You can follow this podcast on:

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneIn

DC improviser and actor Darnell Eaton talks with Puss and Kooch about who he wants to meet when he dies, playing like your heroes, and how to have better auditions.

Darnell Eaton on Heavy Flo with Puss and Kooch

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. To hear everything Darnell has to say, listen to his podcast episode.

The indoor kid lifestyle

I’m very introverted but with extrovert tendencies. Mostly, I’m an introvert, though. I stayed in the house when I was a kid. I used to watch Nick at Night all the time. My mom would have to kick me outside, and I couldn’t wait until night came so I could watch Nick at Night.

What were your favorites shows? 

There were too many! Bewitched was my favorite. I had this aspiration that I was going to meet Elizabeth Montgomery, but she died in the 1990s. I think everyone who was on that show is dead now.

But moving on, I Dream of Jeannie was another favorite. Barbara Eden is still alive, so I may meet her one day. Larry Hagman, who played the husband, died in 2012, so he’s out. I can’t meet him unless I die. I felt like the people on these shows were my friends. 

I also loved The Patty Duke Show, Dobie Gillis, Dick Van Dyke. Dick Van Dyke is still living, so I could still meet him. I loved him. He was very physical and witty and charming and attractive. The Mary Tyler Moore Show was amazing.

I Love Lucy was the shit. I loved it so much. I loved that kind of wacky physicality. But my favorite show was The Martin Lawrence Show. That will always be my favorite show. I aspire to play the different types of characters Martin Lawrence can play. 

He’s using a lot of his own experiences, things that have happened in his life and his culture and bringing them to light. With his ability to snap into those specific characters, it’s so much fun to see them all live. I loved Sheneneh, when he played his mom, and a few of his other characters.

I often try to play Jerome on stage. Sometimes I fail, but sometimes it’s a success. It depends on who you’re playing with and if they actually get it or not. But he’s so much fun. If you don’t know who Jerome is, he’s this greasy old-school player. I see these people on my streets—I live in Southeast—and they just have so much character and flavor. I want to be more of that.

Playing characters in improv

If it’s a looser format, I usually just go out and do whatever my impulse tells me to do. If it’s a more restrictive format, I have to think about options that makes sense. It’s a good thing, but sometimes it can be a little constraining if there are people I want to eventually play.

In teaching students, I’ll tell them to think of their heroes on TV and try t...