Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  IDENTITY

Paolo Andino talks 'Sketch Show,' Sharon Osbourne
by Andrew Davis
2010-05-01

This article shared 6047 times since Sat May 1, 2010
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


The handsome Paolo Andino is back for another season of Logo's The Big Gay Sketch Show, increasing the program's hunk factor as he portrays various characters, such as UPS man Naldo. Andino talked with Windy City Times about the show, being sick and meeting Sharon Osbourne.

Windy City Times: Are you feeling better? I heard you were sick.

Paolo Andino: I am better. I was in Hawaii, and I caught a cold my last day there. Thank God it didn't turn into anything big.

WCT: When we talked a couple years ago, you were going to be in a play in Saugatuck, Mich., called As Bees in Honey Drown.

Paolo Andino: Yes. The play was so perfect for me. I played four different characters.

The play is about a girl who swindles all these hoity-toity art-world creatures. I'm sorry...I'm cleaning up here; we just got a new puppy and he dribbles all over the place.

WCT: I once dated someone like that.

Paolo Andino: [ Laughs ] Haven't we all? I'll put up with it from the puppy.

[ Regarding the play, ] I played three characters in the first half. One was an Italian photographer; I had this long Cher wig. I was also a snooty little hotel clerk in New York City and a Scandinavian model—but I had to be as white as I could be. I had a bleached-blond wig and I had to white out my eyebrows. He didn't say anything but "Ya, ya." [ Both laugh. ] So I got my comic thing out.

When I'm in a play and I don't get the comedic part, I get very jealous of those who do. So here I got all that stuff, and in the second half the character was an artist who was a little bit more mature—which was completely different from what I had just done. It was really rewarding. In contrast to the Sketch Show, which I had just come out of, they were a few roles that you have time to develop. With sketch comedy, you have one ( maybe two ) chances, and you never really memorize the stuff because they're constantly changing it until the very last second, but there are good things about that, too.

WCT: And you provided the perfect segue for Big Gay Sketch Show. Were you certain that there would be a third season?

Paolo Andino: They're very ... peculiar, I'll say; the answer is "no." It took them a while to do it, then it took them a while to shoot it and now it's taking them a while to release it. I have no idea what goes into those decisions. I don't understand it because, in my opinion, it would seem like they would want the momentum [ from the previous season ] and not lose the audience.

I do know that, this year, we went into Nielsen ratings for the first time—and we're behind RuPaul's [ Drag Race ] , so we'll be riding Ru's coattails, and I might be tucked up in there. [ Interviewer laughs. ]

WCT: I read that you all have some pretty special guests, like Isaac Mizrahi and Sharon Osbourne. What were they like?

Paolo Andino: Oh, yes! Sharon Osbourne was the sweetest thing. We said hello to her and, of course, everybody wanted a picture with her; she was really cool with that. She's like a mom first and then her persona [ is second ] . She comes off with "Hi, sweetie. How are you?" She's really nice. Then she turned it on, and she was actually really funny. She held her own with Rosie [ O'Donnell ] ; she does the bit at the end of every episode with her.

Isaac Mizrahi was very complimentary to me. He was like, "I wanna meet the UPS man." [ Interviewer laughs. ] That was really cool.

WCT: So do we get to find out who Svetlana shot? [ The second-season cliffhanger showed the character of Svetlana shooting at other characters, including Andino's UPS man. ]

Paolo Andino: Unfortunately, no. [ WCT: What??? ] I know. I want to tell you now to soften the blow. They really discussed it, and they decided they would not pursue that.

I think the feeling was that, "We're a sketch show. We're not a drama. We don't have to pick up where we left off." Also, Erica [ Ash ] is not with us next season...

WCT: Yes. I saw that and thought that she was the one...

Paolo Andino: You would think. But they didn't do it.

WCT: Is Naldo your favorite character that you've played?

Paolo Andino: He is, because he is sort of the star of the sketch. He's really satisfying and fun to do. This season I do a bunch of characters, including an impression of [ Dancing with the Stars judge ] Bruno Tonioli. I loved it, and it was something I didn't even know I could do. It was actually for a RuPaul spoof. I play a drag queen and a judge. They hadn't let me do any drag roles the year before.

WCT: Why is that?

Paolo Andino: I don't know. I think maybe they wanted me to be...

WCT: ...the sexy macho guy.

Paolo Andino: The sexy macho guy. But now I've been able to expand a little bit. And it was so much fun being the drag queen.

WCT: The last time we talked you said that you had a dream. Do you remember what it was?

Paolo Andino: Was it to be more like ... Liz Lemon [ Tina Fey's character on the TV show 30 Rock ] ?

WCT: You said you wanted to collaborate with Tina Fey.

Paolo Andino: You know, the closest I got to Tina Fey was when I was walking into a building and she was walking out. I ran into her on the street ( and it was a rainy day ) ; she looked like crap with no makeup on, and I wasn't going to say hi to her, then. [ Interviewer laughs. ] I just let her walk on by.

WCT: That was very wise. Do you have those days when you don't want people approaching you?

Paolo Andino: Well, let me tell me, with this puppy... I cut my hair short, and I'll put on my glasses and walk the puppy; this dog wakes up at 6:30 in the morning, and there's no time to primp and prep. There was a woman out there today talking to me about a tree blooming across the street. I'm like, "Lady, it's 6:45. I just woke up, and I'm going back to bed. I don't want to talk about blooming trees."

The third season of the Big Gay Sketch Show currently airs on Logo. See www.logotv.com .


This article shared 6047 times since Sat May 1, 2010
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

SHOWBIZ Dionne Warwick, OUTshine, Ariana DeBose, 'Showgirls,' 'Harlem' 2024-03-29
Video below - Iconic singer Dionne Warwick was honored for her decades-long advocacy work for people living with HIV/AIDS at a star-studded amfAR fundraising gala in Palm Beach, per the Palm Beach Daily News. Warwick received the "Award of ...


Gay News

WORLD Uganda items, HIV report, Mandela, Liechtenstein, foreign minister weds 2024-03-21
- It turned out that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam traveled to Uganda on Feb. 19-27, per The Washington Blade. He visited the capital of Kampala and the nearby city of ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21
- Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...


Gay News

RuPaul finds 'Hidden Meanings' in new memoir 2024-03-18
- RuPaul Andre Charles made a rare Chicago appearance for a book tour on March 12 at The Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave. Presented by National Public Radio station WBEZ 91.5 FM, the talk coincided with ...


Gay News

Oprah, Niecy Nash-Betts honored at GLAAD Media Awards 2024-03-15
- Oprah Winfrey and Niecy Nash-Betts were honored at the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards that took place in Los Angeles at The Beverly Hilton on March 14. Winfrey received the Vanguard Award, introduced by iconic Chicago ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08
- Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...


Gay News

Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05
- Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer actors, icons duet, Hunter Schafer, Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor 2024-03-01
- Queer actor Kal Penn is set to star in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor—a film that chronicles the final days of actress/model Anna Nicole Smith, whose overdose death in 2007 at age 39 sparked a tabloid ...


Gay News

SAG Awards honor Streisand, few LGBTQ+ actors 2024-02-25
- Queer entertainers made their mark—although not a major one—at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, held Feb. 24 in Los Angeles. The event was live-streamed on Netflix for the first time. Indigenous and Two-Spirit actor ...


Gay News

THEATER Dot-Marie Jones talks Goodman production, 'Glee,' 'Bros' 2024-02-12
- Running through Feb. 18 at the the Goodman Theatre, the production Highway Patrol works with a script conceived entirely from Emmy-winning actor Dana Delany's (TV's China Beach) digital archive of hundreds of tweets and direct messages ...


Gay News

GLAAD finds missed chances for LGBTQ+ inclusion in Super Bowl ads 2024-02-12
--From a press release - Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024 — GLAAD is reacting to a lack of LGBTQ storytelling in ads that aired duringSuper Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 and is reminding brands, corporations and advertising agencies why including the LGBTQ ...


Gay News

SAVOR 'The Bear,' new pizza lounge, Chicago Black Restaurant Week 2024-02-11
- "Bear" necessities: The third season of the Chicago-set series The Bear will debut in June, per Variety. FX chairman John Landgraf made the announcement during the network's presentation at the Television Critics Association's winter 2024 press ...


Gay News

Quantum Leap reboot springs into LGBTQ+ representation 2024-02-09
- Through the magic of television, Quantum Leap is once again jumping into the past to bounce back into the future—and in a recent episode, "The Family Trasure," non-binary artist and performer Wilder Yuri and writer Shakina ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Raven-Symone, women's sports, Wayne Brady, Jinkx Monsoon, British Vogue 2024-02-09
- In celebration of Black History Month, the LA LGBT Center announced that lesbian entertainer Raven-Symone will be presented with the Center's Bayard Rustin Award at its new event, Highly Favored, per a press release. She joins ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ JoJo Siwa, Tom Holland, Bowen Yang, Pet Shop Boys, Mariah Carey 2024-02-02
- In the wake of Nigel Lythgoe exiting So You Think You Can Dance, queer personality JoJo Siwa is returning to the series, per Deadline. Siwa, who was a judge on season 17 of the Fox show, will replace Lythgoe, who left ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.