TVSquad

On July 16th when the Primetime Emmy nominations are announced, one name that is likely to appear in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series is Aaron Paul. As Jesse Pinkman on AMC's Breaking Bad, Aaron has done amazing work, revealing a character as fascinating as he is flawed.

His performance this past season on Breaking Bad has generated lots of talk about an Emmy nomination, but not to be overlooked is the fact that Paul is also doing great work on HBO's Big Love. On that drama, his character, Scott, is the antithesis of Jesse. It's a testament to Aaron's skill as an actor that I didn't recognize him at first from Big Love when I watched Breaking Bad. A search of his IMDB listing was one of those 'ah-ha' moments. Recently, I had to chance to speak with Aaron, and we started with the jaw-dropping season finale of Breaking Bad.

Arrested Development might be gone -- for now -- but Will Arnett is still basking in the show's afterglow. Last month, Arnett, who played illusionist and ne'er-do-well "Gob" Bluth, was nominated for an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role on the defunct cult classic. In addition, the 36-year-old actor has been extremely busy shooting a number of different movies, from the Will Ferrell-starring comedy Blades of Glory to two projects being directed by Bob Odenkirk of Mr. Show.

The man was so busy, that I only had about twenty minutes to talk to him. But we were able to cover a lot of territory when we spoke, from his Emmy nod, to why he thought Arrested didn't make it, to the prospect of an AD movie. And, of course, he was very funny, even rolling with my lame jokes when I dared utter them.

The interview was conducted by phone on July 24.

One of the things I like about this blogging job I have is that I get to interview people that I find interesting. They don't always have to be the biggest stars, but they have to have something about them that makes me curious. So when I started seeing more of Mindy Kaling on The Office, I decided to dig a little.

As I said in my February "In the Limelight" profile of her, the 26-year-old has accomplished quite a bit so far: besides being a writer and actor on The Office, Mindy also teamed with her friend Brenda Withers to write the play Matt & Ben, which won awards at the 2002 New York International Fringe Festival. She's also appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm and in the mega-hit movie The 40 Year Old Virgin.

In The Office, Mindy plays Kelly, a Dunder-Mifflin drone who lately has been given a few interesting plotlines -- she has a crush on indifferent office temp Ryan. Kelly also has her very own annoying characteristic -- she can't shut up.

Needless to say, I was very interested in finding out how Mindy was able to go from Dartmouth to the writer's room of a hit network show in less than five years. So the Thursday before last, I managed to find her on the set of the show as she was wrapping up filming for the day. She called me back on a land line (maybe from the set itself... the phones there do work) and we talked about a number of topics, including how she's going to spend her April:

[Photo: Chris Haston/NBC]

If you're male and you're reading this blog, chances are you've had a crush on Lisa Loeb at one time or another. It's fully understandable: she's smart, artistic, talented, and cute as a button. Since she burst on the scene in 1994 with her hit song "Stay", she's kept in the limelight via her music and various TV projects. She's done guest spots, cartoon voicework and a Food Network show called Dweezil & Lisa, in which she starred with her then-beau, Dweezil Zappa.

Now Lisa's got a new series, called #1 Single, airing Sundays on E! On the show, viewers follow the 37-year-old singer on dates as she searches for "the one." In her search, she utilizes every method she can think of, under the loving supervision of her sister Debbie and friends like Juan Patiño (another ex-boyfriend) and Illeana Douglas.

Lisa was gracious enough to talk to me by phone this past Friday. In Part 1, we talk about her show, her concerns over how it was going to be produced, and her love of feta cheese omelettes.  In Part 2, which we will post on Friday, Lisa turns the tables on me, getting me to talk about my dating life and giving me tips on where I should meet people.

It was quite an eventful 38 minutes, I'll tell you that:

[Photo: Kevin Westenberg]