Following the hijinks of a gay lawyer living with his best female friend in Will & Grace, Eric McCormack’s portrayal of the witty – and drop-dead gorgeous – Will left women around the world pining for a live-in gay bestie of their own.
With the news that the newly revived show has been commissioned for another two seasons, the star is now firmly back into his famous alter-ego’s shoes – and they still feel good.
‘It’s like putting on one of those pairs of shoes that aren’t just familiar but shoes that you’d forgotten were in such good shape and fitted so well,’ the 55-year-old actor tells New Idea.
Reunited with his three co-stars, Debra Messing (Grace), Megan Mullally (Karen) and Sean Hayes (Jack), Eric says the quartet were delighted to be able to instantly embrace their characters again.
Despite having been quickly catapulted to fame after the show first aired in 1998, Eric credits his wife of 21 years, Janet – who he married five months before his first audition for the show – on his down-to-earth approach to celebrity.
‘At the time we actually got married it was a really slow summer,’ he reminisces. ‘I thought I was going to get this job and all this money, but I didn’t, so she actually married an out-of-work actor!’
However, despite his success Eric admits that his 16-year-old son, Finnigan isn’t looking to follow in his father’s famous footsteps.
‘He’s shown an inclination to run in the other direction of my footsteps I think!’ Eric jokes.
‘The fame part of it has never been something that interested him. He’s very independent and very much his own guy. I think there’s a musician in him; I’m not sure if there’s an actor. I said to him once: ‘Why don’t you go to an acting class? They’re so much fun,’ and he replied: “That’s your schtick dad!” ’
So what does the future hold for Eric? ‘When my kid gets out of high school in a few years, I’d love to go back to Broadway and to get to the West End and do something there,’ he reveals.
That said, Eric hasn’t exactly been resting on his laurels.
Before signing on for the reboot of Will & Grace, Eric was already revelling in the success of his other lead role in the Netflix hit Travelers.
Eric stars as FBI special agent Grant MacLaren, the leader of a group of travellers from a dystopian future who inhabit the bodies of people about to die in order to change the world for the better.
‘When I got the script the idea of Donald Trump being president was laughable,’ he recalls. ‘But by the time we shot the first season it was starting to get scary, and by the time the first series aired it was a grim reality. The joke we get all the time now is: “So they’re coming back to take care of Trump, right?” Who knows?’ he laughs.
‘Maybe that could be the plot of season three!’
For the full interview see this weeks issue of New Idea – out now!
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