Tuesday 11/13

“Parenthood isn’t life lessons from his late of threats that don’t my family. But there were ways it flashy, and it pays dad, John, and what’s necessarily end with helped a lot, too. I was going into a the price by not really beneath the Hank and Sarah in a business where he had been really attracting casual viewers,” says nice-guy façade. hotel room. But I gracious to a lot of the people Ritter. “But it’s (Spoiler alert: Unless don’t think Sarah around him. such a rewarding he’s really good at would do that to He passed away in 2003, two weeks show for the peo- ple who do watch.” hiding it, there’s no Mark. Though the before the premiere of your first series, secret dungeon filled sooner Hank gets out Joan of Arcadia. Did he ever get to see with puppies.) of town, the better. you act? He saw the pilot of the show. On the November 20 I did a play that both he and my mom Guest stars on Parent- “I wish he’d been able episode, Mark’s dad came to see, and he saw me in epi- hood come and go. to see all [I’ve done] skills will be put to the sodes of Law & Order. He’d tell me he What’s the trick to since his death,” Ritter test when he walks in was proud of me. I do wish he’d been your staying power? It says of his father on Sarah’s teenage son, able to see all of the things since his was sort of a slow Drew (Miles Heizer), in death, but I also think somewhere burn. I loved those first three epi- a compromising position. Mark’s not a maybe he is seeing them and all the sodes I did so much. Then they kept disciplinarian. He’s finding himself in things in the future. My dad always bringing me back—even while I was all of these positions he doesn’t know had an eye on the ball as far as what doing my [2010–2011] show The how to navigate but wants to so bad- was important; this whole idea of Event. I’d read every script thinking, ly. Like he thinks, “I should give Drew celebrity really bugged him. He told “This could be it!” But now Mark feels like a real part of the show. At least “It has been tough for now. I got in the [family] picture! to look in Lauren’s face and be really Is your chemistry with Lauren Graham upset,” says Ritter as good as it looks? I know there are of his story line. actors who can pretend they’re in “But I’m getting love but in real life cannot stand the used to it, because some upsetting person. For me, it really helps when stu! is coming up.” there’s a friendship. It’s so much fun to come into work and play around with Lauren and flirt and try to make her laugh and then go home. That is Three’s such a great day. So is Hank actually going to mess up all that Mark-Sarah magic? That’s the question. The biggest threat is always

BC the idea that you would be happier N A Crowd elsewhere. She and Mark have been LTHAUS/ Jason Ritter breaks down his A through a lot, but now that they’re the birds-and-the-bees talk,” which me I have total control over whether IN Parenthood love triangle—and D living together, the realities are dif- of course Drew has heard before. I’m an actor or not—I can go into the ferent from the fantasy dating sec- Did having TV icon John Ritter as your park and perform something, and MAGE; JOR MAGE; remembers his famous dad I tion of the relationship, when no father make it harder or easier to break that makes me an actor. IRE W one’s ever leaving the seat up. Plus, into this business? When I was start- You’ve played a lot of good guys. Be UIRE/

G Hank is so real and grounded, even if ing out, I would go in for auditions honest: Are you ever a big jerk in real he does have a bleak outlook. Mark and I would get overwhelmed by my life? I can be very frustrating! I’ll be at REGG DE REGG G has a lot of ideals. own insecurities. I would have my dinner with friends and if someone If Sarah cheats on Mark, will fans riot? MAGES; MAGES; little jokes prepared, and the casting comes up to me, rather than spend- I P A Maybe fans would riot. Here’s the director would say, “Before you start, ing a couple minutes saying hello, I BY INGELA RATLEDGE episode arc as sexy, mild-mannered managed to wangle his way into the thing I love about the show so I want to tell you that your dad was so engage with this person and miss out LLEGRI/ Jason Ritter knows how to make the high school teacher Mark Cyr. Cut to official family portrait. But all that A much: It’s about life’s little triumphs funny”—and give him a nice compli- on my evening instead. I don’t under- most of an opportunity. When the Season 4: Ritter has an Emmy nomi- could be at risk, thanks to the recent and setbacks, idiosyncrasies ment—and I would think, stand why. The conversation with the 32-year-old actor was invited to nation under his belt, his character is arrival of Sarah’s new boss, Hank, of the human heart—so you PARENTHOOD “Oh, my God, you’re about stranger will even wind down, and I’ll guest star on the first season of the engaged to fortysomething single played with crotchety magnetism by don’t need to have them NBC, 10/9c to see how far I am from go like, “So, what else?” It’s really nbc.com, hulu.com,

NBC dramedy Parenthood, he was mom Sarah (Lauren Graham)—age Ray Romano. Ritter opens up about KWISE FROM CARLO LEFT: have a full-on affair to break iTunes; Twitter: him.” I wasn’t just a guy in weird. Even though it’s not directly C @nbcparenthood only supposed to appear in a three- difference be damned—and he’s even his status as an almost-Braverman, CLO Mark’s heart. There are lots the room; I was humiliating being a jerk, it is still jerky behavior.

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