‘ Bench’ Player
Buscemi shifts into ‘ Park’ for another season of AOL series
Steve Buscemi encourages guests on his AOL Web series “Park Bench” to contribute ideas.
So when Robert Smigel suggested Buscemi solicit talk- showadvice from triumph the Insult Comic Dog for thursday’s second season premiere, he was game.
Anyone who’s seen the famously foul- mouthed, cigar- chomping puppet ( voiced by Smigel) on “Conan” can guess what happens next, as the episode predictably devolves into triumph hurling put- downs about Buscemi’s amphibian- like features, crooked teeth and career progression from HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” to the Internet.
“Robert didn’t want to rehearse anything and he didn’t want us to know the jokes,” Buscemi tells the Post. “We knew that the barbs would be coming and there were a lot— we edited it down. I love the character of triumph, so it was sort of like a badge of honor to be able to go through something like that.”
“Park Bench” first premiered on AOL last year, with the 10- to12- minuteWebisodes featuring the Brooklyn- born Buscemi, his brother Michael, sidekick Geo Orlando and bandleader Anthony Laciura ( of “Boardwalk empire”) chatting with celebrities on park benches around New York City.
In addition to triumph, other celebrity guests this season include elvis Costello, John Oliver, Amber tamblyn, Zosia Mamet and comedian Gilbert Gottfried.
the idea for the show came when Buscemi was directing a series of promotional videos for the indie- rock band vampire Weekend in 2013 and filming in Greenpoint’s McGolrick Park. While improvising a scene on a park bench, Buscemi asked Geo— whom he’d just met at the bar across the street — to sit next to him.
“that was the basis for ‘ Park Bench,’ ” Buscemi says. “When we saw the footage … I sort of joked [ that] I could make a whole show based on me and Geo talking to people on park benches.”
thursday’s season premiere again finds the crew at McGolrick Park, though episodes ( released weekly on parkbenchtheshow.com) bounce around to parks throughout the city including tompkins Square Park in the east village, Abington Square Park in Greenwich village, the High Line and Prospect Park in Brooklyn. For shooting in indoor locations — this season including the Palace Cafe in Greenpoint, Manhattan Inn in Williams burg and Sunny’s Bar in Red Hook — the crew brings their own park bench, a setting Buscemi likes for creating an atmosphere of what’s billed as a “talking show” instead of a traditional talk show. “It lends an air of casualness to it,” he says. “I’m not the greatest interviewer, but if I’m at a casual setting and it just feels like we’re having a conversation, then that’s more what I’m after.”