Meet The Bachelor: A Movieline Chat With Dreamy Pilot Jake Pavelka

Gorgeous Texan Jake Pavelka sent thousands of hearts soaring during last season's Bachelorette when the commercial pilot returned to the show after being dismissed by Jillian Harris to warn her about a smarmy suitor will ill intentions. Tonight, Pavelka returns to ABC to hopefully find love among 25 women that range from a Nebraskan nanny to a woman allegedly sleeping with a crew member.

Before the holidays, Movieline spoke to Jake as he relaxed in sunny Dallas, about discovering the therapeutic elements of the show, the preparation that goes into each exotic date and his short acting career playing a young Chuck Norris.

Hey Jake. How is your holiday season going so far?

Well, it's almost 50 degrees here in Dallas. I think it's been almost 15 years, no, I think it's been longer than that since we've had snow. 1984 was the last white Christmas.

Will you be able to spend time with your family? You aren't sequestered in some kind of hotel room prison to prevent you from revealing the outcome of the show?

[Laughs] No, no. They let us go outside every now and then. We wrapped filming about two weeks ago and everybody's back home with their families so to answer your question, yeah, I'll be with my family this Christmas.

Got it. But you won't be able to see your hypothetical fiancée...if you proposed to someone at the end of the show?

No, I can't -- other than talking to producers and the people that make this happen, I can't talk to any of the cast. You get really close to some of these people and then you can't talk to them.

That must be difficult. How soon after completing The Bachelorette did you hear from producers about becoming this season's Bachelor?

I don't remember a specific date. It was kind of a long process. They called shortly after the wrap just to see where I was in life and how I was feeling about how Jillian's season turned out. I was really happy she found Ed. It was within a couple of weeks. They completely vetted me and did their due diligence trying to find out who the next Bachelor would be.

How did the producers screen you to find out what kind of women you are interested in? Were there extensive questionnaires?

It took a lot of face-to-face meetings about what I was looking for. They're trying to break you down and figure you out your temperament, your love language, your complexities in life, what's worked in past relationships, what hasn't worked for you, your ideal girl. That was probably the most impressive thing -- how producers took so much time to get to know me, I don't want to say intimately, but at that level.

From the previews, it seems like you were dealing with a great group of girls who were always up for fun. In [tonight's] premiere, there is even an impromptu game of football with all of the women in their gowns. Who initiated that game?

[Laughs] That was a good time. It actually kind of pulled me out of a heavy moment. It was perfect timing. The girl that initiated that just had really good timing. I agree with you though, it seems like with each season, the producers get better and better at matching.

How important were first impressions for you? Did you click with a few women immediately?

I think that out of all 25 women that they invited to the show this year -- [Chuckles] -- I'm trying to look for little things I can poke holes in but they were all amazing women. Whoever ends up with these girls is just really blessed.

So there were no fireworks that first episode that told you, maybe, I would really like to know these five girls better?

That's what I thought it would be like, that after that first night, I would know what the final four would be. I can remember approaching episode five and still having no idea who the final four would be. That made the rose ceremonies really tough. I had to think about what I was doing and how I was feeling and the trick to that was not overanalyzing the girls, but overanalyzing myself. You know, "I feel this way about her, but why exactly am I feeling that way?"

Do you have anyone to talk about those feelings with since you can't be calling friends or family?

A lot of the producers and a lot of the people with me around the clock are in successful relationships or have been married a number of years and have really been able to offer good, sound advice. And that has absolutely been a blessing. I don't know if they do that on purpose. Especially the executive producer -- he's the kind of guy that makes having kids and a family seem like it is so much fun. He makes every guy in America want that picture perfect family like he does.

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