My interview with Tom Cavanaugh...

Tom Cavanaugh is a busy man these days. But between takes of his upcoming TNT series, the actor carved ouit some time to chat about his new movie "Breakfast With Scot" which opens Friday.

"I'm sorry, they're calling me back to the set," he said just a minute or so into our conversation this week. "I'll call you back as soon as I can."

True to his word, he rings back 15 minutes later.
He's determined to talk up "Scot" in which he plays a closeted sportscaster in a committed relationship with an attorney named Sam (Ben Shenkman). An 11-year-old boy (Noah Bernett) whose mother has just died comes to stay with the couple and is more out of the closet than these grown men are.

"For me, it wasn't anything specifically about (playing gay). It was about the story," Cavanaugh said. "I really liked the idea of a mismatched couple taking in this flamboyant child. I felt like I'd seen this variation on screen but never with two guys and a child. It seemed like a twist on the twist."

Cavanaugh, who starred in the NBC series "Ed" and had a recurring role as Zach Braff's brother on "Scrubs," has never shied away from gay roles including that of Christine Lahti's brother on the old WB series "Jack and Bobby."

Playing a former NHL star turned sportscaster in "Scot" offered many layers to play, including the character's internal homophobia which doesn't really surface until faced with raising a flamboyant and probably gay child.

"He had to face why he had that world view," Cavanaugh said. "It was fun to play. I loved playing the part and I loved the central conceit. "It's not edgy, I feel like their's a commercial appeal to it. It's sort of like a non-mainstream subject but it has a mainstream appeal."

Cavanaugh and Shenkman had worked together previously on the short-lived series "Love Monkey" and the actor has kind words for his on-screen partner: "He's incredible, such a deft and talented actor. His is not an easy role to play. You want to try as mucb as you can to stay away from cliches on both our parts. I thought he was gounded and real. I feel like he grounds the picture."

By the way, the TNT series is called "Trust Me" and is set to premiere in early 2009. Cavanaugh co-stars with Erik McCormack as ad agency partners in Chicago.

"It's kind of been an actual dream," he said of the show. "I really think you'll like it."