{"id":63935,"date":"2026-05-05T15:48:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:48:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/the-offspring-pretty-fly-for-a-white-guy-video-star\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T15:48:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:48:30","slug":"the-offspring-pretty-fly-for-a-white-guy-video-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/the-offspring-pretty-fly-for-a-white-guy-video-star\/","title":{"rendered":"The Offspring ‘Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)’ Video Star"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\tBack in 1998, before social media and smartphones, MTV music videos remained a hugely influential cultural reflector for young folks, promoting imagery and sounds as dynamic as they were diverse. Boy bands were bigger than ever, Will Smith was getting jiggy with it, and Green Day were having the time of their life. Meanwhile, another California band with punk roots, the Offspring<\/a>, were building their own fervent fanbase by turning catchy, bratty ditties into high-production clips that nobody ever flipped past on the remote.<\/p>\n

\n\tTheir biggest hit and most iconic video is arguably the McG-directed \u201cPretty Fly (For a White Guy),\u201d which skewered uncool dudes who \u201cfake it anyway\u201d by copping hip-hop style, donning backwards baseball caps, oversized jerseys, and gold chains.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tGuy Cohen, the young actor who starred in the colorful clip, personified the character in such an endearing way, he became an ironic, even mythic, figure for the band\u2019s fans. The tune might be a commentary on cultural appropriation, but its campy video and the band\u2019s light-hearted approach to performing it live (often bringing the actor out to dance awkwardly to the number on stage) made for many feel-good moments over the years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWith Nineties nostalgia hotter ever on social media, Cohen has been reliving his Fly Guy days once again. He joined the Offspring at their Kia Forum show last August and at the When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas last October, followed by a triumphant appearance just this past weekend at the BeachLife festival in Redondo Beach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tRolling Stone <\/em>caught up with the pretty fly guy \u2014 yes, his name really is Guy \u2014 to talk about the video, his enduring, now-multigenerational fame, and what he\u2019s been up to these last 28 years.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tYou were a bona fide video phenom during MTV\u2019s heyday. And after all these years, people still remember the \u201cPretty Fly (for a White Guy)\u201d guy.<\/strong>
It\u2019s pretty amazing how lasting it has been. I think the character is one of the endearing images of the Nineties. I guess it reminds people of better times\u2026 people having fun and watching MTV with their family, before social media. It just brings joy to people, so I\u2019m happy to embrace it, and I think it\u2019s maybe bigger than ever.<\/p>\n

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\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n

\n\tHow did you get the opportunity to be in the video?<\/strong>
I started pursuing acting when I turned 18, and this was about six months into my acting career. Back then, in the late Nineties, music videos were a great way to get started and get some experience because they were non-union, kind of like extra work. I had also done Alanis Morissette\u2019s video \u201cThank U,\u201d<\/a> in which she stood there naked as people walked by \u2014 I was one of the blurry people. Then this video came along, and it just turned out to be one of the biggest music videos of all time. It changed my life.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow did you approach your movement in the video? Was it a joke or did you take it seriously?<\/strong>
I didn\u2019t take any of it seriously. For me, the whole video, and the character, was poking fun at the time and this character of a white person trying to be down with a different culture and all that. There were a few guys like that back then. Nowadays it\u2019s not really a thing, but back then, it was like a \u201ctry hard.\u201d So it was all in jest. I\u2019m not a trained dancer. But as far as the moves, I believe I came up with most of them, especially when I take my leg and jump around.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThere was something called \u201cthe Molly Ringwald\u201d back then that McG, the director of the video, who went on to do movies and television, wanted. He showed me that one. But I think I pretty much came up with all the other stuff. It was just me just being goofy and having some fun and jumping around, thrusting a lot and trying anything out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n

\n\tIt seems a whole new generation is discovering the song and the band, too. Have you observed that?<\/strong>
I\u2019ve never seen anything like this, but we are seeing three generations of families going to concerts together \u2014 little ones, the parents, and then even the grandparents. It\u2019s family-friendly. There\u2019s some cursing, but, you know, they have enough hit songs that everybody\u2019s just having a good time. And what I\u2019ve noticed is kids and everyone dressing up like the character! If you go to an Offspring show, there\u2019ll always be 20 to 30 people dressed up as my character.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tYou look almost the same as you did in the video. What are you doing to stay so youthful?\u00a0<\/strong>
I was 18 years old. I\u2019m 46 now. I think it\u2019s mostly genetics, but I also don\u2019t drink, I don\u2019t smoke. I wear sunscreen every day with face lotion, and I stay indoors a lot. I\u2019m a full-time livestreamer, so I spend a lot of time indoors and out of the sun.<\/p>\n

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