George Stults
With hit show 7th Heaven, TV's longest running family drama picked back up after a brief cancellation scare by the CW, we caught up with George Stults, who plays Kevin Kinkirk, the hunky home-staying daddy every girl loves, for an all new interview.
The Star Scoop:
Tell us about how the show is going, since it got picked up again, and everyone thought it was over. What was that like?
George Stults:
It was weird, because, the show had been cancelled. The WB network cancelled it, told us it would be cancelled at the end of the 10th season. Everyone thought this was the end and it would be over. So, for the rest of that season, there were rumors going around, anyway, the end of the season came and we had our wrap party. At the party, the creator of our show, Brenda Hampton said, alright people, it's for sure cancelled, time to move on, we had a great run, this and that, so I figured, that was it. I had moved on. I had a great time being a part of it. I planned to travel for the summer, because I'd never traveled anywhere outside of Mexico and Canada. I was in the Dominican Republic for a long weekend, for a charity event, and I didn't bring my computer with me, and my Sprint service wasn't working down there, so I never checked my messages for four days. Like on the third day, I'm down by the pool late morning, and a buddy of mine, who's an actor as well was walking over, and goes, hey George, I was online and I saw this article about the new network trying to pick 7th Heaven up, and the guy's a comedian so I thought he was messing with me, and I'm like, yeah, yeah, whatever pal. I didn't think anything of it. So anyway, long story short, of course I didn't bother to go see if he was for real or not, but they had been trying to get a hold of me about the new network wanting to pick up the show. By the time I got home, I had all these messages from my representation freaking out. That's how I found out they were trying to bring it back. The CW waited to see what new shows they had, which ones they liked, then they were going to decide whether to bring 7th Heaven back. It was awesome. It's been the best season for me. I've enjoyed it thoroughly.
The Star Scoop:
Have the fans been quick to accept the newer people into the show?
Stults:
Yeah, I really think they are, I really do. Fans will keep watching the show, no matter who comes, who goes, and as long as they have, the three four, Camdens [laughs], I think they're still going to watch it.
The Star Scoop:
Do you think that all the buzz around the show has helped it, as well?
Stults:
It's hard to tell because I still run into people all the time who have no idea that the show's on, and then once I tell them, they're like, you've got to be kidding me, I thought it got cancelled. We've aired, I don't know how many new episodes this season, like nine or ten, I don't know what it is, and there are still people who have no idea. They still think it's cancelled. The problem is, is that the network never promotes for the show like they do all the other shows, because they know they don't have to because the 7th Heaven fan base is so strong. I think if they would have done a little something, some people would realize the show came back on the new network, and there'd be an even stronger fan base. All of us that are part of the show, we run into people every week who still don't realize that. We do our best, but the true fans who've been watching almost the entire time that it has been on, they're the ones who keep track and follow up, and they're the ones who know. That's why they don't have to promote.
The Star Scoop:
Since 7th Heaven started up again, have you seen any differences in yourself? In your character on the show as well?
Stults:
For me, as an actor, I hadn't been doing this, like most of the people on that show have been acting since they were children. I didn't start until I was twenty-three years old, after I graduated from college. So for me, I've only been doing it for five, six years. It's still new to me. The more, just like anything, the more you do it, the more comfortable you become and hopefully the better you become. I feel, I like it a lot more now than I ever have. I've always enjoyed it, but it isn't something that ever came easy for me. I used to be a shy [laughs] person. It's a rush for me because it's not something that's ever come easy, so every time they say action, I get a little bit of a rush because you don't know what's going to happen. It's so fun because the people that we work with are such great people and they're all professional and hard-working and everyone comes to set prepared. It's just a great show to be part of, and everyone was so bummed when it got cancelled and so happy when it got brought back [laughs]. We're all spoiled and we all know it, and once the show does come to an end, whenever that may be, we'll never have it as good.
The Star Scoop:
Have you had the opportunity to do something different from TV yet?
Stults:
I've been fortunate enough to do, for the past three hiatuses, in between 7th Heaven seasons, I've been able to do three small projects. I did Night Skies which is a UFO abduction movie which is based on a true story, with Jason Connery, who is Sean Connery's son...super nice guy. Most recently, I got to go to Vancouver and do a movie made for TV on the Lifetime network about women's breast cancer. That was a great experience. That aired on the lifetime network during Breast Cancer Awareness month in October. It's tough to find something in between the seasons of 7th Heaven, but I'm always trying. I've been lucky enough to do those.
The Star Scoop:
Do they always have you playing the nice guy?
Stults:
Yeah, yeah, well, the roles that I've been able to do, I don't know, the last one, you'll have to tell me. I haven't seen any of it yet, the character's supposed to be different, but I have no idea [laughs] to be honest with you. They've all been great experiences, they're new, working with different people, but to be honest with you, those three experiences, each time I've had one in between seasons of 7th Heaven, it reminds me of how damn spoiled I am. It's a lot more work than doing 7th Heaven, that's for sure.
The Star Scoop:
7th Heaven is not going to last forever. Are you interested to get on another series or try to do some movie roles?
Stults:
Now that I've been spoiled for five seasons on 7th Heaven, I'm scared to death to get on another TV show. I don't know, I mean, if it's the right show, and it's something that I think I would really, really, enjoy, then I would have no problem jumping right on to it, but if not, I would like to try and do a couple movies before I get on another TV show. But the odds are, it's so difficult, people don't realize how difficult it is to get on a show and to have that show keep going. My brother, who was on 7th Heaven before I was, he's booked a pilot every season for the past like four pilot seasons and none of them have got picked up until just recently he did one for ABC called October Road that got picked up as a mid season replacement. It's difficult. Who knows what will happen? You never know. [My brother] auditions more than any other actor or actress that I have met since I've been in Hollywood. He auditions for anything and everything. He continually works, but it's not like he's been able to jump into a huge staring movie or unfortunately none of the pilots have been picked up until this one. He's the only reason that I have succeeded out here. We've lived together our whole lives, we were raised to be best friends. Most people don't have that. I would have given up, I wouldn't have even attempted without him. I owe it all to him. What I'm hoping is that once 7th Heaven does end, he'll have his own show by then, and I'll just get to live off him for five seasons. And then by then, I'll just be in acting class those five years, and hopefully by then I'll be a good enough actor to get on another TV show [laughs].
The Star Scoop:
What message do you have for your fans?
Stults:
I guess the main way that I try to get them to know that I care is that by letting everyone know that I personally sign and return every fan letter with an autographed 7th Heaven photo. That would be the easiest way for me to do it. All the people that send fan mail to the set of 7th Heaven, I get it, they wait until they get a big pile of it, then they bring it to me. In between takes or waiting for the next set up at work, I go through every single one of them, read them, and then send a photo to them. I'd like them to know that I really do appreciate the fact that they watch 7th Heaven and if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have been spoiled for five seasons [laughs].
MINI SCOOP: NOT JUST A PRETTY FACEThe Star Scoop:
George Stults on College (and while he's at it...family too):
Let's just say, if I were to have children right now, I would not let them get into the entertainment business until they graduated from college. [David Gallagher] worked it out that he could go to college while he would work on 7th Heaven. That would be okay for me. You can even hear it from some of these stars that say that they wish they would have had somewhat of a normal life. Even though they have a bunch of opportunities, they've missed a lot of their childhood. I would never want that to happen to my children. The education that you gain and just the life experiences by going to high school and meeting new friends and people, going to college and doing the same thing, being able to play a sport, whether it's cheerleading or wrestling, or whatever, those bring so much great life experiences to you, that you can't get by doing anything else. If it was up to me, I would not let my children do it, unless they were having those other life experiences as well. It's one of the main reasons that I think that I've been able to tough it out in this business. I'm very grateful that my parents talked me into going to college. On settling down: Working with the two little girls Alyssa and Hannah, who play Savannah Kinkirk are just awesome. I don't understand how two twin baby girls can be so well-behaved and such good actresses [at such a young] age, and they're just always pleasant to work with. It's great having them as my pretend child, but I don't know if I'm ready for children quite yet. I think if I were to have children that my life would change instantly, and it would probably be a good thing [laughs]. I'm thirty-one years old now, and I'm starting to think about these things. Being part of a family drama like 7th Heaven does make you think of it a lot more than maybe if I wasn't doing the show. I'm still living with my little brother [laughs].Visit George's official website at www.georgestults.com