The Starter Wife: Interview David Alan Basche
Debra Messing Returns With USA Series About Divorce in Hollywood
Oct 7, 2008
The Starter Wife on USA Network premieres on Friday, October 10, 2008. The comedy starring Debra Messing brings back the story of Molly Kagen, who was thrown over by her rich and successful husband, Hollywood Producer Kenny Kagen. After just short of ten years of marriage, Kenny broke up with his wife in a cold hearted phone call, stating that he wanted a divorce.
In the mini series, Kenny Kagen was played by actor David Jacobson, who is now on the cast of House. The role of Kenny has been taken over by David Alan Basche, who recently gave a telephone interview, in which Suite 101 Prime Time TV participated. Following are excerpts from the interview.
David Alan Basche
David Alan Basche has been most recently seen in Lipstick Jungle, starring Brooke Shields. This season, Basche is being seen in both series.
On a personal note, Basche and his wife are expecting their first child in December. The actor looks forward to the birth of the baby as of the highlight of an already terrific year.
Filming Lipstick Jungle and The Starter Wife
When asked if there had been an over lap in filming, Basche replied," There was overlap in my filming of Starter Wife and Lipstick Jungle. Both shows worked together to make that happen, which I'm very grateful for. The idea of being on two shows at once and playing a bastard in both was really fantastic, not something that an actor gets to do very often. So without telling you too much about what happens in Lipstick, it's easy for me to say that I'm in every single episode of The Starter Wife and not in every single episode of Lipstick. So we'll leave it to viewers to wonder what happens to Mike Harness and how Kim Raver's character, Nico, manages to get him out of her life, if in fact she does."
Replacing Peter Jacobson
When asked about the challenges of replacing Peter Jacobson in the role of Kenny Kagen, Basche replied "I know Peter Jacobson. I like Peter Jacobson. I've seen Peter socially since we both started out seasons, him being on House, of course, and me with The Starter Wife. I did watch all of the miniseries, and I loved him. I talked to the producers, to Sarah and Josie, and Debra, about just doing things a bit differently.
So on the one hand, I have these big shoes to fill, because Peter is just so great and kind of masters the throwaway and the low key delivery. He's really spectacular. I think the women wanted me to be a little more broad, which is perhaps why they chose me. I like big, broad comedy. I'm comfortable with it, and a fun challenge for me is always trying to toe the line between character and caricature. Not to make Kenny a cartoon, we didn't want to blow him up so big that he's just unbelievable, but we did want to make him a little more broad and a little bit more bold and yet we still wanted everyone to shake their heads whenever he says anything stupid. That was the sort of fun challenge. I hope, when push comes to shove, that I've achieved it."
Character Kenny Kagen
Basche was asked when Kenny Kagen was gong to grow a spine and responded with a wicked laugh, "Kenny will only grow a spine when it's convenient for him. Unless he discovers that he still has strong feelings for Molly or unless someone in any way threatens his daughter or puts her in harm's way. "
"We poke fun at Hollywood, we poke fun at the Hollywood type of high-powered, very wealthy man who feels entitles to just about everything in this life and doesn't show much respect for anyone."
"He's certainly an idiot sometimes and self focused. I'm really running out of adjectives to negatively describe him, but when it comes to his daughter, there's no question that he really is able to put her first and recognize the love and attention that she needs."
Kenny Kagen and the Prenuptial Agreement
"It's really fascinating that Kenny drops this bomb right before the prenup expires. He's not a stupid man. I frequently make fun of the character of Kenny and really like to, but he's by no means unintelligent. He's a very successful billion dollar box office Hollywood producer. So think what we may of those people, they usually don't get where they are without having a fairly strong intelligence."
"So, Kenny knows most of the time exactly what he's doing, unless he's distracted by food or sex."
Working With Debra Messing and Brooke Shields
Basche went on to state how much he enjoyed working with strong, intelligent women, like Brooke Shields and Debra Messing. The actor came across as someone who sincerely appreciates being a working actor and who loves what he does.
Cast of The Starter Wife
- Debra Messing as Molly Kagen
- Judy Davis as Joan McAllister
- Chris Diamantopoulos as Rodney
- David Alan Bashe as Kenny Kagen
The Starter Wife airs on Friday nights on USA Network at 9 PM Eastern. The series premiere in October 10, 2008.
The Starter Wife Returns to USA Network
Review of The Starter Wife Series Premiere
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
