Backstage.com has an interview with Guillermo Diaz, who plays the main villain in the film. In this piece he discusses movies vs. TV (he played a memorable character recently on Showtime’s “Weeds” and currently plays a much less menacing role on NBC’s “Mercy”), and drops quite a few tidbits about working on “Cop Out”. Here’s a snip:

For his most recent film role in “Cop Out,” Diaz had to audition for Smith. “It was just another audition,” he says. “I was in the middle of doing ‘Mercy,’ and my manager called and sent me the script. I went in and auditioned for the casting director, and she liked me and brought me in to meet Kevin Smith. It was a really quick process. I auditioned for him once, and then a week later we got the call that he wanted me for the role, and we started shooting right away. It was a really fast process. But it was great, an amazing experience, working with Kevin Smith, who is such a brilliant director. He is so smart, so witty, and so excited about his movies. Just working with him–wow, I feel really lucky that I got to work with Kevin Smith.”

If you prefer to listen your “Cop Out” press rather than read it, a 4-part roundtable (pieces of which you might have read or heard previously), enjoy these four links which take you to YouTube, but it’s all audio with stills peppered in. Lots of great stuff in this roundtable, including stuff on working with Bruce and Tracy, and Kevin’s thoughts on the trailer and marketing of the film. Overall, around 30 minutes of interview here.

“Cop Out” Roundtable Audio – Part 1
“Cop Out” Roundtable Audio – Part 2
“Cop Out” Roundtable Audio – Part 3
“Cop Out” Roundtable Audio – Part 4

And finally, here’s one for the REAL fans — The IMDB reports that the great Ernie O’Donnell, childhood friend of Kevin’s and famous for his small roles in “Clerks”, “Chasing Amy”, “J&SBSB” and “Jersey Girl”, plays the role of a “Masked Man” in “Cop Out”. Way cool.