ALEX SKUBY DISCUSSES KING OF QUEENS ROLE, TRUE ACTING & MORE -- Part II

(Alex Skuby & Kevin James)

Spending decades in the world of theatre, film and television, Alex Skuby, 45, has learned the in's and out's of the business of acting. Moving to Los Angeles in his mid-20s, he grew from a theatre talent to a reoccurring comedy character in King of Queens. 

In the second and final part of our conversation with Skuby, we dive into his role as Doug Pruzan on King of Queens, how it came together and some backstories during his time on set. 

Click here for Part I

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Zach Catanzareti: Your most well-known position was in King of Queens as Doug Pruzan. You were on it from 2000 to 2003, a show that hit off around the country. I wanted to know when that started for you. Where did you first hear about that show?

Alex Skuby: I didn’t really watch much TV back then. I never watched the show and they brought me in their first season for a part, a guest star role. I went in over at Sony Studios and I didn’t book it. Then, they brought me in again for another totally different role, didn’t book it. Two more times they did that. So, by the fifth time I finally watched the show and [I said], 'Oh, this is a funny show. This guy, Kevin James, he's funny.'

The fifth time they brought me in, my agent said that King of Queens wanted to see me again for another part. I’m like, 'What? Is this a joke?' Because after you go in a few times, you’re like, 'OK, why do they keep bringing me in if they’re not hiring me?'

What I realized was, they were looking for something more for me to do, so it wasn’t just one episode -- they would keep bringing me back, which was wonderful.

And I booked it. I booked Doug Pruzan, the goofy, high-anxiety attorney. It was a good accomplishment.

You talked about it there but the auditioning process, did they give you who Doug Pruzan was going to be? Or was it open-ended and they wanted to see what talents you had?

There is a character description, pages from the script you audition with. But it's up to the actor to make the choices and what they want to do. They had brought me in before so many times that I think they already had a knowledge of who I am as an actor.

When I went in with the producers that day, there were about 15 other actors who were recognizable who went in for that part. Again, it's a crapshoot, you’re sitting there going, 'Well, one of us is going to get it.'

It worked out in my way.

There are a lot of big talents on that show, led by Kevin James. Can you recall your first encounter with him, when you met?

He was in the audition room when I auditioned for the part. I got to talk to him. That pretty much steered our relationship throughout the entire show. I didn't -- Kevin was nice, a nice dude -- I didn’t build a relationship with him but he was cool.

Overall, you were in 13 episodes. Your first was "Big Dougie" where Carrie accidentally says she loves you over the phone. That first experience on set, reading over the script, multiple takes, all the work that goes into it. Was it something you fell for?

I tell you man, it was a blast. Leah Remini is great, very friendly, very sweet person. Patton Oswalt is an amazing dude, Jerry Stiller was phenomenal to me, Victor Williams is great. I’m actually still friends with Larry Romano, who was on the first season on that show.

(Skuby with Remini & James on King of Queens)

That first episode, again, it's a new gig, I was... nervous. You do a table read on Monday then you start rehearsing on the soundstage. Tuesday, you do another rehearsal, Wednesday is a network walkthrough, so the whole network comes to watch the show that is going to be put up Friday night in front of a live audience.

And you’re not off-book yet because they're constantly changing lines to make it funnier or better. By the time the live audience came in I was prepared but it was my first half-hour sitcom with a live audience.

But that's where theatre comes in. Because theatre is a live audience. And the best thing about a half-hour comedy is that you can cut and do another take [laughs] whereas theatre, you can’t do that.

It was a great experience. I had a pretty wonderful experience all around.

You got to work with Jerry Stiller a lot. He was in that episode "Work Related" with you and Leah. I see him as a master of delivery when it comes to his comedy. Was he someone you watched beforehand or on set when it came to having that skill?

I didn’t know much about Jerry Stiller other than he was married to Anne Meara and they had their comedy routine years and years ago. I knew of him but not him, I didn’t know his work.

But I will say this: Jerry is one of the most amazing, just a big heart, a great person. I learned a lot by watching him work and his delivery like you said. He was really good, man [laughs] really good.

There are some people out there who just get it -- comedy is not easy to do. It's not. It's easier to make people cry than it is to make them laugh. Jerry said to me one day, we were in his dressing room just chatting and he said, 'Comedy is more dramatic than drama... because in comedy, every scene is life-or-death.'

I was like, 'Man, that’s good!'

(Skuby pictured with Jerry Stiller)

He was in his 60s or 70s during this show and he was always on his feet and he captivated the whole show. Did you really feel that working alongside him?

Oh yeah, he was someone to admire. Like any person you admire in any field, sport or whatever -- in this field, he was an icon. And of course being able to work with him was an honor. It was just awesome.

What I liked more than working with him was the conversations we had. The show is over, the audience has left, we're still on stage. I'd hang out with him, Anne Meara would be there. I'd listen to them talk and I'd have conversations with them. That's where you learned. It's not just about watching their act. Off the stage, you get a little more insight.

After that, your next episode was "Better Camera" one of the more popular ones around Christmas time. I believe you had only one line for that episode and...

That was so long ago, I don’t remember what I did in that.

You were only in one scene, that's when Carrie gets the big camera from Doug and you gave her a small one.

Oh, the scamp! [laughs] That was long ago, man.

You had just the one line: "It's a good little camera for a good little worker." And that was it. Was the preparation ever different when you have one small line compared to other episodes where you had a lot.

Sometimes it's harder to have one or two lines because you don’t know where you’re supposed to come in. It can get kind of confusing. But yeah, once you’re there... only one line? And I get paid the same amount as if I had 100 lines? This is great!

That changed a lot with "High-Def Jam" the Super Bowl episode. Multiple sets, you were in the office, the movie theater, the Heffernan house and also your house. Was this one of your favorite episodes? You got a lot of screen time.

Yeah, it was a lot more fun because I was in more of it. It was a fun episode, the co-star, Ricki Lake, she was great, a lot of fun. Didn't I tell her to sit on pappy's lappy?

It's smooth like a western saddle!

There you go! You know the lines better than me, man! [laughs] And Lou Ferrigno was wonderful. That dude is awesome. He is a great guy.

I was going to ask you about him. Do you ever foresee playing in a part alongside him?

Hell, no. I grew up on The Hulk, David Banner, Bill Bixby played him. I remember the first day I was there -- I'm 6'5 and he's the same height but he's this mountain. Still, even on an old age, he's working out like he used to. He was physically impressive human being.

"Pull it together, Pruzan. Pull it together." 

Skuby, King of Queens.

We learned how odd of a characters Doug Pruzan really was. Was it an exciting challenge to match a strange character? Not only funny but you had this weird side.

The fact I collect marionettes? [laughs] It's all the dialogue, whatever they write, you’re going to do. I thought I played that kind of crazy person but once you write it down and say the line, it all seems to work out.

They wrote some really good stuff for me. There was one episode where I wanted [Carrie] to cut me up a banana real thin. I thought that was so wonderful they wrote that because it defines the character. It shows you what he is, his personality. A banana sliced real thin? That's such an odd request.

Speaking on talents you worked with, Leah was the big one. Pretty much every scene you were in she was also there. To me, you two had great chemistry. One scene, you came in and you always sat on her desk. And she didn’t like that, so she put that small tower on her desk. Did you gel with her like you thought you would?

I did. She's an East Coast girl. She was reminding me of my cousin, who is from New Jersey. They kind of had the same personality, an edgier person, says what they want, what they feel, no filter. I really liked her a lot, Leah is great.

I actually ran into her -- my wife was nominated for an Emmy and we went. I hadn’t seen Leah in years and I ran into her at the Emmy after-party and we had a nice conversation.

That's great to hear. Do you run into people from the show often?

I haven’t seen Jerry [Stiller] in years, I mean, years. Victor Williams and I used to hang out regularly years ago. He moved back to New York, I know he just got a part on another sitcom.

I ran into Patton Oswalt a few times over the last five, six years. As far as Kevin [James] goes, I never had a relationship with Kevin James, ever. On set, it was fine, we chat here and there, side conversations. But we never had a relationship. I don’t know the last time I saw him.

To wrap up King of Queens, 2003 is when your character saw its last episode. What were those emotions, did you know that would be your last episode?

It's a funny story. I didn’t know that would be my last episode. I got the script and I was like, 'Wait a second... this cant be the last episode.' And then they explained to me after the table read, they came into my dressing room. I was bummed [saying] 'What the hell?'

They said, 'Hey, we want to go a different way with Carrie's character at work.' They explained it to me and they were nice. They were cool about it.

I was bummed but at the same time, I wasn’t going to be a regular on the show. It was a great experience, I truly appreciated all of it. Not a lot of people get to do that stuff.

As I mentioned, 15 years since that last episode. You’ve done so much work since then but when you see those King of Queens episodes come on air today, what comes to mind?

I had hair. That's what comes to mind! I look at it and go, 'Wow, I still had baby fat and I had hair. Holy cow!' [laughs] It's funny, it is was it is, it's weird to see because it's so long ago. I was 26 years old, I had hair.

And you were so healthy, too.

[laughs] I look better now than I did then. Let's just say that. I don’t want to get cocky but at 45, I look better!

What do the kids think when they see dad on TV?

They kind of grew up in it but I think they’re over it. At first, the first couple years, 'Ah, this is so cool.' Now, they’re talking to their friends -- my daughter is going to be 19 next month, my son is 16. They’re friends will be like, 'Oh my God, your dad is on the Fosters. He's a bad guy.' And I think that makes them feel good.

But as far as sitting down and watching it on TV, they're like, 'Eh, can we watch something else?'

The whole acting thing I try to keep separate from my children always. Those two things, personally, don’t go together. Two separate parts of my brain and two parts of my life.

You touched on the Fosters a little bit, Jennifer Lopez exc. producer, on Freeform. After all these years, a more serious role, how much did you really enjoy being a part of this show?

I loved it. The guys, Peter Paige, an exc. producer on it, he was a good dude. I got to play opposite of Terri Polo, a wonderful actress in her own right. I was a dirty detective and she was a cop. It was really nice. It was a drama, so it was very toned down, specific and direct.

It was just a really good time, man. I love doing drama -- talking about TV and film -- a little more than comedy because it's more... it fits home a little better. I don’t know how to explain with words.

Maybe you would feel like a performing monkey trying to entertain people. But when you’re doing a dramatic, you seem to hone your skills and show off in a serious way?

Yeah, I guess you could say it somewhere along those lines. Again, comedy is hard. I have a great respect for people who are really good a comedy. I’m not too bad at it, pretty decent at it. The play I’m doing right now, for people in Los Angeles, see Damaged Furniture. My wife, Mo Collins, is in it. It's a really good, dysfunctional family play.

Local in L.A. you said?

Yes, at the Whitefire Theater. If you live around this area in Los Angeles, come check it out.

(CLICK HERE for more information on Damaged Furniture)

Final question here, I've been checking out your YouTube channel and I see you’re a passionate musician. I saw your tributes to Chris Cornell and Prince. Pretty good work...

Why, thank you.

Is that something you’ve done for a long time?

I had a band called the Alex Skuby Band for about seven years, we toured the East Coast, mid-west. I haven’t looked at that stuff in a long time. But yeah, I had a band for a while, we had a manager, toured. That was from 2004 to 2010 I want to say around there.

We had great musicians, we had fun. We wrote a lot of original stuff, did some covers, went around and did our thing. We played casinos, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Boston, Iowa. In that area. It was a lot of fun. Good stuff, I enjoyed it.

ALEX SKUBY DISCUSSES KING OF QUEENS ROLE, TRUE ACTING & MORE -- Part I

Alex Skuby is a man of many faces. And most of them have been seen on TV sets around the country.

Spending decades in the world of theatre, film and television, Skuby, 45, has learned the in's and out's of the business of acting. Moving to Los Angeles in his mid-20s, he grew from a theatre talent to a reoccurring comedy character in King of Queens. 

Playing as Doug Pruzan from 2000 to 2003, Skuby's career continued to lean on the TV side for 15 years, recently working on Freeform's The Fosters in 2017. 

Skuby spoke with Zach Catanzareti of the Catch-Up Blog to discuss his career in acting and his growth from a "blue-collar" New Jersey upbringing to the big screen. We also dive into his King of Queens role and what he's up to nowadays with his LA play, Damaged Furniture.

NEW! Listen to this interview on our SoundCloud channel: CLICK HERE.

Zach Catanzareti: Let's start with where it all started for you in New Jersey. You grew up in the 70s, how was your childhood growing up? Did you have any siblings, what did your parents do?

Alex Skuby: I was born in 1972, I was the oldest of three siblings. We're all six years apart, so my brother is six years younger than me and my sister is 12 years younger than me. And my father was a salesman, he worked in New York City for IZOD, Ralph Lauren, stuff like that. He was pretty much on the road and my mother was a stay-at-home mom.

It was a pretty straightforward childhood, I had a lot of friends, grew up in Jersey. It was interesting, when I got older my brother was growing up I hated that he took some of the attention away from me. Just that sibling rivalry. It was pretty normal, I guess. My father was always telling jokes at parties and going above and beyond to get attention. That bigger personality came onto me I would say.

Was it through your father that you started getting into acting? Or was that something that came a little later?

It came later. My father didn't have anything to do with my acting, he actually did want me to pursue that. He wanted me to have a real job with benefits and health insurance. I knew that wasn't for me, that normal every-day existence only because my brain doesn't work that way.

I did not do theatre in high school, I didn't think about it too much. But what happened was when I graduated high school, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I had to go to school so I enrolled at Brookdale Community College, a two-year college in Lincroft, NJ. I had to go full-time there because my parents were divorced at that point. In order to stay with my father's home insurance, I had to be a full-time student.

There was a marketing class and an acting 101 class. Well, I didn't want to take marketing so let's see what this acting 101 is all about. I took it and I had a blast. It was therapeutic.

Why do you think that was? Was it something that came natural, performing in front of people, perhaps with comedy if that's how you started?

I didn't start in comedy, most of my credits, if you look at my resume and stuff, it's drama. Especially with Tv and stuff. When I went to Brookdale, they cast a play called "A Few Good Men". It was a movie that came out but it started as a play. I auditioned for it, it was pretty high drama and I got the part. It was just so wonderful, the feeling.

As far as being a natural in front of people, I don't know if you're born with that or if it's something you grow into. I remember doing that play -- I did a play in third grade, but in third grade, you don't give a shit. 'Yay, I'm in a play!'

I'm 19 at the time, so I cared. I was very nervous. It was the first time I had something at stake, you know?

But the role was amazing. Opening night, I played Col. Jessup, Jack Nicholson played that part. I remember being so nervous. There was a scene where another actor comes in and says 'I hate lawyers, kill them all.' Something like that. I was so nervous I went blank. I brain went blank and it seemed like it lasted five minutes, it was probably only 10 seconds.

When did you feel comfortable?

It's funny because every job you do is different. For instance, I'm doing a play right now, we're doing in Los Angeles, it's called Damaged Furniture. It's a comedy written by Howard Skora, it's an original play. We're doing this play, we just got extended through August at the Whitefire Theatre. To answer your question, each job is different. This theatre we're talking about here, it's live, no safety net -- once the lights come up and you roll on the stage, you're in it. Sink or swim.

(Damaged Furniture, 2018. Alex Skuby, Instagram)

I don't think you can actually feel comfortable before the show starts. I'm speaking personally, but once you get that groove and the rhythm with the audience then it starts to flow and there's more quote-on-quote comfortable feeling. You're in the moment.

It's definitely more at-ease and more fluid I would say. More connected. But with TV and film you have take after take, you show up for a scene, you're not really feeling it. But after a few takes, you're OK and feel better. It's a whole different set of skills.

You said you didn't really know what you wanted to do. Kind of not having a Plan B, did that really motivate you to get rid of the nerves?

I would say it is but what makes a solid performer is work. You have to focus. I'm going to bring up this play, I'm in 96 of 100 pages in the script. That's a lot of dialogue. I'm in the entire play, I'm on stage with other brilliant actors, a cast of five of us. So, I knew we were going to start rehearsal at the end of January, so I started reading the script.

I learned all my lines to make sure I was off-book for the most part in a matter of 10 days... so in 10 days I did nothing but sit in my office -- I would take five pages and go, 'OK, I'm going to learn these five pages right now.' And then I'd take the next five and keep doing that.

And fear [laughs] is a great motivator, too. I got to know this!

But that goes into what you were saying, did that make me feel with a Plan B? Yeah, it did. But again, in my brain, there is nothing else I could do. Nothing. I remember when I was eight or nine, my whole family is Russian. We're all from the Jersey Shore and I remember Russian Easter my cousin had brought a friend of his to this party we were having. I was a kid and she was a casting director for soap operas.

I didn't know much about it then but when she explained to me at that age what he did, casting actors on TV, I started doing these dances for her [laughs]. 'Look at me, look at me!' I think it has always been there.

Also, I had this psychology teacher in high school. My grades weren't great, I didn't feel the schoolwork. Anyone can say they hate school, I get it. But I really wasn't that good. I remember my psychology teacher one day in the hallway he said to me, 'You know Skuby, you're not going to need any of this.' I go, 'What are you talking about?' He's like, 'All this stuff, this work. You're going to get somewhere on your personality.'

I'll never forget him saying that. I was like, 'Holy shit.' I didn't think of it then but now 30 years later, wow. He said that to me and he was kind of right.

It makes you feel it was meant to be a little bit. This wasn't by accident, you found what you wanted. You were dancing as a kid and before you knew it, you saw yourself on TV.

"There are two different types of actors in this business. There are celebrity superstars and there are actors. I'm an actor."

You have your superstars, your Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis. Those are more superstars to me. Then there are actors, those who move throughout this business in smaller parts, bigger parts, but they're always there auditioning, working, going for it. And you build a nice little life for yourself. That's kind of where I'm at. That's kind of what I am.

When I first moved to LA when I was 25, it was like I wanted to be that star. Then after 10, 15 years of learning about this business and the people who ran it, I came to the conclusion I like being an actor, man. I just like being an actor.

Do you think people get stuck wanting that limelight?

I think there are people who do, yeah. There are people who look at the size of the paycheck, they look for how much clout this is going to give me. They live in that white, fluffy cloud -- they surround themselves with a lot of yes men. I've never been in that, I've never had that. I've worked with people who were that.

I can't speak for who's into that but just by looking at it, how did they do that? They already have $200 million in their bank account why the hell would they do that movie?

I started in theatre, I love theatre. Of course, I do love working in television and film, I do. Theatre is where it all started for actors. Going back hundreds of years, this is where it is, where it's sink or swim.

With theatre, I hear that a lot with actors. What are really the differences when you're on a bigger set on a TV network and theatre? Do you keep that same mindset or are they too different to bring those skills?

You hone your skills and work on your craft in theatre. In my opinion, others may have a different opinion. But with mine, that's where I learned my stuff. When I was doing King of Queens or when I was just on a show called The Fosters, I bring those skills into that environment.

Essentially, it's the same thing but two different skillsets. TV is smaller, the physicalities are smaller, especially in drama. That's very low-key and played down. Whereas in theatre, you have to be bigger, the people in the back row need to hear you and see your facial expressions.

To answer your question, I do use the same skillsets just in a different way.

You quickly became a fairly familiar face on TV from A Will of Their Own, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ER. Did you anticipate your career leaning toward the TV side?

(Alex Skuby, Instagram)

That's just how it panned out. I didn't think too much about where I would end up, I just went with it. When I moved to LA, I was an actor in Chicago -- I grew up in Jersey, moved to Chicago when I was 20. I did a lot of theatre out there. I was cast in a show called Early Edition and I was so nervous I couldn't even hit my marks.

The camera guy whispered to the director, 'I cant get him in the shot.' The director would come up to me and go, 'Alex, you have to hit your mark. If you don't hit your mark, you're not going to be able to do the job.'

But again, I don't see myself as comedy or drama, I see myself as an actor. The last gig I had was in December for The Fosters, the last six months have been pretty dry. But I do have the play I'm doing which is keeping my brain occupied and my feet wet. You never know when your number is called and here you go, you're back in a series, back doing your thing. You have to stay... loose.

You hear about these actors who played in stuff a long time ago and you wonder if they still have that fire in their belly to still act. Obviously, you still have that.

I do. Has it lessened a little? Look, I've learned a lot in this business. When I first got here, I was more about the show and less about the business. The problem here is that I was young and naive, I didn't think about the business side. And it worked for a while, I booked jobs.

But after a while, you start to learn it's not about that. It's about relationships you're creating, business relationships. I was never really good at ass-kissing and schmoozing. I just never was. I'm a blue-collar kid from Jersey, a guy who loves the art I do.

As far as going out to bars and schmoozing with directors, producers, I was never good at it. As a matter of fact, most of the time I did try to do that, I'd wind up drinking too much [laughs], you know what I mean?

Now I have kids of my own and my son who's 16 wants to be an actor. I'm like, 'Oh God. Kid, please. Do something else, do something else. Because I know how it is.'

You talked about Early Edition and early on how nervous you were. When you look back and how your skills have grown tremendously over 15, 20 years. How do you look back on that and how far you've come?

I look back and go, 'Wow, I wish I knew then what I know now.' That's just a cliche, we all say that. But you have to go through these moments to learn, A. If you want to keep doing it and B. If you're even right for it. Trials and tribulations we go through in any business, not just acting, it could be accounting, a car salesman. You go through these things to help us grow and figure out if it's what we want. Is this something I can fight for the next 40 years.

You brought up earlier that I still have the fire to go out and do that. A lot of the time, I don't. There are days I don't want to do it anymore, I don't want to walk into a small little room on Warner Brothers with more producers, a casting director sitting there staring at me. Most of the time, I got to tell you, if they are bringing actors in with a resume, they know when you walk into the room before you say a word, they have a thought in their head if you're right for the part.

Again, this business isn't all about talent. Very little of it is. These days they're casting on how many YouTube followers some of these kids have or their Instagram followers or Twitter. If that's the case, I'm screwed. I'm a 45-year-old guy, I have an Instagram account, Twitter, all this stuff. But some of these people have 600,000 followers, who the hell is that?

They put up videos and them bouncing a pink ball and it gets like 200 million hits. You're like, 'What is that?!' I feel I am aging out of this, like one of my parents like, 'What is this Instagram thing and how do you use it?'

Everything is changing, man. The whole business, everything. The last 10 years are so different.

You said your son wanted to get into acting?

My son has been bringing it up. First off, he knows how I get when he says, 'Oh, it looks like fun.' I' be like, 'Don't say that.' Yes, maybe two percent of it can be fun but the rest of it is, 'Oh my God, I'm so stressed, I'm not going to get the part. I got to look at my lines, got to get rid of the nerves, maybe take a Xanax.

I tell him all time, if you're going to do it, start in theatre. Do it the right way, not like these people putting up a video of them chewing gum and they think they're going to get a TV series. Maybe they will, I don't know how it works. But I try to tell him that, I want him to be smarter about this decision.

I have a daughter and she wants nothing to do with it.

CLICK HERE for Part II with Alex Skuby.