Hayes MacArthur stars in NBC’s new comedy “Perfect Couples” as Rex. His character is married to the amazing Olivia Munn and they really do play the “perfect couple”. Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Hayes about how much he loves working on this show and with his cast.
Mike Gencarelli: How did you get involved with “Perfect Couples”?
Hayes MacArthur: I met with Scott Silveri and Jon Pollack last year. They developed the show later on in NBC’s schedule…so it came out in March, which is a crazy time. Everyone is running around and reading scripts. Immediately when I read it, I saw these six characters being so fleshed out with such unique comedic points of view, that I got excited. I went in and met with them and they explained that they didn’t want to make the typical arc type of characters that you normally see. They wanted my character as a guy who is super psyched to be in a relationship and be married. When it came to Rex, I have never seen that type of character before. Former party guys or jocks are always put out by there relationship, but that was the complete opposite for this guy Rex. I jumped at that opportunity to work with these guys.
MG: Your character Rex has some of the best lines in the show, do you enjoy playing him?
HM: One thing about playing Rex is that he has all of this competitive energy and he puts it in to make his relationship the best it can be. Rex also says these certain things that may seem totally absurd but very grounded from his point of view. It is great to watch the rest of the cast just crack up. That is what makes work so fun, just trying to make people laugh…that is really what it is all about.
MG: You and Olivia Munn have great chemistry together and are really funny, tell us about working with her?
HM: Olivia is just so much fun to work with. She always has these new gadgets to work..whether it is the newest phone or the latest camera. She is always taking pictures and doing these digital things. I like to say it is like working with a really hot and talented Radio Shack employee [laughs]. She always has the best stuff. She just brings so much energy and when she is playing Leigh we have just such a great time.
MG: What is your favorite episode that you have worked on?
HM: I think anytime we get together with a six person scene with everyone, those are always stand out scenes. They always end up encompassing the entire episode. Some of the later episodes as we work towards Vance and Amy’s wedding are a lot of fun. The guys go on a camping trip as a Bachelor Party. To get those characters together in that setting for this show is so great. You might think “a bunch a guys at a bachelor party…I’ve seen that before”, but again the writing takes it in such a great direction that you do not see it coming.
MG: One of my favorites was the “Man-Cave” episode.
HM: That is what I talking about. People might have heard of that concept but the way the guys wrote that episode was a man-cave designed by a dude’s wife who wanted him have it. Usually it is a guy who designs it to get away from everything. The show plays a lot with gender roles and that is so fun. Sometimes you are in a relationship and the guy acts more like the girl and the girl acts more like the guy. That is really a run dynamic to play with.
MG: This is the third project you have worked with Kyle Bornheimer, “Worst Week” and the film “She’s Out of My League”, how did you guys meet?
HM: We met in Pittsburgh during “She Out Of My League”. We had a lot a mutual friends but never 
met. When we got down to Pittsburgh and we had such a great time. We called ourselves an inadvertently comedy team. We keep working together but its never intentional. The stars just align like that. After “She’s Out of My League”, we came back to LA and played his brother-in-law in “Worst Week”…which was really fun. When he came aboard this project last Summer it just took it to a great level.
MG: What can you tell us about what’s to come in the rest of the season?
HM: Well I think as we see Vance and Amy build up till there wedding, we see how it sucks all the other characters into it. It is a nice thing to track through the series. There is a lot of fun things a long the way, like Amy loses her job and Leigh tries and help her find another job. That is coming up I believe March 17th, called “Perfect Job”.
