LA Law: ready for his close-up, Mr deMille

Lawrence Leung is the nerd prince of Melbourne comedy. And even though Melbourne is the kind of town where you can throw a rock randomly in the street and hit a nerd comedian in the cardigan, few of them can solve a Rubik’s cube, smuggle their own home-made ‘distressed’ T-shirts onto the racks of a designer boutique, carry on phone conversations using snippets of Colin Firth’s dialogue from Pride & Prejudice, or fail to sell their souls on eBay for $10.

Also, we have it on very good authority that Lawrence got his start in improv by portraying a billiard ball. He is literally a ball of adorability.

Lawrence’s new six-part ABC TV series, Lawrence Leung’s Choose Your Own Adventure, is the apotheosis of his entire dorky past. In the series, which premieres on 25 March on ABC1, Lawrence revisits his childhood dreams and tries to make them all come true, with hilarious results.

We spoke to Lawrence from the Adelaide Fringe, where he and long-time collaborator Andrew McClelland are currently presenting their latest tweed-clad live show, Time Ninjas.

The Enthusiast: Lawrence, how long has the Choose Your Own Adventure idea been in the pipeline, and how did you get it on the ABC?

Lawrence Leung: A couple of years ago, I thought about all the things I’ve always wanted to do as a kid but never got around to because, well, I grew up. So I came up with this idea of attempting them once and for all. My producers and the ABC seemed to really like it and so the TV series was born. I’m glad I went to them with my Choose Your Own Adventure idea instead of my Hey Dad remake.

Or The Bob Morrison Show? Next time, maybe. How many people worked with you on the show? Was it a full-time job for you, or did you film in bits around your other commitments?

It was a small, dedicated, wonderful team. It was beyond full time. It took over my life for most of the year. I remember thinking, “I can’t believe my life has come to this!” as I tried to solve the Rubik’s Cube as fast as could whilst a three-metre crocodile waited a couple of feet from me.

How much of it was ‘guerrilla’ and how much was organised beforehand?

My camera dudes used small digital cameras and radio microphones to give us as much mobility as possible as we went to places and met with people. I planned my quests and who I wanted to meet (be they my ’80s heroes or long-lost friends) but we couldn’t predict how they would react or where the story would take us next. No matter how much you plan something, there will be unexpected surprises that turn out better than you could ever have imagined.

Were you looking forward to dredging up your childhood fantasies again – or dreading it?

Yeah, most of the time I was totally looking forward to the adventures. It’s not every day you get to live out some silly dreams you had as a kid, like driving in a DeLorean. Sometimes I was afraid of how people would react to me. In the end, when you tell someone that they meant a lot to you as a kid or that you wanted to learn to breakdance because you loved their sweet moves in the movie Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, it’s a compliment to them.

Some of your adventures took you to Los Angeles. What did you do there?

I tried to track down heroes from my childhood, like Shabba Doo who played Ozone in the Breakin’ films. Pop sensation Tiffany taught me how to write a love ballad. Unfortunately I couldn’t find Data from The Goonies. I really wanted to meet him for the TV show to teach me how to make his Pinchers of Peril.

Amazing! Now, your parents are also in the show – they are so cute! What do they think of the series and, in general, having a comedian for a son?

Mum and Dad haven’t seen the show yet, but I think they’re very excited about it. They were so funny in the show.
I think they are going to be mobbed in supermarkets. If the ABC gives them a show, I hope they write me in. My folks wanted me to be a doctor rather than a comedian, but they will have to get used to the idea now. I would make a terrible doctor.

Which adventure did you enjoy most, and why?

It’s hard to pick between the adventures but I think my quest to be a Rubik’s Cube champion is up there. I challenged some of the planet’s fastest “speedcubers” in an underground basement below Caltech University. It’s called Fight Cube. Yes, you will see sweat, you will see aggression, you will see skinny nerds with their shirts off.

And finally, what have you learned from all this humiliation?

Even as adults, we are all still growing up.

Lawrence Leung’s Choose Your Own Adventure premieres at 9:30pm on Wednesday, 25 March on ABC1.