The Baxters Interview: Ted McGinley on Being a Dad & Working With Roma Downey

ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with The Baxters star Ted McGinley about the family drama series. The actor discussed channeling his own experience as a father into his performance in the show as well as his experience working with Roma Downey. The series is set to debut on Prime Video on Thursday, March 28.

“Based on the Redemption literary series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury, The Baxters is a riveting family drama that follows Elizabeth and John Baxter and their five adult children,” reads the series‘ synopsis. “Season One of The Baxters centers on Elizabeth and John’s daughter, Kari, who learns the shocking truth that her professor husband, Tim, has been secretly having an affair with one of his college students. As her relationship is tested, Kari must seek comfort in her faith and family to discover if love is truly a choice and if her marriage can be redeemed. In this deeply moving faith-based journey, The Baxters must come together as a family to work through the challenges of life.”

Tyler Treese: There is a lot of family drama in the show. What I liked about it was it focuses more on how people can grow from these situations rather than reveling in the dirt. What really interested you about the show?

Ted McGinley: Thanks, Tyler. That’s an astute point — I think you’re right. I have two boys. We’ve encountered many challenges throughout their lives and with my wife and I, so I can relate to so much of what is … I’ve done some faith-based films, and typically, they avoid … This show shows a lot of what’s going on in real life — a lot of the issues, and it shows them happening a lot of times in some of these films where they just sort of talk about it. You never see it. Here, they’re right up front, and I think that that is kind of brave in a way for that world. And to your point, when you see people actually going through these things, you actually can sort of move forward and of learn from the moment.

You’re 100% correct, but you have to actually watch someone go through it sometimes. I do think that’s one of the great values of the show for me. Getting ready for it as a dad and a longtime married man and a man of faith, it was sort of a natural interest. And I like the idea that really this is a soap opera. Roma Downey calls it a “hope opera,” and Mark Burnett, her husband, calls it “Melrose Place meets the Bible,” which I think is kind of funny because it’s got all these hot young kids in it, and it’s also got the Bible. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen or been a part of before.

I haven’t seen much drama for your characters so far. How’s it been playing the patriarch of the family? In your real life as a dad, it has to be tough watching your kids make mistakes, but you have to live and learn that way. So what’s been most interesting about this role?

Yeah, there’s no avoiding life. It keeps coming at you no matter what. I could sit with my boys all day long and talk to them about, “Well, you can’t do this, and you shouldn’t do that,” or, “You need to read this. Life comes at you, and you have to learn to build a foundation,” and then everyone can work out of there. But the one thing they know inside and out is that I’m not going anywhere. My wife isn’t going anywhere. “We’re going to be here forever for you, no matter what.” That’s a great gift that you can hand off to somebody else.

John Baxter, the character, is very much that way. He is a rock. Roma’s character, Elizabeth, is more emotional. She’s also the center with John, but she’s much more of a feeler. John is incredibly centered and makes good strong decisions, takes his time.

But the one thing you could ask any one of his kids is, “My dad will always be here for me.” That’s a real responsibility, as an actor, to come in and make sure that that comes across. I think you’re right, like when I saw the first season, I was like, “Ah, I wish I was in here a little more.” [Laughs]. So I kind of come in more later. It was an important thing because we had a lot of young kids who were relatively new and hadn’t been on a lot of sets. My job on set was also the same thing, it was, “Hey, if you have questions, I’m here. We’re going to be here on time. We’re going to know our lines — all that stuff.” It carried over into real life on set as well.

It’s such a treat as a viewer to see you and Roma Downey sharing so many scenes together, seeing two TV legends at it. What really stood out about her as a scene partner? You guys have great chemistry.

I love Roma. She is a very good friend. Our families — my wife, her husband — we’ve been together with dinner and parties, so we’re all very close. But Roma has this beautiful warmth that you can … she radiates kindness and warmth, and when you get within four feet, you begin to feel this glow like this. She draws you in as an actor. You just want to be sitting next to her. She’s so cozy. She’s really wonderful. She’s very generous as an actress, she’s generous as a boss — she’s wonderful. We did have real chemistry. We just hit it off and we were always there for each other on and off the ice. It was very nice.

Revenge of the Nerds is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. What has it been like to see that film continue living on as part of pop culture, and how do you feel about its legacy?

I’m very proud of it. I think it has held up. I think what’s really interesting is that it actually happened. The nerds took over the world, and they won, and they’re going to continue to win. I just think that that’s exciting. When I first started on the film, I was so embarrassed of the title that I wouldn’t say it out loud — Revenge of the Nerds.

After I went to dailies the first day, we had a big party. We had pizza and sandwiches and beer, and we sat in this room and they showed the dailies from the first day. And that was the last time I had an issue saying Revenge of the Nerds. I saw right away — it was the scene where the dad is taking the kids to school in the station wagon, or Jamie [Cromwell] loads them up.

And the boys developed that laugh — that was hysterical. I knew right then, that day, it was going to be a hit, and it would be popular, and it would work. For years, there’d be a certain point where kids weren’t allowed to see it until a certain age, which is right. But once they got to that age, a whole new audience would rediscover it, so it was fun.

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