Denis Leary takes on Susan Boyle, the Baldwins, Heidi & Spencer

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I realize he’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but I adore Denis Leary. I think he’s hysterical, and one of the most underrated actors working today. I’m not full-on obsessed with his show Rescue Me, but I watch it when I can. It’s one the smartest shows on cable television today – and I think Denis Leary is a large part of that. He’s the co-creator, a writer, producer and he plays the lead character, a not-so recovering alcoholic New York fireman with a really, really screwed up personal life. The character and the show started out as an extension of Denis Leary’s own charitable heart – he has been one of the leading fundraisers for under-funded Massachusetts and New York firehouses, as well as New Orleans firehouses that were left devastated after Hurricane Katrina. He is currently president of both the Leary Firefighters Foundation and the Fund For New York’s Bravest.

So, Denis sat down The TV Squad for a pretty good interview. Most of it was about the sixth season of Rescue Me, and what what’s going to happen. Maura Tierney is coming on for a few episodes, and there will be more stuff about how September 11th affected the NYFD in the longterm. Also, FX has ads running that make it seems like Denis’s character isn’t going to stop drinking any time soon. After Denis talks about the show, the guy just names a bunch of pop culture people, and lets Denis riff on them. I’m still giggling about it:

Is there going to be a follow-up [to the book Why We Suck]?
Well, I have a contract for it, and now that the first one has been so successful, they’re gonna want the same thing [laughs]. I’m gonna want to do something different and they’ll want Why We Still Suck. I had a lot of fun doing it though, and I tried to avoid using any of the book material on the Rescue Me Comedy Tour, so it forced me to keep being creative on stage.

Susan Boyle. Go.
I think she’s a hobbit. The no expectations aspect was fantastic. I kind of wanted her to be the person who not only could sing, but was gonna tell everyone to f off and would become the new sex symbol. I hope she comes back f’ing crazy like Judy Garland on acid. I’d like to feed her a lot of booze and pills and just let her sing beautiful songs and threaten people from the stage.

What about Jon and Kate and the infidelity scandal?
I don’t watch the show, but Kate and Octomom are definitely having a battle of the bulge. The first thing I always think about is the kids, because they don’t have any choice in this whole being famous thing. You’ve got eight monsters, man. Eight potential Susan Boyles coming up. Plus there’s Kate’s haircut – it’s extraordinary. If it were a movie, you would have to convince an actress so hard to wear her hair like that. It’s like an old hockey haircut.

What about Heidi and Spencer? You hear how they up and quit I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here? Practically screwed their charity out of any money. [Author’s note: at the time of this interview, Speidi had yet to apologize and return to the show.]
That is awesome. I’m so proud of them. Why are these people famous? That’s fantastic. Not only do we not care about the charity, but we’re not even going to pretend to care! Man, they’re such morons. There’s already a Baldwin. They should fly in all the Baldwins and just have them beat the crap out of Heidi and Spencer.

What would you call it?
I’m a Baldwin, We’re Here to Kill You.

[From The TV Squad]

You know there’s a reality-show producer out there pitching I’m a Baldwin, we’re Here To Kill You right now. So funny. Last year, Denis got into a lot of trouble with a lot of different groups when some say he mocked autistic children, and families dealing with autism, in his book Why We Suck. Leary claimed that he was not mocking autism, but what he saw as the over-diagnosis of autism in kids, and he apologized to parents of autistic children. As his fan, I could see his point, and I could also understand how his original statements were taken negatively. I hope he does write another book – and perhaps this time he’ll just stick to criticizing celebrity culture.

Denis Leary is shown at the White House Correspondents Dinner on 5/9/09 and performing at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Florida on 4/26/09. Credit: WENN.com

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17 Responses to “Denis Leary takes on Susan Boyle, the Baldwins, Heidi & Spencer”

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  1. Lori says:

    “It’s like an old hockey haircut”.

    OMG! mte Dennis!! So funny.

  2. Ka says:

    I used to like Dennis, but after what he said about Speidi, I simply adore him!!!

  3. ash says:

    I’ve always liked Denis, his stand-up can be a bit wirey, but for the most part, he’s very creative.

  4. PrincessJay says:

    He’s a down to earth guy who isn’t afraid to speak his mind. It’s so refreshing!

  5. UrbanRube says:

    He seems as if he’d be really, really difficult to be in a relationship with, but I like his act.

  6. SolitaryAngel says:

    LOVE me some Leary! **giggling still**

  7. I Choose Me says:

    I’m a Baldwin, We’re Here to Kill You.

    ROTFLMAO. That right there is gold. Pure freakin gold.

  8. gooniegirl says:

    I never cared either way for Denis Leary…until I started watching Rescue Me. My husband and I are so addicted to that show!

  9. barneslr says:

    Love Denis. Would love to see a show called “I’m a Baldwin, We’re Here to Kill EACH OTHER-starting with Alec!”

  10. Annie says:

    Baptized by a Baldwin

  11. hiphophorray says:

    love him

  12. the original kate says:

    love the baldwin show idea. we could vote, a la american idol, on where to send the baldwins next. i vote first speidi, then bret michaels.

  13. MsTriste says:

    As an autistic adult, I think the parents of kids with autism who join organizations like ‘Autism Speaks’ are the most annoying people in the world and I applaud anybody who calls them on their self-centered blame-everybody-else attitudes. ‘Autism Speaks’ DOES NOT speak for me. There is no cure, get on with your lives.

  14. jayem says:

    I completely adore Denis. He cracks me up. I love that he’s so blunt and un-pc. And I am totally obsessed with the genius known as Rescue Me. It is one of the best shows on tv. And the guys are smokin’ hot. Anyone who isn’t watching it should be!

  15. Chicoulina says:

    I love Denis Leary.He is sooooo funny and Hot!Man he’s 52 and ages very well.He’s hotter now than ever.I love his hair,it looks very good on him.
    Rescue me is a must see!I feel it like a mens Sex and The City.

  16. rottenkitty says:

    If you looove Denis Leary, you should listen to the late-great Bill Hicks. The guy Leary stole his act from.

  17. environ says:

    Hicks is great but he’s been dead since the 90’s, Leary does his own stuff. Similar topics (both LOVED cigarettes, when I smoked I LOVED cigarettes, just because I bitched about anti smokers being whiney didn’t mean I was ripping off either) and styles (loud, angry, full of cursing) but Hicks doesn’t have a monopoly on “pissed off comic”.

    This is coming from someone who likes both. About Hicks, my favorite joke of his is about Jesus coming back and being upset that Christians love crosses. Awesome.

    People should check him out, but not so they can compare him to Leary. They should watch/listen because he was smart and funny and had a lot of really thought provoking, interesting things to say.

    Also Leary was misquoted about the whole autism thing, one paragraph out of a chapter on over medicating our children. The media warped it and ran with it. He was just saying that kids are being over diagnosed and that parents today seem to be looking for any reason to medicate their children. In context, it was never meant to be a slam on parents and children actually suffering from autism.