Episode Report Card 7 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT "I Really Appreciate What You Guys Do"
By Couch Baron | Season 2 | Episode 10 | Aired on 01.10.2006
CB: Are you at all intimidated by the thought of being identified with someone with such a bad reputation? JD: I guess it's crossed my mind pretty recently. I don't know what you do -- you have a lot of actors these days playing tough roles...I don't know. You know the movie Hostel that just came out? It's crazy, right? I talked to the director of that, and he said it was kind of hard to make and they had to cut some things and couldn't say certain names, because that stuff really goes on. Something like that would be hard to be in too. I don't know. CB: Moving on to the show, how did you hear about it? I assume your agent called you and told you about the audition. JD: That's right. CB: And how was it pitched to you? The reason I ask is that one thing I talked about with Rob last year, and this I think was especially true in the beginning, was that the short description of the show, "teen girl PI in training," sounds kind of stupid. JD: Totally. But I didn't really think about that at the time. I'm sure you know that I originally auditioned for the part of Duncan. I went in there, prepared for a little while on that one, and just...I'd love to see my tape on that. [We both laugh.] Whatever -- it came off a little darker than I thought it would -- maybe that's why they said, "Why don't you read for this other one." CB: Did they tell you anything about Duncan's character before you went in, or was it just going in and taking a look at the sides? JD: Well, I read the breakdown ["a detailed listing of roles available for casting in a particular production" -- CB] and then I went in and Mark Piznarski, who directed the pilot, and Rob were there, and I read, and then they wanted me to read for Logan, and I was like, "Fuck, I spent so much time on this other one!" CB: So at the time, would you have preferred being cast as Duncan rather than Logan? JD: No way. It's funny -- I always get these characters that I'm so afraid of -- I so feel like I can't...I'm like, this is not me. With Logan, I thought, "Why me? I'm a nice guy." I get these roles -- like, I did this Disney movie [Ready To Run] and it was like, there was this really wild guy, kind of very funny and quirky, and I went in for this straitlaced guy that they finally cut out of the movie, and gave me this other role. But I thought, "There's no way I could get this!" and those are the parts that I wind up with more than any other part that I think I'm "right" for. But those roles are a challenge, and a lot more fun -- you have a lot more to create.