Aliens in America's Dan Byrd Talks Teenage Angst, Midwestern Accents and 13-Hour Days
Aliens in America isn’t one of the big ratings hits of the new fall season, but it should be. If you fell in love with The Wonder Years two decades ago, give Aliens a shot, as there are similarities, even if this show dreams up precarious situations that Kevin Arnold never had to navigate.
See, the growing pains of 16-year-old Justin Tolchuck, played brilliantly by Dan Byrd, include a little more humiliation—and some serious laughs. We hunted the dude down in the hopes of getting to know him a little better.
So, how much fun is it playing Justin?
It's been really great so far. Part of what defines Justin is that he's so undefined. Like most kids his age, he's still a shell of a person trying to figure out who he is and what he is. And for me, the main challenge has been to not just play a middle-of-the-road nerdy guy but to try and find the person in there.
This is sort of an ensemble show, but you're in almost every scene, so you're probably living and breathing him.
Oh yeah, I'm pretty much here five days a week for, like, 13 hours a day, on average. It's all I do. And then on the weekends, I just sleep and buy DVDs. But, you know, since it is such an intense schedule, I'm glad that we're doing the type of show we are. Like, if I were on a procedural drama, I'd probably kill myself [having to] spout out statistics or medical terminology or whatever. I just feel like my experience would be so much emptier.
Your show is painfully funny at times. Maybe the funniest thing the CW—or the WB, for that matter—has ever had on?
Well, they did have Reba…
Hey, are you knocking Reba?!
[Laughs.] No, no. I know there a lot of Reba-ites, if that’s what you’d call them, out there. I would never do that. I don't think I've ever even seen an episode of Reba.
So, do you ever get embarrassed by some of the things they have Justin do? Like getting caught reading Womanhood magazine on the can?
I'm fine with most of those scenes. I think the more embarrassing it feels, hopefully, the funnier it will resonate. I just try to think about the humor in the moment and not really focus on the fact that I'm sitting on the toilet with my pants around my ankles while 20 strangers are watching me. You have to give yourself over to it.
You're a little bit older than Justin is, but can you relate to any of his angst? Or were you a total pimp in high school?
There are definitely some similarities. I was not the high school quarterback by any means. But my high school experience was very [unconventional], because I was already working. I was in and out. So, I've been doing a lot of vicarious living through Justin in some of these episodes.
What's it like working with your costar Adhir Kalyan?
I could not have asked for a better companion, both on and off set. There's something that seems to really work well between us, chemistry-wise. It's a good complement, because we're very different in a lot of ways, but there are a lot of similarities, too.
We are big Gilmore Girls fans and were excited when Scott Patterson got cast as Gary, so we have to ask you about his Minnesota-Wisconsin-ish accent. Do you ever chat about it?
[Laughs).] I haven't had many discussions with Scott about his accent. I don't know if it's something he decided to incorporate when he initially signed on, or if he got there and noticed that [his TV wife] Amy [Pietz] had the accent. Amy's actually from Wisconsin in real life, but I think both of the parents supposedly grew up there, so he probably felt that he should have a bit of a twang.
Can you tease to anything that's coming up on the show?
The next episode is called "Metamorphosis," and it’s about this girl whom Justin had a crush on when he was six years old. They palled around like they were boyfriend and girlfriend until she pushed him off the playground. Since then, she's become this über-cool girl who “torture flirts” with a lot of guys, just because she can, for the amusement of her and her posse. Basically, Raja gets mixed up in her games, and Justin tries to warn him about her. But we both end up having a bit of a thing for her and that causes some tension between us. Also, Franny’s going to turn Gary into one of her projects, giving him a whole makeover. It’s a really good one."
Aliens in America airs tonight at 8:30 on the CW. See what you've been missing!
—Reporting by Korbi Ghosh
It’s a Boy for Fred Savage and Wife Jennifer
Former Wonder Years star Fred Savage and his wife, Jennifer Lynn Stone, welcomed their first child, a boy, Savage’s agent tells PEOPLE exclusively.
The baby was born Saturday night in Los Angeles. He weighed in at 6 lbs., 13 oz. and measured 20 inches long. The couple, who have yet to name their son, “are absolutely thrilled,” Savage’s agent tells PEOPLE.
The new parents were childhood pals, but their paths diverged in 1988, when Savage, then 11, moved from their Chicago suburb to L.A. to play Kevin Arnold on The Wonder Years.
Eleven years later, Savage, now 30, and Stone, 33, reconnected at Savage’s birthday party. “We started talking and smooching, and we’ve been together ever since,” the actor told PEOPLE after their August 2004 wedding.
Among their vows: “I promised to always bring up a glass of water to her before we go to bed, and she promised to never let me dress myself,” Savage said.
After The Wonder Years ended its run in 1993, Savage continued to work in television and movies. His film credits include Austin Powers in Goldmember, The Rules of Attraction and Welcome to Mooseport.
Working behind the camera, Savage produced and directed Phil of the Future on the Disney Channel and directed episodes of the sitcom Kitchen Confidential and Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh.
He most recently starred on the ABC sitcom Crumbs.
CBS orders pilots with Amy Smart and Fred Savage
It’ll be one more time around for a Wonder Years alumna and a Felicity fave. Fred Savage and Amy Smart have both been cast in CBS pilots. For Fred, who for me may have peaked as an actor as Kevin Arnold (although I did love him in Austin Powers in Goldmember playing Number Three — the guy with the mole on his face), the new project on tap is Single White Millionaire. The sitcom is from the pen of writer Ricky Blitt, one of the Family Guy scribes, so that’s a plus. The plot is described as the story of an unassuming, thirtysomething millionaire ready to settle down — and obviously looking for the right lady to share his life (although I guess he could be looking for a significant other of either gender — the project line leaves it open).
Also for CBS, Amy Smart will star is Meant to Be’s, a new drama from Glenn Gordon Caron (Medium). They’re calling it romantic drama, but it sounds more like a touch of fantasy with a touch of Highway to Heaven and City of Angels thrown in. She’ll be playing Janine, a wealthy young gallery owner who finds romance, marries fast and on the way to celebrating her honeymoon encounters an obstacle: she’s thrown from the balcony of her 40th-floor New York high rise. In order to reach heaven, she has to help others on Earth in the “meant to be” direction, thus becoming an “MTB.” (Do you think she’ll be able to communicate with The Ghost Whisperer if the pilot is picked up?)
Like Jonny Lee Miller (Eli Stone), Amy was one of those actors stuck on Smith a couple of years ago, so I’m happy she may have a new series on tap. And for Gordon Caron, this will be very interesting. His last go-round with CBS was not a happy affair, although it was a terrific show called Now and Again with Margaret Colin, Eric Close, Heather Matarazzo and Dennis Haysbert. CBS pulled the plug on the show in part because of its frustration with Gordon Caron’s production style, i.e. not getting the scripts written fast enough causing delays. That was eight years ago, though, so maybe all is forgiven.
What You Don’t Know About A Christmas Story
Every year A Christmas Story endlessly plays in the background in most family Christmas parties thanks to TBS. I know I’ve personally seen the film over 60 times, and its also the first film I remember seeing theatrically. But seeing and knowing are two different things. For example, did you know that Jack Nicholson was very interested in playing Ralphie’s dad, but was never hired due to budgetary concerns? That’s just one of the 11 things you might not know about A Christmas Story. Here are some other highlights:
- Ralphie says he wants the Red Ryder BB Gun 28 times, that’s approximately once every three minutes and 20 seconds.
- A Christmas Story supposedly inspired the creation of The Wonder Years. In fact, in one of the last few episodes, Peter Billingsley appeared as one of Kevin Arnold’s roommates.
And here are a few more interesting tidbits that Mental Floss left out:
- Director Bob Clark made a cameo as a dim-witted neighbor, who marvels at the Leg Lamp from outside.
- Author and narrator Jean Shepherd makes a cameo as the irate man in line who directs Ralphie to the back of the line.
- An elaborate fantasy sequence which featured Flash Gordon teaming with Ralphie to fight Ming the Merciless was reportedly filmed but dropped from the final cut.
And finally…
A sequel to A Christmas Story actually exists. Filmed in 1994 under the title It Runs in the Family. Based on other stories from Jean Shepherd’s novels, the story takes place in Summer.
Ralphie is searching for the perfect top to use to beat the school bully with, the Old Man is in battle with their hillbilly neighbors, the Bumpus, while eagerly awaiting the discovery of the perfect fishing spot, and the Mother is attempting to collect all of the pieces of a glass china set at a local movie theater.
Shepherd returned as narrator, and Tedde Moore returned to play Miss Shields, but the rest of the cast was entirely new. Charles Grodin played the old man Mr. Parker, while Mary Steenburgen played the mother. Macaulay’s younger brother Kieran Culkin played Ralphie. The film was a mess, and faired poorly at the box office ($70,936). The film was also released under the title of “My Summer Story” on home video in an attempt to capitalize on the success of A Christmas Story.