Extract ’s Dustin Milligan Gets Judged

"Mke Judge is making another movie?” thought Dustin Milligan, as he settled into his new gig on the first season of “90210.” “Awesome! And I get to read it? Even better! And I get to audition for Mike?” Milligan was stoked. Simply trying out for Extract, a movie helmed by the creator of “Beavis and Butt-Head,” “King of the Hill,” and “Office Space,” was a heck of a coup for a young actor looking to sink his teeth into some comedy. “I knew how important this audition would be if I could do it well. When Mike and [Venice-based casting director] Mary Vernieu invited me in and I was able to read for them, it was a dream come true for me in the truest sense. And then to make them laugh — to make Mike Judge laugh — which was happening a few seconds into the audition, I thought, ‘If I don’t get this part, it doesn’t matter. I made this guy chuckle.’ Which sounded alarmingly like Butt-Head’s chuckle.”

The handsome Canadian got the part and worked double-time to uphold his teen-drama commitments, while mining the depths of ineptitude as the stunningly dull-witted Brad in the lat­est installment of Judge’s ongoing ode to idiocy. Considered the thematic follow-up to Judge’s cult classic, Office Space (1999), Extract sees Milligan’s amateur gigolo double-crossing the mis­guided owner of a food-flavoring plant (Jason Bateman, in the lead role) by falling in love with his wife (“Saturday Night Live”’s Kristen Wiig), amid Brad’s fruitless struggle to grasp simple con­cepts. Milligan’s standout performance brings imbecility to impressive heights, and reminds us that raw libido knows little of the intellect. “[Brad] is frustratingly, mind-numbingly stupid,” Mil­ligan grins. “He's got this reputation for being a lady’s man, but he’s a real idiot. He’s probably a boy-toy more than anything, who likes having sex better than landscaping, so he goes for it!”

“The basic frustration of dealing with morons is something everyone can relate to,” observes the magnetic rising star about Judge’s most-frequently explored theme. Hailing from the North­west Territories’ capital city of Yellowknife, Milligan expresses himself with a sharp wit that seems at odds with the terminal befuddlement of the thick-headed hunk he portrays, but it’s just that keen eye and instinct which allowed him to bring this well-endowed simpleton to life. “Right before they would say, ‘Action,’” he laughs, “I would start squinting and furrowing my brow — I call that ‘forescrounging’ — and Jason would say, ‘You just turn it on, just like that.’”

Naming Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996) as one of his favorite films as a kid, Milligan was thrilled to work with one of his heroes. “Every direction [Judge] gave me,” the charming thespian recalls, “I was like, ‘Sure!’ I actually said to him a couple of times, ‘Yes, Mike Judge! Yes I will! Anything you want! Can I get you a coffee?’”

With all eyes on this eagerly awaited slice of goofball social commentary, Milligan is relishing the moment. “As much as I’ve been able to work, very little of it has been in comedy, and that’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. And like I said, I’ve made Mike Judge laugh, so I’m kind of satisfied already.” ▼

Extract hits theaters September 4th. Keep an eye out for Milli­gan in Gunless, scheduled for release next year. To learn more, visit www.dustinmilligan.com

Speedway

20 venice september 2009