Shawn Pyfrom (Desperate Housewives) Interview

The housewives of Wisteria Lane are still as desperate as ever as they return for a fifth season of Desperate Housewives, but five years on and suspense still lurks in suburbia.

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With the Season Five DVD released on 9th November 2009, Shawn Pyfrom talks about his role as Andrew Van de Kamp - the gay, rebellious son of Marcia Cross’ character, which has earned him two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations...


What happens to your character in season five?

Andrew has grown up and he’s calmed down. He’s five years older now and he’s working with Bree, so he’s not as rough on his mother as he used to be. I was previously a bad boy. Now I’ve turned into a little pussycat.

Why has he become so kind to his mother?

I think it’s because he grew up. It’s funny because my own life has been mirrored on the show because you always feel like your parents are wrong when you’re growing up. Most teenage boys have similar relationships with their parents. I grew up with my mother and those thoughts certainly went through my mind – but now I’ve grown up a little, I understand my mom’s intentions and I know they were all good. I think it’s the same case with Andrew. In time, he’s had the ability to step back and see that his mother is coming from a nice place.

Is your mother similar to Bree?

No way. She wasn’t crazy like Bree, but the two of us did go head to head a lot when I was younger. Most teenage boys go head to head with their mothers when they’re growing up – especially when you’re in your teen or young adult years. I didn’t like rules – and my mom was very strict.

Do you miss ‘bad’ Andrew?

‘Bad’ Andrew was fun to play. It was always great getting into the shenanigans that he got into. I had some wonderful scenes with Marcia, but it was tough because she is such a nice person and I didn’t like being harsh to her. It was all acting, but it felt horrible. Now, I really enjoy playing Andrew again.

Do you think Andrew is a positive role model for the gay community now that he’s no longer as mischievous as he used to be?

You know what’s funny? Even when Andrew was getting into trouble, I was still getting a great response from the gay community. Andrew is a very strong individual who also happens to be gay – and I got a lot of letters from young gay men telling me that my character helped them come out to their families and their friends. I think it’s very rare that you see a young gay character on TV who is strong, confident and comfortable in his own skin like Andrew. Now that he’s become a more responsible adult, I don’t think I’m giving the young gay youth a bad name anymore.

What are your thoughts on gay marriage?

I think that everyone should have equal rights. I don’t think that gay people having the right to be married cheapens or lessens the experience for any straight couple who wants to get married. I think everyone should have the right to commit to the person they care about.

Do many fans come up to you in the street and talked about the gay marriage issue?

They haven’t spoken to me about that topic specifically, but they talk to me about anything and everything. In fact, just yesterday I had an interesting encounter. I regret telling my girlfriend this story – and now I’m probably going to regret telling you, but anyway... In light of what we’re talking about, I got picked up last night. Someone came up to me – and it sounds really cheesy – but he asked me, “Will you marry me?”

What did you say to that?

I was sitting down ordering a milkshake at a bar and waiting to pay when this request came out of nowhere. I thought he was joking, so I said, “Excuse me?” And he replied, “Will you marry me?” I didn’t know how to respond, so I just said, “No. I’m sorry.” He walked off and said, “Well, you could have been a little bit nicer about it.” I was stunned. I didn’t know what to do – and I certainly didn’t expect to get a proposal when I was ordering my vanilla milkshake.

Do you ever get any love letters from fans?

Love letters? I suppose I have over the years, but I’ve had a girlfriend through the entire run of this show, so I don’t really look at the love letters. I’ve been with the same girl all the time I’ve been on Desperate Housewives. Had I been single, who knows what would have happened? Maybe I would have indulged in some more of my fan mail?

Is it a big weight on your shoulders to be a role model?

It’s cool to think I have inspired somebody else. It feels great, but I just try to do my job to the best of my abilities. I try to humanize the character without trying to regard the fact that I may or may not inspire someone. If I took that into consideration every time, I probably wouldn’t get any of my lines out because I’d overanalyze them.

What are the positive and negative aspects of working on Desperate Housewives?

I suppose the positives are the fact that I haven’t had to go and look for any other job. I’m fortunate to be working – and I’m extremely fortunate to be working on a job that I enjoy with a bunch of people that I love working with.

Are there any negatives?

As an actor, you always want to explore and play different characters – but it’s difficult to do that if you’re playing the same guy year after year. But in my case, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. There really aren’t any negatives to this for me as I’m having the time of my life on the show.

What would you be doing now if you hadn’t won this role?

I got this role on Desperate Housewives right before I graduated high school and my original plan was to quit acting and go to university. I decided that if I didn’t have an acting job by the time I graduated, I would give up entertainment and go to school for business and marketing. At the time, that’s what I thought I would do, but I’ve changed my mind about careers a trillion times. I think I started out wanting to be a Ninja Turtle, but that never worked out. I’m hopefully on Desperate Housewives for a while to come – and I’m not going to think about anything else until it’s all over. Fingers crossed that isn’t going to happen for a very long time indeed.