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Illeana Douglas has created the brilliant webseries Easy To Assemble. In it she has quit her Hollywood acting job and is working at the Ikea in Burbank (my Ikea) and learning how Easy everything is To Assemble. Several of her friends including the hysterical and witty Craig Bierko appear in the webisodes, so when I saw his name attached I had to ask him about it. Afterall he did create the brilliant webisode Bathing with Bierko!!!
Seriously? OMG! WTF?: How did you get involved with Easy to Assemble?
Craig Bierko: I’m friends with Illeana and when she told me about the concept for the show I thought it was hilarious and surreal, a combo that always appeals to me. I also liked the idea of playing myself because I wasn’t always a fan of the guy who played me before.
SOW: Do you carry your Allen Wrench around with you at all times even when you are not working?
CB: I think they have a lot of nerve naming something that small and nonwrench-like anything but what it is – a little bent piece of metal. You can’t do that. You’re not allowed to just pick up a little bent piece of metal and claim “Allen Wrench.†That’s bullshit, man.
SOW: Do you shop at Ikea? Did you have some Swedish Meatballs when you shot the webisode?
CB: I must have bought something at Ikea at some point. Maybe a frame of some kind, or a pot. I really don’t like to put things together though, especially if I’m going to sit on it eventually. I’m not good at doing that stuff and it seems like a cost-efficient recipe for serious spinal cord injury. I missed the meatballs but the smell is never far away at Ikea.
SOW: Can you believe the success of Easy To Assemble? Did you hear CBS.com picked up the webisodes?
CB: I didn’t know that until just now but I’m not surprised. Illeana emailed me a few days ago and told me some of the people who are planning to do – or have already shot – an episode. She’s worked with everyone and everyone loves her so that means it’s going to be really fun to see who pops up week after week.
SOW: What have you been up to? What are you working on?
CB: I’m about to shoot an episode of a show called “Head Case†which Ali Wentworth does for Starz. Once again, I’ll play myself – only this time I’m getting therapy from Ali, who plays a shrink to the stars. It’s all improvised which is good because that’s what I usually do anyway.
SOW: Taken baths with anyone famous recently and filmed it? Or not so famous?
CB: I gave my dog Boo a bath last night and she’s quite renowned in my apartment.
SOW: What happened with “To Be Or Not To Be�
CB: Well, I’ll just say that it was a very difficult decision for me to leave the play. Everyone in the cast is so talented – as is the director Casey Nicholaw who is probably the single nicest, most enthusiastic, big-hearted person I’ve ever met. You stand next to him and you just start smiling. There should be a few of him on every block, the world would be a better place.
SOW: What will we next see you in?
CB: I’ve got a Vera Wang number that’s going to stun you to your socks.
I can’t wait to see Craig in that Vera Wang number, you know he is going to be so sexy in it! Seriously he always cracks me up! So I can’t wait to see what he does when he is on Head Case, a show that is so perfect for his comic timing!
On an Easy To Assemble note, the webseries is doing so well in its first two weeks alone that CBS has picked it up and the webisodes can be seen on TV.com.
Thank you so much Craig Bierko for taking the time to answers my questions once again!
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