Getting to Know Zach Cregger

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You've seen him on the hit IFC show "The Whitest Kids U'Know". You've howled with laughter at his portrayal of a rude and obnoxious Abe Lincoln in a video that has received over 4 million hits on Youtube. He served up the funny when he visited the Playboy Mansion in Miss March, which he both wrote and starred in.

Now Zach Cregger is starring in the new NBC sitcom "Friends with Benefits", which will premiere in 2011. We sat down with this rising star to talk about his career so far and get the scoop on his new ventures...

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YH: Tell us about the evolution of your career "" what other roles have you done?

ZC: I haven't done a lot of roles, but I've done hundreds of roles. I've done tons of characters on the "Whitest Kids," but I've only had about five jobs in my career. I started acting in high school. I grew up in Arlington, Virginia, and there's not really a lot of show biz there, if anything it's more in Baltimore. I got a manager somehow in high school; I figured out who the manager was in town and did a monologue for him. Then I did a lot of auditioning in Baltimore; I did two episodes of "Homicide: Life in the Street" and "America's Most Wanted". I had one line in a spin-off of "Dawson's Creek" called "Young Americans", which was canceled immediately. I did as much as I feel a high school kid could do growing up in Arlington. Then when I went to college, I wanted to not split my time. I wanted to have a good back-up plan. I met the other Whitest Kids at college in New York. I did a lot of live comedy for years before the TV show. I got to do lots of characters. I don't feel like I have a huge breadth of experience, but I also got to play a wide range of characters on "Whitest Kids U'Know".

YH: You've always done a lot of producing "" do you prefer to be in front of or behind the camera?

ZC: It's tricky because being in front of the camera is easier for me. I like to think of acting as just easy. I'm kind of lazy about acting, in a good way. If you think about it too much, you're on the wrong track. I like to show up on set with no idea what I'm going to do and just figure it out as the camera is rolling and just throw it away and not think about it. There's no responsibility for me as an actor, other than the moment the camera is rolling. That's the only time I feel like I owe anything to anybody. With directing, producing, and writing, you have all the responsibility in the world. There's never a moment on set of rest because you have to make sure everything is working towards the best ultimate output, so you're stressing constantly and focusing on so much. It's intense but more rewarding when you do something good, because you really birthed it and you're responsible for all of it. As an actor, it's just like, "Yeah, I did what I did and I hope you make it work; I hope you cut it together right. I hope the writing is good, I'm just saying what you wrote." You don't really have that stress, but you don't get the reward. It's a trade.

YH: What is "Friends With Benefits" about?

ZC: It's a comedy coming out on NBC, an ensemble sitcom about a bunch of young people who are exploring the romantic landscape of their 20's. They're figuring out what it is to be in a relationship or not in a relationship. It's funny, it's a good cast. I really like everyone in it.

YH: What is your character like?

ZC: I play this guy named Aaron who is kind of a genius, a math whiz. He started in nanotechnology and sold it to Google for some obscene amount of money. He's filthy rich but he's totally neurotic and puts way too much weight on romance. He's got everything in the world materially, but he can't seem to lock down his love life. His struggle is that he throws all his resources constantly at trying to woo a special lady, but every other woman he sees is a special lady, so he's kind of a mess.

YH: You're replacing another actor who filmed the initial pilot episode "" how did you land the role?

ZC: I just came out here and auditioned for it. The process is called testing, when you came out and you read for a studio. Once you move through the studio, then you go to the network test, which is in front of the studio and the network. It's a very brutally unpleasant process. It's really stressful. There are fifty people in a room watching you do a scene and the stakes are high. It was wild because I got to the studio test and the only other guy from the studio who was going forward to the network was another New Yorker who was staying in the same hotel I was in. We went and saw a movie together that night and had beers in his hotel room, knowing that one of us was going to get the part. I didn't have a car and he actually drove me to the audition the next day. It was a bizarre process. He was a really cool dude and we got along really well. It was a bittersweet thing. It was good to have a wingman because it was so stressful, so it's great that we could be stressed out together. But it was also weird because we were competing just against each other. It was very odd.

YH: What do you listen to most frequently on your iPod?

ZC: Lately what I've been doing, since I got to L.A. and I'm spending all this time in the car listening to so much music, I put my iPod on alphabetical for every song. Right now I think I'm at "Al", and it's been two weeks. I'm getting a random smattering of everything. I've been on a big Jonathan Richman kick recently. I listen to this group Born Against which is punk. I listen to all kinds of stuff. I listen to Tom Waits, Pixies, whatever. I like too much, that's my problem. So many things that I hear I love. I wish I had a stronger filter.

YH: What activities do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

ZC: I'm enjoying boxing classes. I have a real sweet tooth for video games. I'm a big game guy. I like going out with friends as much as possible. I'm a big reader and I draw.

YH: What would you do on an ideal Friday night?

ZC: I guess it depends what city I'm in. In New York, I would meet up with friends, go out to a couple bars. Hopefully find an environment where it's not crowded. My ideal social thing is like thirteen people that I know. That's great, because you have plenty of options to mingle around but it's still intimate and everyone can be together. Since I was here in L.A., I was hanging out at a friend's house and we played this game "Werewolves and Villagers," which is kind of like "Mafia". I love doing that. I wish I could do that every night.

YH: Ideally, where would you like your career to go?

ZC: I feel like I've really been so lucky so far. I've just been riding the wave as it comes. I would love to keep working. Just to be able to work in this business, you've got to count yourself lucky. If you were to talk to me in two years and I was still employed, I would be thrilled. Ideally I would love to get into some more dramatic stuff, but I love doing comedy. I hope this show does well; I think these people are great and I'd love to keep doing this. I would love to do some features in between seasons if possible, or do nothing in between seasons and travel. I try to focus on what's at hand. When I get a job, I just think about the job. There's no room to think about afterward. The job that you have demands your entire attention. Although I shouldn't say that; I got this by leaving "Whitest Kids" in the middle of production, so if I hadn't done that I wouldn't have gotten this job.

YH: Who is your celebrity crush?

ZC: I should preface this by saying I'm straight. Tom Hardy from Inception is mesmerizing. He's a British actor and I think he's amazing. It's not a sexual thing; but he's my celebrity crush.

YH: What TV show would you most like to guest star on?

ZC: I wish they could bring back "Arrested Development". I loved that show.

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Don't miss "Friends with Benefits", coming in 2011 to NBC!

- Jessica Ross, YH Staff