edonline
01-22-2004, 07:18 PM
http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271|85874|1|,00.html
Clay's Aiken For Actin'
(Thursday, January 22 02:46 PM)
By Daniel Fienberg
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Last spring FOX's ratings behemoth "American Idol" helped force NBC to move "Ed" from its comfortable Wednesday night digs to the Friday night exile that nearly sealed the show's fate.
This Friday (Jan. 23), in what can best be described as an act of repentance, "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken will make a guest appearance on "Ed." Playing himself, Aiken comes not to bury the small-town dramedy, but to boost its ratings.
"I kinda played myself and it seemed like a one-time thing that worked into the script, but maybe I'll become a Stuckeyville resident," Aiken says hopefully.
The "Ed" visit, in which he shares scenes with star Tom Cavanagh and Daryl "Chill" Mitchell, is the latest piece in Aiken's attempt to diversify his professional portfolio. This cameo follows an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" earlier in the week and the momentum will continue with Aiken's musical appearance (and possible skit duties) on a February episode of "Saturday Night Live."
While Aiken is slowly dipping his toes into the acting waters, he wary about following in the footsteps of Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini, who literally stormed the acting beaches in the disastrous "From Justin to Kelly." While Aiken won't admit to being one of that film's dozen paying customers, he seems to have learned a lesson or two.
"Part of what made that movie a little bit more difficult to swallow was the fact that it happened so fast," he says. "Justin and Kelly went from being very successful on the show to trying to parlay that into something so quickly and what... I've been trying to do is trying to do things more slowly."
In fact, Aiken weighed many potential acting offers before deciding that "Ed" had the qualities he was looking for.
"I talked to a lot of people back homewho were familiar with the show and the thing that resonated with every single person I spoke to was how family oriented it was something that everybody could sit down and watch together," Aiken explains.
While Aiken's life has been turned upside down in the past 12 months, to some extent, he maintains the veneer of the innocent boy-next-door who drove "American Idol" viewers to their phones all spring. He's humble to a fault and he minds his language to the extreme of referring to "damn" as "The D-Word."
Suddenly, though, after months of being endlessly open with the press, he has started to become guarded about certain aspects of his personal life. Aiken's handlers are quick to shut down a variety of questions and the singer himself becomes aggressively terse when discussion turns to his estranged biological father. He admits that his schedule and the pressures of being constantly recognized have made him into something of a hermit.
Aiken isn't ready to distance himself from his reality show background. He's about to being a lengthy tour with the show's first season winner Kelly Clarkson. However, he admits, "To some extent it would be nice to not be known as the runner-up for the rest of my life."
Having shifted to a string of NBC shows, Aiken doesn't want to slow his roll with the network.
"I don't know how it would work out, but I want to be on 'The West Wing,'" He says innocently. "I don't think that politics and entertainment really mesh together too well."
Clay's Aiken For Actin'
(Thursday, January 22 02:46 PM)
By Daniel Fienberg
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Last spring FOX's ratings behemoth "American Idol" helped force NBC to move "Ed" from its comfortable Wednesday night digs to the Friday night exile that nearly sealed the show's fate.
This Friday (Jan. 23), in what can best be described as an act of repentance, "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken will make a guest appearance on "Ed." Playing himself, Aiken comes not to bury the small-town dramedy, but to boost its ratings.
"I kinda played myself and it seemed like a one-time thing that worked into the script, but maybe I'll become a Stuckeyville resident," Aiken says hopefully.
The "Ed" visit, in which he shares scenes with star Tom Cavanagh and Daryl "Chill" Mitchell, is the latest piece in Aiken's attempt to diversify his professional portfolio. This cameo follows an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" earlier in the week and the momentum will continue with Aiken's musical appearance (and possible skit duties) on a February episode of "Saturday Night Live."
While Aiken is slowly dipping his toes into the acting waters, he wary about following in the footsteps of Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini, who literally stormed the acting beaches in the disastrous "From Justin to Kelly." While Aiken won't admit to being one of that film's dozen paying customers, he seems to have learned a lesson or two.
"Part of what made that movie a little bit more difficult to swallow was the fact that it happened so fast," he says. "Justin and Kelly went from being very successful on the show to trying to parlay that into something so quickly and what... I've been trying to do is trying to do things more slowly."
In fact, Aiken weighed many potential acting offers before deciding that "Ed" had the qualities he was looking for.
"I talked to a lot of people back homewho were familiar with the show and the thing that resonated with every single person I spoke to was how family oriented it was something that everybody could sit down and watch together," Aiken explains.
While Aiken's life has been turned upside down in the past 12 months, to some extent, he maintains the veneer of the innocent boy-next-door who drove "American Idol" viewers to their phones all spring. He's humble to a fault and he minds his language to the extreme of referring to "damn" as "The D-Word."
Suddenly, though, after months of being endlessly open with the press, he has started to become guarded about certain aspects of his personal life. Aiken's handlers are quick to shut down a variety of questions and the singer himself becomes aggressively terse when discussion turns to his estranged biological father. He admits that his schedule and the pressures of being constantly recognized have made him into something of a hermit.
Aiken isn't ready to distance himself from his reality show background. He's about to being a lengthy tour with the show's first season winner Kelly Clarkson. However, he admits, "To some extent it would be nice to not be known as the runner-up for the rest of my life."
Having shifted to a string of NBC shows, Aiken doesn't want to slow his roll with the network.
"I don't know how it would work out, but I want to be on 'The West Wing,'" He says innocently. "I don't think that politics and entertainment really mesh together too well."