Rescue Me’s Steven Pasquale shows his range
If the name Steven Pasquale is new to you, it won’t be for long. Besides kicking off his fifth season as firefighter Sean Garrity on the hit FX series "Rescue Me" this week, Pasquale is also one of the stars of Broadway’s newest plays to debut this spring, Neil LaBute’s "reasons to be pretty." And, as if that wasn’t enough, his first CD of songs from the American Songbook entitled "Somethin’ Like Love" hits stores this month. The eclectic actor/singer chatted with Edge’s Jim Halterman about his work across the various mediums.
Something serious for Sean
"Rescue Me" has been off the air for 18 months primarily due to the WGA strike last year but the FX series is coming back this week with 22 new episodes which will run consecutively so fans of the show can a weekly dose of the raucous firemen. While the dim-witted Garrity is often used for comic relief on the show, Pasquale explained that his character has a big health-related storyline this season.
"I think when the idea originally came up, we thought it would be a nice opportunity to have a dramatic arc for me, but then once we got into the playing of it the drama of it lasted a very short time and it became ’how can we make this ridiculously over-the-top situation comic relief for us?’" While the health scare is a very real concern for adult men everywhere, the actor said that it wasn’t all played for laughs. "We sort of made a meal out of all that comedy but there is a moment where you sort of feel like there’s something very serious going on with Sean."
One of the staples of "Rescue Me" is any scene involving the cast sitting around the firehouse pontificating on everything from penis size (which inspired a contest on the show earlier in its run), dieting and, of course, women. "I think anytime that the guys are in their firehouse kitchen are my favorite things to participate in," the Hershey, Pennsylvania native said. "I think that is what separates ["Rescue Me"] from other shows and this season we have a new location - a bar - where we can be together and be all ball-busty and have the testosterone-driven scenes, which can supplement the kitchen scenes. Anytime that the guys are all together is fantastic."
Asked about the difference between working on network and cable television, Pasquale made it clear as to which side of the television business her preferred. "I wouldn’t want to make a blind statement but, after working for cable, I would never work for network television again. That can really feel like you’re in prison. And your days are incredibly long and you’re beholden only to the advertising dollar and on cable they really let us do our thing...not to mention you’re only working six months on, six months off so you can take a vacation, you can get another job, it’s a perfect situation for me. Cable is where it’s at... ’Lost’ is the only thing I watch on network TV. Everything else is cable."
