In the pantheon of cult TV sitcoms, there is no loser more lovable than actor Jeffrey Tambor. Here, Larry Sanders's former sidekick reveals the secret of his success: going bald at 17

In 1977, Jeffrey Tambor landed his first bit role, on Kojak, though he's more likely to be mistaken for a tax attorney than a character actor. It took almost two decades of languishing in unforgiving network sitcoms (Who's the Boss, Empty Nest, Three's Company, and, yes, its spin-off The Ropers) before Tambor finally found a vehicle that would allow him to bring his signature character—an insecure, neurotic asswipe—to its full potential. Since landing his breakout role as Gary Shandling's lapdog announcer Hank "Hey, Now!" Kingsley in The Larry Sanders Show, Tambor, 62, has served as the comic backbone of yet another sorely missed cult classic, Arrested Development, in which he played not one but two brilliantly screwed-up losers. Next for the Emmy nominee is Twenty Good Years, a far more traditional NBC sitcom about two Odd Couple–style geriatrics that bears the tagline "No Plan. No Limits. No Hair." (The show premieres Wednesday, October 11, at 8:30 p.m. EST.) Radar caught up with Tambor, still recovering from a live taping, in his North Hollywood dressing room to chat about competitive eating, Speedos, and of course, the benefits of being bald.

RADAR: In Arrested Development, you played patriarch George Bluth and his brother Oscar. Do you prefer acting opposite yourself or your new costar John Lithgow?
JEFFREY TAMBOR: Slam dunk, John Lithgow. He's a walking acting lesson and one of the most generous people around and I trust him with my comic life. Plus, it never felt like I was acting with myself because Oscar had hair. Once you put hair on me I'm operating in a whole different mind-set.

What's the difference?
Warmth.

Really? That's it?
I became follicly impaired around 17 or 18, and it was nothing but a boon to me. I was able to play fathers and uncles—really, it just brought me work. I never think about it and I wear a lot of hats.

How many times have you been sent Dr. Phil biopic scripts?
Actually, I was asked to play a Dr. Phil-like character in a movie. I said no, not because I don't like Dr. Phil, but because I didn't like the movie. And it didn't seem fair to Dr. Phil, or myself. Especially Dr. Phil.

Do you think they'll ever release The Ropers on DVD?
I don't know. But no matter where I go people have seen me on The Ropers or Three's Company. I mean if you go to Taiwan, literally, people know me from that.

Did you buy a ThighMaster to support Suzanne Somers?
I still have the ThighMaster Suzanne gave me. But I don't think I ever used it.

You could probably get a lot for it on eBay.
Oh really? I tried to get on eBay once but I'm computer illiterate. Isn't Radar magazine all about the Internet?

It's on the Internet, but it's not about the Internet.
What is it about?

Pop. Politics. Scandal. Style….
Then why are you interviewing me?

Because you are part of pop culture.
I am? I don't get that. That's a mystery to me. I don't get how I am considered pop culture. But that's my baggage. I should probably resume therapy. So you think people talk about me over the water cooler?

Arrested Development was talked about at many water coolers.
One of the great miracles is that Arrested Development was even made. And now there's talk of Arrested Development: The Movie. I mean there's no script or green light, but there's chat.

Don't tease your message board fans.
It's just talk. But you can break the news.

How do people generally react to you?
My favorite was a guy who ran after me and said, "I enjoy most of your work." I thought that was terrific. It was just so calculated, the paradigm for passive-aggressive behavior.

You were in Glengarry Glen Ross this year. Do you see any parallels between real estate and Hollywood?
It's a near-perfect play. It highlights the fact that we are becoming less kind, and the real estate theme is a metaphor for the human condition. People in New York, for example, are very kind. Los Angeles is not as nice and a little less personal. There is a village in New York and a survivalist understanding. I always felt safe in New York.

How would you want to live out your next 20 years?
Well, I have a 20-month-old son and a grandson. So I am living exactly the way I'd want to. And not to sound cheesy, but I would like to live in a foreign land. But if I say that I'll sound like an idiot. But that's the way I am. I'm an idiot.

So, we won't see you donning a Speedo and plunging into the sea like John Lithgow in the Twenty Good Years pilot?
All credit where credit is due, the guy's in good shape. I'm not living the Speedo life. You won't be seeing me in one. He's got the guts of a cat burglar.

Where did you film that Coney Island scene in the pilot? It doesn't look quite right.
We were in Santa Monica. It was all acting, I acted as if it were Coney Island. I imagined there was a Nathan's right off the way. There is no better hot dog than Nathan's. To bite one when the skin pops against your teeth? Wow, that is Coney Island.

You must be a big fan of that Nathan's hot-dog-eating contest every July 4.
I watched the whole thing this year. It is the fascination of the abomination. I mean, it's considered a sport! Gluttony turned sport?! I kept wondering, I don't know how to phrase this, but what does the next day bring? I mean, where is this going and how will it manifest itself? Which is a beautiful way of saying, you know, that.

Kind of a metaphor for life.
Yes, it is life, cause and effect.

The Larry Sanders Show was one of the first of the faux-reality genre, and you later appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Who do you think would win a battle of the neurotics: Gary Shandling or Larry David?
That is an equal battle in term of the personalities. The reason I did the Larry David show was that people kept telling me about the plotlines, and I'd end up laughing. I always learn about TV shows late in the game, because I generally vacillate between House Hunters and C-SPAN.

Do you ever update your IMDB page?
I once looked at my IMDB bio. It was awful. It said that I play snobbish characters or effete characters. I just thought, That's not true! I don't think I'm typecast. I mean, I'm not going to play Hamlet or be the guy at the top of the Titanic yelling like Leonard DiCaprio. His name isn't Leonard isn't it?

Close, it's Leonardo. But you have to admit there is a common theme to the characters you play.
I think the character on Larry Sanders was like a child but George [Bluth] was more like a Darwinian. The reason I love the role I play now is that he has an innocence, and a vulnerability. That's my preference. Hank Kingsley had that.

He seemed like he was always looking for approval.
Well, aren't we all? Aren't we looking for approval from our friends and our family? That has to be managed or it gets painful. But isn't that the human condition?

How long do you think Twenty Good Years will last?
It feels like it's going to go on forever and certainly I wish it to. We were filming the other day, and I know audiences will give a standing ovation to anything these days, but this audience was having an incredible time and rose to their feet screaming. That was a good omen.

I have an actor friend who has very strict rules about ovations.
Me, too. I won't just stand for anything. Standing ovations, the word genius, and the word friend are overused. I stood for a Crosby, Stills and Nash concert, but they're part of my hero worship.

If you were to have an affair, would it be with Janet or Chrissy?
First of all, I would ask my wife, and she would say no. And even so, I'd have to say neither. And as our presidential candidates have said in the past, if I am nominated, I will not run.