October 2006 News Archive (Page 4)

In the pilot episode of NBC's Friday Night Lights, the retired coach of a winning high school football team warns his young replacement:

"With expectations like this, the only place you can go is down. That's the problem with being this good."

It is a line of dialogue that has proved haunting to the show's star, Kyle Chandler, who plays that inexperienced coach.

Chandler, who won many accolades for his performance as bomb squad captain Dylan Young on the two-part, post-Super Bowl episode of Grey's Anatomy last season, has had to fight to keep his spirits up in the face of low ratings, despite Friday Night Lights' critical praise.

Although the show's numbers were up last week -- 6.6 million viewers from 5.9 million the week before -- it still got brutally tackled by CBS' NCIS (15.9 million) and ABC's Dancing With the Stars (21.3 million). Lights' fourth episode (of nine filmed so far) airs tonight.

Chandler, using a football metaphor, is hopeful.

"I know we got a damn good team and can make it through the season," says one of Grey's Anatomy's most memorable guest stars in his Georgian drawl, which has become more pronounced while shooting Lights in Austin. "We're slowly moving the ball down the field. That's why I'll do anything to keep this show on the air."

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T.R. Knight is gay. This we know, following his public announcement last week. While it doesn't change the way we perceive T.R. Knight whatsoever, to most of us, this revelation was a surprise.

But not so for CBS reporter Robb Todd. He knew that a long time ago that Knight was gay, because apparently, the Grey's Anatomy star changed his cell number last year.

How's that? Come again?

An anonymous source happened to get Knight's old New York number and has been getting misguided calls for the actor ever since.

The calls have included drunk dials from girls (who obviously didn't know about his sexuality), a job offer for a commercial, and calls from people wanting to know the location of award-show after-parties.

The source wanted to change phone numbers because it was wasting his Sprint anytime minutes. Todd advised against that, for the entertainment value of getting other people's voicemails often rivals that of prime time TV (possibly even the top-rated program).

Then, last month, this Deep Throat received a mysterious text message.

"Hey, it's Brian... in New York, Kevin's ex. Will be in L.A., for an art auction next week. Wondering what you're up to."

Brian? Kevin's ex? Hmm...

When Brian got to L.A., he mistakenly sent Deep Throat another text message about the art auction's reception downtown, and said he "wanted to see how you were."

The plot thickens. Eyebrows were raised. Suspicions voiced. Not because anyone cares that he is gay, of course. Just for fun. For the reporter, it became like solving a game of Clue: T.R. Knight with Keith's ex, in the dining room with the candlestick!

In the wake of Knight going public about being gay, the source has been getting congratulatory text messages from his best friends in the world — people so tight with the actor that they don't know he changed his cell number a year ago.

"Rock on, dude. Miss your face. Paul."

It makes sense that Knight left people like this behind. No one wants to be friends with anyone who says, "Rock on, dude."

Knight, who plays Dr. George O'Malley on the ABC drama, said, "I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me."

He has nothing to worry about. He's a terrific actor with a bright future on TV's top show, and probably long after that. Plus, he apparently gets some interesting text messages.

Rock on, T.R. Rock on, indeed.

Grey's Anatomy's T.R. Knight, who last week confirmed exclusively to People that he's gay, is shown here in today's online edition of the magazine.

Here Knight is seen hanging with a fellow ABC star, Brothers and Sisters actor Luke MacFarlane, in Santa Monica yesterday. That new show replaced Grey's Anatomy in its original Sunday, 10 p.m. time slot. We're pleased to see that T.R. carrying on after what must have been a hard week for him -- and that he apparently loves Boston, one of our favorite cities!

Paging Patrick Dempsey: The competition for sexiest doc alive is getting a little... how should we put this... McSteamy!

A one-time construction worker, Eric Dane has joined the terrific cast of Grey's Anatomy as plastic surgeon Mark Sloan. Earlier today, we showed you Kate Walsh's thoughts on the show's newest star. Now, it's the 33-year-old Dane's turn to talk about himself and his Steamy character.

Eric took a break from the OR -- and revealing shower scenes -- to give fans his prescriptions for love, home cooking and washboard abs. Here's what he had to say to People magazine:

Q: Okay, McDreamy vs. McSteamy -- who wins a hotness contest?
A: I don't feel any competition with Patrick. But he keeps asking me when my calendar is coming out.

Q: Besides the six-pack abs, how are you similar to McSteamy?
A: We both shower daily! There are a lot of things in common, but just so your mind doesn't go in the wrong direction, it's not the infidelity and deceitful, backstabbing side of Mark Sloan.

Q: How do you maintain those abs?
A: Weightlifting -- it gets the aggression out. No yoga! I'm competitive and you can't score points in yoga.

Q: Unlike McSteamy and Addison, you seem very grounded with your wife, actress Rebecca Gayheart.
A: Life with her has been wonderful. On a whim, we ran to Vegas and got married (in October 2004). We'd been together nine months and we just knew.

Q: What's your ideal Sunday?
A: Sleep in - for me, that’s about 9:15 -- make coffee, quiet my head, make an omelette for my girl and play music. I make a hell of an omelette. And I make great chicken soup too!

Katherine Heigl will appear on the Ellen DeGeneres Show on Tuesday, October 24 (tomorrow). Here is the description for the show:

"Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl talks about her romantic engagement to her musician boyfriend, Josh Kelley. And, can Ellen get to the truth about the rumors of on-set drama on Grey Anatomy?"

Undoubtedly, the rumors revolve around the recent admission of star T.R. Knight that he is gay and the alleged on-set fight between Patrick Dempsey and Isaiah Washington which took place around the same time.

It will be interesting to see what Katie has to say about this issue, but don't expect anything new.

The cast is notoriously tight-lipped, and especially during a sensitive situation such as this, all parties involved will lend support or stay out of it altogether. Regardless, we're looking forward to any opportunity to see our girl!

After Josh Kelley completed his second album, Almost Honest, and signed the papers for a new home, the last thing on the singer-songwriter's mind was writing new material.

Until he fell in love with Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl, that is.

"I've never been more prolific than when I'm with Katie," Kelley tells AOL Music. "Our conversations, kisses and her beauty inspire me daily."

To that end, the Georgia-born Kelley released Just Say the Word, a markedly personal effort, this summer.

Songs like "How the Story Goes" and "Bound to Keep Movin" are laced with musings on his relationship with Heigl, both borne from ecstasy and affliction.

"'Bound to Keep Movin' is a lash of frustration on the distance our professions keep between us. I wanted to give her a song that would make her feel confident in my love but also aware of my passion for music and the road," Kelley said.

The two got engaged over the summer. Despite conflicting schedules, Kelley says he does find time to support Heigl's art as she supports his.

"Sometimes I get to watch Grey's Anatomy as it's being filmed," he says. "Sometimes we watch it together. It's unbelievable how [Katherine] can take herself out of reality and watch the show as if she had nothing to do with it. I wish I could listen to my music for the first time. Unfortunately that's impossible."

Sounds like high praise for the talented young woman who plays Izzie... and like Katie has found a big fan in her future husband.

Life for Grey's Anatomy star Kate Walsh is all about hospital rounds.

That and drinks with a European prince.

Her character, Addison Shepherd, may have broken up with Dr. McDreamy, but Walsh, 39, isn't splitting from Seattle Grace any time soon.

The actress talked to People about heating up with Eric Dane (a.k.a. Dr. McSteamy), facing off against CSI and her first big splurge -- for which her handsome on-screen ex, Patrick Dempsey, is reportedly to blame.

Q: So what's the deal with the new guy, Eric Dane?
A: He's like a statue. Every time he pauses, he's just gorgeous. And so nice and so talented.

Q: Is this the end for Addison and Derek?
A: You'll see some interesting things play out. There aren't tidy beginnings and endings. It's always messy, and (no pun intended) there's always a gray area.

Q: Your character wasn't too popular with fans at first. Has that changed?
A: Even if fans want Derek to be with Meredith, they sympathize with Addison. She's just like every woman struggling to make a relationship work.

Q: Were you stressed about Grey's Anatomy going up against CSI on Thursdays?
A: Yeah, I was nervous. CSI is a great show -- I was in it! [She played a transsexual informant.] But they are two different animals. There's room for both of us. You know, that's why we have the TiVo.

Q: Do anything fun on hiatus?
A: I mostly did press. We went all over Europe promoting Grey's Anatomy. It's huge everywhere. [The cast] went to Monaco and got an invitation to dinner with the prince. My stylist said, "So I see on your itinerary, cocktails at the palace. Is that, like, the palace?" I was like, "Yeah, [it's] not a club... The palace!"

Q: Has your life changed in the past year?
A: I had one big splurge, which I am driving now. It's a 1985 Aston Martin convertible. When I moved [to L.A. seven years ago] I got a station wagon. Then I got a little car crazy. I have to say, Patrick Dempsey did influence me a lot in that area.

Q: Any buyer's remorse?
A: No! This was hand-built. It's gorgeous. An elegant British muscle car. It makes doing errands much more palatable.

T.R. Knight, who made headlines Thursday by officially confirming he is gay, is finding that life goes on. And that above all, it's busy.

"I'm trying to fit this into a lunch break," the Grey's Anatomy star said at the beginning of a sit-down interview with Scripps Media. "So let's get going."

It sounds like the right moment to offer an apology for cutting into his eating time, but he's not having it. "No, no, no," he says. "Hit me."

The interview is conducted near the hit show's operating room doors. T.R. Knight (whose given name is Theodore Raymond) who plays the hospital's lovable loser, Dr. George O'Malley, is sitting in a waiting room chair, slightly impatient.

Dressed in his blue scrubs, he invokes the image of George, but he's more focused than the sometimes hapless intern. On that day, when dozens of critics are swarming the set, Knight was one of the in-demand actors for interviews.

The same sort of chaos that sets the tone of the show's hospital has come to life in reality. Journalists are darting from room to room. Some are part of organized tours; others are wandering in and out on their own.

It's a rare day when Grey's Anatomy, one of ABC's crown jewels, opens the door to reporters. Workdays for the cast and crew can turn into 18-hour stretches, giving the actors little time to devote to anything but their scripts. Not only that, but creator Shonda Rhimes is notoriously secretive.

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His Grey's Anatomy character may be emotionally destructive, a tad arrogant, and trying to woo his former best friend's ex-wife, but Eric Dane has it more together in real life.

The actor, better known to us as Dr. Mark "McSteamy" Sloan, makes all the right moves on wife Rebecca Gayheart Thursday while attending an Esquire magazine event in Beverly Hills, Calif.

We thought we'd pass along these two shots of the Grey's Anatomy cast we came across, both of which are being used by ABC to promote Season 3.

The second one must be quite new, as it features new full-time cast member Eric Dane (far left). Both include Sara Ramirez, who also guest starred in Season 2 and became a full-timer as of this season.

We're guessing there's some photo editing at work here... unless ABC somehow got the whole cast to fly to Iowa and stand in a corn wheat field right before the worst thunderstorm in history. Wouldn't that be a story!