With a background in advertising, television hosting, and social commentating, you might think comedic acting would be the last thing up Donny Deutsch’s alley. But he’s taken a surprising turn by starring in and co-writing his very own sitcom, “Donny!”
Before moving to the small screen, Deutsch spent two decades working at his father’s advertising firm and became chairman in 1989. After he sold the successful company, he starred in his own talk show on CNBC, “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” from 2004 to 2008. The innovative program featured entrepreneurs and business leaders who shared their path to great achievements, and it also proved to the public that Deutsch has what it takes to be an entertaining television personality.
Now, about a month after the Nov. 10 premiere of “Donny!” on the USA Network, Deutsch says his background as a CEO and a talk show host prepared him for this role, which makes perfect sense, because he’s essentially playing himself.
Deutsch stars as himself, albeit a more thoughtless version. His character is the host of a talk show and a devoted father, much like in his real life. Along the way, Donny encounters situations that are relevant in today, like sexting, racism, and dating “age-appropriate” people. He faces these issues head-on, with some comedy sprinkled in, and what results is a sitcom that’s sure to spark conversation.
Rolling out spoke with Deutsch about “Donny!” tackling race, why the role comes natural to him, and why he thinks Hillary Clinton should be the next POTUS.
You have a background in advertising and talk shows, which are not really related to acting. Has it been a challenge for you to become a comedic actor for the role in “Donny!”?
No, not as challenging as I thought. The first 20 years of my career I was leading a company of 1,000 people, so you’re kind of up in front of people in one way or another, performing. Then I had a talk show on CNBC, “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” where you’re improvising, and when you’re doing morning shows [and] live television, you’re doing a certain type of performing. So, [“Donny!”] is obviously a different muscle. This is comedy and you’re actually writing it, but it’s certainly easier because it’s not live and you can do a few takes over again, so it’s just a different performance muscle.
Have you been getting any acting lessons behind the scenes, or is it all just coming naturally to you?
It came natural, no acting lessons. I’m playing a more idiotic, cartoonish, buffoon version of myself, and we do a lot of improve, much in the way that “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is done. So, it’s fun and it kind of comes easy for me.
How much are you involved in the writing?
Myself and Angie Day, we created and wrote it together, so I’m involved in a little of everything — the writing, creating, casting, the whole shebang.
What has your goal been for the show?
My personal goal is to stretch myself. And I wanted a show to make people laugh. I started out in advertising creating 30-second pieces of content, and now I’m just creating 22 minutes of content. We mention a lot of topical stuff — there’s a show on sexual orientation, a show on race. So I want to touch on some very topical things in a very satirical way and get people talking.
The episode on race, will that be episode 6, where Russell Simmons and Star Jones guest star?
Yes, it’s actually my favorite episode. On the talk show part of the show, I say something that’s kind of racially insensitive, and then I say “well, I have a ton of Black friends,” which is, of course, even more racially insensitive. And I’m trying to defend myself, so I reach out to some real-life African-American friends — Russell and Star — and they smack the sh— out of me and say “you can’t say stupid things like this, you’re an a—hole.”
The whole point of the show is … My character on the show is a very inclusive, liberal person — the least racist person in the room, but yet says something stupid. There’s so many real racial issues in this country versus somebody using the wrong set of words because he is colorblind. So, it’s a very interesting take on race and the media. At the end [of the episode], he redeems himself. I think it’s an interesting discussion, and I don’t think in a lot of comedies on television today — like in the days of “All In the Family,” which was 30, 40 years ago — I don’t think a lot of comedies are walking right into some of these things.
On a promo clip, you came up with an idea that you would run for president, and you basically said that people love to hate Trump and that you could use that same strategy to win. Do you really think that’s his appeal?
I think his appeal, unfortunately, is that he’s hitting a lot of nerves of a lot of frightened people. He’ll play the lowest common denominator, and unfortunately, it’s working. So, he’ll make some broad statement about Muslims that is ignorant but that a lot of Americans react to, and unfortunately, that’s the nerve that he’s hitting.
Are there any presidential contenders that you like?
Initially, I though the world was tired of Hillary [Clinton], but the more you see everything else, you kind of go ‘wow, she’s pretty d— confident.’ So if I was voting tomorrow, I’d be voting for Hillary.
Tune into “Donny!” Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on USA.
