Of the multitude of fake Twitter accounts — the majority of which aren’t that funny or run out of steam pretty quickly — not everybody can be NotHawk. Heck, not everyone can be Fake Rex Ryan. “To do it right,” declares Fast Company’s Adam Pennberg, “is like being a method actor: You have to get inside the head of a famous person but with a twist.” Amongst his favorite twisters, the anonymous duo responsible for The Bill Walton.
Did you conduct research or are you simply riffing?
The Bill Walton: We started with a healthy knowledge of Waltonisms mostly accumulated during his time as a broadcaster. YouTube has been a great resource, as well as sites dedicated to shining light on his approaches to life.
What’s the hardest part?
The Bill Walton: Staying in character. The real Bill Walton waxes poetic about Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead; although we also pay homage to Dylan and The Dead, our Walton character is a hip-hop loving gent up on all the latest pop culture. It’s important to stick to the roots of the real Bill Walton, his love of nature and Guinness, his outrage when a big man doesn’t slam it hard in the paint, his love of the Celtics, his catchphrase “Throw It Down,” but it’s more important to offer a semi-fictional version of the man to give us room to grow creatively.
This account has been pretty weak since about mid-May