Small Screen
66 AMERICANWAY
DECEMBER 1 2008
You were working as an economic consultant
when someone suggested that you give acting
a shot. How did your parents take it?
They were
amazingly supportive, especially considering they
putme through university and I had a great job and
I was walking away from all of it to become an ac-
tor. I think short of saying Iwas quitting to join the
circus, they’dbe supportive. Butmy father did a half
season on the original
MickeyMouse Club
, so that’s
where it comes from.
How did you become the go-to guy for seducing
olderwomen?
It’s just been a huge amount of good
fortune. I did have a bit of a track recordwith it.My
first on-screenkisswasBoDerek [in the2006 series
That sound you hear every Friday night at
ninep.m.Central time isacollectivepurrfrom
the country’s cougar population. They’ve set
their sights on Robert Buckley, the 27-year-
oldwithabs of steelwho romances 39-year-
old Kim Raver on NBC’s hit show
Lipstick
Jungle
. This month, Buckley will be wooing
another older woman, Heather Locklear, in
Lifetime’s original movie
Flirtingwith 40
, in
whichadivorcée retreats toHawaii andgets
more than a tanwhen shemeets the hunky
surfer played by Buckley. (And all we got
was this lousy T-shirt.)We spoke to Buckley
about his newfound niche.
FashionHouse
] and thenKim [Raver on
LipstickJun-
gle
] and then Heather [Locklear in
Flirtingwith 40
]
andnowback toKim. So Iguess it is sortofmyniche
— but if you’re going to have one, I think beautiful,
incrediblewomen is not abad one to have.
Fashion House
was not your first time on TV. You
were once on
The Price Is Right
.
It was awesome.
Theonly thing thatwasnotawesomewasmyperfor-
mance. We were bidding on an exercise bike, which
shows youhowdated this is. I thought everyonewas
bidding too high— and keep inmind now, it’s really
crazy. It’s like sensory overload, being a contestant.
So you go into a very primal level of thought. All I
could think of was,
Be the lowest bid, be the lowest
bid.
The lowest bidwas $420, so I just shouted out
“$419,”whichobviously isahorribleanswer; I’m lim-
iting myself to one fixed value. You could hear the
audience start togo, like, “What, what?” BobBarker
starts pulling out the card, then stops, and he goes,
“That wasn’t the smartest bid you could havemade,
was it?”
You’re shirtless most of the time on
Lipstick Jun-
gle
. Do you ever feel objectified?
[
Laughs
] I don’t
think I take myself nearly seriously enough to feel
objectified. I feel flattered.
Older women— yes or no?
Yes. With an exclama-
tion point!
GettingtoKnow…RobertBuckley
Favorite vacation spot:
“Venice, Florida. My family
vacations therealmost every summer.We rentacon-
doon thebeachand spend the entire time inbathing
suitsandflip-flops,with thebulkofouractivitiesusu-
ally involving the ocean, the pool, or a hammock.”
Go-tomeal:
“Sushi.”
High school sport:
“Soccer. Iwas centermidfielder,
whichmeant Iwasable toplayall over thefield. This
alsomeant I had to be able to run all over the field
for 90minuteswithout keeling over.”
Perfectfirst date:
“Sushi, sake, good conversation.”
Onhis iPod:
“It’s a ridiculousmixof everything from
’80s pop to hard rock and jazz. Right now, there’s a
lot of hip-hop, like Jay-Z andKanyeWest.”
On his DVR:
“
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
and
30 Rock
. Both shows consistently remind me that
I’m not nearly as funny as I like to believe I am.”
Favorite movie:
“Anything by John Hughes. I’m a
true child of the ’80s.”
Lipstick Jungle
costars
Robert Buckley andKimRaver
Flirtingwith40
costarsHeather Locklear
andRobert Buckley
