Joe Sykes
From the Spider Monkey Archives:
Trevor Williams remembers:
"When we needed someone to play the lovable loser David, the hero of "Old School Revenge," we didn't know what to do! Neal couldn't play the part because he was too hairy. Stephen was far too sexy. Ed had a beard, unacceptable for a high school character. Shelly and Laura were too feminine, and at the time, we had not discovered that by placing a short haired wig on Lauren she looked like boy, so Lauren was out, too. Andrew simply refused to play the part."
Luckily, Williams discovered Joe Sykes, a struggling actor making a meager living selling trinkets. He immediately cast Joe in the part. Joe had a unique quality that Shelly Stover recognized at once.
"Joe was the blondest guy I had ever seen!" exclaimed Stover. "He was "perfect" for the part."
Joe's performance was so spectacular that "Old School Revenge" was awarded the Coveted Wooden Bowl Trophy for Excellence. Of course, since Joe was credited only as a guest star, he was not invited to the awards banquet, nor did he receive a share of the hefty monetary prize that accompanied the trophy.
Joe returned to comedic obscurity until the following blistery winter. The cast called on him once again, this time to perform the pivotal priest character in "A Wedding Story." Joe
remembers:
"I was hoping this would be my breakout role that would finally get me out of the Taco Mac and into the hearts and minds of America's youth."
Unfortunately, a clerical error left Joe's name out of the credits completely.
It seemed Joe would never win, but then the unthinkable happened. Joe was cast as Brian Conner, the hero of the newest Spider Monkey episode, "It's About Time."
Ed Mundy says, "Brian Conner is the ultimate loser. He's the guy who took his own mom to the prom. But not the real prom. The fake prom that he held in his own living room with imitation cardboard cutout balloons and imaginary fruit punch. Naturally, we thought of Joe."
Joe remains optimistic that this role will turn things around for him, at long last:
"I act for the love of the craft. And I think "Brian Conner" is going to give me the opportunity to really shine. In fact, that reminds me of the best day of my entire life. My little sister was really sick and -"
Get out of here, Joe! This interview is over.
