In the new animated Stephen Curry-produced movie GOAT, former King of Queens star Patton Oswalt voices the coach of the Horns, Dennis Cooper.
Over three decades into his career and with countless credits to his name, Oswalt is an established name in Hollywood. The term “GOAT” is an acronym for the “Greatest Of All Time.”
Oswalt is the GOAT of something: “Having the most useless information in my skull at all times,” as he revealed. His knowledge ranges from “obscure actors” to “weird historical factoids,” making him the perfect trivia partner, though he acknowledged it's “truly trivia in the most trivial sense.”
“If there is a list of things, obscure actors, weird historical factoids, I am the GOAT of having that stuff crammed in my head,” he emphasized. “I absolutely conquer [in] that area.”
Who was Patton Oswalt's coach?
Before he played a coach in a roarball animated movie, Oswalt was a young star in need of coaching in Hollywood. He “admired” the likes of Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington for their acting prowess growing up. Later on, he'd get to work with some of his idols.
Charlize Theron, Toni Collette, and Tom Hanks were some of the actors he respected and later worked with. This gave him a front-row seat to see their creative processes, something he treasures.
“People that I got to meet and work with, like Charlize Theron, Toni Collette, and Tom Hanks, people like that, that I have been in films [and] TV series with and really gotten to watch them work, it's always really meant a lot to me to be inspired by someone else who's also showing up and doing amazing work,” he said.
One key piece of advice he received early in his career doing stand-up comedy was “Don't get too high on the high[s] and don't get too low on the lows.”
He explained, “I know that's a variation on a saying that's been said a lot, but that was really helpful. Like, don't get so down on yourself that you can't function, but then don't get so into yourself when things are going well that you lose touch with the ground. So, finding that nice even [balance] to me was really important.”
Perhaps that is why Oswalt has always been able to play a wide range of roles. He appears to be ego-less, always being okay with being the butt of the joke (just watch The King of Queens), but also taking roles like his in GOAT.
Did he get to work with Stephen Curry on GOAT?
Like most animated movies, the GOAT cast didn't get to record lines together. So, this meant that Oswalt didn't get to cross paths with Curry too much.
In GOAT, Oswalt coaches Curry, one of the greatest basketball players ever.
“When you do voiceover for films and TV, you are doing it alone. It's very rare that you get to be there with the other cast members,” Oswalt explained.
Either way, Oswalt is thrilled with the final result. It sounds like working in isolation paid off in this instance.
“The voice work in it [GOAT] is tremendous,” he raved.
GOAT will be released on Feb. 13.
