Lex Medlin is one of
those talented actors you suddenly see in a spate of commercials—it’s always
feast or famine, right? And there are
lots of actors in commercials or elsewhere whose talent I recognize and enjoy. (For example, the most successful of current, beginning - of - the - 21st - century television commercial actors appears to be Kenneth Moskow a/k/a Kenny Moskow, who does ads for Black Rocket, the white-guy versions of the Budweiser "wazzup" ads, and virtually every other product made in America today. I'm sure that L.M. has gone up against him for various ads.) But Mr. Medlin’s ads have been some of the
most hilarious and enjoyable that I’ve seen, both because they’re beautifully
done ads and also because of Mr. Medlin’s talent. He does about the best double takes in the business, and his
delivery is also very droll. If we
lived in the silent-film era, he would be a major star, because his facial
expressions are priceless.
Anyway, the following are, I think, the best-known ads he's done. (The “Bob Wehadababyit’saboy” commercial is probably the most famous--it's even been mentioned in late-night monologues or talk shows. Jay Leno, I think.)
1. An ad for
Geico Direct, in which he plays “Bob Wehadababyit’saboy,” a man cheating the
phone company when placing collect calls.
2. An ad for
the new Kia Spectra, in which he plays a man riding in a car being hauled on a
car-carrier truck, who is then forced to ride with the trucker in the cab of
the truck. Hilarity ensues.You can see
this ad online at adcritic.com. I especially like the silly expressions that Mr. Medlin makes as he
hangs his head out of the Kia Spectra at the beginning of the ad, the wind
blowing in his face.
3. An ad for Selsun
Blue in which he plays a fellow who is about to enjoy a picnic with his
girlfriend, but whose idyll is disturbed by the local bull. Does your dandruff send off the wrong
signals?—he brushes off his shoulders and incites the bull.
4. And—MY FAVORITE—a very amusing ad, "Cellular Outrage," for SkyTel (skytel.com) in which he plays a lout gabbing on
his cell phone at the opera. A
Wagnerian diva in a horned helmet takes this amiss and interrupts her aria to send her spear out
into the audience and into his cell phone. The ad first aired during the Super Bowl, and was produced by David Suissa of the Los Angeles advertising firm Suissa Miller. It won a 2001 EFFIE, the Award for Effective Advertising. First given in 1968 by the New York American Marketing Association, the EFFIEs recognize the best advertisements for several different categories of products. The ad was edited by Gregory J. Nussbaum, whose work on the ad was recognized as a winner at the second-annual First Boards Director Awards in 2001. These are presented by adforum.com, and recognize emerging talent.
5. NEW!, January/February 2002: An ad for Gardetto's snacks, very droll and without any dialogue, in which he uses a back hoe to dig an enormous hole for a small plant, because when you eat Gardetto's you go the whole hog.
6. NEW!, January/February 2002: An ad for Gateway computers, as a waiter who serves the Gateway spokesman, a guy who talks to a cow.
The
Medlin filmography may be perused at the Internet Movie Database. Look—here—I have a link!:
THE LEX MEDLIN FILMOGRAPHY AT THE INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE
Lex Medlin's work on the "Friends" sitcom Online you can find many links to scripts for this episode of "Friends." I give all that I found below, because I figure some will eventually go dead. Anyway, you can't have too many links to "Friends" scripts. You just can't. The first two links are probably the best designed. Lex plays "The Tall Guy," who is something of a jerk--but amusingly so. Jennifer Aniston plays Rachel Karen Green. Courteney Cox plays Monica E. Geller Bing. Lisa Kudrow plays Phoebe Buffay. Matt LeBlanc plays Joey Francis Tribbiani. Matthew Perry plays Chandler Bing. And David Schwimmer plays Ross Geller. So look that up with Google, why don't you?
http://www.friendshome.org/episodes/saison6/scripts/610.php4
http://www.ciudadfutura.com/friends/610.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/in2/friendspg/610.html
http://thecfsi.com/season6/610towtr.htm
http://members.tripod.co.uk/adamsfriends/scripts/610.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/9151/610.htm
http://www.steinfamily.demon.co.uk/scripts/610.html
http://friendsweb.100megspop2.com/610.html
Lex Medlin’s work in the short film “Film Club.” “Film Club” satirizes the Brad
Pitt film “Fight Club.” I thought
“Fight Club” was already pretty satirical, so I guess it’s a matter of a lampoon
on the lampoon, or the scoffer scoff ’d.
Both are good.
The official "Film Club" site is:
You can watch the film at mediatrip.com:
And, at amazon.com, you can buy it on the "George Lucas In Love" DVD that collects some of the best short films from the Web:
Lex Medlin’s appearance on the TV show “Team Knight Rider.” Apparently,
he plays “Gil,” a member of the “First Contact Society,” who gets zapped
by...aliens? I believe that Medlin is
the fellow standing on the right:
What is Lex Medlin really
like?, you are doubtless asking. Alas,
no one really knows. In creating this
page, I am assuming that he can be categorized, despite his unique talent, as
“typical actor,” which appellation indicates both good qualities and bad
qualities. He probably likes to go
clubbing, probably likes to go with friends to restaurants where they can talk
about SAG cards and film courses at U.S.C., and is probably a bit—just a
bit!—self-involved. I have found a couple articles I discussing his life as a
young actor working in L.A. Apparently he was once just a normal youngster
growing up in Arizona, not unlike you or me (assuming you or I were from
Arizona):
Beyond what is discussed
in the above articles, I know nothing of his background, although I have come
across some publicity material that talks about his having studied with the American
Academy of Dramatic Arts.