who's the man? jake smollett, that's who! part 1

The heat lamp is on and there's
no water in sight. That means it's interrogation time!

Today we've detained New York native Jake
Smollett. Jake plays Noser, a guitar-strumming oasis of calm in the turbulent
world of "The Middleman." He also hails from an entire family of entertainers,
so any mad scientists out there dreaming of taking over the world by creating a
genetically enhanced army of super actors — the Smollett family would make an
excellent DNA source.

abcfamily.com: Welcome and thank you for taking time out for
this forced interrogation, Jake!

Jake Smollett: Oh, thank you for interviewing me.

abcfamily.com: Normally we ask how actors got into the business.
But considering your family, the better question might be: Was there ever a
chance you'd be anything else?

Jake: Oh god, never. I literally was born into this business. I've experienced
everything with it, but I love it at all times. I'm having a ball right now. At
no point in time have I ever considered another field.

abcfamily.com: When you work with your family, is it all fun and
games — or does sibling rivalry rule the set?

Jake: Oh god, no. Like, literally when we did our show ['On Our Own'] ... We
always say it's so funny that we'll be 80 years old, sitting up in our house
looking back on all this footage that will always be here of us just being
silly on ABC Family's time. It's kind of like home movies.
When I watch the [show now], I actually feel like I'm watching a home video.
That's how comfortable it was.

So, no. No sibling rivalry ever.
Never jealousy. None of that.

abcfamily.com: "The Middleman" bleeds over into several genres,
but it's pretty well steeped in science fiction. Are you a fan of sci-fi and
fantasy?

Jake: I don't know if it's really fantasy, but like ... I don't know if you know
of the old, old, crazy movies where they'll have crazy [stuff] jumping out. I'm
huge on sci-fi but not as much as scary movies and old-time classics. My
favorite films are the older ones, like "Sudden Fear" from 1952 with Joan
Crawford and Jack Palance.

abcfamily.com: I'm sorry, but the question has to be asked: What
was it REALLY like to hang with Mr. Cooper?

Jake: [Laughs] Oh my god, I was three years old. I actually can remember that
day to a T. That was the first TV I've ever done in my
life. It was so much fun because my sister [Jurnee Smollett] was on 'Hangin'
With Mr. Cooper' before I was, and I was actually in the stands, the audience,
breast-feeding.

No lie, I really was
breast-feeding. And I got up from breast-feeding and went and sat on Cooper's
[Mark Curry] lap and did my line and I was supposed to be peeing on his leg.

To listen to Jake give the extended answer to this
question, including Jake's recollection of his first-ever lines, click here.

Thanks so much to Jake! But don't
close your browsers just yet, readers — the interview's far from over! Keep
checking this space for part two, when we talk with Jake about his experiences
on &#quot;The Middleman&#quot; and set off another &#quot;Middleman&#quot; patented &#quot;truth bomb!&#quot;