Erinn Hayes – The Winner

Q.  What are some of the recent projects that you’ve been working on?

A.  “The Winner” has been the biggest thing that I’ve been working on this last year.  It came about, I did three episodes guest starring on “Kitchen Confidential” last year.  After that I got brought back as a series regular and from that I signed a deal with FOX for the 2006 television season.  “The Winner” is the show that came out of that, so I feel very lucky.  Though, my stuff on “Kitchen Confidential” never aired I think.  My stuff was supposed to start on episode five, and it got canceled after episode four.  It was too bad but it’s all been good.  Before that, there was a “Mork and Mindy” TV movie where I played Pam Dawber. 

Q.  Can you tell me a little bit about the premise for the show “The Winner” and about your character?

A.  Well, “The Winner” is kind of a sitcom version of “The Wonder Years” where there is a successful guy looking back at the time in his life when he began to blossom.  Only, it’s a guy looking back at age thirty-two so he is kind of this late bloomer.  He’s been still living at home with his parents and never really had a job.  He has only kissed one girl and I play Allison who is his neighbor and his childhood crush when he was fourteen.  I moved away and in the pilot I move back home and move in next door to him with my fourteen year old son.  I’ve recently gotten a divorce and he comes over and it kind of spurs him into action, seeing me again.  It spurs him into going out and starting to experience life and get a job.  He becomes very good friends with my son because they are pretty much at the same developmental stage.  With him having never gone through all of that stuff and my son being fourteen.  So, it’s a pretty funny relationship, to see the two of them navigating through things like dates and jobs and all that stuff together.

Q.  What made you want to be a part of the show?

A.  The script was fantastic, it’s really funny.  The writer/creator, Ricky Blitt, is an interesting guy who is so quirky and funny.  I sat down and had a meeting with him and we ended up talking for about an hour.  We really got along and I didn’t immediately go in and audition for the show.  I had some other meetings and things and then I heard that Rob Corddry was attached to play Glen, the main character, and that really up’d my interest even more.  Here’s a great script, a great writer, someone I want to work with and everything just seemed right.  I came in and got the part and I was just thrilled.

Q.  What about the role has been challenging for you?

A.  It’s been interesting, I am newly married myself, for two years now.  I’ve been with my husband for a long time, we don’t have kids, but to be playing this recently divorced mother of a teenager who is also a doctor; she’s kind of Wonder Woman.  It’s hard to try to imagine what my whole life has been like these last fourteen years with having a child, going through medical school and trying to put myself in that mindset.  The truth is, not much has been challenging about this, it’s been a really wonderful, positive experience.  On set everybody is great, the cast is fantastic, really talented and easy to work with.  Ricky’s scripts are great and funny, it’s been really a blessing.  This job has been really fun and very easy.

Q.  When “The Winner” premieres, why should viewers take the time to tune in?

A.  Because I don’t think there is anything out there like it.  It’s a sitcom, it’s a traditional sitcom, but it has a very different sensibility.  It’s a little bit quirkier, it doesn’t have the sensibility of a traditional sitcom.  It’s a little bit darker, Glen’s character is something we really haven’t seen before.  He’s like this delightful man-child going through life, he’s very endearing, he has this naivety that is very charming.  The relationship between him and Keir, who plays my son, is really hilarious.  It could be done so wrong, there is a very fine line between it being creepy to be have a thirty-two year old man be best friends with a fourteen year old boy and having it be charming and funny.  This walks that line very welll; it’s really funny. 

Q.  Since the show has a lot of comedic elements to it, has comedic timing come naturally to you or is it something that you’ve had to work at?

A.  I always loved doing comedy; I really enjoy doing drama and comedy.  But, I think comedy comes a little easier.  I think it’s more fun doing it and when I first got to Los Angeles I did a bunch of improv.  It always kind of seemed that comedy came a bit easier because I think they always are looking for a relatively attractive girl that can do comedy.  So, that has been easy because so much of it with Ricky’s script is in the writing.  If you deliver the lines right; it’s going to go smoothly.

Q.  What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

A.  My husband and I bought a house two years ago.  We’ve been in a long process of renovating it so most of my time outside is taken up with that.  We’ve been doing mostly everything ourselves.  I have been slowly planting my garden, I like to hang out with friends and cook.  I like to have little parties and get out there and go on hikes.  I’m very much a homebody, I’m not one that you’ll ever see out at the Hollywood clubs really.

Q.  Do you have a latest obsession?  Are you into any particular book, activity, sport or music group?

A.  I’ve been taking a lot of Yoga lately and I have really enjoyed doing that; I’m getting better at that.  There is this book by David Mitchell called Cloud Atlas that I think is one of the most amazing books I’ve read in years.  It’s got all of these different stories, it’s kind of Science Fiction.  It goes throughout time and it has these stories that you don’t think are connected but then they are all connected.  It’s really a beautiful and brilliant book, that’s what I would recommend to anyone and everyone that will listen.

Q.  What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A.  I really hope that people tune in and watch the show and tell their friends.  I think that it is good television, we had a great time doing it and I think that people will have a good time watching it.  I would tell everybody to tune in and tell their friends.