PASADENA, Calif. -- Despite the fact that his new role on NBC's "Jesse" is his second network series in six months, Kevin Rahm is hardly blase about the whole thing. After all, it was only this past Dec. 20 that he quit his job as a waiter.
So, when he was a guest at a big NBC party for stars, producers, network executives and TV critics a couple of weeks back, it was a big deal for Rahm. A very big deal."This is amazing," he said. "I've never been to anything like this in my life."
His first sitcom, "Everything's Relative," ran only six episodes. Not only that, but it came at sort of an odd time, going into production in January and airing in April, meaning that publicity for the show was minimal at best.
"We were in our own little studio away from everyone else and we never met anyone," Rahm said. "I never met anybody from NBC other than the executives and the people on that end. I never met any of the other actors and we were never invited to any of the things because it was an off time, a weird time. It was a whole different experience."
As for this NBC party, Rahm said it was "surreal."
"On Wednesday, I went in to the network and got the part and then Friday evening, someone comes and drives me over to meet everyone, and people are wanting to take pictures of me," Rahm said.
On this night, Rahm met one of his co-stars -- Darryl Thierse, who's also a new member of the "Jesse" cast. Thierse is pretty excited about his new job and the party, and he enjoyed getting to know Rahm.
"It's very exciting being at this event with him because, even though I've done this a couple of times, it's still a fun and exciting and fresh thing for me," Thierse said. "And it's fresh for him and he's not jaded. It's still very exciting and fun for us."
It was pretty much all Rahm could do not to gawk at the other stars. (The fact that he's now one of them hasn't sunk in yet.)
"Martin Sheen! He was behind me in line!" he said. "I'm walking along the thing and there's Martin Sheen!"
Sheen is starring in NBC's "The West Wing" this fall. And "the thing" is a red carpet laid out at the entrance to the Twin Palms restaurant in Pasadena, where paparazzi have been invited to take pictures (and, thus, help promote the network's upcoming fall season).
For Rahm, it is indeed a whirlwind. He was cast in "Jesse" one day, invited to the party the day after and in attendance the third.
"They actually called me yesterday morning and said, 'I realize it's short notice,' and I said, 'Oh, gee, I'll change my appointments,' " he said, his voice dripping sarcasm. "I'm so busy this weekend. I'll see if I can stop by."
And the flashing cameras didn't go to his head. If anything, they made Rahm a bit more humble.
"It's so funny because they're like, 'It's Martin Sheen!' and they take pictures of him," he said. "And then they go, 'It's Kevin Rahm from "Jesse"!' and they look at me and say, 'Who is he?' "
Not that he's complaining. After all, when his first sitcom failed to get a pickup order he had no guarantees at all. He did a pilot for Fox -- a show called "Jeff of the Universe" from former "Simpsons" executive producer David Mirkin, in which Rahm played a seemingly normal guy who learns that he's a warrior from another planet -- but it didn't get picked up. Then came the "Jesse" audition, which his previous exposure helped him snag.
" 'Everything's Relative' opened up all the right doors," he said. "It was an amazing start and we were disappointed it couldn't go on. I loved the people. . . . The whole cast. Jill Clayburgh and Jeffrey Tambor, they totally took me under their wing. It was just an amazing process.
"And from that you get a little bit of exposure and a little bit of recognition. So that totally opened up doors."
He's joining a show that garnered high ratings but little critical approval last year. "Jesse" was a time-slot hit -- a show with lots of viewers, seemingly only because it aired between "Friends" and "Frasier" in NBC's blockbuster Thursday-night lineup.
But the show is being revamped both in front of and behind the camera. Much of the cast has been dropped and the title character, played by Christina Applegate, will leave her job as a barmaid to become a nursing student. Rahm will play Danny, an intern who may get involved with Jesse personally as well as a professionally.
"They told me they were re-doing the show and that they were very excited about it," Rahm said. "And that there would be a new guy in her life and that he was an intern. What that means exactly, we don't know. I guess we'll find out."
He is going somewhat on faith, however. The show has new executive producers and writers -- who came over from "Friends" -- but, when he accepted the role, Rahm had not seen a completed script of a single episode. (Heck, he hadn't even met Applegate, who was in England making a movie.) All he had was the scene he auditioned with and the assurances of the producers.
"The scene I read with was a very awkward guy-girl encounter, which I happen to be very good at, so it worked out well," he said. "But I really feel like they're committed to making it the best show it can be. That's why I was so excited about coming on board."
And he's not exactly certain whether his character will have a relationship with Applegate's character.
"If it were up to Danny, I think yes," Rahm said. "But it's not up to him or me."