Greg In Hollywood chats up Grant Show

Grant Show is such a kidder.

When we met on the set of his new Monday night CBS sitcom Accidentally On Purpose, he not only made fun of me for typing a Twitter update with one finger on my iPhone, he borrowed the phone from me an re-enacted the whole thing. Then I asked him about the opening scene of the show’s season premiere where he and Jenna Elfman’s character are in front of the Eiffel Tower. I wondered where they had filmed it.

“In Paris,” he said casually. “That’s why I wanted the job.”

He can’t keep a straight face and laughs, admitting it was shot on the Studio City lot where Accidentally is shot each week.

The sitcom came at a good time for Grant who was disappointed when his 2008 CBS drama Swingtown was not renewed for a second season despite some strong reviews and a loyal audience. The relationship drama explored the impact of sexual and social liberation in 1970s om American suburban households.

“I’m kind of glad to not have to sport that mustache and wear those super tight jeans,” he joked. “It was a great show. It fantastic. My house, the Decker house, every time we walked into that place it was like, ‘I want to move in here, I want to live in this house. But you know they tore it down and that’s where Melrose Place is shooting. Our pool is the new Melrose Place pool.”

Speaking of the Melrose Place update, with Heather Locklear, Daphne Zuniga, Thomas Calabro, Josie Bissett and Laura Leighton have all returned for at least some episodes, might Grant consider stepping back into the shoes of his brooding alter-ago Jake Hanson for at least a guest spot?

“I don’t think so,” he said. “Accidentally On Purpose has got me pretty busy.”

Once you spend some time with Grant, whose very funny and playful off-screen, you can see why he was cast in a sitcom. But it was a surprise to learn that he had not done one before, “not even a guest spot.”

“I’ve kind of wanted to do it for awhile,” he said. “I’m working with these geniuses, absolute geniuses. I don’t have to be as funny as them. Sometimes I fail and am terrified all the time and sometimes I succeed. But I do have like the best teachers in the world. Jenna is such a professional and I really do think she’s the modern-day Lucille Ball. She really does that kind of humor and she does it very, very well.””

He is also enjoying the aspect of taping before a live audience: “I love it. It’s like opening night of a play but you can screw up. If you mess up a line, it’s not that big of a deal, you just get to do it over again. And when you do something funny, it’s great, it’s like a shot of heroin. Not that I’ve ever done a shot of heroin (laughs). And to top it off, it’s a great show!”

It’s also an unlikely premise for a sitcom. Elfman’s character breaks up with Show’s character who’s also her boss at a San Francisco newspaper. She then goes out and gets drunk and has a one-night stand with a cute, much younger guy played by Jon Foster.

“As much as I’m the antagonist on the show, we all take care of each other. At the end of the day, as much as I’m kind of a jerk, I’m the jerk with the heart of gold.”

Before Accidentally and before Swingtown, Grant got a lot of attention for his role in Dirt as a closeted gay movie action hero who become a tabloid target when he is photographed having sex with another man.

“I had a good time on it,” he said of the FX series. “It was a scary role for me. My favorite scene is when I was working out, working out in front of the mirror and getting off. That character was very narcissistic! A lot of my characters have been  narcisttic lately. I’m starting to get worried!”

Video Bonus: Here is the famous workout scene from Dirt:

And a gay kiss scene: