Paulo Costanzo Is A Royal Pain

Paulo Costanzo as Even R. Lawson, CFO / copyright USA Network

If you’ve ever talked to Paulo Costanzo (pronounced Cos-TAN-zo, not Cos-TON-zo, ‘cuz he’s from Canada), then you know he’ll agree with me. And then he’ll go on to riff about being a royal pain for 15 minutes. The guy is funny, is what I’m saying. I had the opportunity to chat with Paulo earlier this week, and while he really couldn’t say much about what’s coming our way on Royal Pains, it’s clear that he’s enjoying playing Evan R. Lawson, CFO opposite Mark Feuerstein. Paulo recounted how he landed what was originally supposed to be the role of Hank’s best friend, much to our delight.

“When I went in for the first audition, I got the callback pretty much the same day.  The callback was for a chemistry read, which means that they bring you in to read with other actors who have already been cast to see how you get along with them.  So I went in for this chemistry read and at that time I was reading for the best friend, not the brother.  There was no brother in the script.  It was just Hank’s best friend, Evan, with some other last name.  So I went in and I walked in the door, and I looked at him and he looked at me and I said, ‘Wait a minute.  You look exactly…’ and he finished my sentence by saying, ‘Like me!’   And we both went, ‘What the hell?’  And in my head I was like, ‘I lost this role. There’s no way I can play this man’s best friend.  I look exactly like him, just younger.’

“At that point I threw caution to the wind.  It was just, like, ‘I honestly feel like our Jew-fros, like if they got too close in proximity, they would just magnetize together and be almost impossible to separate, like Velcro.’  And he went, ‘Yes, I agree.’  And I said, ‘Let’s try it.’  And we got close and we somehow strangely mimed this head mashing, which made the room laugh, which I thought was really funny.  And I was like ‘ah,’ and that’s how we began our relationship.”

For more with Paulo, including me explaining Twitter to him – Paulo: What if I was like, “I’m going to be at Macy’s on the corner of 24th and 7th in an hour.  Meet me there and I’ll say hi.” Melissa: Prepare to be mobbed – check out the complete transcript here.

After taking the 4th of July off, as all proper Hamptonites do, Royal Pains returns tonight with “No Man Is An Island”. The episode opens with Hank and Jill moving their relationship forward, and I’m finally seeing the attraction between those two. Jill still seems a little reserved, but there might be a reason for that. It’s not all smooth sailing, of course, and the two have a couple of complications to navigate over the course of the weekend. Meanwhile, after  Evan lands “a whale” of a client (perhaps not the best term to describe a pregnant woman, man), the brothers Lawson find themselves on a technology-free private island with the very wealthy Grants. Hank’s services have been retained in case the very pregnant and very organized Claire Grant (Susan Misner) goes into labor, which, much to Hank’s dismay, she intends to do so she can give birth on the island.

David Alan Basche and Mark Feuerstein in ROYAL PAINS / copyright USA Network

As the weekend unfolds, it turns out that Claire is not the one in need of medical assistance, and Hank’s MacGuyver-ish skills are called into service again, including one “OMG! He did not just do that!” moment. Steven Kevin Evan has tagged along as a “manny” for three of the Grant children and proves to be surprisingly good at mentoring 12-year-old Arlo whose self esteem needs a major boost. In the process of caring for the family, we’re also provided a glimpse into the brothers’ childhood. In a rather poignant scene early on, the foundation for their very different perspectives on life becomes clear, giving us more insight into the characters.

Hank and Evan aren’t the only ones we’re connecting with in this episode: Divya and Jill have occasion to square off and find their footing with each other after Jill presents Hank with the opportunity to mix his personal and professional lives. And last but certainly not least, on this show anyway, is the guest cast. On what is essentially a procedural with new guest stars every week, somehow we manage to connect with these people we’re only going to see once. The Grant family could have been just a generic rich family with secrets and baggage. Instead, they feel like a family that deserves their own spin off series, much like the teenagers from the pilot and the chef from two weeks ago. It helps that this week’s guest cast includes a former Nice Boy (The Starter Wife‘s David Alan Basche), a seasoned character actor (Jason Rebhorn), and one of the best “guy you love to hate” character actors around (Jason Kravitz).

Welcome back to the Hamptons, kids.

Royal Pains airs tonight at 10/9c on USA Network.