Eddie Kaye Thomas Interview (pg. 2)
Sindy: Have you found it difficult to be seen as anything other than Paul Finch from the American Pie franchise?
Eddie Kaye Thomas: I've been really lucky because I've gotten to do so many different roles, so its been great. It's definitely the thing I'm most well-known for and the thing I get recognized for but in terms of the work I've gotten to do, I've been really blessed that I've gotten to do a variety of roles. I feel like - on 'Til Death - I'm smiling and cheery all the time, which as Paul Finch I never would have been doing - and it's fun. For better or worse, I haven't really played a role like Finch since. And not necessarily by choice, it just hasn't come along.
Sindy: What has been your favorite project to work on to-date?
Eddie Kaye Thomas: Oh it's evil to pick. Everything is so different. Movies can kind of appear the same - they could have the same schedule and be shooting in the same location but its always a different group of people that become your family and so... I can't say I've had a job that I did not enjoy.
Sindy: Coolest person you've had the opportunity to work with?
Eddie Kaye Thomas: I got to do a pilot last year with Elliot Gould, which was pretty amazing. And when I did Anne Frank I got to work with George Hearn and Austin Pendleton - just really great, great theater actors. It was a pleasure to share the stage with them. So there's something about working with people who have been doing it for that many years. It's really special and there's an innate passing on of things. Sort of the same as on 'Til Death, how the older husband is passing things onto the younger husband. I think that's really true in acting as well. Older actors try to pass on whatever advice they have onto younger ones.
Sindy: Who would you like to work with in the future that you haven't yet?
Eddie Kaye Thomas: I would love to be in a Paul Thomas Anderson movie, I'd love to do television with Jerry Seinfeld or Michael Richards, who I think are the greatest talents ever on television.
Sindy: Any TV shows you're excited to watch this fall?
Eddie Kaye Thomas: I saw The Class and I thought that was wonderful. American Idol, I'm a sick fan over. And the baseball playoffs are coming, which is a big time for me. And The Sopranos are coming back, aren't they? Yeah, I think they are. That'll be fun.
Sindy: What's your all-time favorite movie?
Eddie Kaye Thomas: That would be Godfather II. And Gone With the Wind. I know it's a corny, typical answer but I really love that movie.
Sindy: If you had to choose just one city to live in, where would that be?
Eddie Kaye Thomas: New York City.
Sindy: You have a birthday coming up - do you have any big birthday plans?
Eddie Kaye Thomas: Not necessarily, but being born on Halloween there's always a party so I'll probably be back home in New York and I'll go to the parade and celebrate with everybody else. It's a convenient birthday because you don't really have to organize a party.
Sindy: Other than 'Til Death, what can fans expect to see you in, in the future?
Eddie Kaye Thomas: Other than that, I'm doing American Dad. There's a film I'm doing called Blind Dating, which is coming out in March and that's all I got going right now.
Sindy: Any advice for kids looking to break into the entertainment industry?
Eddie Kaye Thomas: To never, ever give up. It's a business built on rejection and rejection is just one step closer to acceptance. I hate when people think just because they get a few rejections in the business, they can't do it. I think that is part of doing it - the rejection. If you wanna do it, just do it and don't give up.
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