"About a Boy" Star David Walton on Following Hugh Grant's Footsteps

we probably just had the best moments ever on TV that you missed because you weren't rolling so we're just carrying on Yeah that was It was brilliant wasn't it Yeah They just missed it.

I'm here with the wonderful David Walton how are you?

I'm doing well how are you?

You good?

You you've got um honestly this is a man to man moment.

When you walked in I was like, oh he's got great posture.

Do you really?

I've been working on it.

I have you been working on it?

Yeah my wife says I look like a like a like some sort of creature from like a J. R. R. Tolkien book if I if I slouch.

Well that's obviously what I do just no one's pointed it out that creature.

You look like a creature.

I'm a creature you've got great posture.

Okay cheers for that.

We can wrap this up.

Talking about not creatures.

It's definitely not involving creatures which is great to have a show that doesn't involve creatures nowadays just funniness.

Yeah.

I mean when we start running out of ideas it's like season six Let's put a creature in there.

We must Yes Yes, Benjamin could turn into a creature.

Well that would be That would be great That would be great like a little hobbit.

We're talking about About a Boy.

Yeah.

The new show on NBC the comedy that this man is the lead in.

It's exciting times for you?

It's very exciting.

It always is but this show in particular seems to have a lot of really good buzz and it's just a really good show and I think an original show so I think if people tune in they're going to really like it and get addicted.

You play the dad you're not the boy.

Well I don't Yeah I Sort of someone else is the boy.

I'm sort of this very irresponsible manchild who basically just like sleeping with women, eating meat, and playing video games.

And this And he made the acting going into that.

Well yeah I did a lot of research for that 30 years yeah.

And then um I got married, I had kids so that we're a new chapter but I'm reaching back digging into that treasure chest.

Right.

Watch out.

But this was a Parenthood um writer Jason.

Jason came down Friday Night Lights Yeah amazing guy.

Yeah amazing.

Yes and obviously very successful doing very well.

Very successful, has a huge fan base and kind of has has sort of cornered this market of like writing about really real people that's funny but also like makes you start crying like all of a sudden.

You're kind of like mad at him because you're crying but you also like it too.

And you've you're appeared on Parenthood as well.

I did.

We did a little crossover recently.

Uh it was very subtle.

I just went to a poker game that Dax Shepard's character Crosby was hosting and then what's cool is he'll come over and do an episode of uh of About a Boy and he'll come over and play poker at my house.

And it's like we both shows take place in San Francisco we're both musicians so it made sense.

I think if you watch both shows it would be really cool.

Right.

We similar to it's Nick Hornby the movie and the book obviously similar to that.

It was funny and it had the you know moments when you were like And that's what life is right?

You know.

Were you familiar with the movie and the book before this role came up?

Yeah.

Yes, I'd seen the movie when it came out and then the book I hadn't read so I read it a couple times before doing the pilot and it's so good.

If you've never read those Nick Hornby books they're so good.

But I sort of avoided the movie because I didn't want uh to be accused of stealing Hugh Grant's just unbelievably good move.

Okay.

But I just wanted to try to find my own goodness.

Okay.

So you avoided the movie.

Yeah I avoided the bumbling I sort of his bumbling charm I tried and then I avoided having that kind of butt cut he has you know.

But in the movie he doesn't so.

Right.

Just sort of floppy.

You played the role of this guy that wrote a hit song.

That's the premise of it right?

Yeah.

Yeah and that differs from the book and the movie where his father had written the song so he's just sort of more of a trust baby but I I I wrote the song.

I haven't written a song since and it's been eight years but I basically just been enjoying the the windfall from this sort of bad Christmas jingle that I'm almost embarrassed about but uh I have no job all the money in the world and I have a cool place in San Francisco.

I mean it's it's a sort of the perfect storm to become a like a perfect manchild.

Any of that true to life for you?

Do you write music?

Do you play music?

Uh I played in ninth grade and then my wife got me a um a guitar for Christmas because I have to play in the show and I'm very very scared.

So I've got my calluses building up on my.

He's very it's yeah I see this with guitarists.

You're never going to get another hand job though.

Not hand job.

I didn't mean hand job.

I meant hand modeling job.

You are going to ruin your hands and you won't do any more hand modeling work.

And you have got great fingers.

I mean if you just compare our fingers.

That clearly That clearly.

That's a moment there.

We getting that?

Um we move on from hands.

But we are on music.

I wanted to play a little game.

Are you up for a little game?

Just a singing game.

Let's do it.

I love this game.

Because you are obviously wrote a wrote a song in the show.

I'm going to sing something and you're going to continue the words.

You don't have to sing.

I don't like this game.

Just do it.

I'll actually speak the words it makes it easier.

If you want to be my lover, You've got to get with my friends.

See you're good at this.

You started off strong.

Yeah well Because I was reading it off the card.

You turn the corner.

I did I was hoping they didn't notice that.

I was doing that for you.

Okay.

Don't stop believing.

Uh hold on to that feeling.

Brilliant.

This guy's got it nailed.

Let me do it for real.

I read it again.

Let me really do it.

You want to really do this one?

Okay.

I'm a genie in a bottle.

You got to rub me the right way.

This is brilliant.

This is this is brilliant.

When I find myself in times of trouble.

Um Mother Mary comforts me or comes to me?

Both.

What?

Well it was comes to me.

Comes to me.

But at the same time when she comes to you she comforts you.

Yeah.

Yeah comforting I think would be a better lyric.

Is this is going to be tough.

I'm just just saying.

But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to see.

You don't know.

Oh oh.

Oh.

You don't know you're beautiful.

That is amazing.

That deserves a round of applause.

That was a good performance in the game.

That was a really nice message, right?

Yeah.

That was right?

I made the joke when I walked in here about you being like a creature but really what I meant was you don't know you're beautiful.

Thank you.

We have moments.

Can you just cut for a minute?