An Interview with Tyler Labine (Sock, 'Reaper')

April 2008

One of my favorite new shows this season has been the CW's Reaper. Many of the new 2007-08 offerings have been less than stellar and only a few have earned a spot on my Tivo. This brilliant dramedy has consistently kept me completely entertained each week and earned that series pass before the credits began rolling in the very first episode.

While I dearly love all of the characters on Reaper, the one who I find most entertaining is Tyler Labine, who plays scene-stealer Sock on the series. I had the incredible opportunity to chat with Tyler and found this talented actor to easily be one of the funniest guys around! He truly is a free spirit and was refreshingly honest - much like his character on Reaper.

From Dead Last to Invasion, Tyler's roles have made him instantly recognizable, but you may be surprised to know that he is also a very talented musician. He currently is involved with two very different bands:

WritLarge: Described on his MySpace page as Hip Hop/Regional Mexican/Minimalist music, Tyler morphs into the hilarious Dez Manchester and creates music as this character.

Demons are Real: Tyler and his brother Cameron founded this band. They describe the sound of their music as, "a big pile of Yes." The creative genius of these two brothers is evident in their music.

So, what did this highly entertaining actor have to say? Read on....

Q: When did you decide to pursue acting?

Tyler: "I was sort of put into acting as a nine-year-old boy with my two brothers. We were rambunctious, cute kids and my mom decided to take us downtown (we lived in Toronto) and see if we could get an agent. My mom thought we could raise money for college if we wanted to do this.

As far as me deciding as an individual that I wanted to do it, I was about 15. I realized I wanted to do this; I really wanted to go for it! So, I started to actively pursue it and began taking drama class in school more seriously."

Q: What was the worst job you ever had?

Tyler: "Pizza delivery driver. Nobody respects a pizza delivery driver except other pizza delivery drivers. Maybe it's different now, but when I used to deliver pizza, people would rip me off and flick nickels at me. I had the bridge of my nose broken; it was fractured by a guy flicking a nickel at me. He opened the door, grabbed the pizza and bing, he broke the bridge of my nose! It was a ridiculous job, I hated it.

Oh, and on top of that, I only got the job because the boss wanted me to go out with her daughter. I didn't like her daughter at all and her daughter didn't like me either."

Q: Do you prefer music to acting?

Tyler: "No, it's not even like that. They're totally separate. I recognize that there is a really bad stigma for actor/musicians - 'look I'm Keanu Reeves in Star Dog, whatever it's called, or Bruce Willis in Broken Hearts.' I was talking to Rick Gonzales, he's an emcee as well, and I was saying how it sucks that we're forced to choose one or the other.

It's funny because back in the day, you had to do all that. You had to dance, sing and act to be anybody in Tinseltown. Now, if you do all that, you're trying to capitalize on your fame and it's kind of cheesy. Artists have all of these creative impulses and you need outlets for them. I don't think I'm trying to gain from my music, I just have to do it because it's a really strong creative impulse I have. If I didn't, I'd probably go insane and my other work would probably suffer. I need them both."

Q: The brilliant Kevin Smith directed the pilot episode of Reaper, how was that experience?

Tyler: "It was awesome, I love working with Kevin. He is just one of those directors who is a dialog master and comes up with stuff right off the top of his head. I do that too, I like to do improv acting, so we got along very well together. He took the pilot and made it really good. It definitely had his stamp all over it. It really says a lot that he could take this TV show and made it into an hour slice of Kevin Smith.

He asked me to come out and shoot a part in his new movie, Zach and Miri Make a Porno. I went out to Pittsburgh and shot a little thing with Seth Rogen. I think he likes working with me and I know I like working with him."

Q: Sock seems very eager to work for the Devil, why would he want to do something so self-destructive?

Tyler: "That's a good way to put it! Since the beginning, everyone has been calling me this slacker, so as soon as Sam told me his soul was sold to the Devil, I was like, 'Lucky! I want to do something like that.'

I think Sock really wants to be a part of something important, and the Work Bench isn't it. It's just a means to an end. He's the first one who is ready to go out there and do anything. He has left himself strategically available to do anything as it comes up. That's why he works at the Bench, that's why people think he's a slacker. It's not that he's a slacker; he just wants to be available. He wants to help Sam because it's cool and it's probably the biggest thing he'll ever do in his life."

Q: Will you finally get to do some scenes with the Devil?

Tyler: "Nope, not yet. I really, really want to do some stuff with the Devil. They have to figure out the mythology of how that would work before they can just have us on the screen with the Devil. It's the bain of my existence right now! I'm on a show with Ray Wise and I can't even step toe-to-toe with him in a scene."

Q: Will we see more Sock/Mom drama?

Tyler: "I don't know if we're going to see my mom in the show again. Moving out on my own and becoming a man - the things that are happening now are as a direct result of the mom drama. I'd love to have my mom back on the show because it was so fun to finally meet my mom and see where Sock comes from."

Q: What characteristics do you share with Sock?

Tyler: "I think this character is closest to my natural cadence and dialect. He means what he says and says what he means - I want to live my life that way. I get to go in and do that everyday. They pay me to throw in all my heavy bull**it neurosis and be this guy. I wish I could live more like that. I think whether people like to admit it or not, they wish they could be more like Sock."