EXCLUSIVE: Justin Kirk Talks ‘Weeds’ & Hunter Parrish’s Spider-Man Pitch

We’re all pretty big fans of the original Showtime series Weeds around The Flickcast offices. The show has managed to stay strong and innovative since it’s launch back in 2005, with plenty of plot twists and fan favorite cameos. One of the main reasons we love the show so much is the use of the ensemble cast, especially any major story arcs with Andy Botwin, played by Justin Kirk.

We recently got a chance to sit down with Justin about the show, his work on the recently released season five DVD, and where he sees the upcoming season going. One cool feature on the DVD is a collection of the University of Andy web shorts. We asked Justin where the idea came from, and he knew that it was already going to be a success.

The writers had done various web-based content over the years. I don’t know if you remember ‘Good Morning, Agrestic’, which was a faux public access channel, but it was all meant to be for the web and DVD’s, which inevitably turned into a big hit. There’s also a new round out right now. We are only 3 episodes deep into round 2, which is going on right now.

One of the biggest events of this past season was the jump ahead six months and the story progressed. Justin was more than excited about that idea when he first heard about it.

Oh, I thought that was so exciting, I loved it! I don’t know if you noticed, but I got to wear a fake beard and a fat pad, and that was a lot of fun. Every time something epic like this happens, it’s always a great time. We’re heading into our sixth season, and when you’ve been around that long, you have to do fun stuff like that every once and a while to keep the audience asking “What’s this?”

Speaking of the final season, there has been lots of speculation that this will be the final season coming up, though Justin didn’t believe that will be the case.

You know, the studio only ever picks us up for one season at a time. Last year was the first time that they picked up two seasons at once, which was season five and this upcoming season. Normally, we never even know until months before we all go back to work whether or not we’re in it for another season, so we think they’ll keep it going as long as the show is still good.

We go into production on season six on April 22, which is usually about the time we start. I’d be happy to give up information that I know regarding the upcoming season, but not only is there nothing that I know, but I’d put a strong bet in that there is a lot that hasn’t been come up with. The writers go back to work this week, and that’s when they’ll start spinning their mastery on the season.

The last thing we talked about was an interesting subject that got brought up in a recent interview with Justin’s on-screen nephew, Hunter Parrish. Hunter recently talked to our pals at MTV Splash Page about his official pitch to play Spider-Man in the upcoming reboot. While we’re all excited for the idea, Kirk didn’t seem to put much weight into it.

First of all, I think Hunter could absolutely pull off playing Spider-Man. He’s a major actor currently, and definitely to be. I saw the clip where he announced his interest in the part, and it looked like he was just kind of screwing around and riffing with the interviewer in the moment. I didn’t take from that that he was really meant that he was pursuing the role of Spider-Man. If he was, I can’t think of anybody who would be better. He’s a major actor regardless, and there are big things ahead for him.

Season Five of Weeds is currently available on DVD and Blu-Ray.