Mark Feuerstein on Working with the Kardashians on "Royal Pains"

There's such different skills hosting and acting. Because I actually moved out here to be an actress. Okay. And I cannot audition. I practically black out in the room. I get so nervous. It is so it is all so nerve-wracking. But how do you get past that as an actor?

I don't think you do. I think I think you um I think I think you dive into whatever choices you made for this character, for this scene and you uh hope that the the demands of that story that you're trying to tell outweigh the nervous demand to be liked.

Never going to happen in my world. Right. Well, I feel the same thing. I mean, you want to be good and how do you Right. forget about how much you want them to like you and think you're great. Right. But dive into the character.

They just want to see the work. They just want to see the work. That's it.

You're right. Yeah. Like it doesn't matter. You can be the most charming person in the world. If you can't dive in and we don't believe you in that moment,

Right.

Which is why people who kind of suck still get work because they're good and we want to see the talent. You know those people that suck in Hollywood that get the jobs?

There's only a few. And I hear about them and I have been lucky enough not to have to work with them. But you hear stories about certain diva actors or actresses and they continue to work and it's kind of a bummer cuz I'm someone who thinks that not only is the work important and of course it is crucial that you're good and you convey that character and story and believability, but that the experience of making the thing is as important and that we have a great time doing it.

Have you ever had a diva moment? Cuz you kind of come across to me as the guy that your your character on Royal Pains is so likable. You're so likable. Have you ever had a diva moment that you can share?

I You know what? I have a couple I've had a couple.

Really?

And they're weird. The executive producer, uh Michael Raush and Andrew Lenczewski, our our creator, they're my boys and we've lived this six years of Royal Pains together.

That I watch every episode and never miss one. Thank you very much. You really has, by the way. I really love

Cuz I don't believe I didn't believe her the first time she said it.

No, you did not. But I rapped for you. We're turning we're breaking the fourth wall right now. Let's break that wall.

Um I rapped for you the first time you came in. I believe I rapped for you as well. You rapped back.

No, but here's the funny thing. Have you rapped since because I rapped since. I have. Who did you rap for?

Um Cuz I'm going to drop names. So I'm going to share an inside thing. Is that okay, Lyn, if I share? Um, the upfronts were enormous this year because they did all the cable networks. It was 3,000 people in the Javits Center in New York and I did a rap. Uh, how did it begin? We took We harnessed all our instruments and had this epiphany. Take our platforms and portfolio and call it a symphony. We'll be your Leonard Bernstein when we conduct. We'll reach the whole community on behalf of your product. Um

I didn't even throw down a beat for you.

I know. But it was it went amazing. It went so well that Steve Burke, the head of the entire conglomerate of Comcast,

Wow.

um, asked me to make a video, which I then did, which we shot in Nice, where we were shooting and Saint-Tropez. I was in the back of a powder blue uh Bentley convertible rapping to a helicopter that was filming me.

No.

Um, yes.

So you know what it feels like to be TI. But I want to ask you some questions about Royal Pains cuz I really am I'm obsessed with the show.

Hey. What are you guys waiting on line for? Isn't your father signing books inside? He's supposed to be. Hi, dad. Well, it looks like you sorted out whatever was happening. We didn't.

So I love the show. I love Royal Pains. Never miss an episode ever, okay? Never. Never. See the do I have a meme right now. I love it. Never missed an episode. My nails are done. It's like they're like butter. I want you to fill in the blank. I would watch any movie or TV show with blank in it.

Okay. Uh, got it. Any movie or TV show with um, delicious food.

Really? You're a serious inner foodie? Like I just saw Chef and that Jon Favreau movie. I love that. It was amazing. I was amazing too. Really? Are you an inner do you have a foodie in you? Like are you a

Uh, not really. I'm more like there's two words. There's gourmand. Gourmand is a guy who eats with great taste. I'm just a fat shit who likes to eat a lot.

See, I always say I'm kind of just like I'm very much cuz I'm from a small town. Right. I got a lot of WT in me, a lot of white trash.

Uh-huh.

So I I've never met miss food. So you like a fast food. Oh, I'm a drive-through queen. Okay, I'm a drive-through. That's a great date to me. Um, okay, so let's talk about the Kardashian effect. Okay. Okay. So, who's been on Royal Pains?

Khloe and Scott. In the izza. In the hizzy. By the way, this was such a coup for our show to get them.

Did you have to call Scott Lord Disick?

I did not have to I was so glad. I was actually like in shock when I saw that that's the name of his Instagram thing, Lord of the manner.

Lord of the manor. Whatever he is. And he was in your manor.

By the way, He was so cool. He was so nice. Khloe too. I made the most of my time with the Kardashians and we're now I consider them somewhat friends, like in the maybe Hollywood way. But we were they were so sweet and we had a great time filming and I was Paulo Costanzo and I both were trying to put them at ease. The next day I'm having lunch in Southampton with Paulo and I email Khloe and Scott like, "Yo, having lunch in Southampton. You guys want to come?" I don't think they did. I was just trying to sound hip.

Young Hollywood. Right. That's not work. I totally called you out on. Right. Got it. Just wondering how you text. What your you know, the whole manner. Right, I got nothing on. I know need help with that, too. Okay. Patter whatsoever. So, I'll just talk like a human being. Um, but anyway, I said I told them we were having lunch and they were like, "Come over." I was like, "Are we going to be on camera, come over, or just come over?" And he was like, "Actually we're shooting, uh, but we'll do that for five minutes and then, you know, we'll just tell them we're taking a break." And that. So Paul and I go over to their insanely gorgeous house in Southampton on the water. Yeah. Okay. Mason's there, Kourtney's there. We're all hanging out. Was little Penelope there?

Um I didn't meet Penelope. Probably sleep. No, but I met Mason and he was adorable. So he's not a staged kid, he really exists. He really exists. He's a very adorable kid. So cute. And he's good with the Legos and he showed me his whole Lego collection. Um, but we did So will they be on the show?

Well, we we were on camera for like 45 minutes. Oh my God. We never took a break. We entered on camera. We left on camera. The funniest moment for me, cuz it was all fun and I was playing with Mason and Paulo was doing crazy stuff with Scott. They have three cameras. One's following him, two are on me and Kourtney. But I didn't realize when you're on a reality show like they are living their lives. They really are. So there's this moment where I'm I'm like all into Mason and his Legos and I'm playing and I turn and you if you're a Kourtney Kardashian, just be you're like be on your phone. Pretend you're on your phone. I'm like, "Yeah, that's such a great Lego." And I turn to her and I'm like, and she's just literally doing that. Like looking at her phone. Not selfie. No, that's Nikki Novak alone in her house. That's Kim. That's Kim. She held up her. But the camera's just on me like you could see through the veneer like, "Oh, you're just on your phone right now." So is it Jillian that plays your on. Jillian, Alexi. I didn't know if it was Jillian or Joyce. Plays Charlotte. Who I thought she was really blind. She's plays that off pulls that off so well. I had to look and Google and see if she really. That's awesome. I mean, that's a major coup for an actress that you believed it so much. Yeah. So, I know in this episode, she hears because she's was blind on the show, um, she hears the sound of Khloe's voice and goes, "That's a Kardashian."

Yes. Yes.

And freaks out and gets excited. Yes. Whose voice could you hear in a restaurant that you would go, and know their voice and be excited that they were there?

Um, hmm. If uh, I watch Survivor, so if Jeff if I heard, "Come on in, guys," I would know Jeff Probst's voice anywhere.

So is it like your dream to have him like put take the torch and put it out?

It's my dream it's my dream not to put it out, but to bring it in and I won Survivor. Or just to say, "Come on in. Come on in, Mark."

Wait, have they done a Survivor Celebrity edition? Never. Why is that not happening? Jeff Probst. I feel like they've avoided that cuz that would be jumping the shark or jumping the Probst.

So, um, the finale's coming up. Promise me there's another season, right? Coming up.

I wish I could promise you that, but we are all very optimistic that the network will be smart enough to keep us around for one more amazing season.

Of course they will.

We feel very good about it, but we don't know. Seven is a very good number.

I agree. It's a great number. It's a magic. So, let's talk about the finale.

Okay. So, I just want to say that again, the writers, what they do so brilliantly in our show is they managed to resolve certain issues like in this past week's episode, we saw that Viviana, who Jeremiah has been sort of courting, is moving away. I know everybody's been wondering, would Jeremiah and Viviana get together, but we're going to wrap that storyline up in a very fun way where we see that he's actually grown and evolved and it actually hints at a direction we could go in season seven. That would be very fun to watch.

Oh really? I'm trying to think of what that would be. Um, I'm not going to tell you. I always think with him I always think, would somebody actually go out with that kind of personality in real life? Just because he is so awkward. He's so awkward, but like you said, he's come a long way and

Right. But don't you feel like every girl who's dated the bad boy who made them feel like crap, finally comes around to the fact that they just want a good guy they can rely on?

No, they want the guy they're going to fix till they're in the grave.

Yeah, but he's kind of the guy you could fix, too, cuz he's so awkward. Right. So,

Okay. I think that's a better fix. Okay, so that's Jeremiah. Okay. What's happening with um Evan R Lawson?

Evan and Paige have resolved their issues.

Yes. I kind of liked when they were fighting. It was good, right?

Yeah. Well, it was like it was realistic. All of last season, they had a lot of tension. A lot of that. And the first year of marriage can bring some of that cuz you thought it was you you come out of the honeymoon phase and into the into real life. There's been some stuff about Hankmed because Ray, the mobster, was running things and investing money in the company and that didn't go so well when Paige almost got shot when she was in the room with Ray. By the way, when he took, um, when he took Paulo. Paulo. Paulo into the woods. Yes. That scene. Scary. So good. He's so good. It was so Sopranos. Um, so Sopranos. Our show is a melange of many different

It is.

Different elements. Yeah. Um, but he's also always felt a little left out by my relationship with Boris because that's kind of my intrigue world that I never let Evan into. Um, we address that issue in the finale in a great way because I at the end of the last episode rejected Boris's

Rejected. And I was like, "What are you doing, Hank?" What are you doing, Hank? You're the last vote. It's unanimous. Go with the flow. I hear you. It's a great opportunity. It was annoying.

And maybe I'll reconsider it and maybe I won't. But you're going to have to watch the finale to find out. And I think that we need to cut so you can tell me what's really happening in the finale. Um, I have hinted at everything. I'm going to tell you everything.

Are you? Yeah. Cut it. Cut it. Cut it. I know you like to. A little beatbox, something, Nikki. Hanging with Nikki Novak. Yeah. Hanging with Nikki Novak. Give it a little to her left and then taking it back. Right, why am I completely uncoordinated? I don't know. That was kind of weird, but now we send it out. No producers, nobody in the room who's working here. Bring it back to your left hand and then we go out on Vizzat.