We've seen plenty of TV stars who land a part in a hit movie and are ready to ditch the small screen. Not "Las Vegas" star Josh Duhamel, who had a role in the summer blockbuster "Transformers" and had previously starred in the romantic comedy "Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!"
"I'd definitely love to do more [movies]...but I truly love it here," Josh tells me Monday afternoon after a little party marking the show's 100th episode. “This is something that I love and it’s become like a family. So, I want to do this as long as they’ll have us. ... I don’t ever want to get in a situation where I’m just collecting a paycheck. I love what I do and I want it to be something I’m proud of.”
The show's longevity is especially impressive given that it has survived a schedule change from its original Monday night slot to Fridays as well as the departure of James Caan at the end of the fourth season.
Says Josh: "We're like the little engine that could."
Before the cake cutting and speeches on the show's casino set in Culver City, Josh filmed a scene that required this tall and fit actor to wear padding on his belly because his character of Danny McCoy had packed on a few pounds.
"It was fun," says the former model. "I thought it was funny. Why not?"
It was in 2003 that Josh l landed the role of casino security agent, Danny McCoy, a year after he won a Daytime Emmy Award for his portrayal of Leo de Pres on the ABC soap "All My Children," on which he appeared for three years.
When he left the soap, he had no way of knowing that such a terrific, steady prime-time gig was next.
"The first couple of years especially, you don't even know if you're gonna keep your own job let alone them keeping the show on the air," Josh says. "But we did pretty well, we've always had pretty good numbers. It's tough on a Friday night but even there we're still hanging on. We've got a core of loyal audience that keeps watching the show. I think, honestly, that it's getting better and better. When I say we have the best group of writers, we really do. We used to go all over the place. Now they're sort of in tune with each other and one story kind of leads to the next. Each one is sort of self-conttained yet there's a real line that goes through it."
He is pleased with the addition of Tom Selleck to the cast tis season, filling the void left by Caan: "It's gone well. Tom's a pro. He's got a huge following and he's a guy who brings a lot of integrity to the show I think."
And even with 100 shows completed, Josh Duhamel is still striving for the best: "I just really truly want the show to be as good as it can. You can't always be great but you can always be good, we can always make it better."