Steven Weber on Wings, Party Down, and why Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip bombed

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http://www.avclub.com/article/steven...o-60-su-245546

The actor: Steven Weber is probably best known for his role as Brian Hackett in the long-running 1990s sitcom Wings. But the actor has stayed busy ever since in a number of memorable movie and TV roles on series like House Of Cards and NCIS: New Orleans. Weber has specialized in ********* villains on shows like How To Get Away With Murder, Wilfred, and iZombie, but has also proven himself in a number of comedic roles in shows like Party Down and Community. He talked to The A.V. Club about his his long career as an actor, which he credits to never running from a challenge.

Wings (1990-97)—“Brian Hackett”

AVC: My mom is obsessed with Wings. She is so happy I’m talking to you right now.

SW: Tell her to stop texting me. [Laughs.]

I was a huge fan of network television growing up and Wings was of that world, the old powerful NBC comedy juggernaut that had Cheers and Taxi and Friends and Seinfeld. Wings was one of those shows that was popular because again, viewership was different than it is today. People still gathered in front of the TV, and it was that appointment viewing that was so important in the industry. So they put us on after Cheers, before another show, and they were able to get a pretty large audience. Bigger than some big hits today, which shows you just how viewership has changed.

AVC: It’s a show that much like Cheers and Frasier and that whole group, holds up.

SW: Look, it was a far less observant show than either Cheers or Frasier. It didn’t necessarily take any risks with any current topics or sexuality. It was good, a fairly standard comedy but it was almost always well-written. After a couple seasons, we developed better chops than the beginning but we developed a style that is still very watchable. It’s not very dated. The only thing that’s dated is… clothes. The clothes I wore, high-waisted jeans and too-large shirts. But the dynamic between me and Tim [Daly] was a tried and true dynamic that still works today. Worked 50 years ago, will probably work 50 years from now. And it turned out to be a springboard for a lot of writers. It was a great time all around. Looking back now I realize it was at the tail-end of network drama experience. We all had great schedules, made good dough, had a lot of fun. And made a lot of good friendships.