New ‘Hung’ man says he’s ‘extremely open-minded’

Actor Stephen Amell is gaining popularity as the busboy-turned-gigolo Jason, a new character introduced in HBO’s sex comedy series “Hung.” Amell, 30, considers the role “pretty tame” compared to some previous ones, including a violent werewolf and a killer.

The Canadian actor appeared as the villainous werewolf Brady in a few episodes of “The Vampire Diaries.” Before that, he had parts in the teen drama series “Degrassi” and gay-oriented shows such as “Dante’s Cove” and “Queer as Folk.”

He’s having the time of his life playing Jason, rival to “Hung’s” main male prostitute Ray, played by Thomas Jane. Amell revealed during a recent phone interview that it wasn’t a difficult role to play because he has no hang-ups about sexual matters.

“I’m extremely open-minded,” Amell said. “I think that whatever people want to do in their sexual life, it’s their private life for a reason. Whatever decisions they make, whether talking about same-sex couples [or] mixed couples, it doesn’t matter to me.”

The character is likewise open-minded, Amell added. “One of the things about Jason that we learn from the season is that he’s not opposed to working with male clients. Jason’s character is straight, but that doesn’t always matter in the gigolo world.”

Amell finds working on TV shows likable for a variety of reasons, and he considers landing a regular role especially rewarding. He appreciates the different dynamics that each show offers him. “I was on ‘Vampire Diaries’ for only a couple of episodes,” he said. “One of the main differences is that we shot that in Georgia. The cast has to pick up mostly from Los Angeles and they have to move out to Atlanta. So you get a more familial atmosphere out there. But I like each show’s vibe for different reasons.”

First-rate group

The “Hung” experience isn’t very different, cast-wise. “I got along great with everybody,” he said. “We had seven different directors this year. I got along great with them and Thomas Jane, Anne (Heche), Rebecca (Creskoff) and Analeigh (Tipton), the main actors I worked with this year. It’s a real nice crew. It’s a first-rate group of people.”

Amell portrays a 25-year-old busboy who gets discovered by Lenore (played by Rebecca Creskoff), who pimps him as part of a revenge scheme. Amell gets naked in a number of scenes, but being a regular cast member also means that he’s learning new things about acting. He’s now “coming into scenes with an open mind.”

“If you go to a scene and you’re locked into the way that you’re gonna do it, you’re a little inflexible,” he explained. “The way HBO sets up the production schedule, you have a lot of time to explore different things in the scene. Being flexible and trying things a bunch of different ways are really helpful exercises. That’s what I learned the most, put yourself in the hands of the director, and trust that he is going to craft the best performance for you.”

As for Jason’s competitiveness, Amell can relate. “I used to be very competitive in high school and through university,” Amell recounted. “I’m a little bit more relaxed now. But if it’s good competition and it’s worth being competitive about, I definitely get competitive!”

Career-wise, Amell is seeing changes brought about by his prominent character. “I’ve noticed slight differences,” he said. “I think hooking a role on ‘Private Practice’ was directly a reflection of people enjoying my work on ‘Hung.’ So I’m noticing a bit more connectivity in what I’m doing. That’s really exciting because the idea of doing a good job in one place and having it get me a job somewhere else—as an actor, my main goal going into 2012 is I want to work as much as possible. Every single day that you’re on set, you learn new techniques about acting for the camera, you work with new directors and actors. Those things are critical.”

He added that it’s been a very busy year, and learning has been constant: “I’ve had almost a hundred days on the set, working,” he recounted. “I’m very happy with where my career is!”

Two episodes of “Hung” season 3 will air back to back Monday night at 11:55. Subsequent episodes will air Mondays after the 10 p.m. movie on HBO.

Charice on ‘Talk Asia’

This week, CNN’s “Talk Asia” sits down with international pop star Charice Pempengco to talk about her humble beginnings, her relationship with her late father and her sudden rise to fame.

“I still get overwhelmed,” the former “Glee” star tells correspondent Anna Coren of how she rose from YouTube sensation to international star. “It happened so fast but at the same time, I worked hard for it and I’m still working hard for it.”

The interview airs Monday at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. and December 8 at 1:30 p.m.

‘No Other Woman’ uncut

The uncut version of “No Other Woman,” this year’s highest-grossing local movie, will have its first-on-TV premiere exclusively on SKYCable Season Pass, SKYCable’s pay-per-view service.

On Monday, SKYCable digital subscribers in Metro Manila, Camanava, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, Cebu and Davao may subscribe to a day-long viewing of the movie starring Derek Ramsay, Cristine Reyes and Anne Curtis.

The Season Pass is the cable network’s pay-per-view service that provides uninterrupted access to the biggest sporting events, 24/7 broadcasts of ABS-CBN reality programs and broadcasts of Star Cinema movies.

Comedy series

“Enlightened” follows the story of Amy Jellicoe, an ambitious executive at a global conglomerate who tries to get her life back together after an extended stay at a treatment center in Hawaii.

HBO’s new comedy series stars Laura Dern as Amy, with Mike White, Luke Wilson, Diane Ladd, Sarah Burns, Timm Sharp and Amy Hill.

The season airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. starting December 13 on HBO Signature.

Man-made marvels

This month, National Geographic Channel’s “Big, Bigger, Biggest” takes a trip to the Panama Canal where a team of experts and engineers aims to double its capacity and be a waterway to the world’s largest tankers and container ships.

Other episodes feature the 93,000-ton Timofey Guzhenko ice-breaking ship in the Arctic Ocean and the subterranean construction of the metro system London Underground “Tube.”

The documentary airs Tuesdays at 1:25 p.m., Thursdays at 3:15 p.m., Saturdays at 9 a.m. and Sundays at 8 a.m.

Excellence award

The International Association of Business Communicators has cited InterAksyon.com, TV5’s online news portal, with a Quill Award of Excellence.

Interaksyon.com competed in the Communication Skill division under the category of electronic and digital communication of the Quill Awards, which recognizes media and corporate efforts that raise the standards of communications worldwide.

Editor-in-chief Roby Alampay received the award on behalf of TV5 network.