Christopher Knight Returns to the '70s
Christopher Knight
Up until 2003,
Christopher Knight had most fondly been remembered as Mike and Carol's middle child, Peter, on the hip-to-be-square
Brady Bunch. Then came the premiere of VH1's
The Surreal Life, and gone was the Brady boy who readily demanded "pork chops and applesauce"... the famously voice-cracking lad who came to learn how important it is to "never play ball in the house." Knight suddenly emerged as the hottest of all the
Surrealers (not an easy task when you bunk with supermodel
Marcus Schenkenberg!), as well as the sanest (a far easier task). He also happened to fall in love with wild-child cast mate
Adrianne Curry,
America's Next Top Model's Season 1 champ. A flash of boob and a handful of hot-tub delights later, VH1 knew it had struck gold and reserved extra airtime for the entertaining duo, signing Knight and Curry to
My Fair Brady.
Now, in addition to gearing up for a second installment of My Fair Brady, Knight recently wrapped a guest spot on Fox's That '70s Show in which his character, Josh, shares a liplock with another Brady, and it ain't Marcia, Jan or Cindy! In both instances, he will have to endure the chaotic madness that only love and skin-tight denim can stir.
"As soon as I got the call [from That '70s Show's producers], I let them know that I was absolutely interested. It wasn't until later that I learned there was a catch," Knight relays to TVGuide.com. Enter Barry Williams, aka Greg Brady. (That Johnny Bravo flashback you're experiencing is normal — relax!) Fox's folly? "Barry and I had to come as a team and would be playing gay neighbors," Knight reports. "I thought, 'OK... make it funny and I'll go anywhere."
The '70s escapade did not disappoint. "The whole experience was a great deal of fun and it was nicely written," he says. Even more attractive was the fact that the show opted out on camp and instead focused on the normalcy of the Formans' new block-party revelers. "Josh and Jeff (Williams' character) are very comfortable with who they are. Neither Barry nor myself were required to play 'gay,' which is not what you usually see from a character of this sexual orientation in a comedy."
Oh, and another thing: Josh and Jeff do more than just hold hands.
"There is a kiss between me and Barry," Knight confirms, "but it's very quick." Yet long enough for the actor to rate his "brother's" puckering technique. "Barry had remarkably soft lips," he says with a laugh. [Curry interjects at this point and shouts in the background: "That's f------ disgusting!")
Knight and Williams' '70s Show clinch wasn't the first time the pair shared spit. "Greg actually had to administer the Heimlich maneuver on Peter for an episode of The Bradys (a short-lived, circa-1990 spin-off), so that, in essence, was my and Barry's first kiss."
Performing in front of a live audience "felt good," says Knight, which is more than he can say about the process involved in taping My Fair Brady. "More times than not, reality television is produced at the expense of those in front of the camera. It's over-the-top conflict only, and this is what Adrianne and I are a part of now." At the time of this interview, Knight had been forced to camp out in a hotel room with Curry while producers revamped his Manhattan Beach home in preparation for the series start.
This time around, Curry and Knight will be in full wedding mode, prepping for their spring nuptials. If Knight had his way, however, America wouldn't be privy to the duo's stroll down the aisle (his third, her first). "We didn't want to give them the wedding. But as with the first time around, the network wanted a climax."
A climax prefaced by complications, naturally. "Unfortunately, the network doesn't want us to get there easily, so they are somewhat mired in our plans," Knight sighs. "We could only do so much [planning in private]. The rest had to be done in front of the camera." Thus far, he says, "We have the venue, we found an officiator and we located a view. Now we have to find everything else. It's insane."
The sudden stress was enough to make even professionals jump ship! "Our wedding planner quit [after learning the circumstances], because she realized she might not look that good on screen."
At least Knight can look forward to the one night where he can exchange that economy-size bottle of Pepto-Bismol for something with a little more kick: the bachelor party. Right? "I don't even want one!" he counters.
Well, then, there is always the honeymoon — and if you happened to have spied Curry's spread in this month's Playboy, you know Knight's got nothing to complain about. So we say, "Simmah down!"
Knight's episode of That '70s Show (Thursdays at 8 and 8:30 pm/ET) is set to air sometime in April. My Fair Brady begins its second season on May 28.
