Carpoolers

After being turned down at about 40 pilot auditions, Tim Peper finally hits gold as one of the main cast members of ABC's new comedy series, Carpoolers, which premieres tonight at 8:30pm.  But the 26-year-old actor reveals that nailing the part was not easy since he had to go through various tests before landing the role of Dougie, the eager newlywed who is also the newest member of the carpool.

In fact, he even got sick after a hectic day of photo shoots and costume fittings which prompted him to fly home to New York to recover.  In less than 48 hours, he was summoned back to Los Angeles to start shooting for the pilot, which was created by Bruce McCulloch.  The speedy turnaround was necessary because Peper was the final addition to the cast, which includes Jerry O'Connell, Fred Goss and Jerry Minor.

"Literally for the first two weeks, the weekends I felt like, 'I wish I was working.'  It's just so much fun," he said.  "Half the job, I'm not joking, is keeping a straight face."

"Honestly, I'm just so happy. I don't think I've been so happy in my entire life!  You're seeing how green I am as an actor, but this show has been a huge boon to my confidence," the Carpoolers star added.

Peper, whose credits include a couple of episodes on the long running soap Guiding Light, Conviction and Law & Order, says that he wouldn't mind running into a few of his former detractors, now that he's got a major network acting gig.

"Yeah, I'll be like, 'How do you like them apples?'" he joked.  "I'm really looking forward to my 10-year high school reunion."

At present, he's hoping that Carpoolers will remain as a regular item on TV and says that he's eager to step up to the challenge of a weekly series, which demands 12-hour work days, early morning calls and the pressure of creating chemistry with the ensemble.


-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: The Journal News
(Image courtesy of ABC)