TVSquad

If you love British comedy, people who make jabs at America or men dressed in drag for that matter (we won't judge), then Little Britain USA (premiering Sunday, Sept. 28 at 10:30 PM EST on HBO) should be right up your alley.

David Walliams and Matt Lucas, who created and starred in the hit BBC series Little Britain, are bringing their irreverent humor and a bunch of their best characters -- like Phyllis, who believes her dog talks to her; Carol Beer, the meanest hospital receptionist you'll ever meet; and Bubbles Devere, a wildly inappropriate and totally uninhibited British socialite -- to America.

We talked to David and Matt about their dream of dressing George Clooney up as a lady, why following in Sacha Baron Cohen and Ricky Gervias' footsteps is just fine with them and how Brits and Americans really differ. (Hint: Men don't shave their bikini lines over there.)

How did you all change up the show for American audiences?
David Walliams: Well, we've made the show in America with an American audience in mind, and we've created new characters who are American -- we're sort of 50/50, comparing and contrasting American and British people on the show. We just let our imaginations run wild. We wouldn't do, like, Bing Gordyn, the eighth man on the moon, because we don't have any astronauts. [Laughs] We can't be bothered to go to the moon, really. And then the two bodybuilders, Mark and Tom, the Gym Buddies -- that felt like a very American thing -- the big muscle guys talking loudly in their gym locker room about girls. I don't really know anyone who shaves their bikini line who's a man in England.

Matt Lucas: Yeah, we worked hard on the show for a long time, so it's important that we let people know it's coming on. We're just really delighted and grateful to be on HBO and, in an ideal world, we'd get to come and do some more Little Britain USA next year, if the show goes well. We really enjoy making the show -- I think it's kind of what we do best, really.

Would you be open to doing Little Britain USA: Live, similar to what you did in England?
Matt: Yeah, we'd love to! If we could do a few seasons and build an audience, it'd be great to go on a road tour and play Britain, Ireland, Australia and, of course, America and Canada.

Do you think the U.S. needs more "class, culture and dignity" as the show's tagline says?
David: No ... and I think we're bringing quite the opposite. It's actually rather rude. What's great about being on HBO is they've had great success with other British comedians. You know, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ricky Gervais ... it feels like the right place for us.

What's this I hear about a Little Britain movie? You all are so Hollywood already!
Matt: We have some ideas. But I'm the sort of guy, I get on a red carpet and I fall over anyway, or a button falls off my jacket or I lose a shoe or something like that. [Laughs] That's how it goes for me.

David: Well actually we were just working on the script today, but it's quite a long way off still. It's a film where we'll play lots of different characters, and there may be a couple of Little Britain characters in it, but we just kind of put a first draft together. But you'll be the first to know!

How did you pick your guest stars? Were they all fans?
David: Yeah, we were lucky -- we met Rosie O'Donnell and she said she was a fan of the show and we thought we should write a sketch with her in it. It was great -- she let us really write whatever we want, and she was brilliant. We just wrote what we hoped she'd do and we thought, Well, she'll obviously say, 'You can't do this, and you can't say that', but she was like, "Great, bring it on!"

Do you have a wish list of dream guest stars?
David: I'd love to do a sketch with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. That would be amazing. I'd like to see George Clooney dressed as a lady ... but that's just a personal thing, it's not really anything to do with the show.

Matt: Elizabeth Taylor as a friend of Bubbles [Devere] might be nice. And maybe Danny Bonaduce working out with the Gym Buddies. That might be good -- he's quite built. Carrot Top is quite built too.

[Laughs] When did Carrot Top become such a monster?
Matt: I don't know -- he sort of became a monster and then acquired the face of a lady at the same time. Extraordinary.

Matt, you have some exciting movie news -- you're playing Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland ... what does that say about you?
Matt: Um, well ... it says that I'm the right shape. [Laughs] I've seen some pictures and some designs and they look pretty astounding. Obviously it's been really solid to be working with Tim Burton. I've been an admirer of his films ... I remember seeing Beetlejuice in my early teens and going to the movies to see Ed Wood. I catch pretty much every movie he makes. You don't even dream that you'll ever work with someone like that -- and it's my first American movie. I can't quite believe that I'm getting the opportunity to go in at that level and work alongside people like Johnny Depp. I'm just completely thrilled about it.

Which characters are your favorite to play?
David: The characters me and Matt play when Matt's in the wheelchair -- he's called Andy and I'm called Lou. I love those characters because I think there's quite a lot of pain there really. You know, Lou looking after this person who doesn't appreciate him. It's really a great one to play. And obviously I like the ones where I'm dressed as a woman.

Matt: I too enjoy doing Lou and Andy with David because it feels very much like the two of us working together. And also Marjorie Dawes because she says the things that I would never dare think -- she's out there.

What are your favorite guilty pleasure shows?
David: Probably Tom & Jerry -- love Tom & Jerry, I'm quite obsessed with it. [Laughs] We are very much like Tom and Jerry! [Laughs] I like to watch things like Britain's Next Top Model and America's Next Top Model ... I look at it as a kind of audition for who is going to marry me. [Laughs]

Matt: Dateline: To Catch a Predator. I love Chris Hanson -- he's so commanding.

[Laughs] Yep, there's something about the way he sits on a kitchen stool ...
Matt: Yeah, I like him at that height. [Laughs] He's very good -- very compelling viewing. I saw it when I was staying in a hotel in America -- I watched that and Celebrity Apprentice, so I watched two shows in which lives were destroyed. [Laughs] And I discovered Omarosa.