By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
Several years ago, when DONALD FAISON last spoke with TASTY CLIPS, he was reminiscing about the good times he had working on the sitcom, “Scrubs” which enjoyed a long run on two broadcast networks from 2001 through 2010.
“I loved working on [that show] and I really enjoyed working on “Remember the Titans.” As an actor you try to live in the moment when you’re on set. And those were times where I felt I could play football or funny and comedic.”
Now the happy days are here again as Faison is reprising his role as Dr. Chris Turk in the return of the series with fellow castmates Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke and Judy Reyes in an updated version airing Wednesday nights on ABC and streaming on Hulu.
At the time, he railed against the idea of rebooting the show and is now looking quite prophetic.
“Fans would lose their minds,” he said. “I think it should be that way with everything. A reboot isn’t necessary. You can do a sequel. That’s the better and more creative idea instead of just trying to duplicate what was done before.”
The actor, whose numerous credits include “Clueless,” “Ray Donovan,” and countless commercials and voice-over work, was then promoting his ABC sci-fi series “Emergence.”
Asked if he believed there are aliens, Faison replied, “Absolutely, I believe in extra-terrestrials. I’m going to sound like a crazy person for it, but we just had two interstellar rocks come flying through. Both shaped really weird. Not like what physics has taught us these rocks should be.
“One is going to pass through and not stop. It’s just going to fly through,” he added. “So, the sun’s gravitational pull will have nothing to do with it. The other one came through, circled around the sun and then exited. And now we’re seeing the Air Force and all these UFOs. We don’t know what they are, but we know that they’re moving at really fast speed. That’s pretty intriguing.”
He added, “Do I think that E.T. is going to come and be nice? I don’t know. I think if E.T. does come here, they’re going to try to wipe us out.”
One fun fact about the 51-year-old New York native is that he once hosted “Soul Train.”
“I wasn’t dressed for it. I still have a problem dressing for the occasion. I wore a sweater with some baggy cargo pants trying to feel hip hop-ish,” he recalled about the experience along with being drenched with sweat while talking to people. “Don Cornelius came through and said, ‘We’re going to have you do more.’ I was like ‘OK.’ I truly enjoyed it. Just don’t think I looked the part. Shemar Moore was one of the best hosts on the show ever. That was right up his alley.”
Despite a long career spurred from his childhood love of “Star Wars,” the father of six surprisingly admitted that he hoped they don’t decide to follow in his footsteps.
“If they do, I will definitely support them for the most part,” Faison said. “I would prefer they find their own lane. As much as it would be nice to be able to help them get their jobs, you have to have the talent to do it. Unless you do, this is a cruel, cruel, cruel business.”
He tries to abide the words of wisdom from a friend.
“Somebody told me to try to maintain my presence,” he said. “Stay present in the moment and try to have fun with it. That’s probably the best advice I’ve gotten in a really long time because I can go back and look at other things I did. I was so nervous and wanted to be accepted so much that I forgot to just enjoy the moment I was in.”
For more than 11 years, Bill Vaughan has kept Wave readers up to date with the latest news in entertainment. Now, we are collecting some of those past columns into what we call the Best of Tasty Clips. To contact Vaughan, visit his social media pages on Facebook and Instagram or @tasty_clips, on X @tastyclips, and on LinkedIn to William Vaughan.
