On a recent episode of The Ellen Degeneres Show, actor Joshua Malina made quite the impression with his Halloween costume. As the newest cast member on NBC’s award-winning show The West Wing, Malina certainly knows how to entertain.
When he appeared on The Ellen Degeneres Show, Malina came dressed as The Flying Nun, channeling his inner Sally Field. Ellen couldn’t help but comment on his choice of costume and asked him why he decided to be The Flying Nun. Malina explained that he is a huge fan of Sally Field and had originally intended to dress up as her character from the movie “Not Without My Daughter”. However, all the costume shops were out of that outfit, so he went with his second choice, The Flying Nun.
But it turns out that Malina isn’t just a fan of dressing up for Halloween, he loves the holiday itself. When asked if he likes Halloween, he enthusiastically replied, “I love Halloween yeah, it’s all about the candy!” He also revealed that as a child, he appreciated the mixed message of the holiday. On one hand, kids are constantly told not to talk to or take candy from strangers, but on Halloween night, they go door to door demanding candy from strangers. Malina humorously remarked that it’s hard not to get behind a holiday that involves both threatening strangers for candy and embracing a fabulous mixed message.
As a father of two, Malina continues the Halloween tradition with his own children. His daughter Isabelle, who is 5 and 3/4 years old, will be dressing up as Glinda the Good Witch from “The Wizard of Oz”. His younger child, who is 18 months old, has yet to have an opinion on the matter and will probably be stuck in a Winnie the Pooh suit. Malina jokingly mentioned that at 18 months, his child can’t vote yet, so they don’t have a say in the costume choice.
Aside from discussing Halloween, Malina also talked about his love for poker. He revealed that he is executive producing a new show called “Celebrity Poker Showdown” that will air on Bravo starting December 2nd. The show will feature five episodes, each with five celebrities playing poker. The winners of the first five episodes will then compete in the final episode for a chance to win $250,000 for their chosen charity. Malina expressed excitement about the show and mentioned that one episode will exclusively feature the cast of The West Wing.
Ellen couldn’t help but ask Malina who the best poker player among the celebrities is. While he couldn’t reveal the winner, he did mention that some of the rookies, like Carrie Fisher and Alison Janney, surprised everyone by performing well. He even shared a fun anecdote about playing ping pong with Alison Janney on the set of the show.
As the interview came to an end, Malina thanked Ellen for having him and reminded viewers to tune into The West Wing on NBC and “Celebrity Poker Showdown” on Bravo. With his lively personality and entertaining stories, it’s clear that Joshua Malina knows how to keep audiences engaged both on and off screen.
