Larry Hagman on the New 'Dallas' Series and Being 'Repulsive' on 'Desperate Housewives'

Filed under: Reality-Free, Features, Celebrity Interviews

Larry Hagman has spent so long playing bad guys that people forget he became a star while playing a good guy, astronaut Tony Nelson on the 1965-70 TV classic 'I Dream of Jeannie.'

But once he put on the cowboy hat and became J.R. Ewing, Hagman's reputation for playing bad guys was cemented. He played J.R. on the classic CBS soap 'Dallas' for 13 seasons, and he's going to reprise the role on the planned 'Dallas' series that will air on TNT.

The series will focus on the children of J.R. and his wife Sue Ellen (Linda Gray, who will also be coming back) and of his brother Bobby (Patrick Duffy, also signed on for the pilot). So J.R. won't be the dominant person on the show, but Hagman assured me in our conversation yesterday that he'll be causing mischief. "J.R.'s still a mover and a shaker," he said.

If there is any role Hagman has played that he think is worse than J.R., it might be the one he's playing now on 'Desperate Houewives.' He plays Frank, the cranky, racist new husband of Lynette's (Felicity Huffman) mother Stella (Polly Bergen). His first appearance was in January, and he'll be back for more on Sunday night at 9PM ET on ABC, trying to weasel his way in to Lynette's family portrait.

Larry and I spoke about the role, the new 'Dallas' series and the great fun it is to be bad on screen.

 

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