Beck/Smith Hollywood

Scott Hamilton is conferring with surgeons “to get as many opinions as possible” before he decides what course to take with his latest physical challenge.

“In December I took a fall and tore up my shoulder so I have to have surgery. I’ve never had that happen before,” says the beloved Olympic Gold Medal-winning skating great. Having completed his latest turn as rinkside commentator for NBC last month, he reports, “With my responsibilities with the Olympics, January and February were almost gone so today was the first day I was back on the ice and my shoulder was really limiting me. I’m hoping to get it repaired this month. I can’t sleep so it’s time to get it fixed.”

If anyone can make that happen, it’s Scott, a survivor of testicular cancer and a brain tumor. He talked to this column last year about his amazing journey from pot-bellied and unhealthy shape back to performance-ready form after five years away from the ice – thanks to grueling hard work. The public will get a chance to see some of that journey tonight (3/8) on the Bio Channel’s two-hour special, “Scott Hamilton: Return to the Ice.”

“I figured if I’m going to put myself through this much agony, I might as well document it,” says the 51-year-old Hamilton with a laugh. “I never anticipated going back to skating ever, but I was letting myself fail physically. I wasn’t pushing myself to be as healthy as I could be. The first six months back were frustrating because I didn’t have anything. I was trying to get my body to get to the point where I could try stuff,” he explains, “but there were elements that were a part of this process that weren’t ever in my skating career before – fear and uncertainty. I’d go to do something and I’d almost start laughing because I couldn’t figure out how to make my body do it.”

Finally Hamilton was back to skating an hour a day and he performed for the first time at his 10th annual cancer-fundraising show “An Evening With Scott Hamilton and Friends.” Now his shoulder injury has him sidelined once again for a few months.

Jason Dolley

A LITTLE OLDER, NOT EXACTLY WISER:  

Disney Channel heartthrob Jason Dolley, 18, takes a step toward maturity with the April 4-debuting “Good Luck Charlie” – about a household in which the teenagers take care of their baby sister while the parents are away at their respective jobs.

“They’re sort of going for a ‘Full House’ kind of feeling with this show,” says Dolley, “something families can watch together. It definitely resembles a classic family sitcom. We get to have, like, family dynamic stuff that goes on. The things that come up on the show are real-life conflicts. I think it’s a balance of things that kids will like and adults will like. It’s awesome.”

Dolley, who played the mop-haired Newt Livingston on the Channel’s very broad, very kid-oriented “Corey in the House” – and goofed around in a chicken suit in its “Hatching Pete” movie last year – admits he was anxious to get back in the game. “’Corey in the House’ ended kind of abruptly and I was kind of disappointed that it was over. Working at the Disney Channel was so awesome, I was like, ‘I want to get in there and do more of that.’ Then this script came to me and it’s a more grown-up character and a more authentic show and I thought, ‘Wow, this is the best of both worlds.’”

But his new character isn’t exactly a model of responsible near-adulthood.

“P.J. is the oldest brother in the household. His heart’s in the right place, but I guess it’s like his little brother puts it: ‘He’s not very “thinky.”’ P.J. easily misses things. He’s not dumb, but he’s a little bit in his own world.”

THE SHAPE OF THINGS: Julie Benz is proud to have the body to play a stripper on “Desperate Housewives” at age 37. The former “Dexter” leading lady tells us, “I’m an exercise junkie. I also feel like, my mentality is, I embrace who I am and where I’m at. I don’t consider myself be to be extremely thin. I’m very physically fit, but I’m not like this anorexic thinness. I’ve got these thighs and I’ve got this a– and I love to eat.”

AWARD TO THE WISE: Sure, there are lots more disappointed Oscar nominees than there are winners this morning, but those illustrious nominations still mean an awful lot. Ernest Borgnine, who was selected to receive the Publicists Guild’s Special Award of Merit in recognition of his long career at the organization’s 47th Annual Awards Luncheon last week, points out, “I didn’t win the Emmy last year (for his guesting on “E.R.”). But I always feel like if you’re nominated, they’re at least thinking of you. I thought being nominated was just as good,” claims the 93-year-old Borgnine. The Oscar winner for “Marty” (1955) does go on to say, however, “I do have that big golden fella that I won and nobody can take that away from me.”

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

E! Channel sensation Kendra Wilkinson looks incredible in her February OK! Magazine spread — a song of physical perfection, in fact, for a woman who just gave birth Dec. 11. But not to hear her tell it.

“I can’t say I’m back yet. I’m dieting. I’m going to get better,” says the knockout blond, who went from being one of Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends on “Girls Next Door” to love and marriage with Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Hank Baskett on her own “Kendra” show – to motherhood with the arrival of Hank Baskett IV.

She credits helpful lighting and photography for her dazzling look in the British mag. Meanwhile, “I’m under a lot of pressure to get back in shape for photo shoots and stuff like that. They don’t understand that it’s not that easy to get back in shape,” she complains.

“Actually, I had this doctor come over yesterday, to my new house in Tarzana. . The doctor rubbed on my belly and said ‘There’s always going to be that small little pooch because your uterus is shrinking,’” Kendra recounts.

“Once a week I do hardcore training and stuff,” continues the 24-year-old San Diego native. “I breast feed. I have to have some fat in me. Breast feeding, you burn off so many calories.”

“Kendra’s” new season launches March 14, and she considers it “ten times better than last season” – which is saying a lot, considering what a ratings winner has show has been for E! already.

Despite the challenges, Kendra says motherhood is “the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s so great to be a young mom. I can guarantee, if I’d waited 10 yeas to have a baby, I’d be in so much more pain and stuff. I feel like Supermom. If I need to lift a stroller down the steps, I lift it myself. I’m young and strong.”

The best part of all: “The bond between us, the love. He knows I’m his mom now. Every time I walk away he cries, which is painful and a negative thing, but also, every time I’m there, he laughs and smiles. Besides Hank, I’m the only one my baby can recognize and have that immediate comfort with. Wherever we go, if I’m there, he’s happy.”

NEW STEPS: “Dancing With the Stars” judge Carrie Ann Inaba tells us she’s ready to interview some celebrities this weekend at the Oscars as part of her co-hosting gig for the TV Guide Network’s “Live on the Red Carpet.” However, for a “shy” girl from Hawaii, it’s not as easy as it may look.

“I’m not familiar with celebrities. I don’t go out with the Hollywood crowd. I live kind of a quiet life so I thought this job would be exciting,” says Inaba of taking the hosting gig. “It’s really exciting, but it’s a challenge. It’s a whole new world for me because I’m naturally a shy person. I dance. I never liked speaking as much, but then I found myself being a judge and speaking a lot more than I wanted to. Now I’m on the red carpet speaking to celebrities. I get a little nervous because I’m just a girl from Hawaii. It’s bizarre,” she notes. “I have to face my fears of being shy and initiate conversations with people I’ve admired and respected my whole life. It’s an honor to get to interact with them and I just want to do it justice so I study a lot for this job.”

In fact, Inaba tells us she’s been brushing up on all of the Oscar-nominated movies in hopes of being more than prepared for the big day. “I took a couple of weeks off for the Emmys so I could study every single person I could on TV. I spent about two months studying for that. I have to say, I love school and part of being this red carpet host has to do with studying,” explains the acclaimed dancer, who seems to be getting better and better as she goes. “I know I’ve got to speak a little slower. I saw how excited I was so I’ve got to keep that more on the inside and be a little cooler on the outside,”
she adds with a laugh. Hey, it’s the Oscars. Everyone’s excited.

BAD MAN RISING: Dean Norris, familiar to “Breaking Bad” fans as Hank, the amiable blowhard DEA agent brother-in-law of Bryan Cranston’s character, works a whole different set of chops on tomorrow night’s (3/5) episode of “Medium.” His guest role is “the creepiest I’ve ever played. He’s a recidivist child molesting rapist kind of a guy. He’s the brother of the main detective, Scanlon (David Cubitt),” the actor reports.

Norris has been enjoying a busman’s holiday since “Breaking Bad” wrapped production for its March 21-debuting third season in January. He’s also just finished work on a “Lie to Me” episode, and hopes to do more guest roles before the regular TV season is over. “It’s just so much fun. The characters are generally different, and you get to go in there and do a fun, interesting story. You notice, you’re seeing movie stars guest-starring on shows these days,” he points out. Norris shows his funny side in “Cop Talk” videos you can find on YouTube and the AMC website. Those cops he’s seen with in the goofy bits are really cops who are really his buddies, he lets us know. But Norris’ Hank will be anything but funny this coming season, the actor tips. Look out.

NOT THE SAME OLD SAME OLD: Another pilot on the way is ABC’s “Off the Map,” about three doctors who are running a medical clinic in the middle of a tropical rain forest, using limited resources and lots of improvising. The characters are pretty Nina, sexy and tough Indian-American Michael, and brilliant, easily entertained Otis, all of whom left their pasts behind when heading out to the jungle. Sounds interesting.

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

(originally published November, 2009)

With Fox’s ‘Glee’ turning into an outright phenomenon, will stories of runaway egos and cast discord be far behind? Not if you ask Mark Salling, who plays Puck, the bad boy who’s been hard trying to be good — and winning over viewers’ hearts, if not the heart of his beloved Quinn (Dianna Agron).

He makes it clear, ‘It’s a good group of people.  No one does drugs.  Everybody’s really solid.  I can only speak for myself, though, and being that I’m 27, I think I’m a little too old to be so foolish as to squander everything away.’

Chris Colfer, who plays the flamboyant gay singer Kurt, is only 19, but he isn’t likely to lose his head over the sudden fame, either. He has too deep a sense of responsibility to his character, who’s quickly taking on iconic status. Chris does tell us he feels the show has already been life-changing, though, with thousands of fans showing up for public appearances these days, in addition to a flood of fan mail. The troupe even found themselves singing the national anthem at the World Series. ‘What an honor, to sing an American classic for an American classic,’ he says.

The show’s viewership is more than 8 and a half million and climbing. Sales of ‘Glee’ recordings on iTunes and traditional stores are so brisk that Reuters called them something for the beleaguered recording industry to feel joyful about this holiday season.

Cory Monteith is feeling joyful as well. The handsome 27-year-old plays football star-turned Glee club stalwart Finn Hudson (also the presumed baby daddy of his girlfriend, Quinn’s, gestating offspring). Monteith still can hardly believe he’s getting the chance to sing on television at all , considering he had never sung before getting cast on the Fox show.  ‘I’ve had zero training whatsoever.  This is the first thing I ever did with singing,’ admits the Canadian actor.

‘I’ve been a drummer all of my life so I have played music,’ he adds. ‘For me to now have this platform and to have the opportunities that this show is presenting me is a dream come true.’

Monteith admits that the musical demands of his role were a little intimidating at first. However, even a few weeks in he could tell a big difference with his performing.  ‘What you feed grows.  What you work on improves,’ he notes.  ‘It’s just gotten better and better.’

He also admits, ‘There’s a lot more acting than I thought was required originally with this character,’ as former best friends Finn and Puck literally came to blows on this week’s episode.

He goes on, ‘Finn’s got a certain naivety about him.  I really get the humor that the naivety creates.’

The older generation of ‘Glee’ stars is certainly benefiting from the show at least as much as the newcomers. At this year’s Emmy Awards, Best Supporting Actress winner Kristen Chenoweth predicted that ‘Glee’s’ Jane Lynch will be accepting an Emmy statuette next year, for her portrayal of the tough, mean, manipulating, mercurial, unpredictable and — just possibly — loveable underneath it all Coach Sue. Scores of critics and fans agree. As much as the ultra-talented actress-writer-comedian-singer has impressed audiences with her work in the past — especially in such Christopher Guest and Judd Apatow comedies as ‘Best in Show’ and ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’ — Coach Sue is a landmark in her career.

And then there’s the lynchpin of the entire ‘Glee’ machine, Matthew Morrison—a.k.a. Spanish teacher cum Glee club leader, Will Shuester. Hard as it may be to believe now, Morrison says there was a moment he wasn’t sure whether it was going to happen.

‘I wanted the part, but I was kind of scared of it.  TV musicals haven’t really done well in the past.  I knew it was going to be really, really bad or wildly successful. There was no middle road for this kind of show.’

Fortunately for him, the series took that latter track. Morrison, who previously starred in the Broadway productions of ‘Footloose,’ ‘Hairspray,’ and ‘South Pacific,’ to name a few, now has a way to bring all his performing skills to TV.

As he puts it, ‘I’m doing everything in this show that I do well.  I get to showcase my singing, my dancing — it’s like the perfect show for me.  If I could have written the perfect vehicle for myself, this would be it.’

As for the future, they’re all hoping ‘Glee’ continues on its present path with creator Ryan Murphy for a good long run.

And after that?

‘I’d love, love, love to do Broadway,’ says Chris Colfer. ‘I grew up doing community theater. I love doing show tunes, or theatrical anything — moving set pieces. I’m like a circus type. I’ve also always wanted to get into writing and screenwriting. I’m not sure where I’ll find myself in the future.’

It would seem the sky’s the limit.

(“Glee” returns April 13, 2010)

Emily-Fortune Feimster and Stacy Jenel Smith

As the Olympics race on, it’s time to place your side bets on which athletes will hang on to their celebrity status after coming down from the podium.

With their breathtaking historic victories and great looks, it’s no wonder that NBC has so heavily pumped Olympic Stars promos with Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn, Shani Davis and Apolo Anton Ohno.

Speaking of White, Vonn and Davis and their wins, Dr. Johnny Benjamin’s opinion piece this week in The Huffington Post claimed that there are differences in Gold Medals, noting, “…The sad reality is that 2 of the 3 amazing Olympians will be afforded many opportunities to parlay their glory into millions of dollars and one will fade back into obscurity and a 9 to 5. And, sadder still … we all know which unfortunate person that is.”

The implication being that Davis will be forgotten because he’s African-American.

We must point out that if Davis heads into obscurity, it’ll be at least in part because he has spent years rigorously rebuffing the media — as well as any public attention that veered off what he does on the ice in the slightest — including choosing not to be included in the U.S. Speedskating media guide.

Now that he’s opened up some, he’s put his talented skate-clad foot in it with the recent wince-worthy moment when he called Stephen Colbert “a jerk” at a press conference for criticizing Canada. Davis was clearly not aware that Colbert (a real-life supporter of speed skating), was doing his character shtick as a pompous windbag. Not a good sign. But hey, Davis-watchers say he’s better than he used to be, so we’ll see.

The point is, the alchemy that turns some Olympic golden ones into celebrities while others remain unknowns requires a blend of ingredients, including, first and foremost, that said Olympian is okay with becoming a celebrity.

Charisma is required. A gift of gab. Then — sorry, but it’s true — attractive looks. You need not be classically beautiful or handsome. Quirky can work. But the camera must like you.

There’ve been plenty of Olympic heroes whose brilliance as athletes just didn’t transfer into other realms, of course. Seven-Gold-Medal-winning Mark Spitz comes to mind. Watching a comedy sketch with Bob Hope in which Spitz played a dentist was the TV answer to having your teeth drilled. Awfully. Darned. Uncomfortable.

Whereas, we know already that Ohno is eminently watchable. He comes off smooth and likeable, as “Dancing With the Stars” fans are aware. He has “It” factor. He’s a star.

Olympic snowboarding competitor and “Dancing With the Stars” alumnus Louie Vito has what it takes, charisma-wise, for ongoing fame, too — as teenage girls we checked in with verified unanimously — and the 21-year-old Cute Boy didn’t even win a medal. He’s still a comer, though.

Then there’s beautiful blond snowboard cross champ Lindsey Jacobellis, who advertisers were primed to make into an Olympic Golden Girl until she failed in her second bid at Olympic glory with a stunning disqualification — which sucked the air out of her fame balloon.

Snowboarding king Shaun White’s already proven his celebrit-ability. His latest achievements simply amplify it. He’s got that great red hair and that laid-back surfer charm mojo working for him, big-time, though in real life he’s enroute to becoming a one-dude conglomerate. We’re going to Target right now to buy some of his 2-fer Tees.

Flamboyant skating star Johnny Weir already has his Sundance Channel show, “Be Good Johnny Weir.” It’s a safe bet this character is going to be around for awhile.

Will Lindsey Vonn’s gorgeousness and dynamic performance on the slopes help her retain her It Girl status into the summer and beyond? Perhaps a “Dancing With the Stars” stint should be in her future. It kept Golden Girl Shawn Johnson in the spotlight while she was making up her mind to go back into training for 2012.

Olympians have fared far less well with acting than with other sorts of public appearances. “Tarzan” Johnny Weissmuller and ice skating movie sweetheart Sonja Henie are the two biggest movie names that began with Olympic glory — and it’s been a long, long time since their respective heydays.

Tara Lipinski has put lots of effort into her acting career, but she remains most easily identified as the Gold Medal-winning figure skater.

Cathy Rigby retired from gymnastics in 1972, did her first turn in “Peter Pan” in ‘74 , appeared on Broadway and has spent much of her time over the past thirty-odd years doing stage work from “Annie Get Your Gun” to “Meet Me in St. Louis.” She’s 57 now. And, she’s still being called a gymnast.

Reality TV is a much more welcoming sphere, luckily for today’s Olympians. Case in point: Decathlon Champ Bruce Jenner’s movie career is exemplified by the awful big-screen bomb “Can’t Stop the Music” — and still, he reigns as a reality TV patriarch.

Now why wouldn’t Shani Davis want to end up like that?

Lily Tomlin is heading to New York to shoot the 11th episode of this season’s “Damages,” and says, “I can’t wait to learn what my character is up to.”
As fans of the hit FX series know, Lily is playing the wife of a man whose exploits bring to mind Bernie Madoff and his billion-dollar ponzi scheme, and she reveals, “I haven’t seen the script for any of the segments we’ll be shooting. I probably won’t until the last minute. None of us in the cast ever knows what the writers will do. They’re following an arc, but watch to see how the actors react to the scripts.

“I always want to leave the impression they can expect anything of my character. I just hope they don’t allow her to be a long-suffering wife. I want her to have a bad streak.”

Lily says she’s lucky. “I never invested with Bernie Madoff, never even knew who he was until the scandal broke. But, I have a couple of friends, a husband and wife who are writers, not people who had a lot of money, who lost everything to Madoff.”

Lily also feels lucky in love. In March, she’ll be celebrating her 39th anniversary of togetherness with her partner in life and career, writer Jane Wagner. Although they’ve reportedly only been open about the relationship for the last few years, Tomlin notes, “I never called a press confernece or anything like that, but in the industry, Jane and I always lived very openly. If people were oppressive of us, I wasn’t conscious of it or don’t remember if I was. Funny thing about me, I’m not too long on hard feelings.”

Lily says that she and Jane have no wish to marry. “We’ve been together too long, And, we’re not religious, not that you have to be, but it’s important to people who want to marry in church. The truth is that rituals don’t mean a lot to us, just the ones we invent. Besides, if we did stage a wedding, I don’t think Jane would get there on time. We call her Maybe Jane, maybe she’ll show up if we’re going someplace. I give her that flexibility.”

TWO STARS IN ONE: “In Plain Sight” actor Cristian de la Fuente is shuttling between his USA Network series shooting in Albuquerque, and work on his “Corazon Salvaje” Univision series in Mexico City — “which is exhausting, but also great, you know? When you’re exhausted because you’re working, it’s better than when you’re exhausted from finding work. So, I can’t complain.

“Things have been very good. I have a show in Spanish and a show in English,” notes the hot Chilean actor, who is also remembered for his fancy footwork on “Dancing With the Stars.”

In “Corazon,” de la Fuente is barely recognizable as the same actor who plays Mary McCormack’s ex-baseball player fiance in “In Plain Sight.” He sports long hair and sideburns for his role as a wealthy 1880’s land owner who rides around on horseback looking dashing in the romantic period piece.

What de la Fuente doesn’t have time for right now is a book tour, despite the fact he has a book coming out — “Hot, Passionate and Illegal? Why (Almost) Everything You Thought About Latinos Just May Be True.” He wrote it with Federico Larino, a buddy who’s head writer for a late-night comedy show in Mexico.

“We had this idea to write a book about Latinos in the States, how things have happened to him and to me. Most Americans think we are all from the same place. Everybody thinks we are all from Mexico, or all from the south and it’s like Latinolandia — where Latinos come from,” he observes. “There are even those who don’t know people from Brazil speak Portuguese, and there’s this confusion.”

Yes, embarrassingly enough, that is true. Adds de La Fuente (who is also a member of the Chilean Air Force Reserves’ aerobatic squadron), “The book is facts, like a manual, mixed with humor and life experiences.”

CAN’T DUCK THE REDUX: Not that Hollywood ever stops dusting off its more successful fare and remaking it, but we’re in the thick of a veritable remakathon right now.

On the big-screen side, there’s “True Grit,” as in the remake of John Wayne’s 1969 Western, only this time it’s Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn, with a cast also including Matt Damon and Josh Brolin for Joel and Ethan Coen. That flick that rolls next month.

Also being remade is “The Thing,” as in the 1951 and 1982 creature features. You can’t keep a good thing down, after all.

On the small-screen side — good grief — in addition to the new “Rockford Files” that is on the way, CBS is doing a new “Hawaii Five-0″ (will McGarrett still be the only guy on the islands wearing a suit and tie wherever he goes?). There’s also a new “Nikita” — as in La Femme Nikita — in the works. And Universal is finally doing their series version of England’s beloved “Prime Suspect.”

Seems like old times, all right.

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

Which celebrities are the best — and worst — at using Twitter?

“Neil Patrick Harris has done a spectacular job. He’s using Twitter in such a wonderfully subtle way,” says Peter Shankman, a man who knows. Shankman has 100,000-plus internet followers via HARO, the mega network he created, HelpAReporter.com, and he is most certainly at the forefront of the social networking phenomenon.

(Come to think of it, the other day on Twitter, NPH got us all excited again about “Accomplice: Hollywood,” the way cool alternate-reality live theatrical experience he’s currently got going on the streets of Hollywood, as a producer. Why, oh why, can’t Neil be the new “American Idol” judge when Simon leaves, not icky Howard Stern?… But, we digress….)

“You know the reason celebrities have publicists is not so they can speak, but to shut them up,” Shankman wryly states. “Twitter has shown us how easy it is for celebrities to get drunk and say something stupid and make fools of themselves. It’s also shown us those who do a really good job of posting things — very funny things, edgy things, subtly promotional things. They’re not taking pictures of themselves topless and posting them like Lindsay Lohan.” Talk about a Twitpic.

Shankman also names director/choreographer/ producer Adam Shankman — “same name, no relation” — as an able Twitterer. And, not surprisingly, Ashton Kutcher. “He and Demi Moore did something very funny a couple of weeks ago. They were deciding what to have for dinner by writing on their arms and taking pictures and posting them.”

On the other hand, as Twitter followers know all too well, there are those who are already wearing out their welcome with mindless, disjointed chatter.

“There is this concept of oversharing. Way too many people overshare,” Shankman believes. “But the beauty of it is, people will only follow you if they’re interested in what you’re sharing, so it’s going to become harder and harder to overshare.”

Also, “We’re starting to see people who are taking payments from sponsors to Tweet,” Shankman adds. But those who are too blatantly trying to use Twitter for advertising may find themselves quickly dropped by followers, including him.

How did he get all his followers? “I wish I knew, because God knows it’s not about my looks,” insists the triathlete and skydiver, obviously not wanting to give away his secrets. Of course, his HARO site offers an ingenious service, bringing together media people who need expert information, and experts who need media exposure.

Of his personal messages, be they Tweets or Status Updates, he says, “I always add value for people to enjoy.” Indeed, Shankman’s missives are filled with funny bits and pieces of wisdom. “It’s not what people can do for you, it’s what you can do for people,” he says.

And, you want your words to carry from follower to follower to follower. As he notes, “The value of Twitter lies in the reTweet.”

Gilles Marini returns to “Brothers & Sisters” Feb. 21 as Luc Laurent, the — be-still-our-beating-hearts — French lover of Rachel Griffiths’ Sarah Walker character on the show. To say he’s happy about that is an understatement.

“To think, when I came here, I did not speak English,” says the 34-year-old Frenchman, who hails from Cannes. “And now, I’m living the perfect American dream, with my wife and our little American kids we had here.”

In fact, Gilles’ and wife Carole’s young son and daughter are two of the reasons he says “Brothers & Sisters” is just right for him, offering a schedule that “makes it possible for me to see my kids off to school in the morning, or tuck them into bed every night.”

He admits, “You always worry. I thought, ‘I’m going to be playing the boyfriend. Where can the story take me?’” However, “I come in with a twist in my character’s background,” he reveals. “It’s the jackpot for me.”

If you saw the “Sex in the City” movie, you saw Gilles — all of him, in the shower — as Kim Cattrall’s neighbor and lust object. And, if you saw him on “Dancing With the Stars,” no doubt you recall he came close to victory in the season ultimately won by Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnson.

Now, working alongside Rachel, Sally Field and the rest of the “Brothers & Sisters” troupe, he says he’s overwhelmed to be in the presence of “that many actors with that much talent all at the same time.

“(Co-Executive Producer) Michael Morris told me, ‘You’re working so hard, Gilles. You always come in prepared every day, every second.’ But, it’s not work to me. I think this is the chance of a lifetime to be on this show, and to hopefully show American audiences that I deserve to be here.”

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW:  NBC’s freshman “Trauma” series was considered such a sure-shot for early extinction that members of the crew gave up their apartments on San Francisco location. But not Cliff Curtis, the New Zealand star who plays a cocky helicopter pilot in the drama about daring, first-response paramedics.

“Trauma” got off to such a rough start that, a month after its debut in September, NBC announced it wouldn’t renew it. Then, in November, the network called for three more episodes. And then last month, as the cancellation of “The Jay Leno Show” left NBC with mucho hours of prime time to fill, they added four more episodes of “Trauma.”

Still, “I never had any doubts,” says Curtis. “From the beginning, I had confidence that if we did the best work we could, if we kept trying to raise the bar, the audience would grow to appreciate the show. And, it has.”

With a pedigree including Executive Producer/director Peter Berg (“Friday Night Lights,” “Hancock”), the show did take some time to find its footing creatively. Curtis concedes, “The characters weren’t developed properly at first. We took a lot of creative license, but learned from it. We listened to the audience and to critics, and were able to satisfy a lot of complaints about the characters. We improved the humor and the action on the front line.

“When things were their worst, I watched with a wry smile and was quietly confident,” he says. “And now, I wouldn’t be surprised that after we return to the lineup following the Winter Olympics, we’ll do so well that we’ll be renewed for another season.”

In fact, the “Whale Rider” big-screen star is so confident that he’s involved with a long-range hit, he’s saying, after 15 years of commuting from New Zealand to the U.S. for film work, that he’d be ready to move his wife and their two children to these shores, “To settle down for at least a few years in San Francisco. I love it there.”

Brenda Song

THE BIG-SCREEN SCENE:

It’s a b-i-i-g difference, going from the Disney Channel to a David Fincher film with Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake and Andrew Garfield, but that’s what beautiful 21-year-old Brenda Song has done.

She’s now back at work in her best-known role — as kooky heiress London Tipton on “The Suite Life on Deck” — after wrapping the big-screen “Social Network.” It’s the story of the founders of Facebook — Mark Zuckerberg, Sean Parker and Eduardo Saverin.

Shooting the film, Brenda says, “has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It’s such an honor to work with David. ‘Fight Club’ is one of my favorite movies. He’s absolutely brilliant.”

She adds, “Mix that with Aaron Sorkin’s writing and I’m lost for words. It’s like watching geniuses at work. The cast has been soooo amazing. I’m in love with Andrew and Jesse. We had so much fun.”

Her character, Christy “kind of set her sights on Eduardo (Garfield) and will do everything in her power to be with him. It was quite a change from London — ha ha,” she adds in an online interview.

Fear not, London fans. Brenda is not forsaking the ditzy character she’s been playing since 2005. “Suite Life on Deck” has new episodes coming up, including the March 5-debuting installment that has London, Zack and Cody (Dylan and Cole Sprouse) in fairytale fantasies. Hers is “Snow White” — as the evil queen.

WITCHY WOMAN: Katerina Graham, who plays witch Bonnie on the CW’s “Vampire Diaries,” tells us “I hope she stays a good witch. I think she’s such a great role model for a lot of girls.”

Yes, and it’s very hard to find good teen role models in today’s TV landscape. For instance, Bonnie sure beats Grace (Megan Park), the Christian girl in Brenda Hampton’s “Secret Life of the American Teenager,” who believes that her having had sex with her boyfriend caused her father’s death in a plane crash — divine retribution? — and has gone on to advocate masturbation.

And then of course there’s Quinn Fabray (Donna Agron) of “Glee,” the Christian former head of the Celibacy Club, pregnant by one guy and girlfriend of another.

The fact is, as framed by the majority of Hollywood creative types, you’re bound to do better, role model-wise, with witches and vampires than religious types.

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

“Yet, the one thing that can’t happen does happen. His wife finds out and all is lost,” Cranston says. “He must make amends, live with the fallout of his actions and try to win his wife back and to reconcile who his is.”

That might be, but make no mistake that drugs won’t still be a vital part of the story, as will Aaron Paul, who plays Walter’s former student who’s teamed up with his one-time teacher in the drug trade.

Cranston, who counts his role as the father in “Malcolm in the Middle” among his many credits, notes how flawed many television heroes have become today. Among them: Denis Leary as an alcoholic fireman in “Rescue Me,” Edie Falco as a cheating, drug-addicted wife in “Nurse Jackie,” murderers and such in “Sons of Anarchy.”

The way Cranston has figured it out, “In the old days, the leading man was handsome, never drank, didn’t abuse drugs, always figured out what his problems were and solved them. But today, we are accepting more sophisticated storytelling — more honest portrayals of the human experience.”

MAKING IT HAPPEN:  Robert David Hall, a.k.a. “CSI’s” coroner Al Robbins, is about to unveil “Things They Don’t Teach You in School” — a bluesy Americana-style labor of love he recorded last summer in Austin, with “some of the best sidemen in the business.”

He tells us, “I’ve been a musician and a singer almost all my life, but it just sort of faded.” Then, “My baby brother came down with cancer, liver cancer. He’s 46.” His brother’s battle awakened Hall to the fact that none of us has unlimited time to accomplish “that secret list of things we want to do in life” — and sparked him to get busy.

“I’m a good musician. I think I’m a good writer. I have no illusions. I just hope that people who check this out will enjoy it,” says Hall, who wrote seven of the songs on “Things They Don’t Teach You in School” and co-wrote two more. Samples of his enjoyable folksy fare can be checked out at his robertdavidhallmusic.com website.

Meanwhile, Hall, a mighty multi-tasker if there ever was one, continues his “CSI” duties as well as his leadership roles as an advocate for people with disabilities — as well as being among the founding fathers of the Screen Actors Guild’s iActor online casting database. It allows “all paid members to upload their reels, headshots and resume information. It’s a place where casting people can look and know that they have paid up union member.”

EXPANDING HORIZONS: Lea Thompson is moving forward with preproduction on her “Damaged Goods” project — that will have the “Jane Doe” mysteries and former “Caroline in the City” star behind the cameras, as a director. Though Lea’s directed herself in “Jane Doe” movies, this will be her first shot at helming a big-screen romantic comedy.

It’s about a high-flying, chic Malibu lifestyle guru who finds herself falling for a guy who operates a used furniture store in New Mexico and, well, owns chickens. Can love prevail?

James Denton and Jonathan Cooper are cast and subsidiary roles are being filled now.

CASTING CORNER: Now that the applause has had a chance to die down since the announcement that Kate Winslet will star in a remake of “Mildred Pierce” as an HBO miniseries, there are questions to be asked. First, who’ll play the key role of Veda — the selfish ingrate daughter that tenacious businesswoman Mildred can’t please.

Casting forces are working on that one now. The role won Ann Blyth an Oscar nomination for the 1946 feature — which, of course, netted Joan Crawford a Best Actress statuette.

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster