February 23, 2015 | People The Latest
We caught up with 2 Broke Girls actor Jonathan Kite to find out what it’s like to work alongside Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs, how he perfects Oleg’s accent, and why we need to stay tuned for his character’s wedding.
Jonathan Kite.
It’s an exciting time for Vanko “Oleg” Golishevsky, Jonathan Kite’s hilariously inappropriate character on 2 Broke Girls. The Brooklyn-set show centers around two poor twentysomethings, Max Black (Kat Dennings) and Caroline Channing (Beth Behrs), who waitress at the Williamsburg Diner alongside Oleg, a Ukrainian cook. Oleg has just proposed to his Polish girlfriend, Sophie Kaczynski (played by Jennifer Coolidge), and now the two kooky lovebirds are planning a wedding that—as Kite tells us—would put even Elton John to shame.
Kite shared more about season four of 2 Broke Girls, Oleg’s accent, Beth Behrs and Kat Dennings, his stand-up tour, and much more below.
What is your secret for perfecting Oleg’s Ukrainian accent?
JK: Well, I grew up in the Chicagoland area and there were a lot of Eastern Europeans. A lot of my friends at the time were first-generation Americans. So, listening to them talk, I think I just picked it up from being around them.
Have you ever worked in the food industry like your character?
JK: I had [Oleg’s] job when I was in college. I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and there was a very similar [place]—a smaller place, it’s not there anymore—but I did the same job.
Your character just proposed to Jennifer Coolidge’s character, Sophie. What kind of wedding do you think they will have?
JK: That we actually we haven’t shot yet—and it’s funny because it is up for a great debate. I’m sure there is going to be nothing traditional about it. A lot of the episodes that haven’t aired yet—we are much further ahead of scheduling in terms of our filming than what has been aired—we talk about all these crazy ideas that have come up in wedding planning. I think that is part of the comedy, and [what] the show will do well is surprise everyone, including the actors. I think it will be extravagant. I think Elton John will have nothing on us.
Anything else you can tell us about what to expect for the rest of season four?
JK: A lot of it is the wedding. Planning what goes into [it], which I think is really cool with the show, because we haven’t touched on that with anybody. But we kind of go into […] the sacrifices that are made by both parties. The cool thing is that Jennifer Coolidge and I; our characters are very very, very different. We have a lot of things in common obviously and we work out well and I think it is a wonderful marriage, but we really get to see the compromises and the changes start to come out during this event.
Jonathan Kite (SECOND FROM RIGHT) with 2 Broke Girls costars Kat Dennings, Matthew Moy, and Beth Behrs.
What is it like to work with Beth Behrs and Kat Dennings?
JK: It is wonderful. They are incredibly talented and sweet people. I consider them close friends and I feel lucky to work with people as talented and as likable. Honestly, you hope everybody who gets the show is talented. I think to be likable and be in a situation where you have to spend a lot of time with the same people, it’s like any job, it's like an office job—you are not responsible [for] who they are hiring. So I think it’s a nice bonus [that they are likable].
You are also known for your celebrity impressions. Who is your favorite celebrity to impersonate?
JK: I really like Vince Vaughn. He is really nice, I met him actually—he is such a nice guy. He is really everything you hope somebody you admire is. I like [impersonating] people that I’ve never heard people do before, which isn’t to say that a good Al Pacino impression still makes me laugh.
Tell us a little bit about the stand-up tour you’re doing right now.
JK: I’m doing Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Toronto, and Minnesota. I’m trying to get out there. I’ve always liked stand-up and it takes an incredible amount of time to do. I’ve only been doing it for two and half years, but when I have downtime from the show I try to go as many times [as I can] a week. Just to kind of scratch that itch [for stand-up], which I’ve wanted to do for a long time but haven’t had the time.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter @jbkite to find out more about his stand-up tour and other #2BrokeGirls musings.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID MULLER (HEADSHOT); LESTER COHEN/WIREIMAGE (2 BROKE GIRLS CAST)
