Hey! How's it going?
It's good, it's good. Let's talk about games!

You're famous for being on 90210 - why are you here with the Mario fans?
Well I'm here for Mario Kart because they asked me to come and I loved it. I love to drive. I was a professional race car driver for eleven years, and they sent me the new wheel for the Wii. And for the Wii, being a race car driver, driving games are very frustrating to play with the joystick. With the wheel, it makes it much more like driving a car.

Are you big gamer?
I am, yeah. I don't play a lot of the first person fighting games. But I play a lot of sports - I'm a Canadian, so I play all the different ice hockey games.

Do you remember your first video game?
My first video game was Pong! That's how old I am. How scary is that?

You're playing in the tournament later on - you scared about these kids you're going up against?
Yes. I am afraid they are going to kick my ass. I've played it, but I haven't played it as much as they have, I guarantee you.

So I understand you have a daughter.
Yeah, ten months old.

And she's not playing video games yet.
Not yet, but I'm sure she will be. It'll be as soon as she wants, which I'm sure will be very soon.

Tell me about your interest in race car driving.
I was always into racing, from the time I was very young. I bought my first race car when I was 21. I campaigned it as an amateur for a year, and then I got picked up by Toyota, and I raced for Toyota for four years. Then I got picked up by Ford, and I raced for them for six years. Then I went to the Infinity ProSeries, and I raced for them for a year. And then I retired.

Are there red and blue shells in real race car driving?
[Laughs] Uh, not really. Not so much. There's not a real comparison between the two, but Mario Kart is a lot of fun and that's really what it's for. The whole point of video games is to have fun, it's about having fun with your friends. And the Wii, I've found, is more fun for a lot of people than any other gaming platform.

What do you mean by 'more fun'?
I don't know, but it just seems that other platforms, if you have it on, only two people ever play it, and it's not very inclusive. But if you have a Wii on at a party? Thirty people are playing and watching. You've got the golf game, everyone's playing, and everyone gets involved and it's crazy. Everyone wants to know what it is and how it works. It's all ages, too, kinda cool.

Any guesses as to why everyone's standing in line outside?
It's a Nintendo nation. The game's been around for a long time, and you've got the new wheel. I think a lot of people are the same as me with driving games, where using this [traditional] controller is strange, you know what I mean? But having an actual wheel in your hands makes it that much more fun.

So what other projects are you working on these days?
I just finished a romantic comedy called 'Second Honeymoon' with Teri Polo and Cheech Marin, and from here I go to Indianapolis. I own an Indy car team, and we're putting a car in the 500.

You gonna get Nintendo to sponsor them?
Unfortunately, not this year. But hopefully next year!

Good luck with that! Thanks for hanging with us.

More on Mario Kart Wii

Mario Kart Wii Launch Party
Mario Kart Wii Videos
Mario Kart Wii Impressions