Eric McCormack on being dumped by Jenny McCarthy and getting back with Will & Grace

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http://www.avclub.com/article/eric-m...and-get-247154

Will & Grace (1998-2006)—“Will Truman”

AVC: It worked out indirectly for you, too, since you landed one of the lead roles on Will & Grace a couple of years later.

EM: Well, so in the ’97 pilot season, I got the male lead on The Jenny McCarthy Show. I was playing this sort of ******* actor. And we shot the pilot, and it was a guaranteed go. It was going to be 24 [episodes] on the air. No questions from NBC. And we shot the pilot, and I was in Toronto doing a movie, and I got a call saying they cut the character, that I was off the show. While I knew it was not going to be God’s gift to television, it was going to be a good year, and I was expecting to make that money, and I was getting married in the summer, and so it was a big deal. And it was the following pilot season that I got Will & Grace and shot that.

The night of shooting, we finished and it went incredibly well, and Debra Messing and I were sitting on the couch on the set just staring at each other like, “Holy cow. Was that as good as we think it was?” And at that moment, Warren Littlefield, who had been running NBC for years, walked up to me and said, “So, aren’t you glad I fired you?” I said, “Yes, sir, thank you so much.”

AVC: It sounds like you gelled with your costars right away.

EM: Yes, absolutely. It was one of those things, for sure. It was a strong pilot and while everything wasn’t… We didn’t exactly find all the elements in the pilot. But certainly Sean Hayes was Jack from the beginning. And Megan [Mullally] found Karen. We did a couple of episodes, and she found that voice. Messing and I just had a great chemistry from the beginning.

AVC: I regularly watched the show while it was on, and I do think that’s something that comes across right away. That particular relationship feels very lived-in from the pilot.

EM: I got the role in February of ’98, and there was easily a month before Debra signed on. So within that month, I was auditioning with other actresses—there had to be at least a dozen that I read with. And just thinking to yourself, “I’m not sure what I’m looking for here. How will we know when the right one walks in?” But also, “If it’s not the right one, I’m stuck with someone for a long time maybe!” Or, it’s not a long time, because there’s no chemistry, and so the show doesn’t work.

So we all knew how important it was to maybe not even go forward with the show if we didn’t have the right thing. And Debra was literally the last person that came in. She had just gotten released from another contract, and it was just so clear. The room, it was at Jim Burrows’ house on a Sunday, and the room was filled with network executives who were taking an hour off just because this is the only time Debra could do it. And everyone in the room, you could just feel their shoulders drop. It was like, “Ahhhh. This is the show.” And we both felt it, too.

AVC: What was that like, getting the gang back together again earlier this year?

EM: Oh, it was kind of strange, in light of Travelers, because it was like traveling back in time. First of all, it was all top secret. It was something we put together in such a top-secret way that even our agents and employers didn’t know we were doing it. But we had the set reconstructed to a prop. It was perfect. And all the heads of the departments came back and some of the writers. And Jim Burrows was there. So it felt like a Tuesday night in 2002. We had an audience of about a hundred, most of whom did not know what they were about to see. They were friends of friends and were kind of given the impression that Max was trying something and they wanted to try this out and see if this worked. And then they pulled the floaters out of the way, and there was the set and the four of us standing on it, and it was pretty awesome.

AVC: So, given how well it went, is a reunion or sequel series something you’re all interested in doing?

EM: Yeah, we’re talking about it. NBC loved it. They didn’t even know what we were doing with that 10-minute YouTube video. But when they found out about it, they were very gracious and said, “We love it. Go ahead and do it.” And when they saw the response to it, they did come and say, “What about doing a limited return?” So we’re in discussions for that at the moment, and the four of us would love for that to happen. That would be great.

AVC: I learned years later that you beat Arrow’s John Barrowman out for the role of Will Truman. Did you know that?

EM: I don’t remember knowing who else… I don’t remember Max ever saying that it had come down to me and anybody else. I walked away for a little while is the real story. I was seen for the role in December of ’97, which is very early for pilot season. And even though I knew I was in the running, I kind of pulled back and said, “I don’t want to commit to this.” And Max was saying, “You’re insane. This is the best role you’ll ever get in your life.” And I said, “Max. I just don’t know if it’s too early. I want to see what else is out there.” And I think I woke up New Year’s Day in Vancouver and turned to my wife and said, “I think I might have made a mistake.” And she said, “Yep. Maybe you did.” And so I phoned up, and the role had not been cast. And so it could have been this John guy was in contention at that point. But from the moment I came back, I went to network a week later I think.