Mario Cantone

Actor Mario Cantone talks appearing on The Masked Singer, his new Christmas movie with Mario and more!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
With Mario a little bit Mario Lopez Dan now on
Zoom the Maze from the Mass Singer, My man actor
Mario can'tell and welcome to show. Buddy, how are you?
I'm just as corny as Kansas and August. I'm corny,
May corny. Now, by the way, before we continue, you

(00:22):
didn't mind me calling you Mario canto. And I know
you're an East Coaster and Italian, so I often hear Mario,
but I never correct anyone just because that's the way
they pronounced it in the East Coast, because of the accent. Right,
I don't. I don't. I don't correct anybody either. But
New Yorkers say Mario, I'm from Massachusetts, Boston. We say, Mario, yeah,
oh that's right, because they have more That's right. You

(00:43):
are from Boston, but you live in New York. Now, okay,
I'm glad we cleared that up. As long as they're
calling us right, that's exactly right. As long as they're
calling yes. Um, So what made you want to do
the Mass Singer, Buddy? Well, you know, I love to sing.
I love singing. You know, when I do my stand up,
I have a banner. If I were concert I do
the Cafe Carlisle. I have my band. I do most
of its stand up, but I sang also, you know,

(01:05):
as different people like Judy and Lisa and Brice Springsteen.
But I think it's myself too. I love to sing.
I do, so that's why I wanted to do it.
And you know me, I'm a beggar. That's choosy. I
say no to everything. I'm like, no, thank you, no thanks,
you want to do this now? It's too much work.
I'm home, I'm sleeping. So yeah, clearly you were a fan,

(01:28):
and I know you love to perform. I'm looking forward
to seeing that show live. Let's talk about your costume.
It was maze corn on the cop um? Was that
was that comfy? Was that by choice? How did that
come about? Well? No, I mean it was room inside it,
which was a good thing. But you know, my arms
were like, you know, I feel like an opa lompa.
I couldn't really move them um and it was weird,

(01:48):
you know. Yeah, But and you can only see out
of this much, you know. The day the day we filmed,
I just I'm rehearsal. I hit all my marks rehearsal.
Where don't we filmed that I was. I was a
little lost, but but I love the coster because it
looks like I mean, they looked at it like it
was a vagas showgirl. But I think it looks like
may West as as a as a stock of corn.

(02:10):
So that's what I liked about it. Yeah, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Um,
what would your next song choice? I've been after? Well
it was, um, I don't know. Well, you know, I
they wanted they I loved, I loved. That was my choice.
Heaven on Their Minds is a great song. It's the
opening number to Superstar. You know, Judas sings it. It's

(02:34):
a thrilling number. And that was look. I mean, you know,
I don't know I would have. My next choice had
to be an Andrew wyd Webber song. I mean, I
don't know. Maybe what I know, What's What's new Buenos
Aires from Movida. It's a great tune. Okay, okay, you've
got good taste. I like it. Oh yeah, Now in
theater is the movie asked me to dance? What's this

(02:56):
one about? Yeah? It is, and it's it's uh, it's
a it's it's about Uh, it's it's about I fix
up this girl with I keep trying to fix up
my best friend with with a lover and think and
and the one she ends up what they keep missing

(03:18):
each other. It's one of those kind of you know things. Yeah,
I'm the gay best friend once again. Hey you nailed it. Yeah,
I'm excited about. Here's what's more exciting than anything. I
am on TCM every Monday night for the second year
in a row during a Classic Movies with Ben Magat.

(03:39):
What's doing too horror movies a night that I get
to pick that is the most to get asked me
to dance to get it just like that, you know.
I love it, just like that more than anything to
my favorite and where we're filming it right now and
it's thrilling second season. But I love trying to class
up movies and I live for it, and I work
with Ben Magaets and we do it. We this is
our second year of horror and uh, it's every Monday night.

(04:02):
We've just done two Monday nights and we're gonna do
We've got three more to go. And we showed Rope
last night, which is the gay Hitchcock movie. It really
is um And we showed Obsession by Brian to Palmer.
Last week, Uh, we showed Possessed with Joan Crawford and
uh and uh something with Betty Davis. I forget, but yeah,

(04:23):
I love doing this stuff. I love old movies. I
love turn Love. That's all I have to say. I
love I love old movies too, and I too love
Turner classic movies. What's an underrated creepy movie that people
should maybe revisit? You know? We what we should? We
showed Rope last night, which is a Hitchcock film that
it's not talked about. It's based on a play and
it's all done in one shot. That's creepy. It's actually

(04:43):
eight takes. But it's about but it's kind of based
on the leapol Lop case. It's about two guys who
lived together murdered their uh who they murder a guy
who they feel is less superior, and they put him
in a trunk and they served dinner on yes and
the father comes to father David was dead in the truck. Oh,
it's it's amazing. It was written by Arthur Lorenz, who

(05:04):
was gay. It was played by Farley Granger and John
dol who were not openly gay back then. But they
were gay men playing gay men. I mean, which is
you know, kind of more than you could say, well,
now it's finally happening. But you know what I'm saying,
it wasn't that never happened. That's just it. It's a thrilling,
it's interesting anyway. I can talk about it forever for you.

(05:24):
That's an under an obsession. Bryan Upalm's obsession a strange movie.
I mean, he's known from Dressed to Kill and blow Out,
which blow Out we showed last year. Um, but obsessions
and interesting film with Cliff Robertson and Joe Vie Buchow
and child was magnificent. It's a great movie. Creepy, really creepy.
So it's called Creepy Cinema every Monday night. So tune in.
We'll tune in to talk about that more than anything

(05:47):
because it's it's it's my blood. I love that. I
didn't I didn't know that about you, So I'm excited.
Oh my god, I love it. I have to chatcve it.
You know, well, I hope you can translate that passion
to our next Christmas movie, stepping into that holiday, because
I've had so much fun doing that with you didn't.
We have fun. That was fun. You my lovely wife too.

(06:09):
That was so cool. Your wife, she's my little Italian princess.
I love her. So I had a great time and
I got to dance with her a little bit. Yes,
it's great and I love working with you. I had
a blast with you. I always tell you call and
I'll be there. I had a great time. And it's
a you know, it's a it's it's it's a great scene.
It's a big scene. It opens the movie, and it's

(06:30):
really fun. It was really fun. Thank you, my friend.
The name of the project is stepping into the holiday.
It is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. That no, I believe,
so very good. Yeah, November. So thank you so much
for coming and playing with me. How do you like
Nashville when you spend time right there? You went to
the Maxwell concert, which I was very jealous. Well, you know,

(06:51):
maximush my body. I know. I love that. He loves
you too, by the way, Uh you he you wanted
to go, You wanted to go, but you couldn't go.
Had an early call time. I can't like. Schools are tough,
I know. He was like, oh yeah you come, Yeah,
I went to the Maxim concent. I love, I adored him.
He's my buddy. And we talked on the phone. I know,
I know when when I get on the phone with him,

(07:11):
I gotta put aside a couple of hours because we talked.
We talked. But he's he's you know, he's a New
Yorker and and and he was a fan of mine.
And I never knew that until I met him, because
I always was a big fan of him. I met
him an opening night of a Broadway show called The
Ritz by Terence McNally, which Rosie Rosie Perez was in,
and he was there for Rosie. I looked at him

(07:32):
and I went to you Maximum. He was like he
had just shaved his head. Yeah, And he was so
handsome and lovely and he was he was like, yeah
you Mari. It was just sweet. So we've been called
ever since friends. That's awesome. That's awesome. Um. And I
love my singers. I love my male singers. You know,
Max Well, I love you know. I love ar I

(07:53):
love John Legend, I love Michael McDonald. I'm like, hey,
Michael McDonald love I love him. A taste Canton I do,
I do? Mark restarts another one of blue eyes, so
he's not new and I just daily. I love those.
I love male voice and usually it's interesting because the
came in like the female voices mostly, which I do.

(08:14):
I love Judy Garland. Houston was the greatest. You know,
I need a baker and I love Sarah Bahn the
great SETI saw her live like three times, so all
of its star alive too. I've been around. I love
your styles. Here's when we get along right there. Um,

(08:34):
HBO is bringing back and just like that for a
second season. Uh should are we gonna see in it?
Are we gonna see you in it? Pal? Oh? Yes,
you'll see me like last year. So yeah, it's great
to be included in this and brought back book. You know,
I'm lucky that I got involved with such a phenomenon um,
you know, and it came back, and I'm lucky that

(08:57):
it came back. I'm not lucky that I'm involved that
came back, because I should be involved take back and
it did come back and I'm involved, but I'm very
happy about it. I love doing last season. I had
the best time with the girls, and you know, it
was a turbulent thing. We lost really who I missed
so much the last year because he wasn't there for
most of it. And listen again this year and Willie

(09:20):
Garrison and played my husband Stanford, and uh, but you
know there's a lot of you know, great new characters
down there, and uh Sereda Chargery and and uh Karen
Pittman and uh carl Aari Parker just some great, great
girls and uh side of the mirror is it's it's
just great. It's I'm having a time, and it's I'm

(09:42):
very pleased about it. And Michael partri King write for
me like nobody. He's you've always killed it on that show. Hilarious,
it's spun stuff. He gives me good stuff. We go
way back, Michael three, that's when I met him. Wow,
stand up. So then you know he wrote me this. Yeah,

(10:06):
I love that. I love that. I'm happy that everything
is going so well for you, my friend. Congratulations on everything.
And listen, you can watch Creepy Cinema Mondays on TCM
and asked me to dances in theaters now and of
course stepping into the holiday drops a Saturday after Thanksgiving, Mario,
thank you so much for hanging out. And look who's here.

(10:27):
Your beautiful hold on with Mario a little pas