'CHIPs' Stars Dax Shepard and Michael Peña on Kristen Bell, Their Movie's 'Quadruple' Threat
When you’re married to one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actresses, it’s no surprise that you’d seize the opportunity to cast her in your own movie. That’s why CHIPs director and star Dax Shepard booked his wife, Kristen Bell, for a scene-stealing role in his newly released cop comedy. “My wife’s the easiest person in the world to direct,” Shepard told Yahoo Movies (watch the clip of our chat above). “She’s perfect on Take 1. You can tell her to cry in one take, tell a great joke in the second, and sing in the third, and she’ll do all that.” Shepard’s CHIPs co-star, Michael Peña, was similarly impressed by Bell’s versatility, concurring that “She’s a quadruple threat.”
Bell, who also appeared in Shepard’s previous directorial effort, the 2012 action comedy Hit and Run, isn’t the only performer lending CHIPs some extra star-wattage. The movie also features cameos from Saturday Night Live favorite, Maya Rudolph, and Erik Estrada, who become a pop culture icon for his role as Frank “Ponch” Poncherello on the late ’70s/early ’80s TV series that inspired the movie. “Erik Estrada is a major, major star,” Shepard says. “As soon as he got on set, we were like, ‘I get it. This guy is electric.'” Adds Peña, who has the unenviable task of following Estrada as the new Ponch: “It takes two of us to equal that star power.”
‘CHIPs’ Guys Dax Shepard and Michael Pena Talk Sweaty Suits, Making Things Go ‘Boom!’:
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