Peter Brady's Perfect New Gig

Christopher Knight was hoping this would happen.

Though best known as Peter from The Brady Bunch, he is actually landing legitimate acting gigs that have nothing to do with the classic 1969-74 sitcom. Case in point: Tonight, he guest-stars on the season finale of Less Than Perfect (9:30 pm/ET on ABC). And, believe it or not, there's no wink or sly reference to his Brady past (not even a mention of pork chops and applesauce).

So how did this all happen? A little show called The Surreal Life. Thanks to VH1's reality celebrity mixer, the former child star finally had an opportunity to remind Hollywood he wasn't 14 anymore. "I have this age-disparity thing," the 47-year-old Knight tells TVGuide.com. "I'm constantly confronting a teenage version of myself."

Luckily, Less Than Perfect's executive producer, Gene Stein, has been watching the adult version on Surreal Life this year and likes what he sees. "He just radiated niceness and charisma," says Stein, a self-professed Brady fan who had previously met Knight through Perfect costar Eric Roberts.

That niceness came in handy when the show needed an actor to portray a Denny's waiter who just so happens to be a man of the cloth. (Knight officiates an impromptu wedding ceremony between Patrick Warburton's and Andrea Parker's dysfunctional characters). "If [they were] looking to cast a 'nice guy' role," Knight jokingly points out, "being on The Surreal Life worked for me. But if they were looking for a demonic killer, I don't think it would've helped."

Despite Knight's initial nervousness, all went well during the episode's taping, even if it was a little, uh, surreal for the show's star. "Everybody was excited he was there," says Sara Rue, who counts herself a fan of Knight's VH1 sideshow. "It was certainly weird, [though]. He's older, so it's almost like it's not the same person. And then, all of a sudden, you get these glimpses of 'Wait a minute, that's Peter Brady!'"

By the time the Surreal season finale airs on April 24, Knight will be on to his next project, the lead role in Light Years Away, an independent sci-fi film that will also feature his former reality housemate and present live-in girlfriend, Adrianne Curry. (She won the first season of America's Next Top Model.) Just like those old Brady Bunch episodes, it seems everything has worked out. And just like his TV dad, Knight even has some words of wisdom to leave us with: "I suggest to people to get out of their comfort zone and try something new. Something interesting can happen."