Steve Guttenberg has spent his last two summers on TV as alter-ego Colton West — twice saving mankind from giant, lava-spewing spiders in Syfy’s spoofy “Lavalantula” franchise.
So it’s only appropriate that Guttenberg rolls the small-screen dice in a completely different role: as conceited, obnoxious Las Vegas casino magnate/billionaire Wayne Hastings Jr. on Season 3 of HBO’s dramedy “Ballers,” premiering Sunday night with series star Dwayne Johnson back as Spencer Strasmore, the ex-NFL star turned financial manager.
“Hastings is a great character — he’s a bit of an a–hole and a pretentious, self-important guy,” Guttenberg, 58, says of Hastings, who will appear in eight of this season’s 10 episodes. “He’s a guy born on third base who thinks he’s hit a triple. Right now you see him with beautiful women and a $500,000 car and airplanes and buildings — and, as he would say, ‘Countless women who I have pleasured.’”
Hastings enters the “Ballers” universe when he’s approached by Spencer, Joe (Robb Corddry) and Mr. Anderson (Richard Schiff), who want to bring an NFL franchise to Las Vegas and need investors (like Hastings). Spencer, meanwhile, is trying to score high-profile clients to repay his debts to Ricky (John David Washington) and Vernon (Donovan Carter).
“He’s a villain and I don’t like him,” Guttenberg says of Hastings. “I can call on these emotions I never display in real life and use them here. You have all of these emotions inside you. Just because you play a killer doesn’t mean you have had to murder; just because you play a doctor doesn’t meant you went to medical school, etc.
“But I feel [Hastings is] really interesting,” Guttenberg says. “He has a sliding values system. He’s a character who has ice in his veins, but you’ll find [out] some other things about him that are interesting.
“He makes a great heavy against Dwayne, Robb and Richard and it’s a great opportunity to be a supporting actor,” says Guttenberg. “I’m there to support the star, and Dwayne is a really good actor, which is no surprise since he’s one of the biggest stars in the world. People like him: he’s got integrity, intelligence and heart — and he listens.”
Guttenberg says he’s spent a lot of his offscreen time of late raising money to help fight Lymphedema, a chronic, painful condition triggered by a collection of fluid that causes swelling in the arms and legs (his mother suffers from the condition).
“Over 100 million people in the world suffer from it … but it’s a cause that doesn’t have a face or a name,” he says. “People don’t know about it, and lots of doctors don’t know about it or how to treat it.
“We need more awareness,” he says. “It doesn’t choose sides.”
“Ballers” Season premiere 10 p.m. Sunday on HBO