Dr. Rick wants to stop you from becoming your parents

It’s almost a given that you will, inevitably, say something that sounds just like one (or both) of your parents.

Dr. Rick is here to help.

He’s the world-renowned “Parenta-life Coach” with the mustache and sweater-vest who stars in those clever Progressive Insurance ads, dispensing tough-love wisdom to his clients who can’t stop themselves from imitating their mothers and fathers — whether it’s clapping at the end of a film (“No one who made the movie is here”), telling anyone who will listen about their morning (“You woke up early — no one cares”), stopping themselves from commenting on someone’s blue hair (“We all see it. We all see it.”) or correcting their placement of pillows on the couch (“If you have nowhere to sit, you have too many”).

“I call it a sort of generational triple-dip,” said Bill Glass, 51, the amiable Chicago-area native who’s played Dr. Rick since the commercials began airing two years ago. “It’s kids looking at their parents and thinking, ‘Oh boy,’ and a parent looking at their parents and going ‘Oh boy.’

“There are some people you see or hear who say, ‘You’re making fun’ but there’s no malice intended here,” he said. “This is something we’re all going to do matter what — and whether or not you want to admit it, everybody is going to take a phrase or a habit from their parents, whether they like it or not.”

There’s even a book, “Dr. Rick Will See You Now: A Guide to Un-Becoming Your Parents,” that features Glass (as the good doctor) on its cover.

Glass has been acting in commercials for 25 years and has a background in improvisation (Chicago’s Second City and ImprovOlympic troupes), as do the actors who appear with him in the Progressive spots. “I’ve done some other stuff but nothing has gotten quite the response that this has, so it’s kind of neat and lots of fun,” he said. “It’s fun and challenging to make people laugh in a 30-second window.”

The ensemble cast is directed by Martin Granger and is based in LA, where they shoot the commercials on location (including a movie theater in Simi Valley and a residential home in Pasadena).

“Two 30-second commercials will be two 12-to-14-hour days,” Glass said. “The writers come up with a lot of vignettes and they want to have a lot of options, so we’re shooting the setup and moving, shooting the setup and moving … it’s a fun way to work but it’s a long workday. As much fun as it is, we’re working — don’t kid yourself.”

The actors playing Dr. Rick’s clients have remained virtually the same since the campaign kicked off, with some new faces mixed in every now and then.

“The writers at the ad agency [Arnold Worldwide] and the director are really great,” he said. “They hire a lot of improv actors; I wish you could see the whole cast here because it’s a great comedy ensemble and the success of the campaign is due to all the actors who bring it to life.”

Glass said the actors do improvise, just a bit, and are allowed some free rein from Granger while they’re shooting the commercials. “We’ll cover the script, but Martin … hired all these people with improv backgrounds to he lets us play a bit … we mix in a little improv and then they edit it and spit out what you see on TV.

“I think [the ads] are like the appetizer tray of comedy — and right now we’ve got the shrimp wrapped in bacon.”

Glass has mixed his commercial work with acting in movies and on TV shows, including a small role as a lawyer on “Rutherford Falls” (Season 2 premieres June 16 on Peacock with stars Ed Helms and Janna Schmieding ). “The [‘Rutherford Falls’] casting director Allison Jones, enjoys the [Progressive] campaign so she called me in,” he said. “It’s such a pleasure for me to have a small part in the show.”

The fame that comes along with starring in a successful ad campaign does have its limits, particularly for jobbing actors including Glass.

“I’m a lunch pail actor, and to have a nice bit in the midst of the grind … hopefully I will keep this gig for a while and maybe I’ll be a 30-year ‘overnight success,’” he said with a chuckle. “I’ve come to a place in my career where it’s going to be what it’s going to be and it [the ads] show that I can do comedy when the camera is pointed at me. Hopefully, other sitcom casting directors will say, ‘Hey, this guy’s pretty good, we can use him for something.’

“That’s just part of the journey.”