The TV Chick

I absolutely adore ABC Family’s original programming. Secret Life of the American Teenager may have started off as a guilty pleasure show for me (I’m not sure I’m in the right demographic), but it has quickly become a favorite of mine. It tackles a lot of tough issues — teenage pregnancy, sex, relationships, death…you name it, which many other shows shy away from. It has a great cast and interesting storylines and I am so excited for its mid-season premiere. I recently had the chance to chat with Ken Baumann who plays Ben Boykewich about what’s coming up this season, how he relates to his character, and his ideal guest star.

What’s coming up on this season of Secret Life?
Let’s see, what can I give away. Infidelity, maybe a new pregnancy, maybe — oh my God, there’s so much drama, it’s hard to keep up with!

Your character, Ben, has been going through a lot of issues. How do you relate to your character?
You know, it’s interesting because I never fell in love with a girl who got knocked up by the bad boy. I would say that there are a lot of parallels to my high school experience. I’m kind of the geeky guy, so I feel very akin to Ben in that way. So yeah, I understand what it’s like to navigate school, which is very tricky.

Other than the show, is there another genre you want to work in– do you want to do movies?
I kind of feel like — Stanley Kubrick, one of his favorite quotes, when people ask him what kind of movies he’d like to make, he said “good movies.” And I know it’s like inexplicable, but I just want to do good projects — good movies, good TV.

Is there someone specific you want to work with?
Oh man. There are so many directors I’d love to work with, in TV and in film. Lars Von Trier, Martin Scorcese, actors as well, Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day Lewis, I mean, my God, the list…I could be railing on for hours, it’s a dangerous question.

Is there anyone you want to see guest star on the show?
Oh man, well why don’t I just shoot for the stars and say like um, Daniel Day Lewis on Secret Life of the American Teenager. That would be the coup of the century, that would be amazing.

Maybe he could come on and sing a song from Nine.
Yeah, there you go. I’d sing with him. It won’t be pretty, but I’ll do it.

Be sure to watch the mid-season premiere of The Secret Life of the American Teenager on January 4th (Monday) at 8 pm.