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Emmy winner Tim Conway talks '30 Rock', interview

By April MacIntyre Sep 14, 2008, 18:53 GMT

Emmy Award winner Tina Fey (NBC\'s "Saturday Night Live," "Mean Girls") writes, executive-produces and stars as Liz Lemon in NBC\'s "30 Rock," a workplace comedy where the workplace exists behind-the-scenes of a live variety show. The show is told through the comedic voice of Fey and features Alec Baldwin ("The Aviator," "The Cooler" ) as Jack Donaghy, the brash new network executive who has turned the show upside down with ...more

Actor Tim Conway collected his sixth career Emmy Award for his portrayal of Bucky Bright, a TV star from the 1940s and '50s, on NBC's hit series, "30 Rock."

"Where does the time go! This couldn't have come at a better time and it means the world ..." he told reporters backstage at the Awards show.

Mr. Conway shared he may return to the show in the future.

Mr. Conway spoke to Monsters and Critics about his award-winning guest starring role in "30 Rock" and how it came to pass.

Who was it at "30 Rock" that contacted you for this role? And were you a fan of the show prior to getting this role?

Tim Conway:  I believe it was a janitor; I’m not sure. I don’t know if he actually still works there or not. But he had called and said he was leaving and wanted to know, there was an opening, and would I be interested. And I was. When I got there they said would you also like to act, so I thought that wasn’t that hard.

I had seen a few of the first year’s and then some of the second year’s and I’ve seen all of next year’s so I’m pretty in tune with the show. I thought it was – to me it was actually kind of confusing in the beginning, it really was. I didn’t know quite where they were going. And of course without a laugh track to tell you where to laugh, which is very important in television nowadays, you didn’t know quite whether they were putting you on or not.

But, once I got on to what they were doing and it took me two years, it – I just found it very, very entertaining and very sharply written and I love the fact that it’s very subtle humor.

How did you get on with the cast of "30 Rock"?

Tim Conway: I didn’t get a chance to meet any of them. My character was in a basement during the entire show so I didn’t really – I don’t even know if those people were there or not. No, they were wonderful. Alec is – I’ve known Alec for some time and so that was very comfortable.

Tina I had never met; she’s probably the most talented lady outside of Carol Burnett that I’ve ever met. I mean, she writes, she reads, she walks, she talks, she does everything. And she was so nice it’s hard to believe that she’s in show business really. She just was marvelous.

And the young fellow who was assigned to me, (Ken) or (Jack) was just delightful, you know, here is, you know, a young kid who has to haul this guy around and show him where things are and do things and he was just marvelous. I think we’re going to get an apartment together I’m not sure.

Can you talk about the change in sitcoms over the years and can "30 Rock" hold up to the older ones?

Tim Conway: Well I think that it’s gotten more relaxed; it’s funnier. It is, you know, they kind of – a lot of people do refer to it as the 'Seinfeld' of tomorrow. But it’s the 'Seinfeld' of today. I mean, it really is – it’s inside but it’s understandable, it is not complex, it is crazy. And it just seems to flow. The cast works so well together; everybody seems to like each other. And it’s just comfortable.

I think they’re getting into a groove now where also the audience understands them. I think at first probably the audience was confused by the show in that it wasn’t he says/she says type of thing and now it’s just very comfortable in the craziness that they do.