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By: Allison Ebner
 Lou
Diamond Phillips is not only a name we know and love,
but a jack-of-all-trades (and not just because he can do
an interview and work out at the gym at the same time, although
that is extremely impressive). Whether its film, TV, the
stage or creating a good ol' fashioned meal, LDP runs the
gamut.
With countless leading roles in feature films and television
series alike and memorable guest spots on a number of hit
series, he's also a world-ranked poker player, a foodie
who won the premiere season of Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity
Cook-Off, a Golden Globe nominee, a Tony nominee and
director. Comedy, drama, romance, science fiction, food,
reality TV, poker, theater... seriously, the man does it
all.
LDP's career has spanned decades and his supporters cross
generations, leaving the resulting fan base as multi-layered
as the man himself. But he's always up for the next challenge
and always willing to support what he loves which has brought
him to the unforgettable series An Officer and a Movie.
Every Saturday night at 8 PM, LDP hosts this Military
Channel program which brings him face to face with retired
and active duty officers who have lived through major battles
or have an expertise in the conflicts depicted in notable
Hollywood films about war and the armed forces. Whatever
movie is scheduled for that evening, whether it's Good
Morning Vietnam, The Dirty Dozen or
LDP's own hit movie Courage Under Fire, the
veterans LDP interviews are there to share their stories
and provide expert commentary that can only come from being
"on the ground" during the action, providing personal
insight and putting the movies into modern context. It's
an incredibly moving program that is now in its second season.
Movies coming up this season on An Officer and a Movie
include Ike: Countdown to D-Day, Desert
Rats, and many more which will be given new life
and meaning with the powerful stories from real-life veterans.
The evening with LDP's film Courage Under Fire will
air Fall 2012.
PCM's Allison had the opportunity to speak with LDP about
his experience working on An Officer and a Movie,
some of the most rewarding moments he's had as part of the
program, the power behind war movies, his upcoming projects,
the prospect of LDP on Food Network and plenty more!
Be sure to read below to check out everything LDP had to
share!
And keep in mind that this whole conversation happened
while he was at the gym. Come on, now, you have to appreciate
an individual who can simultaneously burn calories and be
eloquent. But he did reveal one of the things that keeps
him moving at the gym: "having to take your shirt off
in front of millions of people is a huge motivator,"
he laughed while telling us about a scene in his latest
TV show.
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You've been involved with so many different projects
throughout your career, it's not necessarily a surprise
to find you involved with An Officer and a Movie,
but what was it that initially prompted you to get involved
with this?
It just sounded like such an original program. Obviously,
I'm a huge fan of films and a fan of war movies. I come
from a military background; my father was in the Navy. A
lot of members of the family, especially in the Filipino
family, did service. I've also testified before the Senate
sub-committee on Veterans Affairs for the Filipino war veterans,
so it was certainly something that was at the forefront
of my mind and when the opportunity came up, I thought "Wow,
what an enjoyable gig!"
I mean, for me, obviously being a host is a little outside
my job description, [laughs] but I figured I was
a conduit to tell some really great stories and to bring
some really great films to television. So, I was incredibly
intrigued by the idea and as soon as I started working on
the program, it was just overwhelming. I felt very privileged
to sit down and talk with these American heroes to, in kind
of a left of center way, bring their stories to light and
to the American public. And they're stories that are well
worth telling. So, in the big picture of things, I've always
thought of myself not just as an actor but as a communicator
and an interpreter and that does fall within my job purview.
It's been a fantastic experience and I'm actually incredibly
gratified that we've gotten the response that we've gotten,
from the audiences, from the military. I just did an episode
of Southland, actually a couple of them, and the LAPD loved
the show. You know, there's so many active police officers
out there right now who are big fans of the show, so I'm
constantly reminded that what I'm doing is almost a public
service.
Absolutely, that's incredible. Do you ever finding yourself
getting caught up in their stories and having to remind
yourself, "oh, wait! This is for work!"?
Let me tell you something, we just did a number of interviews
this week and this is the beauty of it: you can take a film
and a lot of people look at it as entertainment; they don't
understand the real-life sacrifice that went behind telling
these stories and we had officers who served at Hamburger
Hill, we had officers who were imprisoned in the Hanoi Hilton,
and I'm telling you [laughs], knowing it's a macho
show to begin with, I feel a tear coming to my eye and I
go, "you know what, you're the host, man. You can't
cry! You can't lose your composure here! You'll get a lot
of letters!" [laughs]
Well, as the host, as the interviewer, do these questions
come naturally for you, do you tend to go off-script based
on the stories they tell you and insight they provide?
All of the above! I have to say, we've got an amazing team
of writers, headed up by our director Emil Gallina
and they come up with such insightful, informed, educational
questions, it's fantastic. And our executive producer
Ron Simon oversees all of this as well. So they really
get to the meat of the matter and I think they ask the questions
that the audiences really wants to hear.
But then naturally, through the course of the conversation,
things that we talk about spark other ideas in my head and
things that I'm curious about. So every single show I tend
to veer off book, with the blessings of Ron Simon and Emil
Gallina, and go, "now, wait a second, that brings up
this question..." or "what do you think about
that?" and we tend to get really candid, really off-the-cuff
answers that come from the heart.
What it does is it really provides what we wanted the show
to provide and that is the feeling that we're having a conversation,
that we could be sitting in your living room having beers
and you're getting this firsthand insight behind these Hollywood
films and into the real-life machinations of the military.
Oh, definitely. And I know Pat Sajak is on a new episode
coming up, which is really cool because he's certainly a
celebrity, but in this context he can come off both as an
average man and a hero. So, had you met him before? Did
you know about his war history? How was that experience?
I had never met Pat before and, like I think a lot
of people, I was surprised to find out that he had served
in Vietnam and it was a very, very pleasant surprise. It
was, like you said, when you sit down and talk with him,
he's a regular guy. The host persona goes away. He's candid,
he's warm, he's highly intelligent.
His support of the military and his experience is something
I'm really, really thrilled that we're bringing to our audiences
because, once again, I think we're putting a face on the
military. Whether it's a female or an African American or
a Native American or Pat Sajak, it shows that every person
in our military comes from every walk of life.
I have to say about Pat, just on a personal level, he came
in so unassuming. There wasn't a publicist there, there
wasn't an entourage there. He walked in with a big smile,
he was so warm and friendly to the crew and funny. Obviously,
he's a pro because he's been doing Wheel of Fortune
since before Moses was born [laughs], and I think
he really just elevated the show. It was entertaining and
informative at the same time.
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