TVadviceguy is pleased to bring you another exciting Baker’s Dozen! This edition of our silly 13 Questions is with actor/writer/producer Brice Beckham! You probably best remember Brice as Wesley from the 1980’s sitcom “Mr. Belvedere.” Ok, who’s kidding who? Of course that’s how you remember him. But now Brice is back with the new VH1 sitcom “I Hate My 30’s” that he co-created, co-writes, co-produces, and co-stars in. That’s a lot of co’s! So many, in fact, that we had 15 questions for Brice! Enjoy.
TV's Wesley is all growns up!
1) So, what the hell have you been doing since 1990?
Believe it or not, auditioning sucks. Nobody starts out to be an actor because they love auditions. After Belvedere I did a couple things... a nice stint on the very funny, offbeat and wildly underrated Ubu show, "American Dreamer"; an episode of Wonder Years; an episode of Roseanne... but after a while, I was getting plenty of stage time in my high school Drama class, and commuting to LA several times a week (I grew up in LBC) just to say 3 words about Rice Krispies and drive back home seemed less attractive. And I wasn't strapped for cash, so...
I made another half-hearted attempt at real acting work when I started college at USC, but by that point I was getting into student/short films and teaching myself computer illustration, graphic design, animation -- generally getting used to producing my own content, which is infinitely more fulfilling. So I sort of decided to go that route instead. And now here I am again, circling back from the other side.
2) Did you get any creepy fan letters while you were on Mr. Belvedere? What’s one that stands out?
I used to get a lot of mail from prison.
The internet has made the whole fan thing a new ball game. Recently, a fan emailed me and got super pissed when I didn't email her back after a couple days. I'd been feeling really good about my reply record of late (I'm terrible with correspondence) and I was under a lot of stress, so I tore into her pretty good. We've since kissed and made up (metaphorically).
3) So tell us about your new show on VH1 – I Hate My 30’s. How is it doing? How are the reviews? How many episodes have been produced?
As of this writing, we've aired 2 of our 8 episodes and the reaction is mixed. Scratch that; it's not mixed, it's segregated like a Mississippi movie theater. People either love the show or they HATE IT with a white hot passion. Thank God THIS GUY wrote the first press review. It reassured me that there would be folks who would appreciate the show for what it is: a silly, random satire with a few refreshing and clever surprises for those who pay attention.
4) Did you get all kinds of chicks growing up as a result of being on network television for five years?
Sadly, no. Unless by "all kinds of chicks" you mean "a racially, religiously and economically diverse cross-section of the female population," in which case, no, I didn't do that either.
5) What was your favorite “Very Special” episode of Mr. Belvedere?
• Wesley’s friend contracts HIV
• Wesley gets molested by his camp counselor
• Heather almost gets raped
• An episode I’ve forgotten about that you liked better than those.
The HIV episode was ahead of its time. We were the first sitcom to tackle that. Not that sitcoms should be trying to make people sad anyway. That reminds me: in Episode 8 of I Hate My 30's we jump a shark.
Believe it or not, this is not a scene from the Wesley gets molested episode.
6) It’s time for TAG’s World famous Either, Or!
• 1980’s, or 1990’s = The '90's win. I was too young to enjoy the things that were enjoyable about the '80's. For me, the '90's had music, movies, a Clinton White House, boobs, and friends that will last me the rest of my life. But I would like to thank the '80's for Weird Science, Real Genius, Back to the Future and Teen Wolf.
• Corey Haim, or Cory Feldman = Sorry, Haim... Feldman takes it. Being a straight-up, balls-to-the-wall weirdo doesn't change the fact that he's just more interesting to watch. I think their bodies of work will back me up on that. Goonies? Gremlins? Come on. Even in Lost Boys, Feldman steals the show.
• Cable TV, or Satellite = I love my digital cable. Lots of channels, Video On Demand, faster operating system, fewer signal interruptions, plus high-speed internet service... you can't get all that with DirecTV!
• Taco Bell, or Del Taco = What are you, following me? Frankly, Taco Bell is better, but Del Taco is closer to my house. So lazy.
• Webster, or Sidekicks = Even though it's not as cool, Webster. Poor Jonathan Brandis. He was a good kid.
• Dodgers, or Angels = I was Angels all the way until they sold out the OC and stole "Los Angeles" like 2nd base. Drama 3/4 is Dodger Blue through and through.
• Craig Ferguson, or Jimmy Kimmel = Both. Scottish + narcoleptic = humor, QED.
7) It took you 17 years to return to television. What can we expect to see you in, in 2024?
Whatever it is, I had better be using my bionic arms to drive a flying car that has a robot brain and talks to me in Kathleen Turner's voice.
8) Do you really hate your 30’s?
No. That's called "irony."
9) Tell us all about Drama 3/4 Productions, like what it is and how you became involved with it.
My writing partner and co-star, David Fickas, started Drama 3/4 to produce his first feature. I had been collaborating with him since college and the company went pro in 2003 to capitalize on some heat we got from our live sketch show, Another Showcase Showdown (ASS). That led to I Hate My 30's and beyond. The name comes from Dave's high school Theatre class which, not so coincidentally, he attended with our other producing partner, Josh Uranga, and which, slightly more coincidentally, shared a name with the Theatre class I attended at MY high school years before we met.
10) On 9/25/04, FHM magazine voted your character Wesley from Mr. Belvedere #25 in its top 25 most annoying television characters. You clocked in right behind Fran from The Nanny. Flattered? Offended? Or secretly upset that you weren't more annoying?
I was flattered that I rated high enough to make the list while simultaneously being less annoying than all the other nominees. Kind of like how Noureen DeWulf made #100 on Maxim's Hot 100 List and must have thought, "Well, at least I don't have an eating disorder, skanks."
The best roasting I have yet received was the spoof website bricebeckham.net by Something Awful. It was a parody of Wil Wheaton's socially conscious blog (because we both played Wesleys). The gag web page did not portray me in a favorable light, but it made up for it by being very, very, very, very funny. Unfortunately, it has gone the way of the Floppyopteryx.
11) Your character on Mr. Belvedere was one of the only cute, precocious kids on TV in the 80’s without a catchphrase. Did this piss you off?
On the contrary. Wesley didn't NEED a catchphrase. "Wesley!" WAS the catchphrase. That's a great role.
Brice in his mullet years.
12) If you could be adopted by any TV family (past or
present), who would it be?
The Lubbocks from Just The Ten Of Us. Why? Four reasons: Heather Langenkamp, JoAnn Willette, Jamie Luner and Brooke Theiss. They would have made incest beautiful and magical.
13) Many people were claiming that your TV brother, played by Rob Stone, was actually Marylin Manson. Are you hopeful something like that might happen to you, and people mistake you for David Beckham?
I'm just trying to imagine a scenario in which that mix-up is even remotely possible. On a bus full of blind soccer fans?
14) I read you were a former California State Speech champion in the early nineties in an event called Original Prose & Poetry. What is your favorite dirty limerick?
Sorry, it's late. You're going to keep me up all night trying to think of a good rhyme for "Schenectady." Maybe next time.
15) I’m going to list some names here, you give me your thoughts. (Example; Casey Ellison = Nice kid, got along well. Always counting his “Punky Brewster” money.)
• Bob Uecker = Amazing and truly hilarious. It takes a special kind of brain to do play-by-play.
• Gerren Keith = I've gotta come clean here... I had to look this guy up. I think he was one of a handful of guest directors we had on Belvedere over only a couple months in the middle of our run. One of them was a gaping asshole who threw more than a couple tantrums during the week he was on our set. Don't know if it was him. Our main directors for several seasons were the inimitable Don Corvan and the incomparable Noam Pitlik.
• Christopher Hewitt = Great, in every sense of the word. He was an actor of the old school, from the British stage, so he expected things to work a certain way. And he was already in his 60's with terrible gout, so you couldn't fault him for being a little cranky now and again. Overall, a very sweet man.
• David Fickas = A wellspring of comedy. A perpetual motion machine that produces funny in incrementally larger quantities. One of those rare breed of people who is "always on" in a way that is completely palatable and totally natural. He doesn't have to force it. He's just funny. All the time.
• Tony Sheehan = Seemed like a cool guy, to 9 year-old me. He directed our first season (5 episodes). In later years, we saw him less than the other EPs, probably because he was out trying to get more shows off the ground. I have a new understanding for him and Frank'n'Stein now that I'm an EP myself.
• Tracy Wells = Lovely. Haven't talked to her in a while... She's seen some tough stuff in her time. I feel like, if I was a better person, I might have been able to be there for her in some way. But I never really knew Tracy -- or any of them -- as a grown-up, accustomed to adult friendships, able to relate to them as peers. Even on the show, Tracy was 5 years older, which in kid terms makes a world of difference. So, after Belvedere, I sort of ran from the scene and got on with becoming a new, fully-formed person. Anyway... my fondness for Tracy is always tinged with a little bit of guilt. :) I hope she's well.
• Jill Ritchie = A darling, darling dear. She was friends with us at USC, but even so, we were so very lucky to get her. And she's kinda cute, too.
• Rob Stone = Awesome. The closest thing to an older brother that I will ever have. When we got cast on the show, Rob took me and Tracy to Magic Mountain so we could all bond as siblings (an acting exercise, but an effective and super cool one nonetheless). I even had real sleep-overs at his place where we'd do all the things I wasn't supposed to do at home, like eat Fruit Loops and watch Eddie Murphy movies until 2 AM. I mean, who gets to do that?!? Being on a TV show is just a job, right?
Another wildly successful Baker’s Dozen! Thanks to Brice for playing along and keeping us updated on what he’s been doing. Make sure to check out “I Hate My 30'S” on VH1. The show gets the TAG seal of approval, and not just because we interviewed Brice. It’s a funny show. So watch it. And you can see some of his production company’s projects on YouTube.
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