Read our exclusive interview with actor Scott Krinsky who stars in the hit series “Chuck”.
1. As a child, you were a competitive swimmer, winning awards up to the state level. At Salisbury University, you majored in communications and broadcast journalism, and interned, and even worked for, CNN. So how did you become involved in stand-up, acting and comedy?
As a child it was always a secret fantasy of mine to be an actor. I was always drawn to comedy and great character actors, John Ritter, Bob Newhart, and Don Knotts come to mind as some favorites. It wasn’t until I was out of college and had to seriously consider my career options that I made the decision to pursue my dream. I thought, what do I really want to do with my life, and I just said what the hell, I’m gonna go for it. My parents weren’t too happy, but I began studying, doing theater and sketch comedy and eventually stand-up and here we are.
2. How has performing at many of Los Angeles’ popular comedy venues, including The Comedy Store and the Laugh Factory prepared you for your role as Jeff Barnes on Chuck?
When you do standup, you can really get in touch with some of the quirks and oddities that people respond to in you. As well, doing some characters and voices in my act, I basically get to do my own one man show as often as I can get up and perform. So it keeps me fresh and keeps the creative juices flowing.
3. How did it feel knowing that the two month “Save Chuck” campaign created by the fans helped bring it back for a third season?
It was very humbling and flattering and completely unexpected. We knew we had incredible fans, but for them to go to the lengths they did, we honestly have our fans to thank for coming back. They were quite amazing in how vocal and creative they were, using the media and creating publicity to save the show. I can’t thank them enough for the fact that I still have a job. Thank you again, if your reading this.
4. What is it like working on a show created by Josh Schwartz, the creator, writer and executive producer of the hit shows The O.C. and Gossip Girl?
It great! He’s brilliant and a super cool guy. The success and popularity of his shows is a testament to his creative genius. He really knows how to create great characters and tell great stories. I was actually on THE O.C for the fourth and final season as a recurring homeless bum (Daryl). It was only meant to be one episode and turned into five. After THE O.C. ended, he went on to co-create CHUCK and offered me the role of Jeff. I was beside myself to get a phone call like that from my agent. I feel complete and utter gratitude to Josh, and will forever, for giving me the biggest break of my career.
5. What makes Chuck different from other television comedies, and why should people watch it if they never have before?
It’s a premise that’s fresh and new. It blends drama, action and comedy all in one show. As an actor, it’s very refreshing to be part of something unique. Plus, Zach Levi is amazing actor. Without him playing CHUCK, there would be know CHUCK. We all have to play off of him. Oh, and there are a lot of hot girls, if anyone cares about that. It’s not that easy to put all those great elements into a show. Plus, we have such well written and conceived characters, hence the great chemistry amongst our cast. It’s contagious, and I think that’s why we have such passionate fans, they seem to have as much fun watching as we have making it. So if your not one, and your reading this, because you were like who the hell is this guy from CHUCK and why am I reading this interview with him all the way to the end, check out what you’ve been missing.
Written by: Karen Benardello
