Even acclaimed actors like Dennis Quaid, known for his roles in The Rookie, The Right Stuff, and The Parent Trap, have to start somewhere. "I worked as a clown at Astroworld," he revealed to host Ophira Eisenberg. "It's the wonderful place of fun, fun, fun!" he joked. After leaving the lucrative $2.85-an-hour world of theme park entertainment behind, Quaid moved to L.A. to pursue an acting career. It wasn't long before he scored his defining role in the 1979 cycling film Breaking Away. On the other hand, Christian Cooke, Quaid's co-star in the Crackle series The Art of More, started acting as a kid. While he also grew up with his fair share of odd jobs, he sounded relieved to share with Eisenberg that there were "no clown shoes" for him.
Something the pair do have in common, however, is the support of People Magazine's "Sexiest Men" editors. In 2015, Quaid was listed as one of their Sexiest Men Alive, under the Animal Magnetism category. Cooke got a similar title in December of the same year: Sexiest Man...of the Week. While Cooke was unimpressed with his 'of the week' standing--in fact, he only learned of his title on the Ask Me Another stage — Quaid was just happy he eventually made the list. "It's something you work on for decades," the actor joked with Eisenberg. "You have a dream, you have a goal, and it's not about winning, it's about getting there."
Their current series, The Art of More, centers on the surprisingly cutthroat world of premium auction houses. Quaid plays Samuel Brukner, a billionaire real-estate tycoon with aspirations of a political career, and Cooke plays Graham Connor, an Iraq War veteran turned junior account manager at a high-end auction house. Brukner draws Connor away from a competing auction house (Think Sotheby's vs. Christie's).
In their Ask Me Another challenge, we asked the two to put their auction knowledge to the test by guessing which unexpected items went for a higher bid. For example, which item is worth more: Pharrell's big hat, or Gary Coleman's sweatpants?
HIGHLIGHTS
Dennis Quaid on working as a clown
Breaks in between being a clown were great. We'd be inside the firehouse and we would play poker for paychecks basically. But then we would go out and be beat up by eight-, nine-year-old kids. Because kids do not like clowns. At all.
Dennis Quaid on the perks of cycling
It's fun! I feel like I'm 12 years old when I'm on the bike, and I get to wear that silly Lycra.
Christian Cooke on breaking his hand while improvising on set
...It was midnight, and I was pissed off that I wasn't going to get any more takes. So ... I took it out literally in the scene, and I punched the table and collapsed and broke my hand...The doctor came to set the next day and said to me, "I have to re-break it because it's not in the right place" ... so they took me into the producer's trailer and the medic pinned me down... it was horrible.
Heard on Cary Elwes, Dennis Quaid & Christian Cooke: The Art Of More
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