Is Sam Page the luckiest guy in Hollywood?
That was the question I posed last month when he joined the cast of “Gossip Girl” and spent hours kissing Blake Lively on the steps of Lincoln Center. But that role is just the latest in a long line of high-profile guesting gigs that started with “Mad Men,” swelled with “Greek” and culminated last year on “Desperate Housewives.”
And if you ask Sam, it’s all thanks to Dr. Greg Harris. Playing epic Joan Holloway’s husband totally reconfigured the way Hollywood saw him. No longer was Sam just a pretty face. He was now a pretty face who could act. Following Sunday’s “MM” season finale, I rang up Sam to get his take on the episode’s events, where his “Gossip Girl” character is headed and why getting propositioned by an 80-year-old reinforced his love of NYC.
PopWrap: I gotta say, you had the best line in the “MM” finale when you asked Joan if pregnancy was making her boobs bigger.
Sam Page: [laughs] That was a fun one. On first reading, I was like, “what is he talking ab … oh!” I mean, is it even possible for them to get bigger?
PW: I don’t know, but it’s gotta be cool to know the writers are setting your character up with a story for next season.
Sam: It is really exciting, I’m always really excited whenever they call up – even if it’s just for one side of a phonecall, like in the finale. It’s really intriguing and interesting and always fun to see where he’s going to go. It’s certainly not a one-dimensional character, I don’t think there is one on the show at all.
PW: Yea, and I gotta give you credit for being able to win back some of the audience after your character husband raped Joan.
Sam: The whole rape thing was really interesting. The show never does what’s expected – it never goes to the obvious place where Greg gets some kind of comeuppance. Misdeeds aren’t generally punished, which makes “Mad Men” so real. From the get-go, what made the whole rape scene so sad and disturbing is that the characters did love eachother in this weird mid-60’s archaic way. There’s obviously also a mass of dysfunction in their relationship, but it’s run of the mill given the time they all live in.
PW: In the finale it’s clear that Joan intends to let Greg think the baby is actually his — will he ever do the math and realize that it’s impossible for him to be the father?
Sam: I think it would be hard for him not to figure it out seeing as he’s a doctor. He may not be the best doctor around but I’d hope he’s capable of simple math [laughs]. I don’t know where they’re taking it, but it’s amazing working on a show where you can trust the writers will work it out brilliantly.
PW: Do you feel like being on this show changed the way Hollywood sees you?
Sam: “Mad Men” just puts you in a different light — everyone on it is taken a little more seriously. I think prior to that I had kind of been pigeonholed as a handsome guy on some procedurals. “Mad Men” was one of my first post-“Shark” jobs and coming off a show where you don’t have a single scripted conversation with anyone for 24 episodes – just a lot of non-sequiturs and legalese – isn’t the best. You don’t feel like a very alive character.
PW: Did “Mad Men” have anything to do with your new role on “Gossip Girl?”
Sam: No, that was just a straight up audition. But it’s a great show, a great cast, I wanted to work in New York City, so it was a perfect fit.
PW: How long does Colin stick around for?
Sam: I’m on for four episodes. What I love about him is that while he’s obviously a little older, Colin is kind of like a foreshadowing of what Serena’s post-academic life could be.
PW: Does he come with an ulterior motive?
Sam: I think it’ll be most enjoyable for the audience to keep one eye on him being untrustworthy … and the other on him just enjoying who he appears to be in Serena’s eyes [laughs].
PW: If you live in NYC, you’re very aware of the pandemonium that follows the “Gossip Girl” cast as they shoot. What was that like to walk into?
Sam: I never experienced anything like the fanfare of shooting “Gossip Girl.” The streets were packed with kids and adults and photographers – there were photographers standing over the camera operators shoulder shooting us during scenes. It might have been more distracting except that it didn’t bother any of the other actors. They’re just so used to it, so you feed off them. I actually got propositioned by an octogenarian while waiting to film a scene.
PW: You’re gonna have to explain.
Sam: It was actually while we were filming that stealing Serena’s cab scene – I was sitting on the corner and this woman was walking by, she was at least 80. Blake [Lively] was shooting an establishing shot and she goes, “what are you doing? What are you filming?” I told her “Gossip Girl,” she goes, “never heard of it!” She just started asking a ton of questions, it was like The Riddler [laughs]. So I started giving her answers to throw a wrench in the works. She asked me, “what do you do?” I looked at her and said, “lady, I’m just lookin’ to marry rich and just take a long vacation.” Just to see if it would throw her off. It didn’t at all. She goes, “I’m rich and I live right here in this building!” Then she winked at me [laughs].
PW: That didn’t go as planned.
Sam: It was so not how I saw that going, but shooting in New York has such an incredible energy. You just can’t get it anywhere else.
“Gossip Girl” airs Mondays at 9pm on The CW
Photo: WireImage