Saturday, November 27, 2010

How the Heck Did You Get An Interview with Eric Sheffer Stevens, Anyway?


A couple of months ago, I called into a radio show where Eric Sheffer Stevens, my favorite actor, was being interviewed. Although I was on hold for an hour, they only managed to get five callers on to ask questions, and I wasn't one of them. And, being the calm, rational person that I am, I did what any calm, rational person would do - I complained about it on Twitter.

Almost immediately, I got a private message from a friend. Why didn't I ask him for an actual interview? I shrugged off the suggestion. I'm not a reporter, I'm just a writer and fan. I don't have an outlet to publish an interview other than my blog. I don't know the proper channels to request an interview, anyway. But she persisted. And after some hemming and hawing, I figured I had nothing to lose, so why not? I wrote up an interview request and sent it in.

A week or two later, I got a response - "he said yes."

One minor freak-out later, I decided to keep the news quiet until the details were set. Nothing worse than making a big announcement that then doesn't go through for ages. So there's been a lot of behind-the-scenes schedule-juggling and random cryptic posts from me on Twitter and Facebook along the way. I prepared questions and sent them along, and finally got the word that the date was set.

So a week and a half ago, I chatted with Eric on the phone in a wide-ranging interview that covers everything from his most challenging role, to his favorite episode of the Cartoon Saga, to what the future holds. Don't expect anything about the end of ATWT - one of my promises in the interview request was not to berate him about the ending. :) But there will be lots of stuff you haven't seen anywhere else.

I'll be posting the interview in installments, starting Monday, so be sure to check back every day for a new chapter!



10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Superfab, Kate! I only know you as a fan of ATWT and having the blog, so I was curious as to how you snagged an interview with ESS. I'm relieved there won't be any questions about the soap, because I think that subject has thoroughly been beaten to death!!! Bring on Monday; I can't imagine a better interview than one conducted by a true fan of ESS and the soap. Yay!!!

Amber

Lady ME said...

I was also one of those callers that was on hold back in September that did not get to ask a questions. However I became one of the lucky few that got to talk to him earlier this month. As much as I was cloud nine for my 4 minutes of conversation, I can't even imagine how it must of felt to be able to talk to him as long as you did for your interview.

And thank you for not talking about the end of ATWT with ESS. I cringe every time I hear it mentioned to him. From the hints that you have dropped this past week about the interview, I am looking forward to reading it.

Bring it on and you rock Katie!

Kate Davies said...

Thanks, Amber and Mary! I hope I did the fandom proud with this interview. It was definitely a wonderful experience.

Addy said...

I'm looking forward to this interview. Like the others....hearing Eric continually have to apologise and explain something that was not his fault is not pleasant listening...roll on Monday.

Anonymous said...

Can't wait for tomorrow. Eric has such a rich professional background it will be great to get a more in depth view of him. His work in theatre and his charitable work are areas that I for one am interested in hearing more about. ATWT is over, it was great while it lasted, but I'm sure he is looking forward not back and it will be great to read an interview from an interviewer who understands that!
Thanks for finding the courage to request the interview. Your risk is definitely OUR gain!

Beth

Anonymous said...

omg :)))))) cant wait thank you so much :)))

Unknown said...

Okay, I squealed when I saw this post. Look at what ESS does to us. I got to talk to him in the first interview he did, and it was such a thrill, and that was only 1 question. Now you did a whole interview?! Really looking forward to that. Thanks!

Kate Davies said...

Thanks so much, guys! Hope you like it. He's such an articulate, thoughtful, talented guy, it'd be almost impossible NOT to get a great interview out of him. Extremely quotable.

Kate Davies said...

And a huge thank you to the friend who encouraged me to send in a request. It never would have happened without her! *smooches*

Anonymous said...

Kate, this has been a great interview so far, I'm really looking forward to the rest. I don't ever mind when he talks about ATWT because I'm so curious about his experiences there, and because it's a large part of why we love him in the first place. But I can't wait to hear his comments about the Cartoon Saga!!! <3

JoAnne :)