketches. And they wrote the sketch and they're like, we wrote the sketch and we want you to play David Blaine. And I knew nothing about him and care just remember him saying he's just really chill. And then we did it and put it up and then I'm like, was that okay? He goes, yeah, that's perfect. And then that uh Friday, the show, the scene got in and we did it in front of an audience and this Tim Brennan, who's in the Grounding. There was a cameraman on stage who would get my reactions, but they're the only thing I'll.

Take credit for that sketch. Was when they're freaking out over I turned to this.

This is a long time they were freaking out, So I turned and looked at the guy who was holding the camera and just started like making these like intense faces and.

Then that got laughs. So then that now became part of the sketch.

And now that's all on the videos with me, just like I'll do the magic and then just like look at the camera and just like.

That magician sort of like douchebag thing that they do. Like isn't that cool?

Right? All right? So I know what I'm doing with the rest of my afternoon. Ye watch us. So what are you working on now? Tell us about what you're doing.

Well, I my friend Drew DROGHI and I who also met the Groundlings. We do a two person show that we've done a few times at a theater called the Dynasty Typewriter in LA and we're going to we're doing it in New York on I wrote the Sunday, June eighteenth, at seven o'clock at a place called the Green Room forty two and it's almost full, so it's very cool.

But it's a show.

It's called It's Mitch and Drew and we've never felt younger. But it's like an hour sketch, very all very like queer.

Sketches.

Perfect for Pride Month that's coming up. And also I recur on a show that's called All Rise that is start on CBS, got canceled now it's on own and they had a third season, so the second half of season three is coming back, but I don't know when.

Excellent you're busy guy.

Yeah, well right now, nothing other than that.

Because of the strike, you know, uh yeah, SAgs get in a real power position right now, aren't they to get what they want? Because if they if SAG goes on strike, the whole business shuts down. You know. It's it's been decades since SAG's had this much power.

Very interesting.

Yeah, I hope it works out too, But I think SAG's in a very good position to get what they want.

Fingers Cross and Riders killed, I hope.

Too, Yes, for sure. Okay, so we're gonna do a little thing called rapid Fire. Doesn't mean you have to go to real fast because I think we're all recovered from being on Gilmore set having you go fast, fast, fast Fast for the only note you get fast, go fast? Can you go faster? Uh? How do you like your coffee?

Black? Just black and hot?

Gotcha? Are you team Logan, Team Jass or team Dean?

Oh? I don't none?

Is that fair?

Can I say none?

You can say no? I can't think you were the first. This is the most unique answer on this question. I love it. Is there a boyfriend a coupling for Rory that you find appropriate?

I don't terrible that.

I don't know and I don't know. No, I don't want you to agonize it.

We're gonna come back parents my character.

Okay, that's the twist.

You know, we never knew they actually dated.

Why didn't we go there? Who's your favorite Gilmore Girls couple? Luke and laurelied Zaane, Zaye and Lack. I always say that Laurele, I thank you. See you don't even let me get it.

There's nothing that thank you.

I just went through a whole spiel. You don't need to on the on the podcast about I'm sick of being lumped in with Christopher. What team are you Team Luke or Team Christopher? I was like, it's not a competition. What's wrong with you? Why am I being lumped in your team?

Laurel?

I are your team Nicole? I mean nobody asked that questions? Anyway, here we go. I'm on a rant again. What would you order at Luke's diner?

Oh?

The first thing that came to my mind? I don't even know if he had it at Patty Mountain.

Yeah, that's easy.

Or a girl cheese, I like, always love a girl cheese at a diner.

Luke has that?

Did you have fried chicken?

I think he? Of course he did, Okay, and it was fantastic.

I bet it was.

Look, You're welcome anytime, don't worry.

Thank you?

Jackson or tailor for town selectmen?

Um Jackson?

Would you rather listen to hep Alien or The Troubadour's cover songs?

The Troubadour's cover songs?

Harvard or Yale? Yale?

Because I you know why?

When I auditioned for grad schools, they did not take me, but I remember they were very nice.

What's Rory's bigger mistake? Crashing the car her boyfriend built for her or sleeping with her ex who is married?

Oh, sleeping with their ex is married? Big mistake, mistake?

Who from Gilmore? Would you not want to be stuck on a desert island with?

Probably Oh I'm blake and uh Lorelei's mother.

Okay, yeah makes sense. Something that might be a lot.

That might be a lot.

Yeah, I'm thinking, you know, she could be advantageous in several scenarios though.

That's absolutely true, you know what I mean? An Actually she could be a good conversationalist too.

Yeah she could be Yeah, uh, she'd be a little pedantic, but you know, yeah, uh something in your life. You are all in on.

My dog.

Tell us about your dog.

Oh, my dog's awesome. His name is Arthur.

He is a I thought he was mostly a terrier mix, but he I found out after getting tested he's mostly Chiuala, which I had no idea.

He had him over.

Ten years and he's super sweet, barely makes a noise and is very smart.

He's great.

That's that's fantastic. It's been a pleasure, Mitch, pleasure. We know you have a heart out. You're a busy guy, but thanks for talking to us. It was it was my pleasures guy, and I hope you come back. We have probably more to discuss.

Uh just two episodes, yeah, did we Yeah?

Well, my wen, we'll just have to discuss the other episode right in minute detail.

We'll go very slow.

Thank you, my friend.

Thank you very much.

Scott, all the best and take care of good luck with everything and go see go see Mitches show yes June eighteenth, New York City.

The Green Room forty two, whatever their website is.

Tickets are going fast, so you gotta make your move now, all right, all right, my friends, all the best, All right, take.

Care you too.

Hey everybody, and don't forget follow us on Instagram at I Am all In podcast and email us at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com. Oh you're Gilmore fans. If you're looking for the best cup of coffee in the world, go to my website from my company scottip dot com, s C O T T y P dot com, scottyp dot com Grade one Specialty Coffee

I Am All In with Scott Patterson

Twenty years ago, you met Luke Danes...backward cap, plaid flannel, pouring the coffee. For the VERY 
Social links
Follow podcast
Recent clips
Browse 540 clip(s)