9 minute read
Dean McDermott
By Jay Cooper
Dean is an actor known for a multitude of television shows and movies. Winner of season two Celebrity Cook-Off, Santa Baby, Santa Baby 2, My Fake Boyfriend, the host of Chopped Canada, Hell’s Kitchen, Tori and Dean Home Sweet Hollywood, Tori & Dean Cabin Fever, True Tori, Tori and Dean Storybook Weddings, Tori and Dean Inn Love, Pretty Hard Cases plus SO much more! He is a Canadian through and through. I had the chance to catch up with Dean.
Jay Cooper (JC): Would Dean be there?
Dean McDermott (DM): That’s me! I’m very excited for our chat today.
JC: My pleasure and I’ve been looking forward to it. How’s the weather in California today?
DM: It’s actually very nice in the high 60’s low 70’s. Fall is so beautiful in Ontario and I miss that so much. Chili or stew on a cold day, especially at the cottage. We used to have one on lower Stoney Lake.
JC: What a wonderful opportunity by Carolyn Richards from the Kawartha ATV Association (KATVA). She’s also a writer for this magazine. How did you get involved?
DM: It came from Elvis Stojko in the summer of 2019. I was up there for five months shooting ‘Pretty Hard Cases’. My friend owns The Skating Lab in Toronto and knew I was in town. He asked if I brought my hockey gear, which I hadn’t. He got me outfitted with True Temper Hockey gear and said “Oh by the way you have skating lessons with Elvis Stojko next Wednesday”, and I’m like WHAT? Turned out Elvis wears True Skates, and they were friends so he told Elvis I was in town. I went and met Elvis and we hit it off immediately and became fast friends. He has a great property in Pontypool and introduced me to side by sides. He took me out for a rip on his Polaris XP1000 and I was hooked. By the end of the summer that machine was mine since he bought a Can Am. KATVA took us out one day and that’s how we met Carolyn and it was just the best time, it was amazing riding trails for 75 kms and stopping by a lake for lunch. So thanks to Elvis I’m a huge side by side guy and got to meet great people from KATVA.
JC: I’m interviewing Elvis tomorrow. Anything I should be aware of? (Laughs)
DM: You know, he is one of the most solid people I’ve ever met. Never seen him lose his temper, very even keeled, level headed and spiritual. No wonder he’s won all those championships and medals as he is a great competitor. But his mind set is amazing. I got him a part on ‘Pretty Hard Cases’. He’s areally good actor and good at comedy too, just an awesome dude.
JC: We have Chef Lynn Crawford in this issue as well, so I’m coming at you from different angles. You also worked with her.
DM: Oh my god! Too cool! I was up there shooting ‘My Fake Boyfriend’. I went to Ruby Watchco and was shocked that it is closed but I always eat at The Hearth at Pearson International Airport. It’s so good.
JC: What do you love about riding motorcycles? You’ve have had some serious crashes.
DM: I don’t ride dirt bikes anymore as I almost killed myself in a crash. I’ve been road racing for years and had get-off’s, but very minor injuries The tracks are designed for mistakes and you’re all leathered up. But dirt tracks are constantly changing. I collapsed my lung amongst other injuries and ended up in ICU. When I went to Elvis’s house he said we could take the dirt bikes out and I’m like, well I don’t think so. So he said we’ll take the side by side and I was like, what the hell is that? He showed me and I realized that’s what Bruce Jenner, now Caitlyn, always had on the trailer but I never knew what they were called. I just love it. The terrain changes, you’ve got 4 wheels and a roll cage and I just feel more secure in a side by side now.
JC: You are a Chef, Actor, Director, motorsports enthusiast, father and husband….not in any order. Should I expand on that?
DM: Ice hockey player, golfer, scuba diver, I do a little of everything and I’m a master of none (laughs).
JC: You were the winner on season 2 of Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off and the host of Chopped Canada, so you are a serious contender to beat me at cooking. Where did you train to be a chef?
DM: I started at home at around 9 years old with my mom. She believed that a well-rounded gentleman should know how to cook and clean, so she taught me both. We started off simple and then we would watch Carol Burnett together. It started this wonderful memory for me of how cooking brought people together. At 16, I got a job at The Keg and started as a dishwasher then worked my way up to the position of first cook and I loved it, cranking out hundreds of steaks a night. I also worked the prep kitchen during the day and learned a lot there. The big game changer was when I bought one of Jamie Oliver’s cookbooks and made every recipe in it and really got the bug. Cooking all the time and flash forward, I went to culinary school at the age of 45 at the Art Institute of California and seriously thought it was the biggest mistake of my life. I walk into my first class and everyone is 18 - 19 years old and they’re going who the hell is this old fart? I hadn’t been in a classroom since 1983 (Laughs) but the head instructor convinced me to stay. I said Chef, I made a huge mistake and he said no, you’re in the right place . I loved it. About half way through, I started a website called Gourmet Dad and it took off. Then Rachael vs Guy came knocking, then I did a cookbook, shows for Food Network, the Cooking Channel and I didn’t have time for school anymore. So sadly I never finished my Associate Degree. Then Chopped Canada came along. What an amazing experience to watch these young chefs under pressure, cooking incredibly strange things. To work with Chef Lynn Crawford, Chef Susur, Chef John Higgins and Chef Michael Smith was such a learning experience. I’m hosting this fun show, getting an education and getting paid for it. What could be better than that?
JC: As everyone well knows you are married to Tori Spelling from 90210 fame and you produced many shows that you starred in together. How is it working with your wife on camera?
DM: It’s so easy and wonderful. We get along so well, same sense of humor, very in-tune creatively and together we are a force behind the camera and in front. We work really well together and have fun and it translates on screen. We spend most of our time together as we have 5 children. We pretty much just hang out together as a family unit. So working together is a natural transition.
JC: When did you get interested in acting?
DM: I always had a flare for drama where you just didn’t play cops and robbers. I would come up with these elaborate scripts where we were moving cocaine to Miami and going to take down the cartel with my partner dying in my arms vowing revenge. A little intense and mature for our age, but I loved immersing myself into those roles. In high school I came into my own and discovered I was funny. I got that from my parents who had a great sense of humor. I got a head shot and bullshitted the resume. I got an agent, got some work in commercials and one liners and 36 years later here I am.
JC: Roles that you auditioned for and didn’t get - are you aware of who did get them?
DM: (laughs) You know, that happens. I see it on social media where there were 2 roles that I knew I wasn’t right for and then 2 of my friends got them and I was like yup, that makes sense. It’s like thanks for the audition but I am so wrong for this, maybe I should be a casting director next (laughs).
JC: Our Editor, Karen Irvine, says her favourite Christmas show is Santa Baby with you and Jenny McCarthy. She looks forward to it every year. Will there be a new one?
DM: There was talk a few years ago but it never came about. Now with the success of The Masked Singer, not sure if Jenny would do another Christmas movie but it was a blast. I love Calgary and dog sledding so I got to do both. I should text Jenny and ask her. This is a great idea. Funny story from that is, she was dating Jim Carey at the time and I was like can’t wait to meet him. I look at the call sheet and see we have a kissing scene and I thought, great, he’ll show up. But he wasn’t coming until the evening. We’re shooting the scene and Jim pops his head up and says, “That was great! Can I get another one?” and that’s how I met Jim - kissing his girlfriend (laughs).
JC: Why do you love the Kawarthas so much?
DM: The water and lakes. I’m a water person, the countryside is just beautiful. I kick myself everyday as I almost bought a 200 acre farm in Roseneath 20 years ago. Nice house and barn, so yeah I still think about that to this day. The Kawarthas are a magical place.
JC: Well, we just have to get you back up here to stay this time.
DM: I would love to have a show like Tori and Dean move to Canada (laughs). Just to bring the whole family up is a problem as they are used to California but I am looking all the time and if they were ever to come and see what’s up here, they would fall in love with it.
JC: My choice would be “Tori and Dean Bought the Farm Canada”. DM: That’s a great name for it! (laughs) JC: What’s your favorite show that you were in?
DM: Due South for sure. I loved that show, it was so great to work on and so funny. My character, Constable Turnbull, was a lovable duffus, I would love to be there if it was still on. It was a great show.
JC: Thank you so much for your time. I’ve really enjoyed our conversation.
DM: My pleasure! I had a great time! Let’s get Elvis Stojko and hit the KATVA trails when I’m back in Canada.
Photos by Helen Tansey, Sundari Photography
FOLLOW DEAN ON SOCIAL MEDIA @imdeanmcdermott
