Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Timothy Hutton tells us he wasn't particularly in the market to take on another series when TNT's "Leverage" came his way. After all, the Oscar-winning actor has been busy going from feature assignment to assignment — the upcoming "The Killing Room" with Chloe Sevigny, and the Cheryl Hines-directed comedy "Serious Moonlight" with Kristin Bell and Meg Ryan, to name two.

Plus, he and his family divide their time between homes in New York and Paris — and "Leverage" shoots in Los Angeles.

"It came out of the blue, but when I read it, I liked it and the character very much," he says of the Sunday (12/7)-debuting action drama — in which Hutton leads a team including a thief, a con artist and a computer hacker against corporate bad guys like a new millennium Robin Hood. "It's a timely show, too," Hutton notes. "It wasn't really planned that way, but it sure has turned out that way."

His character, Nathan Ford, a man bereft of his family, drinks too much. "You see, really, in the beginning, that he's going to have to reconcile his past, present and future. He can't keep running away from the terrible tragedy that happened in his life," says Hutton. "Drinking is something he does not want to be doing. It's not a big part of the season's storyline, but as the season goes on, you'll see how disconnected he is from everyone. Things disturb him, and he retreats, which then leads to drinking. And that leads to the team not being sure they can rely on him. It's one of the conflicts in the story."

Hutton also has the big screen "Lymelife" with Alec Baldwin and Cynthia Nixon due out in the spring. And he has "Broken Hill," which he made in Australia, in the can.

"After I got back, we started filming the 12 episodes of 'Leverage," he says. And now, "I'm reading a few things, but mostly looking forward to the series."

A LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN: Ty Pennington has his plate full as he's traveling all over the United States building houses for those in need on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," and while he'd like to settle down, he tells us his priorities are with the show for the time being.

"I wouldn't mind slowing down at some point. Focusing on me and my family is definitely in the future," admits the hunky bachelor. "The thing is, things only last for so long. With the economy the way it is, who knows how long we'll be able to do this. Right now I'm focused on the show because there will be a time when we won't be able to do this anymore."

Fans certainly haven't lost interest in the show or Pennington, so the famous designer/host is giving audiences a more in depth look into his life and his show with the ABC special "Ty Pennington: Behind the Scenes," airing Sunday (12/7).

"During the special, I show you what I do at work and during my off time. It's more of a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like for me on a daily basis — the coming up of the secret room and also being in eight places at once. Then it shows me when I am actually home and I have to water the plants and feed the cat," explains Pennington.

Of course most people want to know if Pennington really does have as much energy as it appears. "Oh, you'll see the completely exhausted me, who's got cold packs on his face just trying to stay awake," he says. "People don't really get to see how many problems we encounter before the house is finished. Things will go wrong, and the family will be like four minutes away. It's a lot more stressful than it looks."

THE BIG SCREEN SCENE: "Punisher: War Zone" actor Wayne Knight is sympathetic to the feelings of fans of the comic books as they see them move from page to screen. The former "Seinfeld" foil, seen as the character Microchip in the latest "Punisher" flick, opening today, tells us, "I was a member of the Merry Marvel Marching society as a kid. I'm also somewhat of a Trekker. So I get it. I get where people have deep connections with these characters that are meaningful to them." Knight also says, "I love the idea of being part of the Marvel universe … I think we're faithful. Everyone was conscious of the fact this movie was going to be more fan-connected than the previous incarnations. There is a bandwidth of people out there who are devoted fans, and if you try to broaden the story and characters too far beyond what the fans are used to, you're going to lose them."

TO BE FUNNY, OR NOT TO BE: Funnyman David Alan Grier, who studied Shakespeare at Yale, admits he's surprised that he ended up being known for comedy. He tells us he had a much different path in mind, but he's glad it turned out the way it did. "I thought my ultimate goal would be like playing the black doctor guy on 'House' on something like that or maybe a lawyer. I was like, 'Oh, that would be awesome!'" recalls Grier. "My career has been a crazy patchwork of different things. I never thought I would be back to doing a show like this," he says of his latest TV project "Chocolate News" on Comedy Central. "It's been a journey for me, too. I don't know where it will end. I'm just trying to keep enjoy doing it."

With reports by Emily Feimster.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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