Rhune
ForumsNet Administrator
    
 
Gender: 
Posts: 292
|
 |
TLC's 'While You Were Out'
« on: Sep 9th, 2003, 3:58pm » |
 Quote  Modify
|
TLC's Eye for the Straight Guy on 'While You Were Out'
(Tuesday, September 09 08:30 AM)
By Kate O'Hare
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - "I had a big crush on Paige for a while," says Evan Farmer, "then my sister called to break my heart by saying she saw her get married on 'A Wedding Story.'"
Farmer has taken over as host of TLC's Friday-night redecorating series "While You Were Out," and the object of his unrequited affection is Paige Davis, host of TLC's flagship redecorating hit, the Saturday-night staple "Trading Spaces."
Apparently, Davis wasn't the only woman to catch his eye on TLC, as Farmer admits admiring Leslie Segrete, "While You Were Out's" carpenter (a job she shares with Andrew Dan-Jumbo), seamstress and jack-of-all-crafts.
"I had a crush on Leslie before I started the show," he says, "because she's a Renaissance woman. She can do it all, and she's gorgeous -- that, to me, is hot! But then I found out on the web -- my sister didn't have to call me and break my heart on this one -- that she was married."
A fan of original "This Old House" host Bob Vila, Farmer began his new job on Aug. 22, replacing Teresa Strasser on the show that combines redecorating with relationships. While one unsuspecting person is away, his or her friend or loved one conspires with the show's team to redecorate a room, while also answering multiple-choice relationship questions to win additional design elements.
While Davis and Segrete are off the table, Farmer still hopes the show will boost his romantic possibilities. "You know what, I've been saying this, that the best part about this show is the off chance that Ashley Judd will know who I am. I've got to get a publicist, because isn't that how they do it in this game -- my publicist calls her publicist?"
Along with singing and acting in the movie and series "2Gether" for MTV -- a "Spinal Tap"-style boy-band spoof -- and appearing as an occasional host of MTV's "Total Request Live," Farmer boasts an educational and work background in architecture and carpentry, which gives him both redecorating and tool-using street cred. In some ways, he feels he bridges the gap between the design and construction aspects of "While You Were Out."
"There's a credibility that comes with being a guy, for better or worse, in this situation," Farmer says, "and a very straight guy. And that works. There's a huge credibility in terms of design if there's a flamboyancy happening there, but my role is very much what my role is. I'm the host. I'm not the whole show, like Christopher Lowell's show, for example.
"I'm never going to be able to do that, so I go for what I bring, which is credibility, a sense of humor and just sheer craziness."
Just being one of the guys, though, backfired on Farmer during filming for a Sept. 5 episode featuring Washington Redskins star LaVar Arrington, who was redoing a room for his brother in Virginia.
"I let LaVar tackle me," Farmer recalls. "Actually, I take that back. I didn't let LaVar tackle me -- I moved out of the way, he fell on the ground, and while I was doing the butt dance in his face, I took off my Redskins jersey and underneath was the jersey of his biggest competitor, Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens.
"I continued doing the butt dance in his linebacker's face, and I tore my meniscus as I got dragged across the field at Mach Five. I left a nipple on the 20-yard line. Astroturf is tough.
"But I'm crazy, and I do all these things -- whatever, it's just the way I am. If that's entertaining to somebody, so be it. If I'm going to die, I might as well do it making somebody laugh."
Although his new job is helping him log enough frequent-flyer miles and hotel points to "be able to stay free and fly free for the rest of my life," Farmer feels he is up to the challenge.
"I have a pretty high threshold. I toured [as part of 2Gether] with Britney Spears during her 'Oops, I Did It Again' tour. If you can survive that, you can survive anything."
Regarding the recent kiss between Spears and Madonna at the MTV Video Music Awards, Farmer says, "My only regret is that I wasn't in the middle of it. To be honest, I'm not a pig, but it just looked enticing."
And if love doesn't come his way, Farmer is not above matchmaking on the set, as in a recent incident involving Dan-Jumbo (a tall Brit picked as one of People's 50 Most Beautiful) and chic blond designer Chayse Dacota.
"Recently there was an Andrew/Chayse difference of opinion," Farmer says. "I sensed it from the beginning. I knew there was going to be a situation at some point because there were things that weren't being discussed that needed to be solved.
"So from the beginning, I played up the idea that the source of their tension was really their lust for each other. I was just speaking for the people -- we wanted to know whether there was something more going on.
"So they started playing into that, which eased the tension in the first day. At some point, they were even reading French poetry to each other. Then when it came down to crunch time, the proverbial hit the fan, and they had their Chayse/Andrew confrontation.
"I waited until it got to the right moment, and said, 'Wait a minute, is this your first fight?' and just watched all that tension completely disappear.
"That's what I try to do -- instigator and matchmaker."
|
Sponsored by: The Fans!
Home
Help
Search
Members
Chat
Member Map
Login
Register
Reply
Add Poll
Notify of replies
Send Topic
Print