"Chuck" Cast at Paley Festival
Why This Geek is Winning Television’s Heart
The cast and crew of television's "Chuck" was present at the William S. Paley Television Festival to share inside information with the show's fans.
On March 18, 2008, the William S. Paley Festival in Los Angeles hosted an evening with “Chuck.” The Cinerama Dome was packed with fans waiting to see their favorite stars of the show. “Chuck”, created by Josh Schwartz (“The O.C.”), features a computer nerd named Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) who is accidentally exposed to government secrets. The CIA sends hottie agent Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) to protect him. Chaos ensues in each episode with guy-next-door, videogame lover Chuck being attacked by ninjas and foreign government agents. The show is funny and action-packed, creating a new genre for television—action comedy.
The evening's panel discussion opened with a statement by Pat Mitchell, the CEO and president of the Paley Center for Media. A clip package was introduced by Schwartz, featuring scenes from past episodes. Then the panel was introduced, including the main cast members and executive producers, Chris Fedak and McG. Other actors from the cast included Scott Krinsky, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Julia Ling, Ryan McPartlin, and Vik Sahay.
How the Cast Became Involved with "Chuck"
The cast discussed their first reactions to the script and how they became attached to the pilot. Strahovski, who’s really from Australia, noted that she had only moved to Los Angeles several months prior to receiving the role of Agent Walker. The role of fellow agent John Casey was actually written for actor Adam Baldwin (who received the most screams from fans attending the event.)
The cast and crew on the panel were able to give some insights into how the show became such a hit. Schwartz revealed that they got the name for the title character after reading a novel by Chuck Klosterman. They had thrown around many names, but that was the one that the network liked the most.
One of the best moments for the fans in the audience was the real life friendship between the show’s best friends, Chuck and Morgan (Joshua Gomez.) The two often interrupted other cast members to laugh about their video game scores, their love of comics and their inside jokes.
The show was definitely impacted by the writer’s strike and new episodes had yet to be shot. Therefore, the cast and crew were unable to give any hints of what fans could expect from upcoming episodes. But they promised more fight sequences, explosions, and romantic sparks between Chuck and Sarah.
The evening concluded with questions from eager fans.
