Remember what a jerk Eriq LaSalle was as Dr. Peter Benton on ER? You know, a real hard-ass. Well, it turns out his dynamic performance as that character may be because he wasn't acting. At the Hallmark Channel press tour, LaSalle got ticked off when asked about ER.

He was meeting the press to answer questions about his TV movie, Relative Stranger, which will air next January. When LaSalle noticed that there were a plethora of questions about ER -- for him and co-stars Michael Michele and Michael Beach, both of whom had also been on NBC's long-running medical drama -- Eriq flared.

"Okay, I mean look, it was a defining moment, you know, for a lot of us as artists. You know, it was a show that was a little bit ahead of its time. We had a great time doing it. I don't know what else to say. I talked about the show so much. I prefer to talk about Relative Stranger."

I loves myself some Ron Livingston. It's mostly due to his laid back lead role in Office Space, but I'm always impressed by that "everyman" thing he does so well. Alas, I've never seen Relative Strangers, the 2006 comedy starring Livingston, but I and everyone else will have a chance to catch it on Comedy Central on March 17 at 10:00 p.m.

Livingston plays a psychiatrist named Richard Clayton who sets out to find his birth parents, only to find out they're trailer trash with the surname "Manure" (played by Danny DeVito and Kathy Bates). I'm liking this movie already based on the talent alone, and as The Waterboy demonstrated, Bates knows how to play a hick.

UPDATE: An early draft of this post mistakenly identified the movie as a new Comedy Central series. That was my mistake, a result of misreading the press release. Thanks to those who pointed that out. I promise to report with greater care in the future.