I-95 Exclusive: Billy Gardell Was ‘Almost Famous’ as Lester Bangs

Billy Gardell Comes to Connecticut

Billy Gardell is coming to Connecticut. The beloved comedian and actor will take the stage at the Ridgefield Playhouse on Friday, August 1, and tickets are moving fast.

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Best known for his starring roles in Mike & Molly and the hit CBS series Bob Hearts Abishola, Gardell has spent decades making audiences laugh on screen and on stage. Whether he’s delivering punchlines in front of a live crowd or starring in a Chuck Lorre sitcom, he brings a grounded, everyman charm that’s hard not to root for.

Ahead of this big Ridgefield gig, Billy joined us on the I-95 Morning Show for an extended chat with the man himself—and this was our favorite moment from that conversation.

Lou: You always hear those wild stories about how actors almost landed huge roles—like, “Studio execs originally wanted Ice-T to play Han Solo, but they ended up going with Harrison Ford. Did you ever have one of those "I was almost cast in that!" moments in your career?

Billy: "I did—I had one early on, years ago. There’s a brilliant Cameron Crowe movie called Almost Famous. I went in to read for the role of the rock reporter, the first one the main character talks to—the part that ended up being played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Back then, the process went like this: first, you auditioned for the casting directors. If you made it through that round, you went to the producers. If that went well, you got to audition for the director. So it was kind of like going through the playoffs. I won my first two “playoff games,” and I was literally driving over the hill into Hollywood to audition for Cameron Crowe himself when my agent called me. He said, “Hey man, I’m sorry to do this, but you can turn around—they’ve already given the part away.” I asked, “Well, who did they give it to?” He said, “Philip Seymour Hoffman.” Now, this was about 20–25 years ago, and I said, “Who’s Philip Seymour Hoffman?!” I waited a whole year for that movie to come out. When it finally did, my wife and I went to see it. I was thinking, I gotta see what this guy did with the role—what made him so much better than me? We walked out of the theater, and I turned to my wife and said, “Yeah… he was so much better than me.”

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Lester Bangs for the win!

You can check out the complete interview on the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Show Podcast on Apple & Spotify