James Patrick Stuart is well recognized to viewers of soap operas from his performances as Will Cortland on ALL MY CHILDREN and Valentin Cassadine on GENERAL HOSPITAL. His prominent part in Disney Channel’s THE VILLAINS OF VALLEY VIEW and his primetime roles in shows like FRASIER and SEINFELD may also have made him well-known to a large number of viewers. But the actor did play a part in which a lot of people didn’t see him, and it also happens to be one of his favorites!
He posted on Facebook, saying, “If you never saw ANDY RICHTER CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE, you ain’t alone.” During its brief existence, it received high praise from critics everywhere and was nominated for several Emmys. Before it vanished, a little over a dozen episodes were shown. It’s still the most enjoyable thing I’ve ever done. Working with [director] Andy Ackerman and [creator] Victor Fresco was an absolute pleasure. Without a doubt, Andy Richter is the funniest man I have ever met. Like lightning in a bottle.
ANDY RICHTER CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE aired on FOX from 2002-03 and starred comedian Andy Richter as an aspiring writer working in Chicago for a company that creates technical manuals in order to pay the bills. Stuart played the role of Keith, Andy’s friend and co-worker, who was best known as the handsome guy in the office.
Richter recalled to Cracked that James Patrick Stuart “came from soap operas, and like Irene [Molloy], he didn’t have to be as funny as he was.” “His role was based on him being the attractive guy, but James’s humor made that character work.”
Andy’s comment is appreciated, but Stuart countered, “I’d give the credit to Victor Fresco for never wanting to go for the obvious joke.” The stereotype of the conceited, attractive guy who had it all growing up exists, and he enjoys making Andy’s character feel horrible about himself, but Victor didn’t want to play that. Andy feels a rivalry with Keith because of his genuine kindness. It was approached in such a novel way.
A humorous plot device employed in the show featured sequences that abruptly proved to be entirely imaginary. ANDY RICHTER CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE was revived for a second season after a run of seven episodes, however only eight of the thirteen episodes were broadcast on FOX. Nevertheless, Stuart remembers the sitcom with nostalgia.
He said, “There are hundreds of lines that still come to mind.” After that, I’ll text them to Jonathan Slavin or Paget Brewster. I used to forget those lines in an hour when I worked on GH, but I still remember a ton of humor from ANDY RICHTER CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE.
Unfortunately, ANDY RICHTER CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE is not presently available for streaming, so if you want to see Stuart’s performances for yourself, you’ll have to locate the full series DVD collection that was published in 2009.
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