Ryan McPartlin – Frantastic

Q.  Can you tell us a bit about your new show “Living with Fran” and your character “Riley”?

A.  It’s a romantic comedy about an older woman/younger man, and I live with Fran and her kids Josh and Allison.  Riley Martin is basically a simple guy, he sees things in black and white, there is right and there is wrong, it’s that simple.  He tries to keep the peace in the house.

Q.  What attracted you to this role?

A.  Well, it doesn’t hurt that I get to make out with Fran in every episode.  Actually I signed on before she did, so it was the first script that I laughed out loud at, let’s put it that way.  I literally read it during pilot season last year and I laughed out loud and that immediately told me a lot about what the writing was going to be like. 

Q.  What is it like for you getting to work with fabulous Fran Drescher?  Have you learned a lot working with her?

A.  Oh yeah I learned everything I know about sitcoms working with her.  She is amazing, you know what’s amazing about her is that a lot of people would mistake her for being difficult when she is a perfectionist of sorts.  She is a producer, she knows how to write, she knows how to act, direct the show, everything, every detail.  You know it’s not a man’s world, it’s a Fran’s world is how she puts it!  She really turned the tables on what it takes to run a sitcom and she overcame a lot of obstacles to do that.

Q.  Do you have a most memorable moment so far from filming “Living with Fran”?

A.  One of them was probably when she (Fran) was in this really tight dress, and I forgot about this moment until she brought it up.  She was wearing this really tight dress and it was part of the script and it was really funny.  As she was getting up the stairs, and out of the audience’s view thank G-d, she just happened to slip out of her dress and she wasn’t wearing a bra.  I guess I said something to the essence like “Oh look, perky!”  She was happy to hear that so that was funny.

Q.  “Living with Fran” displays your comedic timing, is it something that you are constantly working on or is it something that is a natural ability?

A.  Both, there is definitely a science to comic timing and there is a little bit of work that goes into it, but at heart I’m just a goofball and I don’t like to be serious very often.  I come from a long line of Irishmen that use humor to dilute any type of situation so yeah, it’s something that is a little bit of both.  A little bit of hard work and a little bit of instinct.

Q.  With your character dating an older woman is there pressure on you to have a certain look and appeal?

A.  There is pressure on me to have a certain look because I realize being cast as the “hunky” type that was on a soap opera I know I’m going to have my shirt off in a lot of episodes and we’re going to be doing a lot of bedroom scenes.  So, by no means can I look like Jim Belushi and get away with it, start downing some beers and pizza and not worry about it.  It’s definitely okay, it gives me a good excuse to go to the gym and stay in shape. 

Q.  You played “Hank” on the show “Passions” for three years.  Originally you turned down the role though, why is that?

A.  I originally turned it down because I was a fan of sitcoms and movies and film and to be honest I never really saw myself as a soap opera actor.  I was really ignorant towards it and the fact that I didn’t realize what great TV it was and how difficult it was to be a soap opera actor.  I am so glad that the role came around again for me because without it I don’t think that I would have become the actor I am now. 

Q.  You’ve worked various odd jobs, do you think that it has helped you build character for acting?

A.  Oh yeah, you know you get rejected enough in acting but when you’re waiting tables and you get stiffed on a twenty dollar check, you know right away you have to learn how to suck it up and keep working towards an end goal in mind.  You gotta deal with people in different ways, you have to put your pride aside and your ego aside sometimes and just make the best of the situation.  It definitely helped me in the sense that it kept me true to who I was and kept me focused on what really makes me happy in life and just doing what I am doing now and I love it!

Q.  What is the most important piece of advice that you have learned working with acting coach Janet Alhanti?

A.  Know who you are, most people come to Hollywood trying to figure out what they need to be to get a job.  What they should do is focus on what really makes them tick as a person, who they are and put that out there and don’t worry about trying to change who you are for other people.  The time will come where you will fit into the right role just by being yourself and being comfortable and confident.  That just comes from waiting it all out and surviving, so yeah, really know who you are and by knowing who you are and what you believe in and what you don’t believe in you can commit to material much easier that way.

Q.  Is there anyone that you’d really love to work with in the future?

A.  Man I got a whole long list of people who I’d love to work with.  Mel Gibson would be fantastic only because it was his movie Braveheart that really inspired me to go for it, to go for my dream of being an actor.  I figure that is like a masterpiece and I’d love to create something like that and to work in that arena someday.  Yeah Mel Gibson would be at the top of the list and probably I’d love to have him direct me in a film, that would be fantastic.  There are just so many that I’d love to work with that I just couldn’t name them all, I think that is the best part of being an actor, hopefully the time will come when I’ll be able to knock off my whole list of idols of who I’d like to work with.

Q.  What made you want to take the leap from modeling into acting?

A.  I never wanted to be a model to be honest, it’s like waiting tables, it’s something I did to pay the bills.  Actually, I enjoyed waiting tables more than I enjoyed modeling just because I was doing a service to people and I was actually interacting with normal people on a day to day basis.  When you’re doing modeling you are just staring into a lens and not really doing a whole lot of interacting, just creating a lot of poses and I didn’t find much value in it myself.  Yeah, I never wanted to be a model.

Q.  Is there anything that you would like to say to fans and supporters of your career?

A.  Thanks for tuning in and the time change now, we did so well the first week that they’re keeping us on at 9:30/8:30 C and make sure to have the right time for “Living with Fran” and I hope they stay on board.  We got a great episode coming up this week and every week for the next season, we got a lot of fun going on, thanks for all the support.