Comedy is in Jim

Comedy is in Jim Belushi's blood—he was on Saturday Night Live from 1983 to 1985, he's been in countless movies, and he even starred in a sitcom with his name in the title. Now this former Blues Brother is following in the recent footsteps of fellow funnymen Ray Romano and Denis Leary and showing us his serious side. Belushi's new buddy-lawyer show, The Defenders, premieres tonight at 10 p.m. on CBS. I spoke to him about his favorite Vegas casinos, his budding bromance with co-star Jerry O'Connell, and his borderline obsession with Michael C. Hall.

: Tell me about your character, Nick Morelli.
Jim Belushi: Nick Morelli is based on a real guy named Michael Cristalli. It was originally a documentary on two Las Vegas criminal attorneys. They tried to make it a reality show, but they couldn’t, so they sold the idea to CBS, and CBS wrote this show based on the exploits of these two very colorful, www.entouragedvd.com , very successful Las Vegas attorneys.



Have you met Mr. Cristalli?
Are you kidding? This week both of them spent two nights at my house... I’ve been to Vegas, I’ve had drinks with them, entouragedvd , I’ve been to the court with them, entouragedvd , I’ve been in their office with them. They’re here every other week and on the phone all of the time with the writers, www.entouragedvd.com , because all of our case storylines are based on real court cases.



Did you draw from any other people or characters for the role?
Well, I’ve met quite a few criminal defense attorneys. You know, from Carmen Trutanich and Steve Cooley, the LA District Attorneys. I’ve been in all those court rooms and I’ve been represented by a few.



What’s it like to play a lawyer?
It’s going great. Once I put that striped suit on, Super why dvd, Spooks on dvd, colorful shirt, my bling, Super why boxset, Super why dvd box, I pull my hair back—I don’t know, I’m just this guy now!



Why did you decide to take on this role? It’s pretty different from what you’ve done before.
Well, that’s not entirely true. I’ve been in the business a long time now. I’ve done movies with Oliver Stone and Michael Mann. And I’ve done quite a few dramas in my time, Super why dvds, dvds , from the theatre to film work. I just think the audience is used to seeing me on Saturday Night Live, and K-9, fringe series 3, and Curly Sue and of course, dvds , According to Jim. I think that my comedies have been the most popular.



So you want the audience to see you in a different way?
Oh, Super why dvd, no. I don’t think about the audience as much as I think about what would be challenging and fun to do. This script just came in great. And I went, Agatha Christie's Poirot dvd series, entouragedvd , Friday Night Lights series 1-5, “Geez, this is a great character, I’m getting a shot at him.”











I love the unexpected chemistry between you and Jerry O’Connell in the pilot. He's kind of the silly one in the relationship, Friday Night Lights series 1-5, Spooks 1-9, and you're more of the straight man! How did you develop that rapport?
I don’t know. Sometimes you just get lucky and you get to work with somebody that you just have a natural rhythm with. He came over the night before his screen test. And he brought over Cuban cigars, entouragedvd , Spooks 1-9, I brought out the beer. We sat there for three hours and laughed and got to know each other. The next day the test was great. And we’ve been having a great time ever since.



You mentioned that the episodes will be based on real-life court cases. Any specific ones that stand out?
Well, next week we’re shooting a story [based on] a real case,where a guy backed his truck into the Elvis Museum in Vegas and stole Elvis’ blue suede shoes. And he tried to sell them to an Elvis impersonator. But the Elvis imperson

The FetchTV 2 features movies on demand and up to 15 internet channels. (Credit: Ty Pendlebury)

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