For four seasons, Ethan Suplee played the lovable, kindhearted Randy Hickey on the NBC comedy, "My Name Is Earl." Those who only know Suplee from that series might need a moment to adjust to his role on the new Hulu series, "Chance."
His character _ known only as D _ is the brawn and physical force who joins forces with forensic neuropsychiatrist Dr. Eldon Chance (Hugh Laurie). His role in the violent and dangerous world gives Suplee the opportunity to play a very different character.
"When I first looked at this, I had absolutely nothing to draw on. There's not a single thing that I've done that comes close," Suplee says.
After thinking about it for a few seconds, Suplee points out that in "American History X," he had a shaved head. That's the closest role he has had to his work in "Chance," and even that role is miles away from his current job.
It's not that Suplee hasn't had a lot of roles as his resume is loaded with film and TV performances, including "Boy Meets World," "Dogma," "Remember the Titans," "Cold Mountain," "Jennifer Falls" and, most recently, "Deepwater Horizon."
Suplee goes on to explain how he's never played a part like the one in "Chance," a character who is so super confident and such a strong leader. The chance to play such a role has been exciting for Suplee. He jokingly adds that he has four daughters and a wife, so he never gets to live the kind of life D has.
It's taken some retraining for Suplee. While growing up, he was always told he had to be gentle and kind. The training he's going through for his new role _ which includes Filipino knife fighting _ is making him think the other way.
Don't pigeonhole the role as just being a bully and a thug.
"He studies philosophy, theology and is a student of everything. He just uses it in an unusual way of crushing people," Suplee says.
