An actor is only as good as his last role. And since Beverly Hills 90210, well, Brian Austin Green’s roles have been pedestrian at best. Last seen in Desperate Housewives, the 38-year-old actor makes a departure into comedy with M-Net Series’ Wedding Band. Sadly, it doesn’t strike any chords with viewers, writes Debashine Thangevelo
NOT many viewers know this, but Brian Austin Green was in the soap Knots Landing before bagging his breakthrough role as David Silver in Beverly Hills 90210.
But like his co-star Ian Ziering, he hasn’t truly carved out a praiseworthy career since then. Aside from dabbling in music with two albums (One Stop Carnival and Esthero: Wikked Lil’ Grrrls) that bear his name, his movie and TV credits have been unremarkable.
Yes, he has been working in Hollywood – but that entails playing characters who don’t have any substance and starring in offerings that won’t be bagging an Emmy or an Oscar. In fact, the closest he has really been to that calibre of fame is by marrying sex symbol Megan Fox.
Curiosity was certainly piqued when he – and his six-pack – debuted on Desperate Housewives as Bree Van de Kamp’s love interest but, to be honest, it was an unremarkable storyline.
And now he is the lead in Wedding Band, which has undeniable quirky shades of The Wedding Singer. Cast as Tommy, he told TVismypacifier.com more about his role, which is centred on four friends – one married, three single – who, in escaping the monotony of their day jobs, spend their weekends playing at weddings and other events.
He admits: “For the most part, I knew the melodies. But, most of the songs, I have to be honest…when I got the lyric sheets, my first thoughts were, ‘Oh, those are the words… (that’s not what) we’ve been singing’. I’m a huge music lover. I play the piano and the drums and I connect way more with the melodies usually. So the lyrics are usually the last thing I learn.”
While au fait with dramas, Austin Green sheds light on the challenges of stepping into the comedy genre.
“Yes, the thing that I really enjoy about our show especially, coming from dramas first, I love comedy that is real. Real dramatic situations create honest moments in funny situations.
“I mean, I like seeing people struggle through situations that are just absurd and laughing at them, you know. And I feel like our show is written in a very serious way. We’re honest about the things that we do and our lives are just crazy enough that it’s entertaining and funny. But it’s never set-up, punch line, which is hard to do.”
His co-star Melora Hardin (of The Office fame) interjects: “It is unique in that it really is the first of its kind to come along since, like, Cheers. Brian and I have similar backgrounds in that we believe that great comedy, just as great drama, definitely comes from the truth of the moment. You know, truth is always funnier than fiction.”
Although Austin Green and the rest of the cast are proud of the show, it didn’t translate into positive audience ratings for Wedding Band, with TBS (Turner Broadcasting System) pulling the plug on it.
With Michael J Fox sustaining a laudable TV career since Family Ties – this despite being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 – you have to wonder where actors like Austin Green have gone so horribly wrong. Perhaps it is time he adopted a smarter approach before the cacophony of bad scripts renders his career played out.
• Wedding Band airs on M-Net Series (DStv channel 114) at 7.30pm tonight.