Canadian Paul Gross knows what it's like to be a "Jack of all trades" on film and TV projects.
But being Jack Nicholson -- kinda, sorta -- in the new TV version of Eastwick?
That has the potential to do jack-squat for your career, doesn't it? Well, Gross is nothing if not brave.
"The question of Nicholson rises in your head right away and you think, 'Are you out of your mind to even consider taking on something that he basically defined?' " Gross said. "And then it was like, 'Aw, f--- him, I'll give it a try.' "
Thus we have Gross starring in Eastwick, a small-screen cousin to the 1987 film The Witches of Eastwick, which starred Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Some may be surprised the 50-year-old is interested in a U.S. network TV show at this stage of his career.
But he admitted that merely acting in a project -- as opposed to acting, writing, directing and producing, which he had done for his 2008 feature film Passchendaele -- is a welcome change.
And hey, maybe Gross used up all his own money to get Passchendaele made.
"No, that's a rule: You never use your own money, you get people to give you their money," Gross said. "But yes, Passchendaele took years. And I didn't have anything else ready to go."
ABC's Eastwick stars Jaime Ray Newman, Lindsay Pric, Paul Gross and Rebecca Romijn) Torcoletti It debuts tomorrow night.
