Take a sneak peek of ROYAL PAINS "Nobody's Perfect Episode 11 airing this Thursday August 20 on USA Network (10-11:30 p.m. ET).

Also watch any ROYAL PAINS episode here.

Episode Synopsis: ROYAL PAINS "Nobody's Perfect" Episode 11 - While in New York to learn more about Boris' mysterious disease, Hank discovers the Gardner family is attempting to strip him of his medical license. Divya and Evan are faced with a medical emergency on board the yacht of a reclusive millionaire, while Jill tussles with her ex-husband Charlie -- who has returned to work at Hamptons Heritage -- over signing their divorce papers.

Read all our Royal Pains coverage here.

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

ROYAL PAINS "Nobody's Perfect" Episode 11

Take a sneak peek of ROYAL PAINS "Am I Blue" Episode 10 airing this Thursday August 13 on USA Network (10-11:30 p.m. ET).

Also watch any ROYAL PAINS episode here.

Episode Synopsis: ROYAL PAINS "Am I Blue" Episode 10 - When Hank learns Tucker's father has a substance abuse problem, he suggests a visit to rehab. But Tucker's father prefers to clean up through an Ultra Rapid Detox program, a risky method that Hank objects to. Meanwhile, Evan tries to drum up business with a local nightclub owner -- which leads to a misunderstanding with an employee that Evan and Divya have to clear up. Hank and Jill attempt to contact Boris, who has fled to New York.

Read all our Royal Pains coverage here.

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

ROYAL PAINS "Am I Blue" Episode 10

Take a sneak peek of ROYAL PAINS "It's Like Jamais Vu All Over Again" Episode 9 airing this Thursday August 6 on USA Network (10-11:30 p.m. ET).

Also watch any ROYAL PAINS episode here.

Episode Synopsis: ROYAL PAINS "It's Like Jamais Vu All Over Again" Episode 9 - Hank treats a girl who falls from a horse during an equestrian show.

Read all our Royal Pains coverage here.

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

ROYAL PAINS "It's Like Jamais Vu All Over Again" Episode 9

Take a sneak peek of ROYAL PAINS "The Honeymoon's Over" Episode 8 airing this Thursday July 30 on USA Network (10-11:30 p.m. ET).

Also watch any ROYAL PAINS episode here.

Episode Synopsis: ROYAL PAINS "The Honeymoon's Over" Episode 8 - Hank treats a children's book illustrator with a serious heart condition.

Read all our Royal Pains coverage here.

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

ROYAL PAINS "The Honeymoon's Over" Episode 8

Watch a sneak peek of ROYAL PAINS "Crazy Love" Episode 7 airing this Thursday July 23 on USA Network (10-11:30 p.m. ET).

Also watch any ROYAL PAINS episode here.

Episode Synopsis: ROYAL PAINS "Crazy Love" Episode 7 - A dream job offer from Boris bring Jill's childhood friend Katie back to the Hamptons, but tempers flare when Hank learns Boris has been keeping a dark secret.

Read all our Royal Pains coverage here.

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

ROYAL PAINS "Crazy Love" Episode 7

Watch a sneak peek of ROYAL PAINS "If I Were I Sick Man" Episode 6 airing this Thursday July 16 on USA Network (10-11:30 p.m. ET).

Also watch any ROYAL PAINS episode here.

Episode Synopsis: ROYAL PAINS "If I Were I Sick Man" Episode 6 - Hank quarantines guests at a dog party after several people come down with a serious disease.

Read all our Royal Pains coverage here.

(Photos: USA Network Photo: David Giesbrecht)

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

ROYAL PAINS "If I Were I Sick Man" Episode 6

Watch a sneak peek of ROYAL PAINS Episode 5 "No Man is an Island" airing this Thursday July 9 on USA Network (10-11:30 p.m. ET). Also watch any ROYAL PAINS episode here.

Episode Synopsis: ROYAL PAINS "No Man is an Island" Episode 5 - Just as Hank and Jill's relationship is beginning to blossom, he and Evan take a weekend-long assignment -- as doctor and nanny, respectively -- with the wealthy Grant family during a gathering on their technology-free private island.

Read all our Royal Pains coverage here.

(Photos: USA Network Photo: David Giesbrecht)

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

ROYAL PAINS "No Man is an Island" Episode 5

During out set visit of ROYAL PAINS, we also got a chance to talk to CHRISTINE EBERSOLE, who plays Mrs. Newberg.

Enjoy her interview, and don't forget to watch Royal Pains on Thursdays at 10pm on USA.

Can you talk a little bit about your character?

Christine Ebersole: My character, does anybody know my character's first name?

I don't think we have a first name yet.

Christine Ebersole: Isn't that fantastic! My character doesn't have a first name. It's just Mrs. Newberg. Isn't that great? Yeah, I think it's like—it's like Mr. Big, right?
I play Mrs. Newberg, I'm very rich and live in the Hamptons, probably just for the summer. I have other residences, but they're somewhat—some of them are undisclosed at this point. So, I have a house in the Hamptons in the summertime, and I'm a grandmother of a 22-year-old. That's showbiz. Yeah, I'm a grandmother of a 22-year-old.

Is the kind of over the top Hamptons character based on anyone you might know in real life?

Christine Ebersole: Well, actually, it's kind of after the fact because when I started playing the role and then kind of went away from it, I thought, "Oh, my God, this is just like somebody I know." So, it's one of those kind of—it was a little bit ass backwards, but no, I don't know. It's just sort of—it's just kind of felt like it was right. It was, it just feels like the part in me. Not that I'm bad in real life, but you never know. There are parts of me, I'm sure. You draw on what you know and what you have, so.

So, you're playing a diva by day on television and a spirit by night on theatre. Is it hard creatively to make that shift from filming television in the day and then going to the theatre?

Christine Ebersole: No, just in terms of energy. That's all, you know, really. It's just sort of a lot, a lot to do, and I have two shows today.

Do you ever sleep?

Christine Ebersole: Well, I try, you know, because I have three kids too. So, the routine is usually I get home, but then it's hard to get to sleep. So, I sometimes don't get to sleep till like 12:30 or 1:00 or something like that, and then I have to get up at 6:30 to get the kids off to school. So, then you're up and then your brain starts going. So, then hopefully maybe I can take a little nap before I have to go into the city.
So, that's the kind of a routine that I have, just like this morning, same thing. I was like, "Seven o'clock, all right. Well, I'm awake," and didn't go to bed till late, so it was hard to get to sleep and especially when you're not, when you're not at home. It's hard for me to sleep because my husband is not there to cuddle up to. Anyway, thanks for letting me share that. Okay. Well, it's good to know I have a good marriage anyway.

You're one of the few people on the show who have actually spent some time in the Hamptons. I know you were recently out doing a show at Guild Hall.

Christine Ebersole: Yes. It was a fundraiser. It wasn't actually at Guild Hall. It's like Frankenstein or something. Yeah, it was actually a fundraiser, so it ended up being in the Springs, you know, at a yacht club, which was really cool. So, our background was the—whatever that harbor is, you know, with all the boats there, really beautiful.

Do you spend a lot of time in the Hamptons, or you're just there for work?

Christine Ebersole: No. I mean, not—yeah, because I'm just one of those working stiffs, you know. One of the Clydesdales that just keeps doing show after show. But no, I've had the opportunity to go out and spend a weekend or whatever, but I've never spent the summer. I've never been able to do that. But it's a great place.

You said that your character is a grandmother? Do we get any more information on her?

Christine Ebersole: Well, in the next episode, I'm having, I'm giving my dog a Bark Mitzvah. A Bark Mitzvah. I don't know anything beyond that, except in the last episode that I was in, there was a huge, huge portrait of my dog, who is a King Charles spaniel. Not like in my real life.

Broadway is obviously keeping you really busy. So, why do a TV show to begin with? What was it about this that made you want to add that extra thing to your schedule?

Christine Ebersole: Well, it's kind of a no-brainer, really, because it's, first of all, I was just saying to one of my friends, "This is such a fantastic show and such a fantastic part." You know, there have been times when I've had to stand in front of a stove with a bathrobe, flipping pancakes, saying punch lines like, "Duck guano." So, luckily, this is not one of those parts. When you think I've made a Faustian bargain, and I've sold myself to the devil for the promise of riches, neither of which I got, so this was a no-brainer because it's a fantastic part. It's a fantastic show. It's such a well-written show, and the locations are fantastic. It's right in my back yard. I don't have to go to LA, and the people are so fantastic. That's another thing, can you imagine just going to work every day and just laughing all day long? I mean, what a great thing. So, that's kind of what we do. And then, not only that, you're laughing but you're looking at really beautiful things, like beautiful, you know, ocean and, you know, trees and the sky and beautiful grass and—what can be bad about that, you know?

How did they approach you about the role? How did the whole thing come about?

Christine Ebersole: I think I got an offer, right? I didn't audition for it, did I? I don't remember any more.

Any interaction between you and Campbell Scott coming up?

Christine Ebersole: I hope so, but I did get to meet him in, you know, ADR, in looping. So, I got to meet him there. So, hopefully. I'm sure that makes sense.

Who would be your dream guest star?

Christine Ebersole: Like the Love Boat, you mean? That's fantastic! William Shatner. That's who I want, William Shatner, yes. I want to rekindle my romance with William Shatner because I was on Boston Legal with him. Yeah. What a blast! Had the best time with him. So, yeah. Oh, there's just a whole pile. Well, let's start with William Shatner and go from there. And there's any number of possibilities, just with William Shatner alone there. He could have dropped in from space. Why not? Why not? Anything can happen in the Hamptons.

Do you think that there's an appeal in the Hamptons for people who don't live in New York City, don't really know anything about the Hamptons?

Christine Ebersole: Yeah, I do because it's about, it's a kind of a fantasy about rich people and at the same time being able to poke fun at them, you know. So, it's kind of what you don't have, what you could sort of dream of having, and know that they're flawed and could end up on the streets any minute.

Do we get to see Mrs. Newburg's wild side? Do you get to dance or sing?

Christine Ebersole: Oh, oh, I think so. It's a possibility.

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

CHRISTINE EBERSOLE from Royal Pains Interview

Watch a sneak peek of ROYAL PAINS Episode 4 "TB or Not TB" airing this Thursday, June 25 on USA Network (10-11:30 p.m. ET). Also watch any ROYAL PAINS episode here.

Episode Synopsis: ROYAL PAINS "TB or Not TB" Episode 4 - On the day that Hank had previously planned to get married he spends time with Jill.

Read all our Royal Pains coverage here.

(Photos: USA Network Photo: David Giesbrecht)

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

ROYAL PAINS "TB or Not TB" Episode 4

Watch a sneak peek of ROYAL PAINS Episode 3 "Strategic Planning" airing this Thursday, June 18 on USA Network (10-11:30 p.m. ET). Also watch any ROYAL PAINS episode here.

Episode Synopsis: ROYAL PAINS Episode 3 "Strategic Planning" - Hank gets called in when a Senator's son gets infected with an unknown disease.

Read all our Royal Pains coverage here.

(Photos: USA Network Photo: David Giesbrecht)

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

ROYAL PAINS Episode 3 "Strategic Planning"

The next person we got to talk to during out set visit of Royal Pains is JILL FLINT who plays Jill Casey.

Enjoy her interview, and don't forget to watch Royal Pains on Thursdays at 10pm on USA.

Can you tell us about your character?

Jill Flint: Sure, sure. Jill Casey. She's a local, she grew up in the Hamptons. She's a hospital administrator for Hamptons Heritage Hospital and as a person, she's a very driven woman. She's not impressed with the whole hullabaloo of the rich and the famous that live up there, with their big houses and their fancy cars and their attitudes. She's not impressed by any of that. She's more interested in taking care of the people that she grew up with, people that she had been surrounded with her entire life. The locals, the people that do work in the restaurants or the local electrician. Just the average blue collar folk. They sort of get pushed aside by these jerks who drive in there thinking they're all that.
Her passion, her dream, what she wants to do is open a free clinic and that attracted me to the script, because I think it's very relevant to what's going on in this day and age. I mean, how many Americans can really afford to go to the doctor, have healthcare and have it be decent? And, you know, if you've ever been to any sort of free clinic or sliding scale clinic here in New York, they're kind of scary. [laughs] So, yeah, that's where she's pushing towards and that's who she is. I was blown away by her when I met her, so to speak, and I'm happy that I get to play her, it's good.

How is your character's story parallel to Hank's story in the show?

Jill Flint: Well, I think that, when Jill meets Hank there's an instant recognition, because he also is not impressed by how much money you have, if you're in charge or not, because he's the kind of guy that will shoot from the hip. He tells you exactly what he thinks, when he thinks it and he's all about getting the job done and trying to do right by the people that he surrounds himself with. And, so I think that when I meet him, there's an automatic recognition, there's a spark between the two of us, that "Ah, we're on the same page, great, I've got an ally, because I'm surrounded."

Even have the same car.

Jill Flint: Yeah, yeah, which is funny and cute, I think.

Can you talk about the auditioning process to get on the show?

Jill Flint: Oh, my gosh, let me tell you, it's fun, it's really fun. You audition, you prepare, they fly you out to LA and, you know, dancing bear, [jump through] hoops. It's a little nerve wracking, but the cool thing about this whole process, for me, I was lucky enough to meet Jace Alexander and he sat me down right before I was about to go in front of the firing squad, so to speak, right. You know, you're freaking out entirely and he sits you down and he just says, "You know, just go do it. That's all you have to do, go do it and have fun doing it. You're here for a reason, we're excited to have you." And, it was cool, because the initial meeting with him, has sort of lasted throughout this entire relationship so far, where it's like just do it. Have fun, enjoy it. It sort of sets you at ease, but—yeah, auditioning processes are always fun.

Can you give us an idea of what her development is going to be? She has a big secret, right?

Jill Flint: Yeah, she does, she does and I don't know what that is yet. [laughs] I've been teasing, my friends have all checked out the website as to what is your big secret? What's going on? I'm, like, I can't—I—yeah, I was going to say, I told one friend. She's, like, "Oh, shut up." I'm secretly a man. I think that will definitely derail our relationship.[laughs] It's fun and we're having a blast with it. Hank and I are just starting to spend more time together and find ourselves in different situations that we have to work ourselves out and we kind of have different takes on things and different ideas about things. So, it's fun, because we have this moment of—we get to butt heads with each other and there's a sort of sexual tension between the two of us and two different ways of looking at things. Maybe two chefs in the kitchen, you know what I'm saying? So, that has been a lot of fun to play with. But, as far as where she goes, we're still working on it. I don't want to tell you too much.

So, at what point in the audition process, did you first read with Mark and was there great chemistry between you? How did that go?

Jill Flint: I met him at the screen test. I walked in the room and you guys have already met him, so you know he's—big, bright smile and he's very open and not an ounce of that is fake. That's who he is to everybody, all day long and it was really reassuring. I automatically just started talking about my plane trip, which was interesting. Very interesting plane ride. So, anyway, we started rapping about that and we got along really well and it was great that we got to have a few minutes to talk. So, it's not like, "Hi, nice to meet you. Okay, you ready to do this scene? Fabulous. Let's have chemistry, let's fake it, let's make it happen." We actually got to work it out.

In the pilot, one of the storylines is that the woman he had saved the night before shows up at his motel and is like "Hi, I love you. Take me." As the season goes on, is that going to be a source of conflict between them?

Jill Flint: There's definitely a potential for that. Both of us have a past, but I think the great thing about the two of us is that we kind of get each other. But, we're still figuring that out. To be honest with you, I hope that kind of plays in. I hope that there's a moment of, "No, actually, this is what it is and I'm interested in you." That would be fun, it would be fun to play with. But, it's funny, because when you see his character, you've got him and you've got his brother and he is effortlessly the nice guy, cool, the woman are automatically attracted to. And, then of course you've got the brother, who—you guys have met him, right? You guys have all met Paulo? Oh, my lord, now being on site with Paulo, that's a lot of fun. Try to keep a straight face while working with him, try to have a serious take, it is not easy. But, yeah, so it's the duality, the two of them, it's fun. The women are automatically attracted to him.

How much of you is in your character?

Jill Flint: As far as the localism and the loyalty and fighting for the little guy, that's something that I definitely identify with. And, yeah, I felt pretty clear about her when I read the script, definitely.

If you had a choice of one celebrity guest star, who would it be?

Jill Flint: Oh, one celebrity guest star. Hmm, I have to think about that one. Oh, can I just say Elvis? [laughs] We brought him back! I'm really thinking about it. The Obamas, that'd be cheesy. [laughs] Hugh Hefner [laughs] and his entire entourage. There would be eye rolling for hours from my character, it would be amazing. I could have a field day with him, oh, man.

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

JILL FLINT from Royal Pains Interview

Watch a sneak peek of ROYAL PAINS Episode 2 "There Will Be Food" airing this Thursday, June 11 on USA Network (10-11:30 p.m. ET)

Episode Synopsis: ROYAL PAINS Episode 2 "There Will Be Food" - Tess, a ballerina, is thrilled when Evan expands her culinary horizons by feeding her hot dogs, Slurpees, and other foods she's had to give up to maintain her dancer's physique, but loses consciousness after a few of these junk-food laden meals. Meanwhile, a vulnerable -- and less than sober -- Jill exposes some of her feelings to Hank after funding for her free clinic falls through.

Read all our Royal Pains coverage here.

(Photos: USA Network Photo: Barbara Nitke)

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

ROYAL PAINS Episode 2 "There Will Be Food"

The next interview coming out of our Royal Pains set visit is RESHMA SHETTY who plays Divya Katdare. So enjoy her interview.

Don't forget that Royal Pains airs on Thursdays at 10pm on USA.

Can you tel us about your character?

Reshma Shetty: I play Divya Katdare. I am Hank's physician assistant. Basically I've started—I'm a Hamptonite, so I've lived in the Hamptons, I go out there for most of my life. I have an idea for a business, and I hear about him. I hear his endeavors, his two saves, and I basically go to a motel room and I'm basically like, "Let's go. I'm here. I have all the stuff. Let's make this happen." And I'm kind of the instigator of getting him going on it. And then basically we have wonderful adventures following.

Was your character always inclined towards the medical field?

Reshma Shetty: I think that she has a business degree. She's an awfully smart, put-together lady, and I think that she saw an area, a niche that needed to be filled, so she basically said, "All right, you know what? I'll get a two-years Master's degree as a physician's assistant because I can." And I went and I did that, and then found him. She's an over-achiever, and that's hard to play sometimes, but she's an over-achiever and she basically needed to find someone to help her, and Hank's the one.

There's a great moment in the pilot where she has a conversation on the phone with her parents. Can you kind of tell us what that story is with her parents?

Reshma Shetty: It was funny because they asked me to come up with something, and I'm Indian, obviously, but I don't speak Hindi. And so I called my mom, and I was like, "Okay, Mom, they want me to come up with something. Can you tell me what the something is?" And in it, my parents don't know what I do, so they're telling me to come home. And I'm supposed to go to a polo match, and I'm just saying, "Look, you told me this 60 times. I heard you. I heard you. Bye." And, you know, she doesn't know what I'm doing, and it's kind of her cover-up story that we'll delve into later on.

So there's no—we're not supposed to know why she's keeping this from her parents?

Reshma Shetty: Not yet.

Your character bio on the website actually says that her parents think that a woman of her socioeconomic status shouldn't be working.

Reshma Shetty: Yeah, I think there's a lot there. I think that there's so many levels of what is appropriate for an Indian woman to do. What is appropriate for someone who's wealthy who just needs to have a husband. Does she really need to work? I push throughout the whole thing. I'm the one who gets the clients. Well, Evan tries to get many clients as well, in his own little way. But she's always trying to be busy. And I think the other lifestyle that lots of us have stories like that, that we have something else on the side, but this is what we really want. And she pushes for it, and she's in a position that she can. But yet she can't share it with her parents. I mean, my parents are amazing, but when I was like, "Well, I'm going to be an actress," and they're all doctors, that wasn't the best and easiest thing to do, you know. So I'm sure that I probably went through a year period when I wasn't telling them exactly what I was doing. But I think that's going to evolve.

So do you get in on some of the medical action?

Reshma Shetty: Oh, gosh, yes. They found that I'm good at it. And I do a lot of stuff to show Hank that I know. And I think it's funny because the first episode after they gave me all this medical stuff, I did it I think pretty well. And then so the next episode they came up and they were like, "Hey, can you say this?" And in the first script, there was only two lines, and the next script there was, like, six, and all these horrific words in them. And I was like, "Do you understand that I'm not a doctor?" But they're like, "No, no, you can do it." So yes, I do a lot of them. And it's really fun. We get to work with Dr. Irv, and he shows us the procedures and stuff that—I went for undergrad for pre-med, and so I did go to cadavers and I did follow doctors and stuff, so I'd seen that stuff before. But I never really got to draw blood from a fake hand. That was kind of cool. That was my moment.

So you tricked your parents into thinking you were going to become a doctor. You were pre-med.

Reshma Shetty: I was totally set. Like, I really was set. Everybody in my family are doctors. There was not a woman doctor yet, and I had the grades and all that kind of stuff, but yeah, it's very funny. Other stuff happened, and here we are. Here we are playing kind of a doctor.

Paul [Costanzo] was telling us that he thinks that Divya and Evan have great chemistry. They're sort of fighting like dogs, but there are sparks. Do you see something developing with the character?

Reshma Shetty: Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, it's easy, he's so funny and he's very easy to improv off. Sometimes you're kind of like, "Okay, can I say anything back? Because you're still talking." But I think I could hold my own a little bit with him. And we get along obviously as people, so it's very easy to work with someone who you already feel that you have chemistry with. So that's easy. The characters are very feisty together as you'll see. She's a straight talker. She's the one, "Let's get this done, A, B, C, D." And he's just like, "Well, I think that Z is cool, and T could be really cool here, too." And I'm like, "No. Like, we just need to get this done." But I think that plays off really well.

I loved in the pilot when she answered Hank's phone.

Reshma Shetty: That's her deal. She basically just takes over. And Hank is really cool with it at times. And Evan is I think he just wants to push her buttons, so he does, very well.

You live in New York. Do you have much experience in the Hamptons in your own personal life?

Reshma Shetty: I actually have never been out there. The first time I went out there was for the pilot. I'd always heard of the Hamptons. I only moved to New York about three years ago. And then I watched it on that show New York Housewives. And then you see all that stuff. And then when I went out there, I mean, some of the houses are so gorgeous. They're gorgeous. I was like, "Give me the living room. I'll live in the living room." About the size of my apartment anyway. It was the first time I went out there, out there. And when we went out there for the pilot, it was at the very end of the season, so there was hardly anybody there. And this time, there's starting to be more and more, I guess. It's still kind of I think early in the season, but.

Can you talk about the auditioning process to get the part?

Reshma Shetty: Sure. Of course. It's actually a funny story because being an Indian actress, lots of our roles are the same, a little bit. You're either playing the nerd or you're playing a doctor. And it's starting to vary more, but you kind of get stuck a little bit in ruts. And so I was doing pilot auditions, and then I saw this, and I was kind of like, "Oh my god. It's perfect. It's perfect." And I did the audition. Because we're in New York and it was all L.A., we had to tape. And taping is always difficult. You know, you just want to reach out and be like, "I'm really funny, but I can't tell you. I can't show you." So then I did the thing, and I didn't hear for two weeks, I think it was. And every Indian actress knows every other Indian actress, so I'm getting on the Internet going "Who was it? Who was it?" And I see nothing. And then I get this random call, and it was like, "Jace is in town and he wants to meet you." And I was like, "Meet me for--?" "To read, Resh. To read again." And I was like, "Oh my god." And so I went, and he was so awesome. He was so amazing, and he made it really fun. The first audition, I was scared to death, and the second audition I was like, "Okay, you know what? This was a really good time." And then two days later they're like, "Do you want to go to L.A.?" I was like, "Yes." So then I went out there and in the process you meet two of the other people who are also up for it. And that was strange too, because you're sitting outside, watching each person go in, kind of going, "Oh god, they really laughed at her. What if they don't think I'm funny?" And then I kind of just went in there and just was like, "Okay." You know, it's an intimidating situation. So I remember the girl before me made them laugh through the door, and I walked in, and I was just like, "You know what?" I can't believe I even did it, too. I was like, "You know, I heard you guys laughing at her, and I want you to know that I flew from New York City, and I really feel that you should laugh for me." I said something, it was much funnier at the time. And they all laughed back. So I was like, "Okay. I'm okay. This could be okay." And I did it, and then again I went home, and I remember I was sitting on the couch with my boyfriend, and I was like, "Honey, I didn't do this and I didn't do this part." And he was like, "Okay, that's fine. You know, I'm sure it's fine." "No, it's not fine." And I'm just like, whatever. And then two days later they gave me a call. Happy days. So that was that. Yeah, that was that process. It was great. I mean, it's been great from the beginning. Everybody in the cast, the moment I met them on the pilot, it was one of those situations that I wanted to be around these people. And that's always the key, I think, because if you have people who enjoy each other, then you're going to enjoy the show because you're going to see that. Andrew the writer was just a riot. He wanted us to talk about what we thought and stuff like that.
A funny story about my last name. The last name was different, and they couldn't actually use it for whatever reasons. They're like, "We need a last name that's unusual but is Indian." And I was like, "Well. Well." And they gave all these weird names, and I was like, "I don't want to be called Divya Shatama." That would be difficult. And I'm like, "You know, my boyfriend's name is Katdare." It's kind of a weird name. I've never actually heard that one before, and he happens to be Indian. First Indian man I've dated. Maybe the last. [laughs] But, no. No. But they're like, "Okay. Well, let's—all right. Well, how about this?" And then that was my name. So it was so awesome when he got to call his father, he was like, "Guess what, Dad? Her name's Divya Katdare." That was cool. That's the story.

You don't' find it weird playing a character with your boyfriend's last name?

Reshma Shetty: It isn't, bizarrely. It's actually not. And maybe it will start to be when everybody calls me Divya Katdare, and I'm like, "Cool." But no. It's an unusual name, and I think it's Anglofied enough.

What's it been like getting to work with Christine Ebersole?

Reshma Shetty: So I came in and I saw her picture up on the wall, and people obviously know her, but if you are in that field, you really know who she is. And I turned around and Jace was next to me, and I was like, "Jace, you know Christine Ebersole?" And I was like, "Wait a second," and then I thought about it for a second, and I was like, "You mean I'm doing a scene with Christine Ebersole?" And I saw her in "Grey Gardens" when she was starting, she did the whole thing on Times Square. And if you're in New York, you know everything that's going on on Broadway, and that's half of what you do. And then I met her. It was funny because she started talking to me like I'm a human being and she's a human being, and for a second I was like, "Just play it cool." Because I don't get star struck. She's such a fabulous actress and she's achieved so much. And just to play opposite her and say, "I talked to her," was just cool. And we got into this big discussion about men. It was fabulous. I was like, "Oh my god, you're human." But she is amazing. It was a honor to do a role with her.

Are we going to get to hear you sing?

Reshma Shetty: I don't know. I don't know. They haven't really broached that one. I think Divya's going to have some crazy night one of these nights, you know. They're going to be like, "Divya, going and partying somewhere." I've already broached them about that. I'm like, "She has a crazy side. I know. We've just got to find out."

She's so buttoned up in the pilots, is she loosening up at all?

Reshma Shetty: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, in the pilot I wore a white pantsuit the entire pilot. And it's funny, I don't think I ever take that jacket off, and I thought about that during the pilot, watching it, because I was like, "Why did you never take the jacket off, Resh?" But in this, it's actually dependent on the weather because it was freezing. I wanted to take the suit jacket off, but I was just like, "Look, my toes are already frozen." I'm wearing fabulous shoes, but they're so terribly, terribly high that that in itself rigor mortis is already setting in because it's going from the bottom of my toes upwards. You know when you get cold you just can't get uncold? And that's what happens, and then it's still cold and it gets colder. I remember the first day of shooting, I had to walk across gravel in high heels with a skirt and a tank top. And I was like, "This is my first day?" And then have these fabulous UGH shoes for me that I will wear between. I always go to the cameraman, "Can you see my shoes? Because if you can't, I'm not wearing them." But it was freezing. So sometimes I will have a jacket on when and also it's kind of inappropriate sometimes. Some of the medical procedures, you don't really want to see someone who's in a tank top sitting there. It just makes it more professional, I think.
She starts to loosen up, which you will see. I think she has a crazy side to her. I'm going to make sure she has a crazy side to her. But right now, she's starting the business, so she kind of has to keep up kind of a persona a little bit.

How about the rapport between you and Evan and Hank?

Reshma Shetty: It's actually funny because yesterday we had a scene, and it was one of those, us three walking down scenes. And Mark was like, "You know what would be really awesome? We should do this for publicity. We should have, you know that moment when three people are walking away from a plane and there're clouds everywhere and it's just like slow motion walking down. It would have been a perfect shot for that. We actually, all three of us, which was amazingly surprising to me and makes it so much easier, complement each other. Because he's crazy. Evan's insane. If you didn't know who I was talking about. And Mark is just really funny but he's very good at just keeping calm and straight down to earth. And I kind of am the dah-dah-dah, let's get this together. And, "God, you're so annoying," and, "What do you need me to do?" And it just fits. It makes sense. Hank might actually even make sense, as cheesy as that sounds. We actually make sense. And that's cool. It's not work. Which is nice.

And how will interact with Jill?

Reshma Shetty: We're starting. We actually haven't really had anything, and this upcoming episode we have a really great two scenes that you pay attention. Because Jill and Hank is a very different relationship obviously and I see her. She pops up in something that I did, I think the last episode, and I'm not really introduced to her. It's going to be good because I wanted to say that the two women characters in this show are really strong women. It's not that we're wusses. We both have careers. We're both driven. We're both ambitious. And we're both down to earth. I think Divya can come across as she's like this Hamptonesque girl, but hopefully in my presentation of her she's fun, too. She's someone that you want to know why she's hiding things. You see that she cares about this business and that she cares about making it into something. With Jill as well. She cares about her hospital. She cares about having a relationship. And I don't think you see that so much. You either see the bitch and then the diva or whatever. These girls I think are down to earth, and I think that's how we are.

Can you talk about your character's ambition. Aside from her parents, is she doing it because she wants to help people? Or is she doing it because it's what she wants to do?

Reshma Shetty: I think that it's a mix. I think that being someone who's from that culture, you are born to achieve. You're born to succeed. It's something that you kind of have to do. But I think that she sees the niche, but she never stops Hank from helping other people. I think that she wants to help people, but she is a businesswoman and right now, she has a business, and she's starting it, and it's for herself a little bit because she's got to achieve something for herself. Not for her parents, not because she's Indian, not because she's bright. Because she's a woman and she's strong, and she's got this opportunity and she can make it happen.
With helping people, it's a little tough because we're in the Hamptons and it's a concierge service for people who can pay. But as I said, she's never going to stop him from helping someone else, and I'm sure down the road there's going to be opportunities when a choice has to be made and I could never see her going, "You can't go do this." So yeah, I think that that's something that has to be thought into and stuff.

You said one of the things that attracted you to the character initially when you read for it was that characters of Indian descent tend to fall into certain stereotypes, and that you liked the fact that she didn't. Are you finding that to continue as you go on playing the character and as you're growing?

Reshma Shetty: Absolutely. And, you know. With any ethnic role, it's kind of different—everybody's like, "Oh, she's different," you know. Because that's the way it is, you know. If you go to Bollywood and you happen to be American, white, everybody is going to be like, "Okay, we're going to put her in this role." I mean, that's what happens. We went through a period of time when if you were of Asian descent, you would play a terrorist or you would play the 7-Eleven guy or you would play that. And then really watch television now. You have Sendhil [Ramamurthy] who's on Heroes. Then you have Parminder Nagra on ER, who's smart and quirky and fun. And, you know, on The L Word, the lady who plays the Latino girl is Indian, too. And it's starting that it doesn't matter. It's just that our culture's part of who we are, so we can show people a little bit of that. But we're also just us, and I think that's the cool part.
Basically Divya is interesting because she is a really strong woman, and I do not necessarily have to be Indian to play her.

Who would be your dream guest star?

Reshma Shetty: Oh, gosh. Oh my lord. My dream guest star? I think Meryl Streep or Glenn Close would be pretty cool. Guy-wise, let's think of someone terribly hot. I had the longest crush on Joseph Fiennes forever and ever and ever, and I think he'd be one who I think he's a tremendous actor and he really believes in that, and he's also hot. So that in itself I think is kind of a good mix. Him or Ralph Fiennes, you know. Like, them together. That would be awesome. I'm trying to think of my male crushes. You know who I think is really hot? Rodrigo Santoro. Did you guys see Love, Actually? I've never watched a movie twice in movie theaters just to watch a scene, and I watched it twice because of the scene when he's in the underwear and he's with Laura Linney, right? And he's just staring at her, and I was just like, "It doesn't matter. You're so pretty." [laughs]

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

RESHMA SHETTY from Royal Pains Interview

Back during the set visit of USA's new show, Royal Pains, we also got the opportunity to interview PAULO COSTANZO, who plays Evan Lawson, Hank's brother.

As previously mentioned, Paulo Costanzo was really hilarious, but unfortunately, it's impossible to translate all of that in writing. But I do hope you will enjoy his interview.

Don't forget to watch Royal Pains on Thursdays at 10pm on USA.

Can you tell us a little bit about your character?

Paulo Costanzo: I play Evan Lawson, who is an accountant, who's a very colorful, kind of a charming, charismatic, adventurous, slightly over the top brother to Hank Lawson, who kind of likes to take life by the horns. And he's very opportunistic, but with a good heart. And manages to stick his foot in his mouth most of his life, but somehow also manages to stumble upon success throughout the course of the show.

You say he's over the top, but do you have to make sure that you don't take it too far that the character becomes obnoxious or unreal?

Paulo Costanzo: The beauty of this show, the tone of it is not— we don't really get too serious a lot of the time. I mean, enough to actually make it have real stakes and whatnot. Especially in a medical show, you have to really be afraid that someone's going to die and whatnot. But specifically my character gets more of the physical comedy and more of the comic relief, as it were. But yeah, I try not to actually scream my lines and do somersaults and cartwheels in the middle of things.

In what way specifically is your character more than just an opportunistic—

Paulo Costanzo: As the season progresses, the first episode obviously is a lot of character development and just getting people squared away as to what they're doing. But as the show has progressed— we're on episode 5 now— I don't get to read the script, so I have no idea where it's going to go. But so far, my character specifically has deepened so, so, so much. He's already way more fleshed out and a real guy. And there's a lot more than meets the eye to my character and to his past, which I can't say a lot about. But there's definitely— it's not all happy, jokey fun in Evan's past. That's all I'll say. As well as the relationship between Hank and Evan also deepens and deepens and deepens, and it's a chasm that I can't wait to spelunk. [laughs] I said "spelunk," yes, I did.

It seems that there'd be the obvious sort of sibling rivalry. Is there resentment because of that between the two characters?

Paulo Costanzo: I don't think so, I don't think it's resentment. I mean, we have a pretty healthy brotherly relationship. There's definitely competition. I don't know about necessarily "resentment." But yeah, there's, like, that healthy sense of "he is the golden boy and I'm always the accountant," which is also why this opportunity to take him to the Hamptons and, you know, push him to do this concierge doctor thing is Evan's chance to shine and actually be important on an equal level as Hank, or so he'd like to think.

So it's as much a fish out of water story for Evan as it is for Hank?

Paulo Costanzo: Yes, though Evan just tries to cover it all the time and fails miserably, as you will see.

How did you enjoy filming on Long Island?

Paulo Costanzo: I grew up as a fairly poor kid in Toronto, Canada. I don't think I owned any new clothes until I was like 15 or something. They were all second-hand and forged from paper. [laughs] But, you know, I've watched MTV Cribs a couple times, it's pretty crazy. It's like the rappers who have the big screen tvs. Like things are made of marble and waterfalls in their living rooms. But the other day, we— in the script— because I don't think about this stuff, but in the script it said "they show up at a mansion and there's a hot tub in the basement." And I'm like, okay, a hot tub in the basement, that's not so crazy. That's pretty crazy. But we get there and Andrew Lenchewski, the writer and creator of the show is like, "Hey Paulo, have you seen the [set] in the basement yet?" I was like, "No, why, is it— ?" "Trust me, come here. He'll be back." And I was like, "All right." We go downstairs. We walk into a bar that looks as if I'm walking down, like, 6th Street and I walk into a bar. I'm like, "Whoa, this is kind of weird, crazy." And he's like, "Yeah, look to your right." And I look to my right, and there are 10-foot in diameter giant, like, pillars, like this big, made of plexiglass from floor to ceiling, with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of tropical fish with, like, coral in the middle of it. And there's fish— and there's four of them. And they're interconnected by these— this is in his house. There were 60-inch plasmas on every single wall. There's like a tanning lamp with two really expensive looking leather chairs for tanning. And this guy shows up out of nowhere and he's like, "Hey man, how ya doin' man?" I'm like, "I'm not bad, what's going on?" He said, "Yeah, I take care of the house." I'm like, "Really? Well this is crazy." "Yeah man, I just got out of my scuba gear, man. I had to clean the tanks." And I just pictured this guy [makes bubble noises]. And it was big enough to fit a scuba diver in there. And then, of course, we walk in, there's a full pool inside. The hot tub's there. There's another 60-inch in the pool area. So I'm like all— my mind is blown. I'm like, "This is insane." I've never seen anything like this on tv or anywhere, this is insane. And then I ask someone, "So this guy lives here?" He's like, "No, no, he uses it about three times a year. This is his tertiary house." And I'm like, "I don't even know anybody who uses the word "tertiary" let alone has a "tertiary house." In fact, the guy who owns the house is the man who invented the technology that allows us to scan bar codes. That's his job, so he gets money for every time. But, okay, this story's not over. So then the scuba guy is, like, "Hey man, you wanna check out the filtration room?" And I was like, "Okay."
And I walk in, and it was as if I walked into the rear engine room of a ship. It was a full [engine noises] like, big things. I was, like, "This is crazy." And then he's, like, "Yeah, man. You been in that room yet?" And I'm like, "This keeps going? What the hell could there possibly be?" And there's a door and I walk in, and it's the most beautiful, privately owned movie theatre that I've ever seen in my life. It's a full-blown, with a big huge— it's gorgeous. And everyone's like, "Yeah, man, too bad we can't see it in action." And of course, I'm me, so I'm like, "Yeah, too bad we can't see it in action . . ." [laughs] "Too bad we can't see it in action." I find this big touch pad, I'm like, trying to press all the buttons. And then I go— it's like "doo doo doo doo doo doo — Welcome to your home movie." Then it was like [beeping noises] and there's all these background people just waiting and sitting on the reclinable leather chairs with drink holders. And like [beeping noises], the lights slowly and go down. And up comes "Forest Gump," right at the scene where he's in Vietnam. And the tracer bullets are firing over his head. And it's loud, it's like [exploding noises]. And I'm like, "Oh my God, this is what I've been— this is like the apex of my life to this point." And the director, Jace Alexander, runs in, he goes, "What the hell is going on— whoa . . . whoa . . ." Cut to 15 minutes later, he's just like, "Yeah, that's— oh my God, Zemeckis, man. He was on the top of his game. I hope I direct a movie like this sometime." "Oh, we're ready to go." "Okay, cool. Turn it down, don't turn it off though, guys. Watch this, oh my God, this part's so great." And he leaves.
And so for the rest of the night, we would come in intermittently and watch "Forest Gump," in the middle of the night, in a house owned by the bar code guy. Not to mention— I will add this as a side note— in the back there was a 40-foot long two-storey grotto with two bars, including a wet bar, a hot tub room, three bathrooms, and at the very pinnacle— this was the last thing I saw in the house— a waterslide that went through the entire grotto piece of rock, out through a waterfall, into the gigantic pool.

Are you impressed by these kinds of things, or do you find it excessive?

Paulo Costanzo: To be honest, when I shook the guy's hand, he gave me this look like, "How ya doin'," like the subtext was like, "I could own you in five minutes,..." I mean, yeah, the excess of it is pretty ridiculous because, again, I was raised kind of with a single mom and she worked in a welfare office for a large part of my childhood. And seeing it, to me, the fact that no one uses it kind of pissed me off a little bit. I'm like, "Can I use it sometimes?" Someone should be appreciating this. I mean, the diver guys was like, "Sometimes I watch Forest Gump, man." "My whole day is watching, man. In between scuba sessions, I'll watch that shit."

Hank is a one-woman guy, while you're a woman chaser in the pilot. It looks like you may be interested in his new assistant. Is there anything going to develop between you two?

Paulo Costanzo: Well the way that I sum Evan and Divya's relationship up is that we're kind of like Han Solo and Princess Leia, in that she's kind of like royalty, and I'm kind of the scoundrel. And though we hate each other and constantly are at odds, you know what happened with them. That's all I'm going to say. I don't know if that happens yet, but I'm hoping something happens.

How was working with USA and their whole characters welcome compared to other shows you've been on?

Paulo Costanzo: I have no idea. "Characters welcome," I just don't even know what that means? What does that mean? [laughs] Like, human beings are okay on our show. They'll exist. I don't know what that means. I basically show up to set and I'm like "characters welcome, characters welcome, characters welcome." And action! "Divya, I can't do this! Divya, whoa!" I don't know.

How has it been different filming on Long Island? You're filming at so many different locations. You've been out in the Hamptons and Suffolk County, Nassau Country. How has that been different to the whole L.A. experience?

Paulo Costanzo: Oh God, Jesus. The way I see it is L.A.— I don't want to diss it though, it's my home. I have to go back there. I love L.A. I'm an east coaster, you know, I was brought up in Toronto where it's very much kind of a miniature New York in that there's a subway and you're surrounded by people a lot and you bump into people and you have interactions and you communicate and la la la. Whereas in L.A., you wake up going, "Ahhhh." In your car, in your car, in your car, in your car. At your friend's house. "Hey, I see— that's one person." And I'm at the gas station. It's like, "Oh there's a guy, he's about 10 feet away." And back in your car, in your car. And you get home, it's like, "Oh, there's my girl." And you're asleep. And literally, that's three people that you've been in contact with in an entire day. So there's such a lack of stimulation that you find yourself— at least I do, sometimes— it's been so long, that when someone actually strikes up a conversation, you're like, "Uh, yes, uh, so yes, I do enjoy the Dodgers. I think they're a good team." "I personally enjoy the Toronto Blue Jays. Have you heard of the Blue— it's another team." "Yeah, yeah, yeah, in Canada, just because they're my home t— oh, you have to go. Oh, you don't, okay, cool." "No, no, no, actually yeah, oh no, I do have to go." "So, okay great, it's been really— " This is, like, the postman. [laughs] He's like, "All right." I'm like already in my house. "Okay, cool, I'm just going to go back and— ." "Okay." [closing door noise] Whereas in New York, you're just like, "I like getting to the point where I'm desensitized to it, and I just kind of walk around. And if someone starts up a conversation, it's like [imitates New York accent]. I find the New York accent is very conducive to quick interactions, because you just find yourself "Oh yeah, well whateva, it doesn't even matta, okay, bye. I love different kinds of barbecue," and you leave. [laughs] Because that's how New Yorkers talk.

When you all auditioned for the show, I originally heard that your character was supposed to be the best friend.

Paulo Costanzo: Yes. So I went in originally for the show, I read the script. I liked it. You audition for a lot of things, and sometimes it takes a lot of time and work for you to figure out what to do. And then you're like, okay, and you commit, and then you do it. Whereas with this one, I read and I'm, like, "Okay, yeah, I know how to do it. I can access that part easy." And I just walked in, and I did it, walked out. They're like, "Great, we want to bring you back for a chemistry read with the guy who got the lead part." I'm like, "Okay, cool. All right, great." I walk in, and I look at Mark. And, as a man who doesn't really hold my subtext in very much, I was just like, "So, you're me, and I'm you?" And he's like, "Yeah, that's kind of weird." I'm like, "I feel that if you and I got too close together, our Jew-fros would actually magnetize and go shooooomp, and like, that would be a problem in filming. And he goes, "I know. Let's try it." And Mark and I went— after a second of meeting, and we literally went shooooomp, "Yeah, this is going to be a problem, guys." And then thus began Mark and I's relationship as people. But when it came to the screen test, walking in was certain. I'm like, "I better really kill this, because if I don't, I know they're going to have to rewrite it." So, not only did I have to be really good, but I had to know that I was, so good that they'd have to rewrite the entire show. When I walked out, I was like, "All right, well that's that. I'm not going to— " you know. And then I got the call. They're like, "Guess what?" I'm like, "You're going to rewrite the show, he's my brother?" And he's like, "Yeah, how did you know that?" I'm like, "I don't know, wild guess." Which, incidentally, or which ultimately, has actually changed the entire course of the show. And now the entire show's crux, really, is our relationship as brothers. And it's added an entirely, to me, it's such a blessing for me, obviously. But I think it's really been a blessing to the whole show, because now you've got all this backstory that's unearthing itself slowly. And we don't know what happened with their parents, and we don't know what happened with their childhoods.

You and Mark had a really tough time tapping into that brotherly chemistry, huh?

Paulo Costanzo: Yeah. No, we instantly, we have a very brotherly relationship. It's really hilarious. We bicker like brothers, we have moments of love and then moments of "Well you do whatever you want." "Well I'll do whatever—" "Well, fine." "Okay, fine." "Well, fine." "Okay." "I love you." "Well I hate you, but I also love you too." "Okay, fine, then let's just do this."

Whenever you do projects, do you just "gel" with the people immediately? Or is this just something special?

Paulo Costanzo: No. It depends. I do end up having a similar relationship with the person as the character would with his or her character. Usually, just because I tend to get obsessive with my work and it's not even conscious. It just kind of happens. But there's odd exceptions. But yeah, that does happen. That's a good question.

If you had your dream guest star, thinking with the whole Hamptons theme, who would a really amazing guest star be?

Paulo Costanzo: Oh man, my dream guest star? I don't know. Hamptons? Jerry Seinfeld. That would be my dream guest star. I've always wanted to play Jerry Seinfeld's son, actually, because he's the only person who anyone ever says I look like, in my entire life. So yes, I think he should be our dad.

There are a whole bunch of shows that are focused on rich people and their lives and their ritzy lives. Why do you think there's such a fascination with these people?

Paulo Costanzo: Well right now, obviously economically, people don't want to be watching shows about poor people. They can identify with poor people with people in poverty and strife. But as with any depression or whatever you want to call it, you find what's successful is booze and escapist entertainment. And that's exactly what this is. I think that USA is very intelligent. They found Andrew Lenchewski, they found the script. They said, "This is really good, it's light enough to be easy to watch, and escapist." But at the same time it has medical elements, which is always riveting to watch someone going into cardiac arrest and have some guy in MacGyver-like fashion grab a tube from the ceiling and intubate him and fix him. But, yeah, the money is something people want to watch, because they're like, "Oh, that's— in that universe, people are happy. And maybe I can live vicariously through them for an hour."

The show also shows both sides of it. Is that sort of the pull that gets Hank in to begin with? That there's genuinely people there who need help?

Paulo Costanzo: The reason why we as viewers can live vicariously through it is because the main characters of the show are not rich. They are these people walking in who are going, whoa. Like me. I'm the poor kid, literally, in this experience. I'm a poor kid getting to experience all this wealth and insanity, and I'm blown away by it every day. It's kind of the same with this show. Hopefully the viewers will feel the same way as we feel. And sometimes it's not, "Oh yeah, rich is great!" Sometimes it's like, "This is fuckin' weird that these people are this rich and this extravagant."

Does Evan actually start getting involved with all the medical stuff? Because in the first episode, you know, he makes a note to himself to become a doctor. Does that— happen?

Paulo Costanzo: It hasn't happened as of yet. That's like an ongoing thing, that he's constantly giving notes to self. Another scene where he says "note to self" is when he has to drive— because he doesn't have a car, because we don't have enough money yet and Hank has the only Saab car, he has this crappy little car. So I have to drive across town to meet Divya, and I have a golf cart. And I smash into this children's tricycle and it goes "errrrrrrr!" And I get out, I'm like, "Note to self: get a car. Okay, good." [laughs] I don't know if being a doctor is necessarily his goal in life.

So we won't see him help Hank do any of his medical "tricks"?

Paulo Costanzo: You never know what's going to happen, but I highly doubt it. I feel like Evan would be, like, "Oh God, we gotta do something— ", a hundred dollar bill, he'd stuff it in his chest. "Okay good. Ohhh, money! Look at this! Oh great!"

How much leeway do you have script-wise? Do you guys get to ad lib often?

Paulo Costanzo: Mark and I definitely. The way that shooting a tv show works is you get different angles. So if it's on my angle and we're improvising too much, it won't match with what he's doing. So for shots where both of us are in the shot, we basically have license to kind of— once we get one that's on the script, we can kind of do whatever we want. And a lot of those end up in the show. But personally, the writers and I have an understanding where I'm basically— as long as I get their exact script first, they give me a couple free ones to do, to just let it free up and kind of just do what feels right. And it's amazing. It's like a perfect experience for me, because I feel every time like I've purged what I need to purge for the scene. And a lot of the time they've been using my alternates. So I've been enjoying it.

Can you tell us about your favorite scene that you've shot?

Paulo Costanzo: That's a good one. I don't know. Yesterday I got to fly in a helicopter, that was pretty cool. I actually get to be in a helicopter. I didn't have to be. Ot was a scene where we all fly in a helicopter. But this was a wider shot where the thing actually takes off. And Don Scardino, who directs the bulk of '30 Rock' episodes is like "Hey Paulo, you wanna go in the helicopter?" I'm like, "Do I wanna go in the heli— yes!" He's like, "Go on." I ran in there, and they got the engine started up. And Carol Flint, who's the writer of this episode, is like, "I've been in tons of choppers. It'll just be fun, a real bonding experience." I'm like, "Okay, cool." My first time in a chopper. I am horrified of heights, by the way. So I'm looking out the window and it's cool. And then they start to lift up, I'm like "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Okay, oh, God, oh." And I don't remember it, but she says I turned into a little girl. I was, like, "Okay, okay, oh, stop it." And all he did was take off. And then he had to turn. So I think this guy knew it was my first time and he was like, "Yeah, I'm going to impress the actor." Schwoooo! And it was literally like— it was 90 degrees. We were ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga, and it was too much for me. I was shaking. It was like "Ahh, no, no!" When we got to the ground, I was like, "Okay, great." And I had post-traumatic stress for about five hours. But I'm glad I did it, and it's another one of those things that I can call my mom and say, "Hey, guess what mom? Remember the aquarium tanks? Yeah, and today I flew in a helicopter."

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

PAULO COSTANZO from Royal Pains Interview

RESHMA SHETTY

Next in: Royal Pains which airs Thursdays starting June 4 2009 at 9pm on USA.

Her Character: Divya Katdare, Hank Lawson 's (Mark Feuerstein) physician assistant.

The Buzz: I got a chance to see a sneak peek at the Series premiere of Royal Pains and was immediately taken by Reshma. She comes across as a smart and confident actress. We hope to see much more from her this season.

Pictures:

Video:

Read all our Royal Pains coverage here.

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

RESHMA SHETTY - Actress of the Day

I've been talking about USA's new original show, ROYAL PAINS for a while now, but it's finally time for me to share my opinion of the first episode.

Royal Pains follows Hank Lawson (Mark Feuerstein), an ER doctor who is fired after making a decision to help the "wrong patient." Now jobless and girlfriendless, Hank is convinced by his younger brother, Evan (Paulo Costanzo) to head out to the Hamptons for the summer season kick-off weekend. Through a series of unforseen events, Hank is thrown in the world of the rich, and unintentionally becomes their new on-call doctor.

Now with a self-appointed assistant, Divya (Reshma Shetty), and a potential romance with the local hospital administrator Jill (Jill Flint), Hank is in for a big ride.

What you need to know about the first episode is that it serves to establish the main characters as well as the main story. Hank is the hero of the show and as so he is very likeable. His brother Evan is the comic relief to some of the more serious subjects of the show. As for the female characters, I have to admit that they are not as strong as Fiona from Burn Notice or Mary from In Plain Sight are, but hopefully we'll get to see different sides of them as the series progresses.

As far as the story goes, when I first started watching the episode, having not read much about the show, I thought to myself "why is USA coming up with an ER-like show?" But the ER-like feel lasted very shortly, as Hank gets fired and moves on to bigger and better things. I think Royal Pains does a good job at establishing all the major plot points and characters that lead Hank to his new calling. However, although we do see Hank in action at the Hamptons, we don't yet get to see the full "formula" for the show that will be Royal Pains, and that's something I'm really looking forward to in future episodes.

Royal Pains is a show worth checking out, especially with the empty schedule TV has left us with. This is your chance to enjoy a new show that won't interfere with your other TV viewing habits. Fans of USA will also recognize their signature feel to the show. Royal Pains very closely resembles Burn Notice and In Plain Sight tone wise.

Royal Pains premieres on Thursday, June 4, at 10pm with a 75-minute limited commercial first episode, following the third season premiere of Burn Notice. Make sure you tune in!

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

ROYAL PAINS on USA Review

As I recently mentioned, I recently visited the set of USA's new original series, Royal Pains, along with other press outlets. There, we were given the opportunity to interview the cast.

It's time to share with you what we learned about the show. First up, Mark Feuerstein, who plays the main character, Hank Lawson.

Royal Pains premieres on Thursday, June 4 at 10pm on USA. But for now, enjoy the interview below.

Can you start with you telling us about your character?

Mark Feuerstein: Sure. That's an easy way to begin. All right. So, I am playing Hank Lawson. And my character is, at the beginning of the pilot, a doctor in an ER in Brooklyn. And he's playing hoops with a bunch of neighborhood kids. And one of them drops down. I guess the conflict of Hank is that he's somewhat—I mean there's one thing that you don't know from the pilot, which is that in his past, his father lost all the family money in the stock market. And they had to downsize from a nice house in maybe Passaic, New Jersey to a little two-bedroom apartment, and so money is fraught for Hank. And so now he's got to take care of rich people while resenting them too.
And so as the show evolves, he by force of will, kind of ends up taking care of people who are not so rich as well, which was this perfect kind of marriage of a note from the studio and the character himself, because this note—I don't know if anybody talked about this yet, but there was a note came down from on high in the middle of the writing of the first episode after the pilot from—when I say on high, I'm referring to Bonnie Hammer and Jeff Zucker. They both address the issue of a world where there's a lot of money. And I don't know whether it was the character or the fact of us being in a tough economic time, but for both reasons, they felt it would be better for the character to take care of not just rich people because it's not so likable, and it's not necessarily as interesting to have a guy who's just taking care of rich people and making a lot of money doing it, but also maybe viewers don't necessarily just want to watch a world where everybody has the money that they have just lost. So, they decided that every week, we would tell a story about a rich person and a story about a not so rich person. And it's been great for the show because in Episode Three, Jill and I become kind of like a Bonnie and Clyde team where she's got all these patients who've been left aside by the system. They've lost their health care. And I steal one of these pages and find a guy on the docks, which was great, because we got to use the docks and shoot what would be Montauk but really it was like Bayside, New Jersey, Bayville, Long Island, Exit 33.
But anyway, we got to tell a story about a dockworker who has hepatitis C, and I go out of my way to find the right medicine for him because he has been left behind. So, I get to become this—in this show, she says of me 'The Robin Hood of Medicine', sort of to take from the rich and giving to the less rich.

Would you say this show is about a guy who considers himself an advocate for the underdog, learning to appreciate the people who are wealthy or just learning to tolerate them?

Mark Feuerstein: It's a great question, really, because it's so easy—I mean I've even been asked the question by other reporters. Is it so simple or so black and white that rich people are just kind of inherently bad? And it's obviously not the case. And we wouldn't write a show or present a show to you that said that. So, the rich are complicated as well as the not as rich, in our show. And Hank is not necessarily just doing it as a means to an end, taking care of the rich people, he actually gets to know them.
So, the kid in the pilot, Tucker, we don't just leave it there. Every week there are these amazing characters that we do leave there because we can't possibly incorporate every story and every character that we introduce. And it's kind of a bummer because they're all kind of fascinating and great characters. We have a great writing team. But Tucker is one of those that we keep alive. And the rest we kill. The rest they all blow up, like a big accident, very convenient, gone.
But Tucker, I go back to his house and there's a whole thing with me and his dad who's played by Andrew McCarthy. He's great. He's perfect. It's kind of like a nice homage to the Brat Pack. And he plays sort of the rich—a little more of the jerky rich character. But his son is the one we care about. And we realize the grass is not always greener. This kid has no dad really. He's never there. And I become sort of a surrogate father figure to the kid.
So, by getting to know these characters who have money, you realize the grass ain't always greener. There are lots of problems even in homes where they have a lot of privilege.

You talk about Hank learning from the people. In the conference call last week, one of the producers said that "You can look at it as a classic fish out of water story, but in the end it's not that the Hamptons change Hank; it's that Hank changes the Hamptons." That's a pretty tall order.

Mark Feuerstein: Yeah, that is a pretty tall order. I did not realize that was what I was doing. That's great. Could you tell me how to do that? [laughs] Yeah, that's a great way to put it. I mean, yes, this—but it does change him as well. I don't think you can possibly say that one happens without the other happening too.
Hank is a guy like me in my own life who had a foot in the world of the not as rich, like growing up in Passaic, New Jersey, I'm sure he wasn't surrounded by privilege. But then here he is, able to hold his own. And he clearly is well educated and whatnot in a world of sophistication and whatnot.
And so by being, straddling these two worlds, I think he's able to bring something to this world that may not already be there, which is heart and a sense of you know, social responsibility. And he and Jill kind of discover that in each other, which is why I love that relationship because it's not based in, "Oh, I'm cute, you're hot. Let's get this on." In the pilot we share something we truly believe in, and we share a basic humanitarian concern. I think he does bring that to the Hamptons—a superficial world, he brings some substance. But I think some substance is also brought to him along the way.

Can you talk about how you got involved with this show?

Mark Feuerstein: Yes, with pleasure. I actually knew Andrew Lenchewski prior to my auditioning for this show. About 12 years earlier, his father who is an oral surgeon in Manhattan, took out my wisdom teeth. You know that story—same old, same old. He's this adorable guy named Doctor Enrique Lenchewski. He's from Montevideo. And he said, "Mark, you should meet my son. He's a good guy. He's a writer in LA. You should talk to him."
So, I called him up. I invited him to a party I was having. And we became fast friends. And we stayed in touch over the last 10 years. But then I was with a friend of ours who told me that Andrew's pilot was picked up to be made for USA. So, I, in my typical cocky fashion, called him and said, "Hey, congratulations on your pilot getting made. And congratulations that I'll be starring in it." And then a month later, it was true because I had gone through this whole audition process, which was rigorous. But finally it worked out. And there I was.
And then after the pilot got picked up, they had to put together a staff. And the guy who got the role of Executive Producer running the writers room is someone who I had played football against in high school when he was at Fieldston and I was at Dalton, and then in college, when he was on the lightweight football team at Penn and I was on the lightweight football team at Princeton, and who's one of my boys from New York. We're all part of a group of guys who are really good friends.
And then Jace Alexander who is our Directing Co-Exec EP, had been a board member of Naked Angels in New York, the theater company, where I had done this play called 'Funky Crazy Boogaloo Boy' like 10 years ago. So, yeah, that's me—funky crazy and boogaloo.
But anyway—so, he was actually asked to weigh in when they were casting the pilot and he gave me a big vote of approval, which was helpful in the process. And so it's like this 'meant to be' kind of team that was put together. And that's why I just feel like there's something about the show that was really meant to be.

So, what is it about doctors because you were a doctor in '3 Lbs' and now in 'Royal Pains'?

Mark Feuerstein: What are you going to do with a Jewish actor—be a doctor! Sometimes a lawyer, maybe an accountant, therapist once in a while? Look, I've got to make my parents proud somehow. My whole career is just to compensate for the fact that I became an actor. So, I try to play as many reliable characters as I can.
Beyond that, I don't know. I mean I guess, I seem like somebody who might care about people. So, I get a lot of roles as doctors. It's a very different show from 3 Lbs. I don't know if you guys know that was the show I did with Stanley Tucci about brain surgeons. And I have to say—without in anyway disparaging that show because I really liked that show; I thought it was great and it was really ambitious and it was maybe not the right moment for a show like that on TV, but working at USA and writing a show that is not just servicing a procedural element is such a relief for me, because when you're working with a network like CBS — and I'll be happy to work for them another time — but there is a sort of nervousness that creeps into the process because there are so many executives whose job it is to make sure that everything is sort of in line with the philosophy or the goal of the network as it relates to the show. And there's a lot of notes and it really inhibits the creative process. And we got those on 3 Lbs. And I remember it was like we were trying to add character to each of the characters in the show. And it was like, "No, no, let's just service the procedures, so every week people get a new story and there's no issue about the serialized element. And you can watch that one episode by itself, and that's all you have to see. And then nobody has to worry about catching up and all that."
Here there's no issue. We actually have a procedural element where every week, there are these new characters and we take it from beginning to middle to end. But then there are also these subplots of romance and brotherly relationships and business relationships with Boris and whatnot that trickle throughout the entire season. So, it's like this perfect marriage of the two, which I don't believe you can do on the networks as well, or with as much creative freedom.

It seems that so often now the shows have literally an episode to make it or break it. Where everything is micro-blogging and instantaneous and live feeds in real time. How do you as an actor in getting to know a character and devoting yourself and your time to a project, how do you wrestle with that, that literally it could be on the air for 30 minutes, and that someone's made the decision that it's gone?

Mark Feuerstein: I would like to direct you to my therapist. Her name is Samantha Fox. She's wonderful. She'd be happy to talk to you for 25 hours about this issue.
It's hard. It's hard. And it's even harder when you love it because there's no guarantee that you get to go back to work the next day. But I have a body of experience and work in this business. You try to grow a thicker skin. And you just say, "I am grateful for this moment that I get to be on this set with these amazing people. This crew is unbelievable."
On this show, yeah, people complain and there's late hours and it gets to be challenging at moments. But everyone's in this for the love of the game. They love what they do. And that's what I'm all about as an actor. I didn't choose this profession because it was stable or secure. I chose it because I loved it.

So, you have to work in the now only?

Mark Feuerstein: What can you do? You take every episode as it comes and it's awesome when you get a piece of information like a scene where I reveal that my father lost all of our money in the stock market, which is this week. And this is Episode Five. So, I didn't have that for the first four episodes. But now I know something about my entire childhood that helps inform everything else. And that's kind of the weird thing and the beauty of making TV. You learn as you go. And everything changes and grows along with the show. But at least at USA, I know we have 12 episodes. For '3 Lbs' they said, "We're going to make eight." They put three on the air and, "Goodbye. Thanks. Have a nice day."

Which is insulting for the viewers that did tune in for premiere night and has been following the show?

Mark Feuerstein: Yeah.

There's no conclusion for us. So, it has to be frustrating on your end.

Mark Feuerstein: It's very frustrating. But the most frustrating part is being on a network and having your entire support system, your entire infrastructure, constantly nervous and hedging their bets. So, with CBS, you're like, "Did they show a promo once this week for our show? Do they know we're coming on the air?"
At USA, there was a meeting yesterday where they are talking about billboards across the country, trucks that will be covered in posters for our show. They are sending the message to us, "We believe in you. We didn't choose to make your show because we wanted to hedge it against five other bets, and hope that maybe someone out there likes it enough for us to justify giving you more money." They said, "We believe in you. We're going to support you, and we are going to give this the best launch we could possibly give, and then let the chips fall where they may." And that's the kind of place you want to be at.

How are you finding all the medical techno babble?

Mark Feuerstein: You mean like xanthrochromia and—oh, God, there are so many terms. It's fine. We have an amazing onset doctor named Dr. Irving Danesh who also likes a nice Danish. But he's fabulous. He's the advisor to the writers and he's the advisor to us on set. So, it's like a very homogeneous message and storyline. And he tells us all the diseases and conditions that we're dealing with and makes sure that all of our procedure is perfect to the letter. And it's great because I can really save anybody's life at any moment in time.

A ballpoint pen and a Ziploc bag.

Mark Feuerstein: That's all I need right now. I've got a lamp. I've got your necklace, your glasses. And I can put you on a heart and lung machine somehow.

The MacGyver of medicine?

Mark Feuerstein: Yes.

They say that in the pilot.

Mark Feuerstein: There is a MacGyver element and I have to tell you a story from last week. There was this moment where a note came in because I said, "Could you get the hairdryer from over there?" And I grab a hairdryer and a tube. And I grab a tube and a hairdryer and so I got a note to explain where I was getting the vacuum tube from to say the word 'Wet Vac' from somebody because they thought maybe it wasn't clear. But it was clear and it was not such a great idea because when I said, "Great, a Wet Vac," the entire crew exploded with laughter mocking my MacGyverness. And, of course, I kept MacGyvering for like an hour while they're laughing hysterically at me for saying Wet Vac. So, I'm not going to do that again.

With the show being set in the Hamptons and the rich and famous, if you could have one guest star on the show, who would it be?

Mark Feuerstein: Hmm. Let's see. That's a great question. I would say Daniel Day-Lewis. Do you think he'll do the show? I mean I think he'd be great. He could do the character from 'My Left Foot', right? And I could help him get down the stairs. [laugh]

Paulo [Costanzo] thinks Jerry Seinfeld should play your guys' Dad.

Mark Feuerstein: That's not bad. There was actually an episode of 'Good Morning Miami', which was actually really on point about when you're trying to get a guest star on a show. And we were this crappy morning show. The episode was all about trying to get Jerry Seinfeld. And then it went down to Jerry Springer. And then it went down to like Jerry, the guy who sells hot dogs on the corner. That's how it'll go for our father. We're probably going to have our key grip playing our Dad.

How's it been filming in the Hamptons and on Long Island? How have you found it different than filming in LA?

Mark Feuerstein: Well, I think first of all, we're so lucky to be shooting in Long Island. I mean the show is set in the Hamptons and there's nothing like the Hamptons. Because of budgets, we could've been shooting maybe with a different network or a different production entity in North Carolina, or LA, or Malibu. But we're all here in New York City. And anybody who's been out to Long Island knows it's just not the same. In LA next to the beach, you have Route 1 right behind you the entire way. Even in Malibu where it is beautiful and luxurious, there are still houses sandwiched right next to each other in these private weird little nooks and crannies. But when you're on a beach in Bridgehampton or East Hampton, it is so lush and gorgeous and private and secluded. There's just no way to imitate that. So, I'm thrilled that we got to shoot in the real Hamptons. And it just wouldn't have been the same in LA.

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

MARK FEUERSTEIN from Royal Pains Interview

Watch a sneak peek of ROYAL PAINS Episode 1 "Pilot" airing this Thursday, June 4 on USA Network (10-11:30 p.m. ET)

Episode Synopsis: ROYAL PAINS Episode 1 "Pilot" - When up-and-coming New York doctor Hank Lawson loses everything fighting for the life of a patient, he escapes to the Hamptons with his younger brother, Evan. After making a dramatic medical rescue at a party, Hank inadvertently finds himself the Hamptons' newest on-call doctor. Now, with the help of Evan and an ambitious physician assistant, Hank is once again helping those in need and reinventing himself as the Hamptons' hottest doctor-on-demand. Catch the premiere of USA's new original series, Royal Pains, Thursday, June 4 at 10/9C.

Read all our Royal Pains coverage here.

(Photos: USA Network Photo: Barbara Nitke)

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

ROYAL PAINS Episode 1 "Pilot" Series Premiere

Last week, I and a few other press people went to visit the set of USA's new original series, ROYAL PAINS, starring Mark Feuerstein about an on-call doctor in the Hamptons.

During the visit, we were allowed to interview the cast and creators of the show (interviews coming up soon), as well as visit some of the sets.

Having seen the first episode of Royal Pains, it was interesting to get to meet the people behind and in front of the camera. But I have to make a special mention of Paulo Costanzo, who plays the main character's brother who had us all dying of laughter during his interview. I doubt that the transcript could even translate how funny he is. A very close second is Mark Feuerstein who had us all laughing as well.

Everybody that we got to meet was extremely nice and excited about the show, which I think is something that will be beneficial for it. It also made the whole day very entertaining.

This is just to give you a little preview of the show and what's coming up in the next few days. I will be posting interviews of the cast, so keep an eye out.

Royal Pains premieres on June 4 at 10pm on USA after the Burn Notice premiere at 9pm.

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

ROYAL PAINS from USA Set Visit

It's giveaway time, and also time to celebrate USA's new original series, Royal Pains.

USA will launch the 75-minute limited commercial premiere of ROYAL PAINS, the network's newest original scripted series, on Thursday, June 4 at 10/9c immediately following the Season 3 premiere of BURN NOTICE at its new timeslot 9/8c.

ROYAL PAINS stars Mark Feuerstein as Hank Lawson, a young E.R. doctor who, after being wrongly blamed for a patient's death, moves to the Hamptons and becomes the reluctant "doctor for hire" to the rich and famous. When the attractive administrator of the local hospital asks him to treat the town's less fortunate, he finds himself walking the line between doing well for himself and doing good for others. The series also stars Paulo Costanzo, Jill Flint and Reshma Shetty.
Visit the official site at www.royalpains.usanetwork.com, follow Royal Pains on Twitter www.twitter.com/RoyalPains_USA and be a fan on Facebook www.facebook.com/RoyalPains

1 Grand Prize Winner will win (value $300)

ROYAL PAINS SUMMER TOTE
A perfect bag is a perfect prescription for fun! Filled with all the essentials for a lazy summer weekend, the Royal Pains tote is just what the Hamptons ordered!

- First Aid Kit
- Travel Scrabble
- "Cure Your Royal Pains" T-Shirt
- Prescription "Candy" Bottle
- Hamptons Magazine
- Oversized Beach Blanket
- Royal Pains Red Band-Aid Box with Custom Band-Aids
- The Hamptons Dictionary
- Tate's Cookie Carton
- Kiehl's Summer Lotions Kit
- Playing Cards
- Inflatable Inner Tub

If you would like a chance to win, it's an easy 2 step process:

• First, email us at contest@daemonstv.com and tell us you are entering the "Royal Pains giveaway."
• Second, subscribe to our daily email newsletter. (Click here to subscribe)

Note: You will need to activate your email subscription (check your spam folder for the activation email) and make sure you use the same email for both steps. You do not have to remain a subscriber and may unsubscribe at anytime after the giveaway is over (in this case anytime after June 12th).

The winners will be picked randomly and we will check the winners' email against our newsletter subscription. Those without a subscription will be disqualified.

The giveaway is open until June 12th 2009. Good Luck!

More Rules:

This is a post from Daemon's TV.

Giveaway: ROYAL PAINS Prize Pack