12 minute read
UNTUC'D
Untuc’d
UNCOUPLED’S TUC WATKINS DISHES ON STARDOM, SURROGATE DAD-DOM, AND SURVIVING AN APOCALYPSE
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By Michael Mackie
Tuc Watkins would like you to know he’s an early-to-bed, early-to-rise kinda guy. That would explain why the versatile actor was so bright-eyed and chatty for our interview—a Zoom call that was scheduled at 8:30 a.m. PDT. “I’m a morning person,” he says, beaming. “And so are my kids.”
Over the years, the Mission, Kansas native has found his niche playing various everyman roles—uh, along with the occasional con man or zombie. A relatable and reliable character actor, Watkins got his start in the daily grind of soap operas, where his good looks, charisma, and untapped comedic charm won over adoring viewers.
From there, Watkins pinged and ponged through various recurring roles on beloved hit shows like Desperate Housewives and Parks and Recreation. Even though Watkins hadn’t publicly come out yet, he was playing a fair share of LGBTQ+ characters. In 2013, Watkins appeared on Marie Osmond’s short-lived talk show, Marie, to reveal his big news of becoming a new surrogate father to twins. During the interview, Watkins also casually peppered in the backstory of how he had always wanted kids—oh, and he was gay. This came after years of dodging questions about his sexuality and who he was seeing. At the time, it was big news, but Watkins chuckles about it now. “Can you believe I came out on The Marie Osmond Show of all places?” he recently told Thrillist. “The Marie Osmond Show! I told an Osmond!”
More high-profile roles soon followed, including Watkins’ most recent appearance on Netflix’s new series, Uncoupled. In the comedy, he plays Colin, a buttoned-up, New York financial whiz who deftly announces—during his surprise 50th birthday party, no less—he wants to leave Michael, his real estate agent partner (Neil Patrick Harris), after 17 years together. (Yes, it’s a comedy. We swear.)
The eight-episode series—co-created by Sex and the City’s Darren Star and Modern Family’s Jeffrey Richman—allows Watkins the chance to play the antagonist for once, even though he doesn’t view his character as the villain. While Colin may have just upended Doogie Howser’s (Michael’s) life, he does so in the midst of his own middle-age, existential crisis. A will-they-or-won’t-theyget-back-together storyline ensues.
The Pitch recently chatted up Watkins, who was an open book about everything from giving up red meat a few years ago to growing up in Johnson County. He even spills on dating boyfriend (and former costar) Andrew Rannells and his worst role ever (it involves fisticuffs and Rick Springfield).
The Pitch: Good morning! Cheers! It’s early out there in L.A. We hear you’re in the midst of rehearsals. What are you rehearsing for now?
Tuc Watkins: I’m rehearsing for the West Coast premiere of The Inheritance at the Geffen Playhouse. Did you see it on Broadway? It’s kind of a big deal. Maybe you should come out to the West Coast? It won all the Tonys last season. It’s one of those two-part, 7-hour plays. It’s a gay play. It’s essentially what the current generation of young gay men owe their forebearers—the generation that came before them. It sounds like health food, but it’s dramatic, it’s sexy, and it’s a lot of fun. I’ve never been part of a two-part play—like Angels in America— where you see the first play on a Tuesday and see part two, on, like, a Thursday.
We started rehearsing and we are not going to be ready [laughs]. There’s no way to do a 7-hour play in six weeks of rehearsals. But it’s exciting. I love it when things go wrong on stage, and I love the puzzle of getting out of that. I welcome it.
Are we neighbors? It feels like we’re neighbors. Where did you grow up in KC?
I grew up in Mission and Prairie Village. When I’m back there, I go to Planet Fitness on Johnson Drive. I swam for the Mission Marlins and was always on my bike on Johnson Drive. We lived at the top of that huge hill—well, back then, it seemed huge—off 51st Street.
No matter how much I travel or where I live, I still consider myself a Midwest boy. Are you the same way?
I think so. I’m grateful that I came from the Midwest—especially living in Los Angeles and New York. I feel like I came from good stock. I appreciate my father’s sensibility and my grandfather’s sensibility. When you work in an industry like I do, I think it’s very beneficial to have a more grounded sensibility—it gets you through tough times. It helps in so many ways.
Now that I’m 55, it kinda feels like it’s in the rearview mirror a little bit, but it’s always part of who I am.
We know you get back to KC sometimes—mainly because we’ve seen you out and about. Do you have any favorite haunts back here?
Yes! Foo’s (Fabulous Frozen Custard) in Brookside. My kids love Spin Pizza on Main. I used to love going to all the barbecue joints, but I stopped eating red meat about three years ago. My family does not like to hear me say that. My doctor said, for the first time in a physical, “Your cholesterol is slightly high.” And I said, “Well, what do I do?” And he said to cut out red meat, egg yolks, and full dairy. And I said, “I’ll do red meat and egg yolks—but ice cream is my jam. I’m not cutting that out.”
You cut your teeth in soap operas, like General Hospital. We’re guessing you still have ravenous fans who remember you from those roles.
They’re not ravenous anymore. They’ve aged. And they’ve calmed down. And that usually happens in New York. One Life to Live was shot in New York, and I found that with shows that were shot in New York, I would get recognized east of the Mississippi. West of the Mississippi, not so much. East of the Mississippi is where my soap fans were—on public transportation. Subways, buses, airplanes—places where you can’t walk away.
Stills from Uncoupled.
Courtesy Netflix
No, but soap fans are the greatest. They are specific, and they always tell you specifically what they like. And I love that. Kevin Kline is one of my heroes. He’s from St. Louis. And he tells the story of how someone in a cab was pulling by and yelled, “I loved you in Pirates of Penzance!” And he chased the cab and said, “What part? Specifically, what part? What part did you like?” I like to hear people’s specifics about things that they like.
Your filmography is lengthy. When was the last time you saw yourself and were like, “Oh, yeah—I was in that particular show.”
There’s nothing I’ve done that I’ve, uh, forgotten. But there are a couple of things I’d like to forget. There was a TV show I was in—High Tide, a spin-off of Silk Stalkings, a B-grade NYPD Blue. And Rick Springfield was the star. And I played a guy who got beat up by Rick Springfield. I thought it was a blow to the ego. I got beaten up by Rick Springfield on a bad cop show. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that one. I don’t know if you can even find it. Maybe you could YouTube it?
I did a horror film called Infested. It was The Big Chill, but we all turned into zombies. It was terrible. And those are the only two where I’d switch the channel. But most I have fond memories of.
Let’s cut to your new series, Uncoupled. Tell us how that role came about.
Well, I’ve been trying to work with Darren Star ever since he didn’t hire me for the pilot of Melrose Place almost half a century ago. I made quick work of scheming and plotting and forcing him to hire me for this show. I knew Neil was going to be the star. And playing the ex, the guy who breaks up with the star in a show called Uncoupled, isn’t ordinarily the role you really want to get.
But it was really interesting because usually, in a break-up comedy, we see the couple break up in the first few minutes. The ex is a jerk, and the hero moves on and lives happily ever after. But this is a different kind of show. While we do follow Neil as the hero, we also follow Colin, his ex, and see how the break-up affects him. I feel like that’s kinda new. Darren Star and Jeffrey Richman—who have created the show—have written a more nuanced, layered show that’s really funny. It’s not necessarily so one-sided, though— we see how it affects everyone in Neil’s world, including his ex.
There’s an article about how you’re the accidental antagonist in this series. Did you see yourself as the bad guy?
No, as far as I’m concerned, it’s a show about a guy who breaks up with his partner of 17 years and how that affects him. I don’t know what the other people are doing on that show.
When you’re an actor, there’s a thing you learn in Acting I, where you don’t judge your characters. That would apply here. I’m not an antagonist; I’m a guy who reached a mid-life crisis and didn’t know which way to turn. That’s a very human thing. He’s not so much the bad guy; he’s a guy who found himself in an untenable situation and didn’t know what to do.
Fair enough. Did you have a favorite scene in the series?
Neil had to do some pretty heavy lifting in the show, emotionally. And he and I are in a few scenes where he had to cry. And what I noticed about Neil that I thought was so fun—he’s a very facile actor, very technical. And when he had to cry, there are shots where he was in profile, and he could cry out of the eye that the camera could see—so he could reserve the tears in the eye the camera couldn’t see for other coverage. The only time I’ve ever seen that is on soap operas. Some women can do that. So, what I liked about those scenes so much was that there was lots of unintentional humor between the actors in very dramatic scenes.
The show is filled with a who’s-who of names. It was a casting director’s dream come true. Were you starstruck?
When Marc Shaiman and his partner came up at the party and sang a song to me. I’ve loved their shows over the years. And they called me by name, and I thought, “Oh, wow—they know my name.” I got a little tongue-tied at that.
And with Marcia Gay Harden, I remember saying, “I think one of your coolest movies is Miller’s Crossing”—a gangster movie with Gabriel Byrne. And she said, “That was one of my very first movies.” And I was like, “It was?” She’s a theater gal, super fun. And very present. She’s quick to cut up and be silly, and then when the camera turns on, she’s right there.
Speaking of casting directors, what series or show are you dying to be on? Even if it’s a cameo role?
I love zombie movies. So, I’ve always wanted to be on The Walking Dead. I’ve always felt I would survive the apocalypse; that I could be a survivalist. I always liked going to western camps and wilderness camps. I’ve always felt that should it happen, I’ll be okay. My friend Nathan Fillion—we used to be roommates— and we’d sit around and plot what would happen if an atomic bomb hit. Like, what would we do right now? We’ll stop at the gun store on La Brea to get arms, and then we’ll hit the grocery in the valley on the way to the Angeles Crest mountains. We have a plan if that should happen. I love survivalist shows—dystopian end-of-the-world type stuff. My kids and I are reading and watching The Hunger Games right now.
Any chance we can get you back in Kansas City again for another performance?
I actually moved back to KC for three years, from 2016 to 2019. I became a single gay dad through surrogacy in 2012, and I had twins. And when my twins were 3 years old, I was so completely overwhelmed trying to do this on my own and juggle a career that I sort of panicked. And in 2016, I thought, “I need help. I need to be near my family.” So, I moved back to Kansas City and lived in Fairway. While I was there, I did a play at KCRep in Constellations.
As soon as I got back there, The New Theatre (and Restaurant) called me and said, “Hey, we hear you’re in town. Would you like to do Mamma Mia next year?” And I said, “You’re so nice to call, but I don’t sing.” And they said, “Oh, that doesn’t matter.” Yeah, I thought, “I’m not your guy.” [laughs]
Finally, do you read The Pitch—are you a fan?
When I was younger, before I left Kansas City, I read The Pitch like it was The Hollywood Reporter. Like, the industry trade— because, for our town, it kinda was. I feel like I got introduced to what professional acting was and what opportunities there were through The Pitch.
My friend Jeff Drake wrote for The Pitch in the ‘80s, and now he writes for Central Park, an animated show. He went to Shawnee Mission East.
Interview edited for content and clarity.
