Celebrity Interviews

TV Squad writers interview celebrities they personally know

As you were watching the latest episode of 'Boardwalk Empire' and finally saw Harry Houdini's brother, Theodore Hardeen, you might've thought, "Wait a minute. Wasn't that campaign manager Martin Parillo from 'The Good Wife'? " Or, "Isn't that Joan's gynecologist, Dr. Emerson, on 'Mad Men'?"

You could have even caught yourself saying, "That's Olympic tetherball medalist Tyler Brody from the Oprah episode of '30 Rock'!"

Turns out you would have been correct on all counts. He's actually veteran actor Remy Auberjonois, a friend and neighbor of mine in Brooklyn, N.Y. we recently chatted about his roles, how he got into "the business" and if he's picked up any tips from the various trades he's performed in his roles.

Some say The Stig fell to Earth from a speeding meteorite and landed behind the wheel of a Koenigsegg CCX before the producers of the successful BBC car show 'Top Gear' chose him to be their mute racing driver.

Others said he was actually a clone combination of seven race car drivers, chemically and genetically designed to drive everything from a fully-tweaked Lamgorgini Murcelagio to a gas-powered snowmobile down a steep ski jump ramp.

But Jeremy Clarkson, the colorful and outspoken 'Top Gear' host, called him a "greedy twat."

Ben Collins, the Formula Three circuit, British GT Championship and Le Mans Series racing driver, was revealed as The Stig thi ssummer thanks to a British high court ruling. Collins finally got to speak of his time as The Stig in a new book called 'The Man in the White Suit,' which hit bookstores in the States this week.

'Off the Map' is the latest medical series from the ladies behind 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'Private Practice,' Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers and creator Jenna Bans.

If you haven't figured out their winning formula by now, this show proves that hot doctors plus interesting cases equals a sexy hit show. 'Off the Map' (premieres Wed., Jan. 12, 10PM ET on ABC) adds an exotic locale to the mix, with a Doctors Without Borders-style program taking these medical professionals to a remote South American jungle.

AOL TV has an exclusive sneak peek of the show, which star Jason George (remember him as Bailey's love interest, Dr. Ben Warren?) describes as "kind of like 'M*A*S*H,' but with a 'Romancing the Stone' tone. We're not in the middle of a war, but we are strangers in a strange land, and doing things our way, not necessarily the right -- or even the legal -- way. There's sterile and there's clean enough. We're definitely on the "clean enough" set. [Laughs]"

You don't have to dig too far into 'Dancing With the Stars' fans' comments on blogs to gauge that most were -- and still are -- pretty upset that R&B pop diva Brandy Norwood and her 'DWTS' partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy finished in fourth place in the just-concluded 11th season, especially since many fans were looking at the duo as potential champs.

Brandy herself has a complete different take on the competition, however.

Hi guys hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Now that we got the niceties out of the way, let's get to it ...

WTF??? Two people quitting on day 28? Is this 'Survivor' or the twilight zone?! Can anybody explain to me why Jeff had to try to be a rescue hero?

I've said it before and will say it again: IF THEY WANT TO QUIT, LET THEM QUIT!!!!!!!!

Last night,Bravo's 'Top Chef All-Stars' got off to a roarin' start with a dramatic episode that resulted in one of the most recognizable contestants being sent home early.

There were also All-Stars pushing the limits with their antics -- going over the time limit, tweaking dishes that were supposed to be replicated ... All in all, it was an exciting show.

Today, TV Squad caught up with the first All-Star to pack their knives, who revealed tidbits about fellow chefs ... and most significantly, criticized head judge Tom Colicchio for "selling out."

Controversial 'America's Next Top Model' contestant Ann Ward took home the top prize in last night's season finale -- much to her own shock. When host Tyra Banks showed her winning final photo, Ward burst into tears and hid her face in her hands. Derided the whole season for her tall, skinny figure (Ward is 6'2'' and very thin), Ward had the 'best photo' for 5 weeks in a row and was the subject of much media scrutiny.

TV Squad chatted with Ward about her victory, what she has to say to the media's 'anorexia' accusations and what message she hopes her victory sends to the 'ANTM' fans.

Now that Conan O'Brien is back on the air and is churning out the comedy on basic cable, it's safe to say that the Second Late Night War is effectively over, or at least it's in a cease fire state. After all the recrimination, the back and forth between Jay Leno, NBC, and O'Brien, and the giggling of Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman from the sidelines, the only question left to ask at this point is a simple one: "What's next for late night?"

I asked Bill Carter, who has followed up his acclaimed 1994 book 'The Late Shift' with 'The War For Late Night: When Leno Went Early And Television Went Crazy,' whether he thought the current late night talk show format, especially at 11:30, is on the decline. "Yes. There's no question," said the New York Times television reporter, who examines the current late night landscape in the new book, a story that culminates in Conan's dramatic exit from NBC last January.

The big reason? Money. Carter details in the book how the recently-dismissed head of NBC's entertainment division, Jeff Gaspin, told him that 'The Tonight Show,' even with Leno restored as its host, will lose money for the first time ever. "I was shocked," he said. "Because this thing used to be a money machine."

All you 'Stargate Universe' fans out there: haven't you always wanted to know what the cast thinks about the communication stones? Or what they would bring with them if they were really trapped on the Destiny? What about their favorite sci-fi shows?

Most of the cast of 'SGU' assembled in Toronto to celebrate the mid-season finale, and TV Squad was fortunate enough to catch up with them. (Bonus points to any reader who can spot the error in the background of the videos.)

Candice Accola has had one hell of a season on 'The Vampire Diaries.' Since her character, Caroline, was smothered with a pillow, given blood and turned into a vampire, she's been thrown challenges that only seasoned vamps could sink their fangs into, and passed with flying colors. And lots of blood.

Now Caroline's got an ally in jock-turned-werewolf Tyler Lockwood (Michael Trevino). They've always had Matt (Zach Roerig) in common, but now it goes much deeper than that -- they've both become outsiders, discovering what their true powers are and trying to hide it all from the rest of Mystic Falls.

I caught up with bubbly Candice Accola to find out how she reacted to finding out she'd be undead this season, how much fun it is to play a completely different Caroline now and the question on every fan's mind: what's gonna happen with Caroline, Matt and Tyler? Will 'TVD' be the first to show vampire-werewolf sex? Watch and find out.

'The Vampire Diaries' star Michael Trevino is following in the footsteps of 'Teen Wolf' and Taylor Lautner before him: on Dec. 9, he's turning into a werewolf.

But don't expect too much CGI in his first on-screen transformation -- the believability of his full moon fever rests a lot on Trevino as an actor. And judging how he's handled losing some family members and discovering his pal Caroline (Candice Accola) also has supernatural powers, we think he'll do just fine.

I caught up with Trevino to hear more about his big episode, his wolf inspiration (seriously, I asked that -- what's wrong with me?) and that deepening flirtation with his best pal's best girl, Caroline. You Forwood fans will love his answer. He also talks about his dream guest star, and it's someone we think would fit right in with the madness of Mystic Falls.

Bob Saget is one of those guys that's kind of hard to pin down. He rose to fame on 'Full House' as clean-cut, aw shucks single dad Danny Tanner, followed by a stint hostng 'America's Funniest Home Videos.' Not long after, he got back to his stand-up roots and shocked a lot of people with his curse-filled rants and borderline inappriate stories about the Olsen twins, his former TV daughters.

Then came a bit part on 'Entourage,' playing "Bob Saget," a fictitious (or is it?) portrayal of himself. The cleanest thing on his recent resume is his heard-but-never-seen role as the 'How I Met Your Mother' narrator. So what's the real Bob Saget like?

We'll get to see glimpses of that on his new show 'Strange Days with Bob Saget' (premieres Tues., Nov. 30, 10PM ET on A&E), a reality series following Bob on a bucket list full of crazy adventures.

I caught up with Bob Saget the nice guy, Bob Saget the teller of jokes (from the corny to the dirty), Bob Saget the motorcycle club member and Bob Saget the dustbuster to hear more about it.

When a network declines to pick up the second half of a television season, it's usually a sign that the show won't return for another year. Most people would probably throw in the towel -- but not the cast and crew of 'Life Unexpected.'

When star Britt Robertson spoke with TV Squad a couple of weeks ago, she said the bad news only made her work harder. "It's so easy to be like 'Alright, let's close up the shop,'" she said. "But there are so many people who love the show and are having such a great time on it that it's just made us fight harder to show The CW what they're missing out on."

In the final four episodes of season 2, Robertson's character, Lux, will continue her illicit relationship with her English teacher ("It's so wrong, but so good!" Robertson said, and it will unfold into "some pretty big situations.") and deal with the abusive foster family she lived with during middle school ("There are some pretty big storylines involving that.").

This week, 'Raising Hope' goes rock 'n' roll. Like washed up '80s hairband rock 'n' roll.

Guest star Jason Lee -- who starred in creator Greg Garcia's last hit 'My Name Is Earl' -- is playing Smokey Floyd, a has-been rocker who also happens to be Burt's (Garret Dillahunt) musical idol. He's in town "headlining" Grocery-Palooza (Tues., 9PM ET on Fox), if that gives you any indication of how far he's fallen from fame. Need more proof? Just check out Lee's look: that tattered shirt, those python-print pleather pants, that receding hairline and mullet combo. He's almost unrecognizable, so it makes sense that he chose to do this interview in character as Smokey Floyd.

I caught up with old Smokey (who one star says "looks like Bon Jovi's grandpa"), Dillahunt and the rest of the gang at 'Raising Hope' to find out what Grocery-Palooza is all about and how the aging rockstar shakes things up.

When Garth Brooks co-wrote the song 'Unanswered Prayers' 20 years ago, little did he know the song would make its way to the small screen.

The ballad about infidelity has been adapted by Lifetime in a new made-for-TV-movie 'Unanswered Prayers' (airing tonight at 9PM ET). Ben Beck (Eric Close) and wife Lorrie (Samantha Mathis) find their marriage test when he runs into his old high school flame Ava Andersson (Madchen Amick).

TV Squad spoke to Brooks and Close about turning a song into a movie and how infidelity is a bitch.