Ashton Kutcher's former Punk'd cohort, Dax Shepard, makes his big-screen acting debut in the new comedy Without a Paddle (opening Aug. 20). He plays Tom, a lovable boozer and pothead with a tendency toward dishonesty. Sounds like a piece of cake for Dax, right? Actually, the 29-year-old UCLA grad (who majored in anthropology) insists his doofy slacker role really was a stretch.
"In Paddle, I play a guy who is compensating for not having an education," Shepard explains. "I think of my character as someone who is as intelligent as Dan [Seth Green's character], but Dan had good parents and went to medical school and became a doctor, and Tom just went to jail. So he's trying to make up for the fact that he knows nothing, and feel smart by lying a lot and trying to be an expert at something."
How did Shepard make his jump from bookworm to MTV prankster in real life? "I actually made the transition from acting to a
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Seth Green is best known as Buffy the Vampire Slayer's werewolf Oz and Dr. Evil's son in the Austin Powers movies. But he's thrilled to be reprising his role as dimwitted teenager Chris Griffin on the short-lived (but much-loved) Family Guy. After abruptly canceling it a few years back, Fox has decided to resurrect the animated comedy series. New episodes start in 2005, but to catch you up, a mini-marathon of old episodes will air on Aug. 18 and 25 at 8 pm/ET. Green's glad the cartoon is getting a second life.
"We've already done like six episodes," Green says excitedly. "It is directly as a result of the fan support because everybody bought the DVDs. It is the only time a corporation like Fox had to say, 'Maybe we didn't understand this show, but it is undeniable that it is popular and it makes money.'"
Since he's heading back into the world of cartoon characters, will he also do the upcoming animated version of Buffy? "Nobody
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