Ted McGinley Career Retrospective | Conversations at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation

are you still learning things about

acting even now oh yeah I mean yes yeah

that's the great thing about it right

it's this this I'm I am living

mold yeah you can't kill

me uh yeah I I think that's one of the

great things about the job is that you

literally get to continue to grow and I

imagine that when I as I'm dying I'll be

thinking wow I could have used

this only I know

yeah please welcome Ted

McGinley thank you very much thank you

you is that oh I was going for the high

five that it's the it's the low five uh

what a pleasure to be here thank you

very much no thank you I was just

thinking like any one of these shows an

actor would be happy to be in but put

them all together in addition to sports

night and you know hope and there's so

many it's incredible okay

so I came here because it was uh it sort

of came around would this be a

possibility to do and I and I said yes I

would be honored uh but I have watched

many and I'm so impressed with the

actors who have come on before me and I

don't feel like I'm a part of that team

you know I'm I'm just

I like to say I'm one of the people in

in in the in the audience I I feel like

all of us actors I would be here

normally just watching that's me and so

tonight I'm here for them because that's

who I am I've never been the guy never

starting anything I've never I've just

worked and I've just been under the

radar and so I want to make sure that

that's what I'm projecting that's who I

am I'm not trying to be somebody I'm not

I am I am a utility player and and and

more than honored to be that guy uh you

can cut this out if I say anything that

embarrasses anyone but I heard it wasn't

like this is your first time in your

entire career even having a publicist

yes well I had when I was when I was uh

second to last place on Dancy with the

Stars I was uh yeah I had one for about

two

weeks hey you know who lost on Dancing

With the Stars Zena so you're doing fine

well she she was a lot better than I was

she made it a little further you know I

realized what I learned though is that

that the I thought it would be

fascinating as somebody who'd never done

anything like that and didn't understand

choreography had a hard time memorizing

choreography um it would be really

interesting and the truth is I don't

know that people really that they want

to see people who are really good and I

think what happens it's fun when you

watch someone who can transition into

finding that part of themselves and I

don't know I got cut too quick but I

have no idea if I ever would uh I was

that was the scariest thing I have

really ever done Dancing with the Stars

yes because you go out there and you can

very easily I was afraid if I go up what

am I gon to what am I going to do and uh

I just decided I was going to go into a

break dance and do my own thing oh and I

thought listen I'm going to go down

swinging and at least it'll be funny I'm

so that you remembered your choreography

that would have been epic yeah well we

came that

close second to last place that's what I

like to say the thing that I don't like

about that show actually is when they

have people with a dance background on I

don't think that's well that's kind of

what I'm saying like right that's the

and they always do very well yeah like

Tony winners you know from Broadway

musical yes and kids have grown up and

ballet and dance their entire lives it's

fun to see them they're they're great

and it is it's a fun adventure but uh

for my my pitch was for the guys at home

with a beer in their

hand i'm

you so enjoy this if you ever wondered

what it would really be like I'm you

that's me those are my favorite but that

guy doesn't own a he's not texting any

he's not trying to get me you know on

the show anymore he's not trying to that

guy could care less he passed out after

his second

beer so that's if that's your group

you're

done well again uh congratulations

before we get into your career I I

actually love to start at the beginning

by asking you how did you get your sag

card what was the job that that first

brought that to you and I think I

actually might know really what do you

think it is was it happy days no my

first job it was commercials oh okay

yeah so I was doing uh I did I did I was

a Japan I was a Coca colola boy for

Japanese commercials and we would do all

these wild stunts hanging out of

balloons I crashed twice in hot air

balloons uh we I did crazy things in the

day and uh a little further and they'd

push me out there and we were crazy in

the middle of these very dangerous

places and they the only thing they

would say is a little further go out

further and I was always on the edge of

almost dying and they loved

it the reason I got the job was I was

great I could chug an entire bottle of

coke and just take it down no problem

and I would do I had to do a six-pack

basically when and they would film it in

the sun it was an hour and they get the

sun right behind you do that that was my

forte was that like your special skills

that your I think it still is uh wellit

you can still do this yeah I don't know

I haven't tried anyone got a

Coke but that I did that and then I did

a Revlon commercial oh and which was I

think that was actually that was my

first that was the one that did it and

uh I they picked me up at the airport

went to the beach this is in Northern

California and I get to the beach and

the Revlon girl is in the motor home and

we're going to have a scene together and

uh I have done nothing I don't know what

I'm doing and but I have her poster on

my door I have her I cut out the back of

the magazine that she's on the back and

I had it on my door so I walked in there

and

um she they said please come in and she

says come in come in she's standing

there with uh nothing on and I

immediately turned around and said I'm

so sorry I thought someone she said I

did come in sit down and I sat down and

I thought where am I like what I'm a

college kid yeah what am I doing here

and uh that was my Awakening to welcome

to H and I stuck

around for sure yeah well I am curious

about that because did you you know grow

up wanting to be an actor were you in

school plays that sort of thing no I uh

my older sister was very theatrical and

was excellent in all the plays and

everything she did and and so I I love

to go watch her and um the head of the

theater Department in Newport Harbor

High School where I grew up Newport

Beach yes yeah was a man named Robert

Wentz and he was exceptional and the one

thing I've listened to from hearing a

lot of your uh interviews is that

everybody seems to have one person who

said hey at least you should try yeah

well I he was an also an English teacher

and he was instrumental in one day in

English because I was a jock so I was

too cool to be in drama uh but secretly

loved watching you know thinking God i'

love to be up there but I'm I'm not I'm

not I wasn't uh strong enough personally

I knew it by the way I knew all the

jocks were jealous secretly oh yeah for

sure for especially if one jock gets up

and the other ones like oh no you know

you really want to go but so I this

English teacher one day in class he came

up to me and he said okay tomorrow we're

going to start class and when when I'm

going to give an assignment and we're

going to you and I going to talk

privately and then you're going to blow

up and have you're going to fire out the

door and so that's what happened so the