David "Dave" Rolland (surname occasionally spelled "Roland") is a character on Magic Funhouse. He worked as the production assistant on Magic Funhouse before being taken to court, then jail. Later, he would become the shows co-host, and then producer.
Description[]
Appearance[]
Dave has a scruffy beard, long light brown hair, and brown eyes. He often dresses in t-shirts or flannels and jeans. Others repeatedly refer to him as looking Amish.
Personality[]
At first, Dave is a sweet and possibly naive guy. But as the series goes on, Dave becomes unhinged. He becomes a violent and tempered man with a chip on his shoulder and revenge on his mind. For lack of a better term, he's crazy.
History[]
Dave grew up with a strange condition that caused him to rapidly grow facial hair even as a child. This spawned a streak of bullying and even abandonment from his parents after a bully posted flyers of his bearded face around the school. He was later adopted and raised by a Russian family. These incidents led Dave down a dark path of violence and instability. Determined to become a good man again he attempted to rehabilitate himself and followed his life long dream of working in television all the way to the TV30 studio, where he began to work as the production assistant on their hit show Magic Funhouse.
Plot[]
Immediately Dave finds himself in trouble with the show's creator and star Arlo after a disastrous first day on the job. He also has a strange run-in with Sacha that leads to her referring to him as "Pervert" throughout the rest of the series. With his future on the line, he struggles to get on Arlo's good side, even attempting to track down his parents. When he finds that they're dead, however, the rest of the cast urges him not to tell Arlo for fear that it will not only cost them their jobs, but Arlo's sanity.
Despite working at the studio for months and dealing with all the strange things that happen there, Dave is never officially hired and thus is never paid. Similarly to Sacha, Dave is forced to sell most of his belongings in order to make ends meet. After Arlo's break down over learning about his parents, Dave is blacklisted by every TV company in the area, effectively ruining his dream and his life. This, coupled with learning about his unemployment, leads to Dave having his own break down in which he returns to his former psychopathic tendencies of violence and deceit. He plans to get his revenge on Arlo and possibly murder him by inviting him to his house. When Arlo arrives, Dave talks him into working together to rebuild the show, but Arlo senses danger when Dave starts behaving strangely. Dave then snaps and attacks him, attempting to strangle him and even stabbing him. He chases Arlo all the way to the studio and pulls a gun on him. When he shoots, however, he accidentally shoots Jimmy instead and is tackled by Cliff.
Despite his attempts to plead innocent and claiming to have been driven to insanity by the cast of Magic Funhouse, Dave is convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 6 months in prison. While there, he plots his revenge against the people who he believes ruined his life.
Relationships[]
Arlo Dittman[]
From the beginning Dave and Arlo are constantly at each others throats, literally considering they knew each other as children. They've physically fought multiple times, tried to kill each other, and are always trying to upstage each other. Dave in particular finds joy in tormenting Arlo by messing with his show as a way of getting his revenge. Occasionally, however, they do have moments that border friendship, including when Arlo attempted to get Dave back in touch with his parents. On the rare occasion where they agree on something, they seem to be able to work together.
Sacha Barbrican[]
Dave is attracted to Sacha, but still resents her later in the series. She constantly calls him a pervert and antagonizes him. When he finally snaps in "Cancelled", Dave calls Sacha a slut and that "we know you're poor, stop trying to pretend like you're worth something." When the crew are captured by Dave's "followers" (the hick family), Dave requests that they keep Sacha alive for him, and it's stated that he planned to have his way with her after she'd been brainwashed.
Clifford Cork[]
Cliff tries to be friends with Dave in season one, and even moves in with him. Dave throws Cliff and birthday party in attempt to cheer him up, and the two seemed to get along. After Dave's breakdown, he kicks Cliff out and says that nobody really likes or respects him.
Manjusha[]
Dave and Manjusha, being the only PA's on set, got along nicely. They even bonded over a board game. They don't have many interactions, but Dave snaps on her anyway and calls her a beady-eyed troll.
Trivia[]
- Jess Weaver isn't the only one who auditioned for Dave. TJ Smith (Cliff) and Alex Diehl (Jimmy) also auditioned for the role at first.
- The audition for Dave including the reading of a monologue about a young man who tracked down his true love and is trying to confess his feelings for her. Brandon wanted the character to sound "panicked and wholesome."
- Originally, Dave wasn't suppose to go completely crazy. Brandon Rogers, the show's creator and writer, gave Dave the trait because Jess was just so good at playing an insane character.
- In the original concept art, Dave didn't exist!
- Jess Weaver and Brandon Rogers have worked together on multiple projects since Magic Funhouse!, such as Stuff n' Sam and Blame the Hero.
- The cast jokingly says that Dave's "official" name is "Goblin Dick Dave". Funnily enough, TJ Smith had trouble saying the nick name without laughing during the court room scene, so much so that it became a memorable moment among the cast.