Lesure Time on "Mr. Sunshine"
Mar 30, 2011
by Megan Walsh-Boyle


James Lesure has created a niche for himself as a go-to cool guy, playing a charming casino worker for five seasons on "Las Vegas" and now a charismatic former basketball star who's friends with Matthew Perry's Ben on "Mr. Sunshine".



Were you hired for your hoop skills?

[Laughs] I like to play. I'm winning, to quote the great Charlie Sheen.





What else do you have in common with your character, Alonzo?

He's selfless and I admire people like that. It's different from me.

I seem to be more self-absorbed, so I'm hoping to get a little more Alonzo in my life — to learn from him.





You're often cast in überconfident roles. Is that because you're like that in real life?

They are going against type there, but I'll take it.
I know who I am in real life — I'm nerdy and klutzy, too.





Klutzy? Really?

Ha! You think I'm BS-ing you? I always want to be James Bond, but if I'm going out to eat, I'm the dude who always gets a spot on his shirt.

My sweetheart will have to clean me up. And this is constant — every meal!





So who is the coolest member of the "Mr. Sunshine" cast?

I'm going to give Allison Janney the shout-out.

This woman is so entertaining that she literally caused me to cry for seven minutes — I just laughed so hard. It was great!

http://www.tvguide.com/News/James-Lesure-Mr-Sunshine-1031230.aspx