I wasn’t nervous about meeting Christopher Bolton. I was much more nervous about finding the restaurant and finding myself a parking spot. I found both easily, and found Christopher sitting at the bar.

(we laughed as i pulled out my decrepit tape recorder and hoped that i’d be able to hear the interview when i played it back. i can’t, for the record. it’s a good thing i’ve got a fantastic memory.)

We talked about the show, of course. since that’s what i was there for. to be honest, at times, i actually forgot i was there to interview him. we were like old friends. and i feel like we talked more about me than him. Chris said that he has always found himself gravitating towards the Italian community. He spent a lot of time writing in Italian coffee shops. and, at the same time, he was learning to play hockey (no, he didn’t play from birth. don’t hold it against him that he only considers himself an “okay” hockey player). and he was working on two different shows and decided to join them together and Rent-A-Goalie was born. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this show, it’s about a reformed bad guy, Cake, who runs a rent-a-goalie service out of the coffee shop that he works in. it’s full of hilarity, awesome characters (with great nicknames). some sexual tension, some foul language, and, of course, lots of hockey.

Whenever anyone asks him if he loves his job, he says “I won the lottery of life! it’s just a ridiculous way to make a living!” and his favorite scenes to shoot are the ones where he gets to sit back and watch his incredible cast just do their thing. When asked how much of Cake is Chris and how much of Chris is Cake…he answered that Cake is his therapy. it’s Cheaper Than Therapy for him (funny!)

I tried to pry some season 3 secrets out of him, but he wasn’t talking. even with the wine. well, he DID tell me that someone was going to have a baby…Goth girl is really my only guess, since it can’t be Francesca. it just can’t. and i was not shy at all about telling him that Cake and Fran cannot get together.

once you break the sexual tension, it’s over, johnny. he agreed, and assured me that even though there’d be many almosts, they would not, in fact, get together.

We talked about what he listens to on the radio (nothing…his old ’73 Porsche 911 doesn’t have a radio!) and what bands he likes (Blue Rodeo. The Backstabbers. am off to download now. also, old school country and he loves hip hop) and what movies he loves (anything with Chris Cooper. or Down By Law. or anything Thank You For Smoking-esque…”irreverent and funny as f&*k”) and what shows he likes to watch (Deadwood, The Wire, and of course, Taxi, his inspiration for Rent-A-Goalie…and not Cheers, as many people think).

And since all my interviews tend to discuss underwear at some point, you just knew i’d be asking him about his red underpants. yes, these ones.

(rawr)

apparently, they were a gag gift that he got for Christmas from an ex-girlfriend’s family. There were two and they’ve worked themselves into the show as a way to cover up Cake, but not cover him up too much. (if anyone knows where he can get a new pair, please let me know, as he says the two he’s got are getting a little threadbare. ahem. how can you not love a guy who is comfortable enough to wear those AND who uses the word threadbare?)

He has several tattooes. some are meaningful – like the one he designed on his arm as a tribute to his ex-wife (yes, that’s right, he’s single) and on the inside of his wrists he has two compass symbols that he says help guide him through life and the one he has for his son (he was gushing. gushing. about his four-year-old) and some are less so – like the Chinese symbol that he swears he got before it was super trendy to have Chinese symbols.

Christopher and the rest of the Rent-A-Goalie cast just finished up filming season 3. Right now, he’s doing a lot of editing, and getting ready to go to the Banff World Television Festival, which he now has completely convinced me that i must go to. for those of you looking for a little more Christopher, you can catch episodes of Rent-A-Goalie on Showcase and you can stream full episodes of season 2 on showcase.ca

in the end, i must say, having cake for lunch is certainly not a bad thing. 😉

(also posted over at the new and improved Juice!)