Dave Annable Interview (Part One)

Cole Fowler interviewed Dave Annable during a break from shooting.  Sitting down in Dave's dressing room, Dave graciously gave Cole the biggest chair in the room, aka the "Captain Chair." Dave was so fun, engaging and sincere in person, we wish you could have been there.

Cole: Thank you, Dave, for sitting down with us. I know our readers are looking forward to it. I have some questions from us and some questions from the fans, so it should be a pretty good mix.

Dave: Cool.

Cole: You have a pretty nice set-up in here.

Dave: Except there's old food. [Points to a plate] That's actually from a week ago-- nevermind.

Cole: [Laughs] So... what inspired you to become an actor?

Dave: Uh... I always wanted to meet Jenny McCarthy. I used to watch Singled Out on TV...

Cole: Have you met her?

Dave: No, I have not. New guest star! Move over, Rebecca.  Anyway, I've always been a fan of movies and TV, and I remember I loved going to movies with my family. I admired Michael J. Fox and Tom Hanks...Family Ties, Alex P. Keaton, come on, you know. It was always something I wanted to do and I finally sort of grew the cojones--that's Spanish-- to try in college. I did a play, Macbeth-- no, I was not Macbeth, I had about three lines in it--and I got bit by the bug right there. [re: Cole's tape recorder] You out of tape already?

Cole: It's rolling!

Dave: Three hour interview.

Cole: What type of acting jobs led you to Brothers & Sisters?

Dave: I pretty much started acting about five years ago, and I was fortunate enough to get a job as soon as I signed with an agent. I got a lead in a pilot for the WB called Other People's Business. It was originally called Dicks, but that was a little harsh. It was funny, I was telling my dad, "Dad, I got a part in a show called Dicks!" He was like, "Oh God." I was like, "No Dad, I promise, it's real!" So I did that, I did a bunch of pilots, a bunch of sitcoms and then finally got a show that was picked up on the air, called Reunion. That was a wonderful learning experience. I got to be up in Vancouver, and we shot 13 episodes before it was abruptly canceled. But, you know, this was actually my first audition after that. So I lucked out.

Cole: The rest is history.

Dave: Exactly.

Cole: So do you have any siblings in real life, and, if yes, do you see any similarities between the Walkers and your own siblings?

Dave: Absolutely. I have two sisters-- I'm a middle child, so I have an older sister, Stacey, and a younger sister, Rebecca.

Cole: Rebecca?!

Dave: I know. And my older sister Stacey's son is named Ryan. It's a whole weird thing. So kissing my sister who is not my sister but her name is Rebecca and my sister is Rebecca...I started therapy pretty soon after that. No, uh...what was the question? Just kidding. My sisters and I are totally, totally like the Walkers in the sense that you find out information from another sibling... I remember, as an example, my older sister was pregnant and told my mom and my sister but didn't tell me. I spoke to my younger sister on the phone and she was like, "Did you call Stacey?" and told me [Stacey] was pregnant. I called my older sister and she was like, "Wait, Rebecca told you?" So yeah, I totally relate to finding out news from various siblings or parents...

Cole: Phone trees.

Dave: Exactly.

Cole: This question is from a fan.  What is the biggest personality trait that you share with Justin? In what ways are you completely different, besides the addiction problems?

Dave: I think a similarity between myself and Justin is that we both wear our hearts on our sleeves. Justin has never been afraid to say what's on his mind and I'm the same way.  Whether that's good or bad, I think that's something that we both share. Besides the addiction, I would say Justin has a lot more problems opening up in certain situations.

Cole: Do you have any rituals, before or after filming?

Dave: Yeah, Matthew and I do keg-stands before... No, um-- not really any rituals. I always go down and say "hi" to the hair and makeup people when I first come in, find out any gossip, how the day's been going, and all that stuff. Nothing too crazy. Matthew [Rhys] and my stand-in, Brandon, will come in here and play Call of Duty 4--

Cole: Really helps you get into character?

Dave: Helps me get into character. Exactly.

Cole: Relaxes the fingers. So... here's another fan question.  Was there ever a scene where you needed to be serious but couldn't stop laughing?

Dave: We had one just yesterday. Matthew and I just got a case of the giggles, and Sally did as well because she had to keep feeding me cake. The last take I literally burped as she was putting the cake into my mouth. We just lost it. It was all downhill from there. It sort of stinks too because it was the last scene up and everyone wanted to go home, and once you start laughing it's really hard to stop. Of course, I'm standing across from Matthew, and the second we make eye contact-- done.

Cole: Do you guys watch the blooper reels together?

Dave: Yeah, we've definitely seen them and it's hilarious. I'd say that's about one one-hundredth of what actually happens on set when we're shooting. With this cast-- everyone is really funny. I don't know if people know that, but obviously Matthew's hilarious and Rachel's hilarious and Sally's hilarious, Calista's hilarious, Ron's hilarious-- we all have a lot of fun and we're always laughing so that's...there's plenty more blooper footage out there. We could do a whole box set of bloopers.

Cole: I look forward to it. Do you ever get approached by fans? What's your craziest fan story?

Dave: Um... yeah, I mean it's getting out there. It's really rewarding and fun when you have fans come up to you for your work and being on the show and asking me if I know Sally Field... it's all pretty great. One of the craziest-- it wasn't crazy, it was just really a wonderful one that will always stick out in my mind... I went to a Dodger game, and I had this woman come up to me and hug me immediately, and she was bawling. She told me she had said goodbye to her son who left for Iraq the night before. It was such a moving moment, and it really reminded me of the importance of our show and my storyline and stuff like that. It was really something else. I don't think I'll ever forget that wonderful woman who thanked us for telling her story.

Justin (Dave Annable) served in Afghanistan and Iraq

Cole: So how do you think Justin has changed since we first met him in Season One? He's obviously been through a lot.

Dave: Yeah. I think Justin has come a long way. [Indicates his wardrobe.] I mean, I'm actually wearing a suit now.  He obviously came from-- season one, when we first see him, he's pretty messed up, just coming back from Afghanistan and obviously going through the addiction and stuff like that--dealing with drugs, and then getting past that. I think Justin's in a place now where he's realizing he needs to do something with his life. He can't keep living at home and off Mom. He's gotta make something of himself. He has this experience of being a medic and may choose to use that in his future plans.

Cole: Going off that, do you have any particular hopes for Justin's future storylines?

Dave: I was hoping that he actually goes back to college and joins a sorority. I pitched that, but for some reason it's not feasible. I do hope Justin gets a job and becomes proud of himself and works hard and makes his own money and gets his love life in order. That's something that we're all looking forward to.

Cole: I also heard that you've been pitching a threesome for Justin?

Dave: Uh, you know-- threesomes, up to eightsomes. You know, whatever. Funny story, actually. I sent out Christmas cards to Monica and Alison and all the writers and said that Justin should be involved in more threesomes. And, uh...

Cole: So, who ideally would be in this threesome?  Maybe we can make this happen.

Dave: Well-- Jenny McCarthy. No, uh, you know-- not Uncle Saul. We'll pass on Uncle Saul.

(To Be Continued...)

Comments

[Izzy]

Thanks for the interview! Dave seems like such a cool guy-- I am liking Justin more and more every episode. Such a crazy coincidence with his sister Rebecca.

[Blanca]

Great interview! Good luck with Jenny McCarthy!

[Sylviane]

Great interview. Loved it.

[Vin]

Ta for posting. Eightsomes LOL. Dave's hilarious. And he gets extra brownie points for mentioning Matthew a few times. Can't wait for the next part :-)

[Ana]

Great interview! Thank you! And I agree with Vin, extra points for mentioning Matthew!!