Tony Hale returns to the small screen in HBO’s Veep.
In the United States of America, the public is sharply divided when it comes to politics—but not because of party affiliation or ideology. Really, the two camps are comprised of those who are absolutely sick of politics, and those who can't get enough. That's exactly why Tony Hale is giddy to be in the cast of the new HBO series Veep, premiering April 22. He plays Gary, the überfaithful aide to the vice president, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The show may actually succeed in uniting the nation—those whose stomachs are turned by politics will get belly laughs, and those seduced by power and intrigue will embrace the satirical equivalent.
"There's so much posturing in politics," says the 41-year-old Hale, "and this takes the curtain away and shows [politicians] behind the scenes, in situations where they're thinking they may lose their minds. They get insecure; they have freak-outs. It shows the reality of what goes on in Washington."
Hale is accustomed to the comic sensibility of Veep because it's similar to the one that permeated Arrested Development. In that now-classic chuckler, Hale played the issue-laden Byron "Buster" Bluth. The brand of comedy was biting, and Buster had more personality quirks than a five-year subscription to Psychology Today.
Hale will have to brush up on those idiosyncrasies, because he and the rest of the Arrested Development brood are set to reprise their roles in a 10-episode season for Netflix, which may then lead to a movie. Shooting for the series is slated to begin this summer for a 2013 unveiling.
"When people come up to me on the street and say how much they like [Arrested Development], I tell them I love the show as much as they do," says Hale. "It's great to talk about it and hear stories. I haven't seen it in a long time, so it's a fun reminder when they bring up different bits."
The actor—whose dad taught nuclear physics at West Point—spends most of his downtime in and around his Los Feliz home with his wife, Martel, a makeup artist, and six-year-old daughter, Loy. "I'm pretty much in daddy mode," he says. "I love editing together home movies. It's my passion now. I'd love to do a video each year for life."
In the meantime, Hale is devoting himself to following around Louis-Dreyfus—in real life one of his comic idols—as vice president Selina Meyer. "I help put her shoes on. I'm there with hand sanitizer," he says. "I carry around this massive bag. My character pretty much worships hers."
