Nuñez A Comic Actor Still Working It!
July 12 – July 15 @ the James Bridges Theater, UCLA
By Dale Reynolds
Nuñez In The Office (Photo By David Moir/USA Network)
When you are handsome, talented, and well-known for one’s comedic abilities, then the world is your oyster soufflé. Cuban-born Oscar Eduardo Nuñez emigrated to the U.S. with his family at age three. His parents – dad a lawyer and mom a dentist— had been in college with future dictator Fidel Castro, and willingly became refugees from Cuban-Communism, as they were Catholics who didn’t want to live in an atheist country. Within a year they had settled in Massachusetts.
Calling himself a “born-comic,” Nuñez became famous during a seven-year run as part of the ensemble cast of the American version of the British comedy, The Office. But he had always been a comedic person: “I was a wise-guy since childhood, which allowed me to gravitate to professional comedy. And having been a huge fan of the [Ricky] Gervais/[Stephen] Merchant hit comedy series, I was thrilled to book the show,” as put-upon Oscar Martinez.
He got his start in New York City, while in his early 20s, performing with The Shock of the Funny Company in the East Village of Manhattan and when he moved out to L.A. at age 30 he joined the celebrated Groundlings Improv Group, writing and starring in a production called Smooth Down There. He also made invaluable contacts with other comics, eventually getting his actor’s union cards, appearing in Reno 911, Halfway Home, and, eventually, The Office. “I believe that comedy is a process that can’t actually be taught; it’s something you are born to. Some of my earliest influences were Harvey Korman and Carol Burnett, who taught me much about sketch comedy.”
Oddly enough for a successful actor, he actually trained at various colleges in New York, including the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Parsons School of Design, and became a certified dental technician after studying at the Magna Institute of Dental Technology (!).
He was on The Office for its entire seven-year run, the last two years with James Spader and Kathy Bates who took over when Steve Carell left the show. “Our director, Gregg Daniels, was brilliant at the long awkward moments, which succeed without the normal laugh track. “See, the great thing behind doing comedy is how it allows a give-and-give-back between the actors and, ultimately, the audience. I was very lucky to have hit that lottery [as] it garnered an amazing response. Comedy comes relatively easy to me, but when I have to do drama, I need help, so my wife [Ursula Wittiker] talked me into taking with drama classes with Sara Mornell, a terrific coach.” So what are these issues? “With drama, I find it difficult to put a focused concentration on accessing my emotions — unlike my ability to do comedy.”
Right now, he is co-starring with Sarah Drew (of Grey’s Anatomy) in a radio play, I Love Lucy: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to the Sitcom, (for L.A. Theatre Works), the hilarious true story behind America’s most beloved TV comedy by Gregg Oppenheimer, son of I Love Lucy creator/producer/head writer Jess Oppenheimer and supposedly one of the world’s foremost experts on the show. The on-screen pairing of Lucille Ball (Drew) and Desi Arnaz (Nuñez) was at the heart of one of the most popular TV shows in history. The play explores the battles the show had with both network and a sponsor who thought the show couldn’t possibly succeed! “I am so looking forward to playing Ricky Ricardo, in a show I used to watch in reruns.” In addition to everything else (and here’s a choice bit of trivia), the editor of the Lucy show, Douglas Hines, used to live next door to Nunez.
The actor also has a successful series of recent commercials for State Farm Insurance, opposite James Harden, a winner of the MVP for his work with the Houston Rockets, and Chris Fall, also with the Rockets.
Nunez was a great fan of the late Tony Randall, who co-starred with Jack Klugman in the TV version of The Odd Couple. “While I never met him, I did get to work with Mr. Klugman in the film, When Do We Eat, (2005) “which was exciting. I believe Randall should have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but you have to raise around $25,000 to get it installed.”
But of stronger interest for us is how his family immigrated to America: “They left everything behind in order to escape the disaster they saw coming for Cuba. We were sponsored by a wealthy family, Bob and Jane Danforth, from Boston, so we lived there for awhile, where my sister was born. Then we moved to New Jersey, with family friends, where I great up. I had a great childhood, especially in Jersey. But as Catholic, as our family is, Ursula and I are raising our daughter without that tradition.”
As a postscript, he wants you to know just how political he is and how angry he is at the current administration: “If you care about this country, register to vote! Don’t argue with Trump and his supporters – they don’t listen. He’s a loser, flushing our country down the tube. With his policies, he’s turning our country on its head, so there’s no win in debating with his followers. Vote ‘em all out!!!”
July 12 – July 15; L.A. Theatre Works @ the James Bridges Theater, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, 235 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095; $15-$60; (310) 827-0889; www.latw.org
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