Shawn Pyfrom:
Desperate Housewife's Son
2nd February 2006
19-year-old actor Shawn Pyfrom has been
in the business since he was a tot. He played troubled
actor Danny Bonaduce in a TV film on The Partridge
Family and will be seen soon in the re-make of The
Shaggy Dog with Tim Allen and Kristin Davis.
You can catch the cute
young actor now playing hot Marcia Cross's sneaky son
Andrew on "Desperate Housewives". Is Shawn
anything like his character? According to our chat, not
at all. Let him tell you all about everything Shawn...
TeenTelevision: How
did the casting process go when you joined the show?
Shawn: I knew the casting
director fairly well. He just called me right in to meet
with Marc Cherry and I went in on that one call and they
hired me. At the same time, the role was just recurring
when I first started it so, in that process, they
usually only have a director or producer session. Then
they made my character a series regular.
TeenTelevision: How is
working with Marcia Cross as your uptight mom? You have
such an adversarial relationship on the show. Can you be
pals off camera?
Shawn: On yes. She's
great. We talk when we're not shooting. She's more like
a regular mom offscreen. She's very motherly to me. She
helps me out with some problems and she's very sweet and
unlike her character. If we're on set doing rehearsals,
I'll bounce something off her and we'll work out the
scene together. I've talked to her a lot about personal
matters. She helps me understand the female mind. I'll
ask her 'what do you think I should do for my
girlfriend?' She really helps me out.
TeenTelevision: Andrew
is quite the little hell-raiser on the show even down to
blackmailing your mom.. If I asked your parents, would
they say 'he's just like that in real life' or nothing
like that?
Shawn: I'd sure hope not!
For the most part, my parents would say I'm unlike my
character. There's a little bit of Andrew in every
teenaged boy but I'm not that bad.
TeenTelevision: What
is the most radical hell-raising thing you've done that
you can reveal to us?
Shawn: Actually, I was
more of a hell raiser when I was younger. I have a
little sister and she was just a toddler so that would
make me four or five and one day she came up to my mom
crying and holding her head. My mom figured that I had
done something so she put me in the corner. Later on
that night, we're eating dinner and I'm in the corner by
our dining room and my brother is 'oh my God, look at
the wall!'. I had shredded the wall paper in the four or
five minutes I'd been there so I got sent to my room.
They found a piece of paper with hair taped to it. I'd
also pulled out a huge piece of my sister's hair and
taped it to a piece of paper.
TeenTelevision: Whoa,
that is pretty naughty even for a four-year-old.
Lightening up, who on "Housewives" is the most
fun to hang out with when the cameras aren't rolling?
Shawn: Everyone is fun
but Eva Longoria is pretty fun and high energy. Everyone
loves Eva.
TeenTelevision: Do the
younger cast members tend to hang out together or do the
housewives mix in with the younger actors?
Shawn: Most of the time
more of the younger actors hang out because a lot of the
women are busy most of the time working. When they
aren't they are doing phone interviews. You rarely see
them in between set-ups. We tend to have more time. When
I'm not shooting I hang out in my trailer and watch TV
or if Cody Kasch is around I'll meet up with him or Joy
[Lauren] who plays my sister.
TeenTelevision: Any
little hints at all about what is coming up for Andrew?
Shawn: Until I get the
script I don't know.
TeenTelevision: What
was it like dumping your life in Florida and coming out
here hoping to further your acting dreams?
Shawn: It was exciting. I
started out acting there and liked it. I think I was
seven when I came out.
TeenTelevision: What
do you think was your first really big career break?
Shawn: I did a movie of
the week for ABC. I played Danny Bonaduce in the
Partridge Family story.
TeenTelevision: How
weird was it to play Danny Bonaduce? Did you meet or
talk to him at all?
Shawn: Oh yeah. It was
his film and was about him. He was co-writer on it. It
was nice to have him there to feed me information on
what it was like for him when he was that age.
TeenTelevision: You
were home schooled. Are you going to go to college
eventually?
Shawn: I'm 19. I do want
to go to college. It's sometimes hard to work out a
school schedule to coincide with my acting schedule
because it's never the same.
TeenTelevision: Are
you shooting the Shaggy Dog remake now?
Shawn: We shot it. It
comes out in March.
TeenTelevision: Was
that fun? Who plays your girlfriend?
Shawn: The shaggy dog is
my girlfriend's dad and we're the ones who discover that
he is the shaggy dog. Zena Grey plays the girlfriend.
TeenTelevision: Is it
mostly a CGI dog or a real dog?
Shawn: Most of the time,
it's a real dog. It was fun. The dog was pretty well
trained. Of course, sometimes it didn't obey a command.
TeenTelevision: Who
are you dating?
Shawn: She's a student
and her name is Eliana. I met her through some mutual
friends and we just kind of hit it off.
TeenTelevision: What
qualities does a girl have to have if you are going to
go out with her?
Shawn: She has to just be
herself and not try to show off or act like she's
interested in something even though she's not. I hate
when I meet people and all they want to talk about is
the show and acting.
TeenTelevision: What
would be your idea of an ideal date.. what to do?
Shawn: Of course it would
be with Eliana. We'd maybe go to some tropical setting,
a beach and go to a spa maybe.
TeenTelevision: What
is your most heartwarming encounter with a fan so far?
Shawn: I got a fan letter
somewhat recently from a fan who said he was a gay teen
and hasn't come out to his family yet. And he said that
my character on the show inspired him to be who he is.
It was nice to hear that.
TeenTelevision: That's
really nice. What kinds of music are you into? Do you
play an instrument?
Shawn: I don't play an
instrument but I'd like to play the drums eventually.
I'm into everything. My favorite band is Incubus, a
really solid band. I'm into jazz and blues.
TeenTelevision: Who
are you dying to work with?
Shawn: I'd love to work
with Mel Gibson. He's my favorite actor. I love Braveheart.
He is The Man in that movie.
TeenTelevision: When
was the first time you ever acted as a kid? Who did you
play?
Shawn: I think probably
the first thing I remember was I was a background actor
in a Holiday Inn commercial. I just got to walk around
and sit at tables. It was really ridiculous. Back in
Florida.
TeenTelevision: Other
than acting, what do you think you do really well and
what not so well?
Shawn: I started painting
and I would like to say that I'm pretty good at that.
More like a modern art, abstract art thing. And not so
well? I tend to not continue doing things that I find
I'm not good at. But, I'd say basketball. I'm not very
good at it. I just can't do it. I'm not a huge sports
watching guy. I'll go to a big game like the UT and USC
game.. that was big!
TeenTelevision: Any
message to the fans?
Shawn: Thanks so much for
supporting me.
(c) Lynn Barker,
TeenTelevision.com
(Link
to Interview)
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