Tim Daly Talks About Dr. Pete Wilder

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Years after earning his Wings and getting whacked by on The Sopranos, Tim Daly is excited to scrub in (without actually scrubbing in, of course - he's all about the Eastern medicine) on ABC's new series, Private Practice.

Daly talked to Us Weekly about his character, Dr. Pete Wilder, his romantic hopes for the storyline, Pete's back story and Daly's own past cast run-ins.

Daly Double

Us: The premiere episode had potential, especially since we see Pete and Addison growing closer at Oceanside Wellness.
Tim Daly: Oh good, cool. I haven't seen it. I'm glad you saw it and liked it. [We've filmed] five episodes, I believe.

Us: Are you ready for a McNickname and all the responsibilities associated with it? Will Doc Wilder become the new office heartthrob?
Tim Daly: I hope so. I don't know about the McNicknames, but I know that producers are sort of moving to something between Addison and Pete. These things always play out with as much possible foreplay as you can squeeze into something. It's kind of like actual sex. You want to do foreplay until you can't think of anything else to do but the actual deed, so hopefully, [the show will] drag it on as long as they possibly can, maybe until season three or four.

Us: How will Private Practice compare to Grey's Anatomy?
Tim Daly: I'm not going to go there. I just think the whole comparison thing is ridiculous. What part of this apple tastes like this orange, really? They're both fruits, you know, that's it.

Us: How is memorizing the medical jargon in your scripts?
Tim Daly: I'm not about to become a doctor. I deal with that on a script-by-script basis. I have to say that when it comes along it is a pain in the ass.

Us: It must be nice to have such a supportive cast to go through that with.
Tim Daly: I've known Kate Walsh for a while - this is the third time we've worked together. She is partially responsible for me being around because we had such a great time working on Eyes and she mentioned me to [series creator] Shonda Rhimes. I've worked with Taye Diggs and Amy Brenneman before, too.

Us: It's no secret that your show has one of the tightest-lipped creators in TV history. What can you tell us about how your character will develop this season?
Tim Daly: His wife died six or eight years ago - there's some controversy over when - and it's part of what sent him away from Western medicine and in this new direction doing Holistic medicine. Pete's a really interesting guy because he's very open-minded and not judgmental. He just happens to be really f--ked up when it comes to women because he likes them tremendously, but he's not a commitment sort of guy.

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.

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I think I can see your arteries closing up from here.

Jake

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JACKSON

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Song Lost The Mary Onettes
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