Harland Williams is one busy dude.

The 32-year-old Toronto native, best known for oddball roles in films such as Rocket Man and There's Something About Mary, is suddenly turning into a one-man acting machine.

He's starring on two TV shows, Just For Laughs and The Geena Davis Show, with a third series (UPN's animated road show Gary & Mike) starting in January.

He made a quick pit stop in Toronto Wednesday to guest on Open Mike With Mike Bullard before flying to Vancouver to finish a film with fellow kamikaze Canuck Tom Green.

When does he sleep?

"Call me Count Yorga," Williams said. "Or maybe Count Chocula -- I'm getting soft like a marshmallow."

Beginning tonight, Williams headlines a special six-episode run of Just For Laughs (CBC, 9 p.m.).

Taped last summer at the Montreal yuck-fest, Williams goes backstage to give viewers a new angle on the event.

"It will be different from the old shows, where they just kinda threw standups out on stage," says Williams, who has worked the fest four times.

"You get a real feel for the vibe of the festival as opposed to just the moments that (the comics) are out there."

Among the headliners he encounters is former Star Trek skipper William Shatner.

"It was a real treat for me," Williams says. "He was one of my favourite guys as a kid. I always thought he should have been my dad cause he had such authority."

Williams also hangs backstage with the likes of Tim Allen and Monty Python icon Eric Idle. "He's a real nut," Williams says.

As for his burgeoning film career, he played a guy who "has to choose between fame and love" in the romantic comedy Becoming Dick with Robert Wagner and Elizabeth Berkley.

His Vancouver shoot has an even more offensive title: Freddy Got Fingered. "We're having a riot out there," he says of the big-screen Tom Green goof. "I play his best friend, Darren. I always seem to get the bad end of his hijinks."

Williams' biggest break might begin next week when The Geena Davis Show premieres on ABC. The Canadian was a late addition as Davis' zany office worker.

"I get to play a bit of a dipstick, the nutty guy at the office who thinks he's all that, but doesn't realize that everyone else knows he's a knob.

"We re-shot a bunch of the pilot and hopefully made it funnier," he says. "We'll see -- let the sour-cream-and-onion chips fall where they may."


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