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Lou Ferrigno interview for DragonCon: ‘I’m an American icon.’

“The Incredible Hulk” called me directly. No publicist. No “Hulk”-like anger. Very businesslike.

Lou Ferrigno told me Dragoncon is one of his favorite shows to do: “It’s a gathering of great fans, a great celebration of different art forms. And people come from all over. It’s the best convention of its type in the South. I just love the way people dress.”

Lou Ferrigno:

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The two favorite fan topics are the Hulk and his fitness regiment. And of course, people enjoy getting photos taken with him. (I’m not sure how much he’s going to charge on the Walk of Fame for autographs and pictures. I’m going to do a blog entry tomorrow comparing prices of various stars. It’s how many of these folks make money nowadays.)

Plus, they now tell Ferrigno how much they enjoyed his role playing a fictional version of himself in the film “I Love You Man.”

“I made a lot of money,” he said with discernible glee.

And like 500 other people in Hollywood, Ferrigno is pitching a reality show. His idea is to show a family each week the “Ferrigno” method of fitness and health. He said he’s in talks with cable networks and may have a deal very very soon.

He’s been offered all sorts of reality shows in the past, but he wants “to do something positive. Because I’m an American icon. I don’t want to embarrass myself. I want to gain respect.”

Ferrigno offered himself up to “Dancing With the Stars” and was chagrined when he wasn’t chosen this round. “I had a great meeting with them,” he said. “But apparently they wanted to pick who they wanted. Maybe I’ll do it next season.”

He said he can waltz and do some ballroom dance when he was younger. “I’m a great athlete. I know how to dance.”

He enjoyed past seasons when folks like Cloris Leachman and Wayne Newton strutted their stuff. “I’d rather see people facing greater challenges,” he said. “That’s more interesting to me than Olympic athletes.”

Ferrigno is still saddened by the death of his friend Michael Jackson a few weeks ago. “I was shocked and devastated,” he said. “It wasn’t his time to go.

He actually helped Jackson get into physical shape. The last time he saw him was three weeks before he died. “I thought he was going to really pull it off,” he said. “He was motivated. He was excited coming back after all these years. But I think the stress killed him. He owed so much money.”

Ferrigno’s favorite moment working with Jackson. “He taught me to do the moonwalk!”

Here’s a link to video of Lou from the film taking down Jason Segal but I won’t embed it because it includes a few naughty words.

10 comments Add your comment

atlBOY

September 3rd, 2009
7:17 pm

i’ve always liked lou! as a kid, i loved ‘the incredible hulk’. as an adult, i loved his bit part as the neighbor in kevin james’ comedy ‘the king of queens’. go LOU!

Elvis Prez

September 4th, 2009
9:39 am

Lou’s the man.

Danny Boy

September 4th, 2009
10:14 am

Lou is great guy. If you see him go up and say hi, he is a very nice guy…

WERKIN FOR A LIVIN

September 4th, 2009
12:08 pm

i didnt know lou was a nerd

Atlanta Dude

September 4th, 2009
12:12 pm

He is a teddy bear, super nice and has aged very very well.
That man is HOT!

DragonMom

September 7th, 2009
2:53 am

My son, who is 4 years old, has been talking about getting to meet “the real live Hulk” for weeks. Today, at DragonCon, we met Lou Ferrigno. We were greatly disipointed. Lou, didn’t even look at my son, who was dressed as the Hulk, much less talk to him, not even to say hi. We were the only people in his line. Not to mention he was charging $30 for a picture with him and $25 for his autograph or $60 for both. That’s extortion. All we got was his autograph and a dissapointed son. I just feel that he could be a little bit more appreciative and grateful to his fans, especially the children. After all, he wouldn’t be where he is today without his fans. (No celebrity would) I do not want to sound like one of those parents who want everybody to only pay attention to their child, however I do believe if you are going to do signings to meet your fans then at least talk to and acknowledge them or you will loose them as fans. I know my son was confused and disappointed.

Kar

September 8th, 2009
11:25 am

DragonMom, for better or worse you got what you paid for and nothing more. He may have been exhausted by that time, I can’t even imagine handling all of this as a celebrity.

However I agree, most celebrities at least make an effort for children, especially when it’s obvious that this is a big deal for them. And frankly, as someone who’s been pushed to the perimeter at a lot of cons and doesn’t have a lot of traffic at the walk of fame, you’d think he’d especially be grateful to his fans.

Lissa

September 8th, 2009
2:59 pm

I saw Lou sitting all alone at his booth while waiting in a short line for Felicia Day (who was simply delightful, BTW) on Saturday mid-morning. There was nobody in line waiting for him, you’d think he’d be happy to have anybody at least come speak to him!

SilkSpectre

September 8th, 2009
3:14 pm

I would have loved to take my pic with him, but I wasnt going to pay his prices. I dont understand how stars like him can ask for $30 for a Polaroid, could not even take it with your own camera!! Many stars were sitting at empty tables because of that- Alan Ruck and Barry Bostwick included. The ones letting fans take pictures for free were very busy.

wsj

September 9th, 2009
1:53 pm

I saw Ferrigno alone at his table too while other celebrities had at least short lines. If a celebrity agrees to do these “meet the fans”, they have to go in with the right attitude no matter how tired they may become. That’s the deal and they should expect it. Besides, Lou is supposed to be in great shape. I went to one of these “meet the celebrity” things during the Olympics. The guy was Mark Spitz and wow, the guy was rude and a total jerk. These celebrities have to know how to “make nice” to the fans or just don’t bother. I’m glad I saw Patrick Stewart rather than Ferrigno.