We have seen actor Jean-Luc Bilodeau grow up on ABC Family. From “Kyle XY” to starring in the telefilm “16 Wishes” followed by the TV series “No Ordinary Family”. But this time, Bilodeau is the main actor in the new ABC family comedy series “Baby Daddy”.
The half-hour comedy series made its debut in June 2012 and was created by Dan Berendsen, known for his work on the TV series “The Nine Lives of Chloe King”, “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” and “Hannah Montana: The Movie”.
“Baby Daddy” stars Jean-Luc Bilodeau as Ben, a man who’s ex-girlfriend left a baby girl on his door step. Now Ben, the surprised and inexperienced new father, must raise the baby with the help of his mother Bonnie (as portrayed by Melissa Peterman), his brother Danny (as portrayed by Derek Theler), his best friend Tucker (as portrayed by Tahj Mowry) and his close female friend Riley (as portrayed by Chelsea Kane), who happens to have a secret crush on him.
Actor Jean-Luc Bilodeau recently took part in a media Q&A to promote the third season of “Baby Daddy”.
Here is a transcript from the Q&A with Jean-Luc Bilodeau:
Moderator   What are your hopes for Ben in Season 3? Â
J. Bilodeau     My hopes for Ben were definitely to find a girl, find a more motherly figure for Emma. Having someone around for Emma is always important. I hope that he keeps his job. I hope that he doesn’t make any career moves. I feel that Ben being a bartender for the show keeps him young and funny. I don’t really look like a bartender, so I think it’s really kind of cool that I get to play one and I’ve never had a job like that before. So yes, keep the job, get a girl, and then just let the hilarity ensue. Let the writers just take control of each episode and make every episode a funny one.
Moderator   What could you tease about Ben’s relationship with Riley? Â
J. Bilodeau   Season 3 picked up where we left off in Season 2. We’re building the love triangle and turning it on fire a little bit. We give some closure to that love triangle at the end of Season 2 and it starts with Ben trying to make the move now. He’s realizing that she’s been into him for so long and it’s time for him to take advantage of it. He realizes that she’s probably the best example for Emma and he’s definitely working toward it. But I don’t want to tease too much. You got to watch the show!
Moderator   How did you came to be on the show? Â
J. Bilodeau   I just auditioned like every other normal actor out here. I got the first audition, went in for Alyson Silverberg – our casting director – and did a good job with her and then just moved up the line; worked with producers, director, and then went to the network and just climbed the ladder. I loved the script from the very beginning. I didn’t need to take much convincing to really work at it and to get on it, so my team and I really, really worked hard on it.
My relationship with ABC Family was great. I had already worked with them on a show for three and a half years, so it was time for me to be back on the network. It was painless, it really was. I had a really great time during that period finding Ben and working with Michael Lembeck – our director – he really helped me ground Ben and really find who his character was inside me. It was just a regular audition process and it only took about a week and a half from the first audition to getting the role. It was pretty painless.
Moderator   Did you have to show how you could handle a baby in your auditions?
J. Bilodeau     Yes, actually in the audition they had this weird toy. It almost looked like a dog toy, this little fluffy thing and that’s what we had to carry as a baby. Instead of using that, I brought in a hoodie and rolled it up and pretended that was the baby because I just couldn’t take myself seriously holding this big fluffy dog toy. It changed a lot, obviously. On day one we got the real baby. It was my first time ever handling a baby, so it was fun.
Moderator   What do you find most rewarding about acting?
J. Bilodeau     I’d say working with the people and the locations. I love film sets. I love the food. I love the people, the personalities; I guess just going to work every day is the best part. It’s a great setting. I don’t think I could ever have a desk job, so I get to be mobile. I’m on set. I get to walk around kind of doing my own thing, being independent — it’s just a really good vibe. Everyone on a film set is very happy and they all love their jobs, so it’s a cool environment to be a part of. Seeing whatever you’re working on, the show or the movie, seeing it progress from day one to the last day and seeing all the pieces put together, it takes a village, but it’s fun. If everyone works well and everyone is cohesive, it’s a really, really, really rewarding experience.
Moderator   If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and what would you do while you were there? Â
J. Bilodeau     I’ve always really, really wanted to go to Egypt and go inside some pyramids and just hang out there. I don’t know why. I don’t like hot weather and I don’t like the desert, but something about the pyramid and the mummies and all their history there, I’d love to go check it out. I want to sky dive in every cool country I go to, so I’ll probably sky dive. I want to travel through some pyramids and stuff. Maybe wake up a mummy.
Moderator   Have you ever been able to use your dancing talents on Baby Daddy?
J. Bilodeau     Yes, we did a dance episode in Season 1. I believe it was Season 1, Episode 7. We had another dance episode, and when I say dance episode, I mean we’re not all dancing the whole episode. It’s not a musical. We just have a moment in the script that I break out in some dance moves. But yes, I danced for quite a while and the producers know that. It’s been such a long time since I’ve taken a class, so it’s always very nerve wracking for me and I’m my hardest critic. I would dance for ten years and the producers and writers like writing that in, so I’ve had to use it a couple of times.
Moderator   Are there any chances of us seeing you on Dancing with the Stars any time soon? Â
J. Bilodeau     I’ve thought about it. I think I’d do pretty well, just because of my dance background. I don’t know if it’s the right time for me to go on that show, but Chelsea did it and I work with her and she loved the experience. It’s something to think about in the future definitely.
Moderator   Could you talk a little bit about what it’s like working with your cast?
J. Bilodeau     It’s so great. I’ve been blessed with an amazing cast to work with. Ever since the beginning, I’ve worked with the people on Kyle XY and they were amazing. I never thought I’d be able to equalize to that. I never thought I’d be able to work with such an amazing group of people again and I did.
Now I’m working on Baby Daddy and these people are just as great as the people on Kyle XY. It’s a really great group. We’re all so different from each other, which makes it so funny and unique. We’re just such a weird looking group of people together you know. We just like to have fun and we like to just make each other laugh and there’s no ego. There’s no tough personalities; we’re all very easy going.
We just want to get our work done and have some fun and make a good TV show. We’re all friends hanging out with the cast on weekends and after work during the week is a regular thing, so we all love each other very much. It’s a great, great, great chemistry we have.
Moderator   With summer coming to an end, what are you looking forward to in the fall? Are you a hockey fan? Â
J. Bilodeau     Definitely, that’s number one! Hockey is coming up pretty soon. I think I have about a month left until the first preseason game starts. Fall is my favorite my time of the year. I love it. I’ll try and make it back to Vancouver a bunch. I love going back home for that. Everything turns orange. You start to get out of summer, start making your way into the winter, everyone is wearing jackets. Vancouver lights up in the fall, so I definitely go back there for a bit. I just want to spend some time with my family. I love that season, and then winter and start snowboarding!
Moderator   What guest stars might be coming up on Baby Daddy? Â
J. Bilodeau     We have a bunch! We had Matt Dallas recently. We also have Greg Grunberg coming back as my dad. Wayne Brady was on earlier this season.
Lacey Chabert comes on and plays about six episodes and she’s absolutely incredible. We have Caroline Rhea play Riley’s mom. We have a ton of really great people to work with. We had a really great line-up of people to work with this season, especially Lacey Chabert. She’s the nicest human being on the planet. We love her. We wish she could just come back on the show and be a series regular, she’s so funny.
Moderator   What celebrity guest star would you like to have appear on the show?
J. Bilodeau     I love That 70’s Show and I would love to have Topher Grace somehow come on the show as a guest star. I know he doesn’t really do guest stars at all, but he’s super funny. I’d love to rehash his character from That 70’s Show into our show somehow. I think it’d be really funny. He’s an extraordinary actor, a great comedic actor and he’s cool.
Moderator   Do you tune in to watch any other ABC Family shows besides Baby Daddy?
J. Bilodeau     A little bit. I don’t want TV that often. I’ll watch Melissa & Joey sometimes before Baby Daddy. I’m friends with Lucy Hale, so I’ve Pretty Little Liars a couple times. I have watched Twisted, my buddy Avan Jogia is on that show. I don’t watch that much TV, I think I should probably watch a little bit more, but I love the ABC Family shows.
Moderator   Do you have any other projects that you’re working on besides Baby Daddy? Â
J. Bilodeau     Nothing right now, I’m just working on Baby Daddy. We’re halfway through Season 3 right now and we’ve got 15 more episodes to shoot, so I’m working all the way till January. Hopefully I can line something up afterwards, but I’m just working on my show and focusing on Ben and his baby.
Baby Daddy is seen on Wednesdays at 8:30/7:30c on ABC Family