'Scrubs' star excited about Indy grand marshal role

Actor John C. McGinley has faced challenging roles in his career -- his performance in Platoon being his most difficult -- but masking his nerves before waving the green flag on Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard could be his toughest yet.

But it's not the standing in a flag stand 30 feet above the start-finish line that's making him nervous; he's flown with the Blue Angels, surfs nearly every day and has appeared in six Oliver Stone films.

Literally dropping the green flag, however, does have the 40-something star a bit rattled. Certainly NASCAR officials will give McGinley, most recently known for his gruff and sardonic character as Dr. Perry Cox in the hit comedy Scrubs, some pointers.

"Yeah ... don't drop it or else they'll have to stop the race. I want to have a positive effect on the running of the 400," said McGinley, who in his first-ever attended NASCAR race is going as the grand marshal.

As a guest of Allstate, McGinley will add race starter to his long-standing and versatile resumé that began in the 1980s working as John Turturro's understudy in the John Patrick Shanley's off-Broadway production of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.

It was here that McGinley was discovered by Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone and would land the role of Sergeant Red O'Neill in the war movie Platoon.

"One of his casting people came in and I had taken over for John [Turturro] when he went for Desperately Seeking Susan. He was there to see John but got me instead. Then Stone invited me to audition for Platoon," said McGinley, who was born in Greenwich Village, N.Y. and received a master of fine arts degree from the prestigious New York University theater program.

The partnership forged with Stone led McGinley to such roles as the jealous co-worker of lead Charlie Sheen in Wall Street, a sports broadcaster in Any Given Sunday, and roles in Born on the Fourth of July, Nixon and Talk Radio.

Of his involvement with Stone, McGinley said, "If you follow his queue you'll be on a winning squad. Like a thoroughbred at the Kentucky Derby; he puts blinders on when doing a movie. His input and vision is completely singular. His eye is on the prize."

Since his work with Stone, McGinley's vision for his own career has been anything but singular.

After more than 20 years of diverse character roles -- a gay traffic cop in Wild Hogs to a serial killer in Dean Koontz's drama Intensity -- McGinley has more than proven his range as an actor and has avoided Hollywood's kiss of death: typecasting.

He's maintained his diversity as an actor by saying "no" a lot.

"Honestly, I've exercised a lot of discretion. Once you find a little bit of success in a war movie or a comedy, that's all you'll be sent and as soon as that starts to happen I go the other way," McGinley said. "It can be nerve wracking, because at times the phone stops ringing and you don't want that to happen as an actor."

By saying no he's turned down plenty of major roles but, "it's nothing I would've added or subtracted to. For me, it's about what's on the page when a script shows up here," McGinley said. "If the stuff is in the script and it's not dependant on me pulling a rabbit out of a hat then we are half way there. My approach is to elevate what's on the page."

And right now he's elevating the pages of the NBC, soon-to-be-ABC, sitcom Scrubs, where McGinley plays a hard-nosed, recently-named chief of medicine and unwilling mentor to younger doctors on the show, namely the protagonist J.D. played by Zack Braff.

The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning comedy-drama, which has spent the last seven years as a staple on NBC's primetime comedy lineup, is moving to ABC this fall for its eighth season.

Some of the cast, as well as the creator of Scrubs, were less than impressed with NBCs airing and scheduling of the show. Critics say the network did little promoting and bounced the show from one time slot to the next.

"In retrospect, when a show has moved 17 times over seven years it doesn't feel so good but you set your nose to the grindstone and grind it out and rarely come up for air and now ABC is really getting behind this so things feels good," McGinley said. "ABC is trying to run with this and not make it a one-season scenario."

And season eight gets even better, said McGinley as Friends star Courteney Cox Arquette appears in the first three episodes, and in true Dr. Cox fashion, "he hates her."

Fast facts

What	Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
When	2 p.m. ET Saturday
TV	ESPN, 1 p.m. ET
Radio	MRN (Sirius Ch. 28), 1 ET

• Track Page | Tickets | Travel
• By the Numbers: Indy

Even though Dr. Cox's character has evolved -- he has replaced Dr. Kelso on the show as chief of medicine and may snipe less at his character wife -- McGinley said the insanity ensues.

"He's still so filled with self hatred and the most damaged character on network television," McGinley added.

At one point in his life, Dr. Cox's personality might have mirrored McGinley's own. But the birth of his now 10-year-old son Max buffed out any remaining rough edges the actor may have had.

"My personality has really metamorphosed since then. The reality is that Max has softened a lot of my angels," said McGinley, whose son was diagnosed with Down syndrome, and as a result, McGinley is the spokesperson for the National Down Syndrome Society.

McGinley said the topic may appear in an upcoming episode.

"I'm told this week there is going to be a patient actor with Down syndrome," he said. "I've been asking for a kid with special needs to be on the show for a long time, so I'm hoping this can bring some awareness."

Meanwhile, McGinley is also busy parenting his 6-month-old daughter Billy Grace and is in the process of tearing down his home in Los Angeles with wife Nicole.

That said, he made it clear if Hollywood was to call pitching him for the next NASCAR movie, he'll clear his calendar.

"Tomorrow morning! I'm there, the phone just has to ring," he said.

Video: NASCAR.COM's interview with John C. McGinley