Keir Gilchrist interview: Toronto teen actor feels no pressure ahead of debut on 'The Winner'
Taylor
Victoria Ahearn, Canadian Press
Published: Friday, March 02, 2007
TORONTO (CP) - Just days before the debut of his big role on a new
sitcom on a major network, 14-year-old Toronto-based actor Keir
Gilchrist was feeling "pretty excited" but completely relaxed.
"It's a big thing because I don't think a lot of my friends have ever
really seen me on TV," Gilchrist, co-star of "The Winner" that debuts
Sunday on Fox, said with an air of maturity, wearing a beat-up biker
jacket in an artsy diner.
"But I don't feel any pressure - like, there's nothing really on my
back if it, you know . . .," he said before stopping himself.
"Whatever happens, happens, right?"
It's a good attitude to have, given the unpredictability of launching
a sitcom.
And given Gilchrist's background, it's understandable why he would
have such confidence.
Born in London, England, the teen with the shaggy brown hair started
studying acting as a young boy and took classes in Boston and New York
City before settling in Toronto with his family at age 10. His dad
works in marketing at an indie record label in the city, and his 10-
year-old brother, Evan, is also acting and has landed a few small
roles.
Since then Gilchrist, a self-described "goofball" who has a penchant
for Monty Python films and punk music, has made guest appearances on
"Queer as Folk," "Missing," "Doc" and "ReGenesis," and had a recurring
role on the kids' TV series "Life With Derek." He's even voiced a
character on the animated comedy "The Family Guy."
This latest role, however, is his biggest yet, as it's a project of
two of his idols - "Family Guy" creator-writer Seth MacFarlane and
writer Ricky Blitt of Montreal.
"I'm a huge 'Family Guy' fan - like, the biggest - and I can't go
through a conversation with someone without mentioning 'Family Guy' at
least 15 times," said Gilchrist.
He landed the part of Josh, a 14-year-old hypochondriac, after meeting
with "The Winner"'s casting directors and going through a nerve-
racking audition process that he thought he'd blown in Los Angeles.
The sitcom, which is filmed in front of a live studio audience, stars
Rob Corddry (the bald correspondent on "The Daily Show With Jon
Stewart") as Glen Abbott, an under-developed 32-year-old virgin who
still lives with his parents in Buffalo.
Glen forces himself to embark on his "wonder years," however, when his
first love Alison (Erinn Hayes) - a single mom and the only girl he's
ever kissed - moves back to Buffalo with her son, played by
Gilchrist.
There's quite a bit of adult content on the show, which Global will
air starting March 11.
The premise involves Glen relying on Josh to help him get through the
parts of puberty that he somehow missed. In one of the episodes, Glen
visits a shady massage parlour to learn some tricks on intimacy while
Josh waits outside.
But Gilchrist shrugs at such scenarios, saying he's grownup enough to
handle it.
"I actually kind of find that stuff more fun than playing it safe,"
says Gilchrist, who gets his schooling by tutors while he's on set in
L.A. and attends a special high school for professional kids while in
Toronto.
"My parents didn't always believe in, like, making sure I never saw
any movies with that kind of subject matter or whatever, so by the
time I got to it, it was almost just normal and I love doing that kind
of stuff."
"The Winner" pilot was filmed last April and the crew didn't shoot the
other five episodes until the following October.
The result? "From the first episode to the second, I've grown
(several) inches and my voice has changed," laughs Gilchrist.
Despite the travel headaches, Gilchrist says he enjoys living away
from L.A. and feels like Toronto is his home, where he can chill out
with his "homies," who often react indifferently to his acting roles -
with the exception of this new one.
"(When) I started high school, if I mentioned the show or whatever,
they'd be like, 'Oh, cool, you've got a TV show, blah, blah, blah,"'
he said.
"But then if I mentioned I was working with Seth or Rob or whatever,
it was like, 'What?' ... they were really, really surprised. And then
if I mentioned 'Family Guy,' it was like, you know, it's kind of a
weird look you get - they think you're screwing with them,
basically."
© The Canadian Press 2007
Mark L 02
(in article <1173060713.9...@p10g2000cwp.googlegroups.com>):
> There's quite a bit of adult content on the show, which Global will
> air starting March 11.
PG rated adolescent content is more like it.
Sometimes I liked this show a lot, sometimes it just made me cringe. I'm
happy to keep watching The Winner for as long as Fox keeps putting it on the
air, though.
They might get more than the 6 episodes already ordered. Fox placed third
for the 8:30 PM episode and fourth at 9:30 PM, as NBC passed it with Deal or
No Deal. All in all, respectable ratings that seemed to keep up with the
success level for The Simpsons and Family Guy.
The reviews were as mixed as I have ever seen for a TV show. Most played on
the title: USA Today and Entertainment Weekly called The Winner a winner,
while the Boston Globe and the Washington Post called it a loser.
I liked Keir Gilchrist. At first his character seemed to be doomed to
terminal geekiness, but by the end of the second episode I was thinking he
could be at least as cool as Fred Savage in the Wonder Years.
> "The Winner" pilot was filmed last April and the crew didn't shoot the
> other five episodes until the following October.
>
> The result? "From the first episode to the second, I've grown
> (several) inches and my voice has changed," laughs Gilchrist.
Well, you could tell there was more than a half hour between the first
episode and the second one. :) But we've seen a lot quicker changes in
young actors, like Logan Lerman or David Dorfman.
Movie Fan
enough audience. It's gonna bite dirt. I hope I find Keir a regular
on another show after this one.
MF