Stephen Amell: Just a Gigolo on “Hung”

Stephen Amell has no hang-ups about his new role on “Hung”: “I'm a fun-loving gigolo!”

When the third season debuts next fall, Amell will be the newest cast member of HBO’s quirky dramedy following struggling high school coach Ray Drecker (Thomas Jane) who sidelines as a male prostitute, and the actor – most recently seen on “The Vampire Diaries” – is ready to give Ray a run for the lady clients’ money.

“I'm the young gigolo,” Amell tells PopcornBiz. “I'm a full-service gigolo and I'm ready to go. I'm youthful and exuberant. Thomas Jane’s character, he's kind of grinding through it – he's doing it for very virtuous reasons. My character's doing it because he likes having sex and getting paid for it. So it's just easy going. I've played a lot of complicated characters, and this character is not one of them.”

Amell’s keeping tight-lipped about whether his character Jason will be a rival or a protégée of Ray’s. “We're definitely going to cross paths,” he says. “And I think that we're going to have moments of friendship and partnership and definitely some uneasy moments, because I am infringing on his territory just a little bit.”

Along with acting opposite Jane, Anne Heche and the rest of “Hung” ensemble, Amell will share some steamy scenes with Analeigh Tipton, a former “America’s Top Model” contestant turned actress, who’s also joining the cast. “I have a lot of stuff with Analeigh, who is my love interest on the show,” says Amell.

We could resist asking: exactly what sort of, ahem, research did Amell do to prepare for his role? “I didn't have any time, actually,” he laughs. “It would have been great to research it. Although walking the streets of Detroit may not be the best idea. We actually just got back from shooting in Michigan. I really enjoyed it. But this job came up so fast that there was no time. I just put myself in the hands of the show's creators who have crafted a very good world and just trusted that they would make the right decisions.”

And ultimately, putting yourself in someone else’s hands does sound like a good prep run for “Hung.”

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