If you ever had a guilty pleasure for the teen dramas of ABC Family, then Scott Michael Foster, of the network’s former hit show Greek, is no stranger to your television. The 27-year-old Dallas native was a fan favorite of the college fraternity/sorority based drama until its end in 2011. For those who missed him, today’s a great day. Foster returns to ABC (the grown up one) in Zero Hour, a new thriller that takes on a National Treasure meets The Da Vinci Code feel. The series premieres tonight at 7.
Q: So, I see that you’re a Dallas boy.
A: Yea, I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that I was born there. I wasn’t born there, but my family’s still there. I lived there for like nine years before I moved to L.A. I go back every, I’d say, four months. So, Dallas is home, but not where I was born.
Q: What are some of your must haves or go-to places when you visit Dallas?
A: Well, I go out with my family to Possum Kingdom Lake. I go up to this ribeye spot in Decatur called Sweetie Pies, and they make like the best ribeye steaks. I go down to Velvet Taco off 75 with my mom sometimes. Get a glass of bottled coke and some tacos. It’s probably all going to be food related because I really like food. There’s a place in Lewisville, and I don’t even know the name of it, but it’s this little barbecue spot like right off the highway. There’s no sign, you just drive up, and everything is fresh. It’s wonderful. I’ll just keep that one as my secret.
Q: How did you get started in acting?
A: When I first moved to Texas, it was the first time that I’d ever been in public school. In middle school, they had electives. I was really into basketball at the time, and I was into singing at my church. I decided to join choir and try out for the basketball team. Needless to say, I didn’t make the basketball team and choir was all too willing to have people join. That kind of steamrolled into joining theater. In high school I did theater, and when I went to college, I did theater. I left college after like three months and moved to Los Angeles to try it. That’s kind of how it got started. I was going to move to New York and try doing Broadway, but I didn’t know anybody that lived there, and I had family in L.A. So, that just sort of took care of that decision.
Q: One of your biggest roles so far was as Cappie on ABC Family’s former college drama, Greek. Talk a little about your Cappie. What was he like?
A: Cappie was this crazy, goofy, fun loving fraternity president. He’s sort of like a mentor to all that come through the house. I think he was sort of like a mix between Ferris Buehler and Bugs Bunny. That was what the synopsis was when I read for the show. They were like, “Think of Bugs Bunny and Ferris Buehler.” And I was like, “Uh, ok.” But yea, he was a fun loving character, and I had a blast playing him.
Q: Do you still get recognized as Cappie?
A: Oh yea. It’s really fun, actually, seeing people and fans. Our show had such a diehard group of fans, and when they actually can recognize you, it’s really cool. It shows that they appreciate your work. It’s always nice to feel appreciated.
Q: And now you’ve moved over to ABC’s new dramatic thriller, Zero Hour. What is the series about? What can viewers expect from your character?
A: Zero Hour is, I would say, a global conspiracy that basically affects one man. And this one man, through the process of what he does as a magazine editor for Modern Skeptics Magazine, has to go and deduce what’s going on in the world. He’s affected because his wife was kidnapped by a global terrorist. So that’s how he gets involved in this huge global conspiracy that has to do with like Nazis, religious order, and there’s a mystery about clocks. Needless to say, it will take you on a crazy ride just from the get go. Arron, my character, is one of the magazine copy editors, and he basically helps Hank, the main magazine editor, figure out what’s going on. It’s an exciting ride, and I think everyone is going to like it.
Q: Who do you think you relate to more, Cappie or Arron?
A: You know, when you play a character there’s got to be a part of you in that character or a part about you that is similar to that character in some way. I think different characters can bring out different types personalities in you. I think there’s a part of me in Cappie and a part of who I really am in Arron. I wouldn’t say I’m more like either one of them, but there’s definitely a part of me that comes out in both characters.
Q: So you play guitar and you’re the lead singer for an Indie rock band named Siren’s Eye. How did you get your band started?
A: I started the band when I first moved to L.A. We still do music and I still write, but we haven’t played a show in probably nine months now. That’s one of those things that will always be around, and I’ll always enjoy music. I’d like to at one point really give it a go and try and tour and do a really good album, but acting has always been the number one priority. It was actually a time before I booked anything really that I was like, “Maybe I should try and be a rockstar.” I called my manager and he was like, “No, that’s not what you moved down here to do.” And I was like, “You’re right.” Like two months later, I booked Greek. So it really worked out the way it was supposed to.
Q: Have you ever had the chance to sing or play guitar in any of your roles?
A: Yea! On Greek, I got to do karaoke once, which was kind of cool. I had to sing a really hard song. I don’t know why they picked this one but I had to sing “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard that song, but it’s really high. I had to go in at nine in the morning to record it for Greek. So, I had to do a lot of warm-ups and I think they were like, “Yea, you call yourself a singer, but you can’t even hit this high note.” It was a hard song, guys!
Q: Lastly, any hot plans for Valentine’s Day?
A: Well, I’m going to be watching Zero Hour on Valentine’s Day at 8/7c on ABC!
Q: Nicely done.
Jacie Scott is a D Magazine editorial intern.
