Steven Pasquale: Hometown Hunk

'Rescue Me' star talks about growing up around Hershey
April 7, 2009
By Sue Gleiter

Steven Pasquale has come a long way since he appeared on stage at his alma mater, Bishop McDevitt High School .

Tonight, the Hershey native returns as Sean Garrity, the dim-witted New York City firefighter with a big heart, in season five of the FX Network hit television show " Rescue Me. "

The show, part drama and part dark comedy, focuses on New York City firefighters post Sept. 11. It is co-created and co-written by Denis Leary who also stars as the lead character, Tommy Gavin.

The return of "Rescue Me" caps off what has been a busy week for Pasquale, who still has ties to the midstate. His daughter, Maddie, 12, lives in Camp Hill.

His first solo CD "Somethin’ Like Love," a 12-song compilation of jazz and Broadway style songs was released on iTunes with an official release date set for April 21.

If that’s not enough, Pasquale last Thursday opened in the Broadway production "Reasons to Be Pretty" about America ’s obsession with beauty. He plays the macho Kent .

"It’s a little crazy," Pasquale said.

We caught up with him via phone from New York .

How did you end up in the production of "Fame" at Bishop McDevitt?
I was an athlete and played football and basketball. I hurt my back playing in a football game and my doctor said "I can’t explain what happened to you." He said "I think you should stop." My buddy suggested I do the play. At the time I said "That sounds crazy." But I did it and had a fantastic time.

What did you do growing up around Hershey?
We used to be real (Hershey) park rats in the summer. When you didn’t have any money we would climb the fence and get into the park. As natives we knew what areas were best to climb over the fence.

You almost didn’t land the role of Sean Garrity on " Rescue Me. " What attracted you to the show’s script?
I was unavailable for the first audition and then their dates changed. My agent called and said "Can you memorize the lines and get down to the audition in 40 minutes?" I raced down and kind of winged it. It has been life changing. The script is funny, I love the idea of a show about firefighters and it’s shot in New York City .

What’s it like working with Denis Leary?
He is what you would imagine him to be. Totally ascerbic and wickedly funny.

Since your character is a firefighter, did you do any research?
We spent many many hours with the local firefighter crew. We rode along with them and learned the ropes. A lot of the extras on the show are New York City firefighters.

How did "Somethin’ Like Love" come to be?
I did a musical at Lincoln Center with Jessica Molaskey who is married to John Pizzarelli, a musician. They approached me about doing it because Jessica and I had talked about how it was a fantasy of mine to do an ode to all those great crooners of old like Chet Bake and Bing Crosby.

What is your favorite song on the CD?
"Laura" because my wife is Laura. (Tony award winning actress Laura Benanti.)

Pick one: theater, television/film or singing.
I would pick theater. It’s one thing l love. Just the fact you get to tell the story from beginning to end originally in a few hours. It feels satisfying. When you are shooting TV and filming movies it’s 14 hours and you are sitting around.