Skeet Ulrich Hopes 'Jericho' Will End Johnny Depp Comparisons
By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
Aug 25, 2006
Skeet Ulrich is tired of being compared to Johnny Depp -- and hopes he'll make enough of an impact with his upcoming CBS "Jericho" series to finally lose that connection.
Skeet Ulrich Hopes 'Jericho' Will End Johnny Depp Comparisons
"People have stuck me to Depp ad nauseam," says the actor many feel bears a strong resemblance to the super star. As far as he's concerned, "I don't think we could be more dissimiliar in terms of acting, and don't even think we look alike. Ten years ago, maybe -- but then I don't hold pictures of us side by side."
Skeet is convinced "Jericho" has the stuff to be a hit. He says the show, in which he becomes an unlikely leader in a small town isolated from the rest of the world after a nuclear disaster is "fascinating. It's timely, well thought out, with edge and appeal and heart. It's a show that asks the audience, "What would you do, are you ready, are you going to take action or curl up in the corner?'"
Ulrich made a name for himself in the '90s with such big-screen hits as "As Good as It Gets" and "Scream." Then, as the movie industry made fewer and fewer quality films, he turned to TV, first for the 2003 series "Miracles," and now for the nuclear-apocalypse drama.
Career aside, TV, he says, is a better place for him to be these days -- for the sake of his family.
He and English actress Georgina Cates, with whom he tied the knot in 1997, are now divorced, but their twin son and daughter "are now entering kindergarten," he says, "And movie locations aren't the best place for them."
He has custody of the children two days a week, but often sees them more than that. They are, he says, frequent visitors on the "Jericho" set. METHOD IN THE MADNESS:
Shohreh Aghdashloo says she's been playing catch up on the set of CBS's "Smith" drama about a group of master thieves. "I was offered the role at the 11th hour the night before the shooting day," says the acclaimed Iranian actress, who plays Charlie, the bankroller behind the group. "I just jumped into it, and I didn't have the time to take Charlie into a corner and suit her or put whatever I put on her. That was my worry … I didn't get the chance to play with it. As a method actor I need to stay alone with my character and dissect it, deconstruct it, in order to be able to construct it again."
The Oscar-nominated actress -- who's starred in such films as "X-Men: The Last Stand," "The Lake House" and "House of Sand and Fog" -- says her "Smith" character "is a woman with a large appetite for everything. She's incredibly smart … She can do it all and much more." Aghdashloo says she hopes to get more actively involved in the heists, see a little action as the season progresses. "I would love to do (some stunts)," she says, adding with a laugh. "But I don't think they can trust me because they haven't seen anything yet. The day I jump from the first floor into the street they will realize I can do it -- if I don't break my leg."
STAYING POWER:
With "George Lopez" soon to enter its sixth season, leading lady Constance Marie is all too aware of her show's rarified status. "We love the fact that we are the longest-running Latin sitcom in television history. We take that pretty seriously in our laughter," she tells this column.
It's an especially impressive feat for a scripted series in today's often-unscripted TV world. "The more reality TV, the less job opportunities there are out there for actors. I am a woman and a minority, so it is really hard," observes Marie. Reality TV sets her teeth on edge for another reason as well: "We were on opposite 'American Idol,' and anybody who watched 'American Idol' for how many years, I'm mad at you because you weren't watching 'George Lopez.' Now we're not on opposite them, so I can watch their show, too," says Marie with a laugh. As for how she and series hubby George Lopez continue to keep their show fresh? "There's always the mortgage you have to pay. That keeps it fresh, and you show up every day on time."
HIGH SPIRITED PRODUCTION:
Famous medium James Van Praagh not only has his "Ghost Whisperer" series, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, returning this fall on CBS, he also has his own development deal at the network. "I have three shows in development right now with a paranormal twist -- one a reality show, one a game show that involves teenagers," he tells us. Does Van Praagh ever get suggestions from, you know, the other side? "Well, I get inspiration," he says. "A couple of things definitely came through me -- this show that's like a puzzle, a paranormal puzzle, that we're working on.
(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)
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