TV Fanatic Talks to Hellcats Star Jeff Hephner!

Jeff Hephner will recur on the first season of Hellcats as the football coach at Lancer University.

The role will mark the actor's second extended run on network television, following a 13-episode stint in 2005-2006 on a TV Fanatic favorite, The OC. Hephner has also guest-starred on such hits as House, NCIS and Private Practice.

He was kind enough to speak to us this week about his upcoming show and his impressive resume. Excerpts from the interview are below...

Tell us about your role on Hellcats.
I play Red Raymond, the Head Football coach at Lancer University.  Lancer is a football school and Red is their new multimillion dollar hire.  Red holds sway over much of the university politics due to his position as football coach and the fact that he's a charming bastard.  Also, he has  a history with the Hellcats coach, Vanessa.

Are you booked for a set number of episodes?
Right now I think they have me penciled in for a significant portion of their first 13 episode order, but I'm not sure how many episodes I'll be in exactly.

Are you familiar with the work of Ashley Tisdale or any of your co-stars?
I have a big family who keeps me busy, so I haven't had a lot of time off to watch TV.  I can say that I'm having an amazing time working with everyone, though.

We loved The OC. Have you kept in touch with anyone from your stint on that show?
I love that you love The OC. It's hard to keep up with everybody from that show, or any show really. I see [Peter Gallagher] occasionally and try to catch everything that he does in the theater.

We cover Grey's Anatomy and The Good Wife on our site. Talk about working with Chyler Leigh and Matt Czuchry on upcoming Lifetime movie The 19th Wife.
I can't describe to you how much I enjoyed working with both Chyler and Matt because it would be dirty.  They are the coolest FUCKING people on the planet and I am a lucky guy for having been able to not only work with them, but share time with them.

You've worked on some of the most popular shows on TV - House, NCIS, etc. - what have you learned from them and/or from acting with such successful stars as Hugh Laurie and Mark Harmon?
There is an amazing commonality among these successful shows and their stars.  They are incredibly comfortable with their talent and that in turn allows them to be very generous.  It's this ease with themselves puts a steady hand on the rudder which is so important in a creative environment.  I always learn more about leadership and integrity when I get to work around people like that and that definitely helps me as to what type of actor I'm trying to become.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.