Recently, the actor phoned Movieline to discuss his reinvigorated career, his transition from minor league baseball player to major league network star and his petrified frog collection at the Louvre. (You read that last part right.)
So when will viewers find out exactly what The Event is?
I don't know. I think [producers] are thinking the end of season two. Maybe the end of season one.
How did you find out about the project?
Like everyone else did. My manager called and said, "I'm sending you a script. Read it and let me know your thoughts." I read it and I called her and said, "Oh my God. This is big, big, big stuff. Do you really think we have a shot at this?" She said, "I do because Jeffrey Reiner [the director] called you in specifically for this role and he wants you to read." So I went in and read for the producers. The next day I read for the network. And then the next day I had the job to my great shock.
How did Jeffrey Reiner know you?
A year prior I read for Trauma and he had been there and he said that he brought me in based on that reading a year and a half ago.
That's flattering.
Yeah, I know. He told me at the time, "If they don't bring you in for Trauma, I might bring you in for another project." I thought that that was B.S. but in this case it wasn't. He remembered me and he championed me for this role.
Do you remember that original audition for Trauma?
I do and I was disappointed when I didn't get [the part] because I thought I did a particularly good job. I guess I'm just Jeffrey's kind of actor though and he is my kind of director. It's just one of those things. Like when I met [Gilmore Girls creator] Amy Sherman-Palladino, we just clicked. We understood each other. The same thing happened with Jeffrey. You can feel it in the room.
A chemistry.
Right, it's a mysterious thing. You just sort of feel a person. You get it.
What's been the most exciting part of working on The Event so far?
Just having a job. I am quite serious about that. But getting to work with the level of actors that I am working with on a daily basis, that's the exciting part. You know, they build these massive sets that are big budget-esque. It's kind of amazing what they are doing. It's not like being on a TV show. It's like being on a big budget film. It really is. You walk onto these sets and say, "How can this be television?" They are really swinging for the fences on this one.
You sound pretty excited about this project. Do you think this show has reinvigorated your passion for acting?
You know, I have been around this business and I have never seen anything like this. It's definitely reinvigorated my career. The scenes they are giving me to play are a high degree of difficulty. They are highly involved and emotional and just red meat that you really want. This is the best time of my professional life.
Your part seems especially emotionally grueling from an actor's perspective. How do you stay ratcheted up during those high-intensity scenes take after take?
Well with this show, you are working with really gifted and experienced actors and really gifted and experienced directors who know how to respect your space. They know when you need to go in the zone. They create an atmosphere in which you can go into your zone and not be disturbed. And then when the work is going on, they keep the set under control so that you can continue to deliver that kind of emotional stuff that needs to be delivered.
It's kind of a scary thing to get ratcheted up that way and then there is a delay and then the camera breaks or lighting needs to be adjusted. It's a little scary to get into such a state and then have to hold it but that is the job. That is always going to happen. It doesn't make it any less frightening. Really, what you want to do is to deliver take after take. I can do it for a couple of scenes and then I am emotionally exhausted. I always tell my directors, "Look, I have about two or three takes in me and that's about it."
For a viewer it can be frustrating watching a project that has all of the elements of a big blockbuster film -- the suspense, the action, the mystery -- but having to wait three or four months to get to the bottom of it. Why do you think viewers are willing to tag along for the ride in spite of this season or two-long tease?
I think the beauty of this show is that there is mystery but it primarily concentrates on its characters and how they relate to each other. The loss of love, trying to get loved ones back -- basic themes that anyone can relate to. For example, my character Michael Buchanan has his family ripped away from him and he is thrust into this global conspiracy. Anyone will be able to relate to what his emotional life would be given the circumstances of what he has been through -- having two daughters kidnapped and a wife potentially no longer with us because people broke into his house because they want something from him. They want to make him do something. Anybody in the audience is going to watch this pilot and say, "What on earth has happened to this man?" That is what makes it relatable. Put yourself in this guy's shoes. What would you do if you were in this situation? What would you do in Jason Ritter's shoes? What would you do if you were president?
Were you ever worried that Gilmore Girls fans would have a problem seeing you as a character other than Luke Danes?
No, no. <span
class="pullquote right">[Gilmore Girls fans] would watch me read the phone book in Japanese. They are extremely loyal and extremely intelligent. They were chomping at the bit to see the pilot, let me tell you.
Do you think there is an actual possibility that a Gilmore Girls movie could happen?
Sure, anything is possible. Why not? There is still a very hungry fan base out there. I don't see why it couldn't be put together.
How much do you hate talking about Gilmore Girls three years after it ended?
[Laughs] I don't mind it.
Did you keep any of Luke's gear? His flannels or hats?
Well, I have some flannels. I have some clothes. I actually had the original hat he wore in the pilot in a safe but about five years ago I was on vacation and somebody broke into the house and stole the safe.
That is tragic.
Yeah, but I have other Luke hats that I wore in the series.
You had a pretty successful baseball career before acting. How did you cross over? Had you always been interested in acting?
Not really, no. I was in Europe traveling around with this couple from New York. They were both actors and I stayed with them in Europe while looking for an apartment and I went to their acting class and that's how it all began. I fell in love with it. I thought this is something I can apply my rather spartan work ethic to and just get better and better at it. Because the more you do it, the better you get it. I thought that it posed a really interesting challenge at that time of my life and I've had a love affair with it ever since.
Your bio says you paint. What type of painting?
I am an abstract expressionist. I am a frustrated art school rejectee. In high school I applied to all the big art schools in New York and I didn't get into one of them. So I continue to try to prove myself worthy to the admissions committees at NYU and the New School and Cooper Union and what have you. A feeble attempt, I know.
Actor, athlete, painter. You're a modern day renaissance man.
Yeah, I have a little too much creative energy.
If you don't mind, I found this fan website dedicated to you with some crazy trivia that I am having a hard time believing. Do you mind clearing up a few of these rumors?
Not at all.
Are you friends with Marc Summers -- the former host of Nickelodeon's Double Dare -- and have you formed a band with him?
No, that is not true. I did start a band but it is not with that person. And it's not soft rock either. I saw that site too. I don't know where they got that.
What about the prehistoric petrified baby frog collection that you allegedly have on loan to the Louvre? Is that true?
Oh sure.
How did you get into collecting petrified frogs?
I never reveal my sources when I collect something rare. It's another whole world unto itself.
Fair Enough.