'Royal Pains' Star Talks New Show, Movies and Great Directors

Denise Warner

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Paulo Costanzo stars opposite Mark Feuerstein in the upcoming show on USA called 'Royal Pains,' about an ER doctor (Feuerstein) who gets fired and reluctantly takes a job in the Hamptons and the urging of his younger brother (Costanzo.) The actor talked to PopEater about the role, his own work and who he hopes to meet one day.

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Paulo Costanzo Snapshots

NEW YORK - MAY 21: Actors Paulo Costanzo and Reshma Shetty attend Hamptons and Gotham Magazine's summer celebration with the cast of "Royal Pains" at Hudson Terrace on May 21, 2009 in New York, New York. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Reshma Shetty;Paulo Costanzo

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NEW YORK - MAY 21: Actors Jill Flint and Paulo Costanzo attend Hamptons and Gotham Magazine's summer celebration with the cast of "Royal Pains" at Hudson Terrace on May 21, 2009 in New York, New York. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jill Flint;Paulo Costanzo

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NEW YORK - MAY 21: Actors Mark Feuerstein and Paulo Costanzo attend Hamptons and Gotham Magazine's summer celebration with the cast of "Royal Pains" at Hudson Terrace on May 21, 2009 in New York, New York. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mark Feuerstein;Paulo Costanzo

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NEW YORK - MAY 21: Actors Mark Feuerstein, Jill Flint and Paulo Costanzo attend Hamptons and Gotham Magazine's summer celebration with the cast of "Royal Pains" at Hudson Terrace on May 21, 2009 in New York, New York. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mark Feuerstein;Jill Flint;Paulo Costanzo

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NEW YORK - MAY 21: Actor Paulo Costanzo attends Hamptons and Gotham Magazine's summer celebration with the cast of "Royal Pains" at Hudson Terrace on May 21, 2009 in New York, New York. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Paulo Costanzo

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NEW YORK - MAY 21: (L-R) Reshma Shetty, Mark Feuerstein, NBC Universal Cable Entertainment President Bonnie Hammer, Jill Flint and Paulo Costanzo attend Hamptons and Gotham Magazine's summer celebration with the cast of "Royal Pains" at Hudson Terrace on May 21, 2009 in New York, New York. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Reshma Shetty;Mark Feuerstein;Bonnie Hammer;Jill Flint;Paulo Costanzo

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NEW YORK - MAY 21: (L-R) Reshma Shetty, Mark Feuerstein, Chris McCumber, NBC Universal Cable Entertainment President Bonnie Hammer, Jill Flint and Paulo Costanzo attend Hamptons and Gotham Magazine's summer celebration with the cast of "Royal Pains" at Hudson Terrace on May 21, 2009 in New York, New York. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Reshma Shetty;Mark Feuerstein;Chris McCumber;Bonnie Hammer;Jill Flint;Paulo Costanzo

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Talk about your show: "It's a kind of a mish-mash of many different kinds of ... look at the sky, holy crap. I?m going to pause for a second and tell you that right now I?m in the Hamptons ? just outside of New York, shooting at a castle. This castle served as one of the exterior shots for 'Citizen Kane' ? it's incredible. I'm just going to say that as a side note."

I read that you were a bit of an old movie buff. "I am, completely. That was one thing that I couldn't believe, I couldn't believe we were shooting there. It's really cool. So we just left, the sky is turning a complete dark, bruise blue, as the rain is coming to us and life is good. That's the end of our interview, have a nice day ... No, the show is about a very talented young ER doctor who makes a judgment call in the ER and it turns out bad luck strikes and he ends up letting one of the founders die while saving a kid. He does the right thing, but he gets screwed. Loses his job, loses everything then me, his brother -- Evan Lawson -- talks him into going to a party in the Hamptons, which -- through a series of funny and hilarious events -- leads him to begrudgingly becoming a concierge doctor to the rich and famous in the Hamptons."

What attracted you to the role? "It's a very kind of colorful role. He's very much the kind of comic relief of the show. (And what, Oh it's a tiger. The driver's like, 'look at that, it's a tiger, outside of the gas station.') Yes, he's just a fun character to play and I knew early on that it kind of clicked. It's like when you meet someone you really like."

Are you like this in real life, the comic relief? "A part of me is. This is kind of a very, very caricaturized part of me."

Which is perfect for USA, because they are all about characters. "That's right, good lead-in."

Do you think cable networks like USA, with their critically acclaimed shows, are changing the face of TV? "Sure, I think USA is fighting the good fight. It's not heavy drama, but it's not a sitcom. Yeah, it's very light, escapist entertainment, with that extra bit of depth."

What's been your favorite role to do? "I played a character called Ryan in this movie called 'Everything?s Gone Green' ... It was just a nice, depthier role than I usually play. And a role that I just recently played, I played Seth in this horror film called 'Splinter,' which was released by Magnolia pictures and didn?t hit a lot of theaters but it did become a cult classic already. It's actually a really, really cool movie ... in fact, I would say that people should see it. It's one of the few things that I?ve done that I would just urge people to see it because it's just awesome."

What?s your dream role or who would be your dream person to work with?That's a tough one. I don't really have a dream role because I figure I'm waiting for something. I don't want to say it. I?d rather just wait for the perfect one and then just experience it because I?d most likely be wrong about what it would be anyway. But the people I love the most as filmmakers -- it's Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino. [They] are at the forefront of people who I look forward to meeting one day and would love to work with."

2009-05-27 14:03:32

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