CHiPS off old block
ACTOR ON BIG-SCREEN VERSION OF 70s TV COP SHOW The California Highway Patrol are back on the road and its star says the remake will be loved by fans of the original and those too young to have enjoyed it the first time
MICHAEL Pena was too young to appreciate the 70s and 80s cop show CHiPs but his mother was a big fan.
Four decades after the show first aired, Pena is taking on Erik Estrada’s role as Frank “Ponch” Poncherello in a big-screen remake.
It has been written and directed by comedian Dax Shepard, who co-stars as Ponch’s partner Jon Baker, played by Larry Wilcox in the original series, which ran from 1977 to 1983.
Ant-Man actor Pena, 41, confesses it was a little intimidating to play a role which afforded his predecessor such heart-throb status.
In the new film, we see chalk-andcheese bike cops Ponch and Baker having just joined the California Highway Patrol in Los Angeles, for very different reasons.
Washed up former pro-motorbiker Baker is trying to rebuild his life and broken marriage (to Karen, played by Shepard’s real-life wife Kristen Bell), while seasoned pro Ponch is an undercover federal agent who is trying to get to the bottom of a multi-million-dollar heist.
There are plenty of high-octane chases and explosions to keep adrenaline junkies happy. As Shepard said: “I don’t think we went more than three days on this movie without blowing something up”.
But these aren’t your average action heroes and the emphasis is as much on the dynamic between the pair as the stunts they’re involved in.
“Ponch is very logical and focused on the present and Jon is more in tune with his feelings and about fixing his marriage, like he’s always ‘three beers too deep’ with the intimacy,” said Pena.
We have had remakes of everything from Ghostbusters (released last year with an all-female cast) to Baywatch (in cinemas this June) but CHiPs stands out, said the actor, who admitted his character is “a little bit of a sex addict”.
He added: “The way Dax approached this one is it’s a character-driven comedy, as opposed to a bunch of one-liners or a bunch of gimmicks.
“The conversations we have in this movie are way different to the ones anyone else would have.”
Not everyone is excited about CHiPs’s return, or the direction it seems to take, however.
After the release of the trailer, Wilcox, who played Baker, claimed the remake has “ruined the brand” and called it “Dumb and Dumber in CHiPS uniforms”.
Pena doesn’t seem concerned, though. He said: “He hasn’t even seen the movie, so I don’t know, maybe he’s just bitter that he wasn’t in it.
“The thing is, every time I said, ‘Man I’m doing CHiPs’, 100 per cent of the time [people] would ask, ‘Is Erik Estrada going to be in it?’ Not a lot of people ask for Larry.”
Pena, who has one son with his wife, the actress and writer Brie Shaffer, has a diverse back catalogue of work, ranging from social realism to comedies and action films.
His big break came in 2004 when he starred in two Oscar-winning movies, sports drama Million Dollar Baby and the ensemble drama Crash, about tensions in Los Angeles.
Pena – who previously played a cop alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in 2012’s gritty End of Watch – also has a police officer brother but he didn’t call him for any advice before starring in sun-soaked, LA-based CHiPs.
“Not at all. He works in a jail,” he said with a laugh. “I was like, ‘How’s that gonna help me with bikini-clad women on the beach?”’
He’s also rumoured to be involved in a sequel to 2015 film Ant-Man.
The actor stole the show as Luis, best friend of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) in the Marvel superhero film but is tight-lipped about the follow-up.
“The only thing I can tell you is that they’re starting in July,” he said. “I don’t know if I’m in it – hopefully I’m in it, but you never know.”
The star added: “They have that time allotted, so if they need me that’ll be cool, and if they don’t then, you know...”
CHiPs is in cinemas today.