Friday, April 27, 2007

Robert Wagner looking to get back in weekly TV series game

Robert Wagner, a TV mainstay through three decades with his "It Takes a Thief," "Switch" and "Hart to Hart" shows, is looking to get back into the weekly series game. This time, in a comedy. "I love the form," he says, "absolutely love it."

He guest stars in the May 14-airing season finale of "Two and a Half Men," and just finished shooting an ABC comedy pilot in which he plays the head of a law firm surrounded by rival up-and-coming legal eagles including Scott Wolf, Ayda Field, Amanda Detmer and Ben Savage.

"It was such a fun experience. I've done guestings, but I've never been involved in a pilot like this from the ground up, and with all these young actors. It was like an opening night," Wagner says of the prospective show from Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs ("What About Brian," "October Road," "Just Shoot Me!").

The "Two and a Half Men" episode pits him and former "Mannix" star Mike Connors against each other as rivals for the affections of Holland Taylor. Wagner's character is wealthy and dashing but has a Viagra problem.

"You always wonder what it's going to be like, coming into such a tight group of people on an established show, but they couldn't have been nicer to me," Wagner recalls. "When I drove onto the lot, Jon Cryer happened to be outside, and said, 'Oh, we're so happy to have you! Park right there around the corner' -- such a nice welcome. It was terrific working with him, Charlie (Sheen) and Holland, and the character was so well written for me, I slipped into it and felt very comfortable with the chemistry."

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