Whitfield Plays It Cool (But Not Too Cool) on 'Hidden Hills'

[TJ]

http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?29210

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Dondre T. Whitfield doesn't live
the kind of overscheduled, hectic 21st-century suburban life
portrayed on the series he stars in, "Hidden Hills."

At least not yet.

"[It's] just because I don't have any kids yet, and I think my
personal life is probably a little bit cooler in the sense that my
wife and I are newlyweds," says Whitfield, who married Salli
Richardson ("Family Law") in September. "We're still able to
get out and do things. When you have kids, you have to be a lot
more creative in terms of scheduling."

It's something he's
learned from his friends
who have children, and it
applies to "Hidden Hills"
(NBC, 9:30 p.m. ET
Tuesdays), in which he
plays Zack Timmerman,
the easygoing best friend
of harried dad Doug
Barber (Justin Louis).
Although Zack is married and his kids too, his life just seems
easier to Doug, which causes a little bit of envy.

"It's kind of a case of thinking the grass is always greener on
the other side," says Whitfield. "They kind of resent not being
as impulsive as we are. Zack has a new hobby every day.
Justin's character misses being able to do that because his wife
won't allow him."

Whitfield's first regular role was on the soap opera "All My
Children," for which he earned three Daytime Emmy
nominations in the early 1990s. He says working in daytime TV,
with its intense show-a-day pace, has helped him in the
somewhat more relaxed environment of shooting a prime-time
comedy.

Nothing, however, has been more influential than his first professional acting job --
guest appearances as Vanessa's (Tempestt Bledsoe) first boyfriend on "The Cosby
Show."

"That was probably the single most important experience I've had to date in my
career," he says. "It defined everything for me -- what my comedic sensibilities were
going to be, what a professional was. Being around Mr. C and talking to him and
understanding what it takes."

"It was one of the few times in my life that I've been silent, and wanted to be, just so I
could learn everything I could possibly soak up."

As "Hidden Hills" has moved through its first season -- 13 episodes have finished
filming, with nine more to come -- Whitfield has had a chance to delve beneath Zack's
supercool exterior a little. Naturally, he's not so calm on the inside.

"What we've been getting into lately is trying to figure out the things that make him
vulnerable and less cool," he says. "It's always interesting watching people who are
typically very much in control [lose] control. That's where we're getting with him, and
that part's been a whole lot of fun."