‘This Is 40’: Graham Parker happily sinks fictional record label

For a musician, there are probably more flattering movie roles to be offered than that of a guy who single-handedly ruins a record label with his dismal sales. Fortunately for British rocker Graham Parker, who plays such a character in the new Judd Apatow comedy “This Is 40,” his decades in the music business have left him with a thick skin and a good sense of humor.

In this clip from the Envelope Screening Series with The Times’ Rebecca Keegan, Parker talks about his real-life reunion with his band the Rumour after 31 years and how they got involved in Apatow’s film.

“After I’d foolishly reunited the Rumour and said, ‘Let’s do an album,’ I started to make the preparations for the studio time and all the stuff,” Parker said. “And then somehow Judd popped up and got a hold of me, and I went to meet him. He thought [that I would] be a great, you know, loser, really, in the film.”

Apatow jokingly interjects, “Those are the words I used when I asked him to do it.”

When Apatow told Parker he would essentially destroy the record company of Paul Rudd’s character in the film, Parker’s response was, “I’m good at that -- that I can do!”

Later in the clip, Apatow happily pointed out that Parker’s new album, “Three Chords Good,” is getting positive reviews and that the band is selling out shows on the road.

“There’s been like an inverse story,” Apatow said. “The movie is the opposite of what happened.”

Check out the full video for more, including a glimpse of Parker’s self-described “bad Sammy Davis impersonation.”

ALSO:

The Envelope Screening Series: Complete videos

“This Is 40”: Judd Apatow likes to keep it local [Video]

“This Is 40”: Judd Apatow and Paul Rudd on real-life inspiration