Interview with: George Stults
	Interview date: May 1, 2002
	Interviewed by: Amy Eslinger/ OnSat magazine

You recently began appearing on 7th Heaven. The series has been on the air since 1996, so how have you dealt with being the newest cast member?

It’s been nothing but fun times! (laughs) It was pretty easy because my brother [Geoff] was already on the show, and I had met Beverly Mitchell and Jessica Biel and hung out with them a little bit before I actually got on the show. So, it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. Of course, stepping on a set for the first time is always going to be a little uncomfortable, but it was pretty easy. Everyone’s really cool, so that just made it fun.

You play a cop on the series. Did you have to do any research for the role?

Actually I did not have to do any research whatsoever! (laughs) I probably should have! I didn’t have to do any research—I slipped into that nice, tight, blue uniform and was ready to rock ’n’ roll as Officer Kevin.

I guess people are very familiar with that career, so it probably wasn’t too difficult to slip into that role of a cop.

It wasn’t bad at all. It was a good time. I’ve had a blast doing it!

You mentioned that your brother is also on the show. What’s it been like working with him?

The kid’s a complete pain in the a--. He’s driving me nuts. No! I’m kidding! (laughs) It’s fun. We get to sit there and make fun of one another off camera—it would be even more fun if we could do it on camera! It’s fun working with him. I get to make sure he’s doing everything properly. (Laugh) He’s sitting right here listening to me!

Is he younger or older?

Actually, we’re a year apart. He’s a year and 4 months younger than I am.

The producers of 7th Heaven actually created a role for you, right?

Yeah, I couldn’t believe it. I went in there to play a small part of a 17-year-old high school senior, who peer pressures the character "Simon" on the show to drink beer. I had a good time doing that audition, but I couldn’t make the callback because I was working on a show called Maybe It’s Me, so I was kind of bummed. And then I was just fortunate to get called back in for a bigger part. I was like, "Cool!" They said, "Wait, a minute. You’re Geoff’s brother." I said, "Yeah." They said, "We’re going to have you come in and meet the rest of the gang." I came back in and they said, "Yeah, you’re Geoff’s brother and we’re thinking about bringing you in as his brother on the show." I said, "Yeah, let’s do it!"

That wasn’t a very difficult decision on your part, I’m sure.

Are you kidding?!? I was like, "Where do I sign? Get me on here!" (laughs)

You’ve also done some modeling. When can we expect the Liz Claiborne Bora Bora ads?

I had actually already talked to the people at 7th Heaven before I did the Liz Claiborne commercial. That’s not going to even air until September. There’s a commercial and they shot some print stuff, just in case they wanted to use it. I just found out that they are definitely going to use it, so that’s good, and that will be in a lot of major magazines come August. I saw the print work and it looks pretty cool.

As a comparison, which do you like better—modeling or acting?

Definitely, I would be happy to never model again! (laughs) The acting is just way more fun. It’s completely different. I have a blast. Modeling is just standing around, trying to look pretty.

It’s not as exciting, I guess.

No, it’s definitely not as exciting. I would definitely have no problem if I never had to get another print job again! (laughs)

The way that you were discovered is the stuff that fairy tales are made of. Do you still find yourself wondering how it all began? (George was eating lunch with a friend on Sunset Plaza in Beverly Hills, when an agent stopped her car in the middle of Sunset Boulevard, jumped out, and handed George her card.)

Every now and then, I’ll think back and say, "Isn’t that just ridiculous?" (laughs) I was really fortunate. It’s amazing how that did happen—pretty glad it did right now!

What was your initial reaction when she came up to you and handed you her card?

My initial thoughts were, "What the hell is going on here?" I just thought it was some woman trying to make a move on me. I’m from Colorado and Michigan and I was just going to college out here. I had only been to Hollywood a couple of times and that was going out with my buddies at night. I was eating lunch with a friend of mine from high school who worked for an agency. We were just eating lunch on Sunset at that restaurant, Red Rock, and this woman jumped out of her car, ran up and handed me her card. I was like, "Whoa! What’s going on here?" I looked at it, and then handed it to my friend. She was like, "Let me look into this for you and let you know about it." She called me and said, "I guess they are a pretty big commercial agency. You might want to give them a call." So, I did and sure enough, my brother and I had an agent!

After 7th Heaven where would you like your career to lead you?

I want to try some of everything. I definitely want to get into films, and I think I’ll have a complete blast doing that. But I’ve been in a sitcom class now for several months and I just have a blast. I look forward to doing it every day. It’s so much fun. I’m sure you watch Friends or Will & Grace. Every one of those major sitcoms—those guys make a living just by being in a high school play. That’s how I look at it. They just have a blast. I did a tiny part on both those shows. I got to sit there and I was completely jealous of how much fun they were having. That would be my ideal job, to book a pilot that was a sitcom and be able to have it make a run like Friends or Will & Grace,build those relationships with people on the show and just have fun every day.… I would be completely satisfied doing a sitcom and having at least a couple of years on one of those shows.

With you and you brother in the same business, is there a healthy competition between you two?

There’s definitely been a competition. He, even though he’s a year younger, can play a couple of years older than I can. It goes the same for me. I can play a couple of years younger than he can. But we definitely do go out for a lot of the same stuff.

And you guys are okay with that?

Yeah. It’s only because we were raised to be best friends. We live together now. I guess our relationship is good! Most siblings don’t have the relationship that my brother and I do. All the other siblings when we were growing up were always fighting; we were always hanging out. We always had the same friends, the same interests, which makes it easier. We can support one another, which also makes it easier. If I was out here doing this by myself—I mean, it’s difficult enough with him—but if you’re doing it alone, it’s tough. It’s a lot tougher than people think.

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