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PAUL PROVENZA

interviewed by UD correspondent Billy Mernit
(Page 2)

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BM: Does it feel a lot different for you, now that you've been doing the show for a while?

PP: Now we're starting to understand what these two new characters are really about. And it's not obvious stuff. It's harder to make clear than Fleischman was...so it's unfolding in a way that's subtle, especially for television...

BM: Do you get a lot of input with the writers?

PP: Yes and no. The door is always open, but the writers are in Los Angeles, so...you can't just walk down the hall. But they're very open to thoughts, and in fact there's a couple of episodes that we just finished that really were the result of discussions and conversations with the writers.

BM: So you were able to make suggestions on where it's going.

PP: Yeah...and by locking into the back story...the characters begin to get rich. And it begins to be like - Whoa! Now I understand where we're heading with this...that's been the most exciting part of it, really.

BM: It sounds like a great process to be a part of.

PP: It is, especially when the show has so much integrity. I've done so much TV that I would never watch. It's so nice to be on a show where you don't have to imagine the guy in the laugh track room going; "I can't push them anymore, Captain!"

BM: Speaking of the TV in your past - how did you get here? What was the long and winding, or short and winding, road?

PP: It's a career's worth of just being there, and getting better. And being in the right place at the right time. My background is really eclectic. I've done everything from hosting a kid's show, to doing stand-up, and stage work...

There's a niche: Credos'R'Us.

BM: Was there any one particular project that led to "EXPOSURE?"

PP: No, surprisingly enough, it was really an accumulation. I'd been working hard at being versatile. I'd go from doing extreme broad comedy to real heavy dramatic work. And this show is a synthesis of both those ends of the spectrum.

BM: Has the show pretty much taken over your life?

PP: I've been in Seattle since October. Although every now and then, I do steal away for a weekend and do a club date. I do that for me. It's an outlet that I've had since I was 16 or 17, it's just kind of a part of me.

BM: I guess it's a way to unwind.

PP: It is, it can really be fun. It's like playing a musical instrument - just going off and jamming from time to time.

BM: In the course of doing the series - has it given you ideas for what you might want to do next?

PP: It's very rare for me to be living in the moment, and I truly am trying to do that, 'cause this is just a really enjoyable experience. My attitude is, I'm having a great time right now. Don't force me into thinking about the future!

BM: Hey, if you can be here now, you're a better man than I.

PP: It's not easy for me, believe me.

BM: Any words you'd like to put out there on the web -a statement, a credo?

PP: That's one thing I've always needed in life, a credo. Now I gotta work on that.

BM: They don't sell them at 7-11's.

PP: There's a niche: Credos'R'Us.

BM: Well, you haven't been too controversial here, Paul.

PP: Sorry to disappoint you.

BM: No, it sounds like you're really getting a lot out of this experience.

PP: I'm really having a great time.