Jill Greenberg
As his star power intensified over the past 12 months, however, Rowe found himself at risk of losing the very thing he now cares about most: his authenticity. "I can't imagine going back into the kind of acting jobs I was doing before," he says. "I did them specifically because they didn't matter. I didn't want anything from them except a check for two weeks of anonymous work." Now, having only recently discovered his professional soul, the reformed slacker is fighting off those who would suck it back out of him. Rowe eschews entourages, managers, and other types of "people," so, armed with only his intrepid attorney, he's trying to avoid any step that might taint his brand. He passes on the vast majority of the requests he receives, like an invitation from FremantleMedia, the production company, to try out as the new host of the Price Is Right (Drew Carey was not so proud). He has politely said no to every major reality-television producer. And he barred the door against the Endeavor Agency, which came promising to package him as the next media supernova.
"If I'm going to be a package, I'd just as soon wrap it myself," Rowe says. "These things are incredible and flattering, but I've come to realize that I'm really doing something else here." He's trying not to sound holier than thou. And his ideals sometimes put him at odds with his corporate overlords at Discovery. But Rowe sees it as his mission. "We're prisoners of efficiency, addicted to the notion of innovation," he says, "but we need people with dirty jobs. They contribute to progress, too. I feel tested at this point, way more than ever before. And I feel as though there's an audience watching my test more closely than ever before."
It's four o'clock on the Friday before Labor Day, and Rowe is in the green room of The Tonight Show, waiting for Jay Leno to stop by. "Any minute now," says the attendant, after handing Rowe a glass of red wine. It's Rowe's first appearance on the show ("Get it? Dirty Jobs? Labor Day?" he cracks), yet he seems perfectly at home. Leno pops in with a grin. "Hey, Mike, how are ya?" Introductions all around. Then Leno asks, "Do you have any questions for me?" Rowe feigns confusion. "Wait. Is this The Tonight Show" Leno cracks up. "Pretty much. That simplify things for you?"
After Leno leaves, Rowe goes back to trading barbs with two colleagues he'd brought along: Dave Barsky, the Dirty Jobs field producer, whose frequent appearances on camera have made him a demi-celebrity in his own right, and Craig Piligian, a former Survivor producer who has made Dirty Jobs since day one. "You're the saddest entourage I've ever seen," Rowe tells them, in mock pity. Piligian, who has produced several shows for the Discovery Channel, including American Chopper, teases back: "This is only your first time on the show, Mike? That's weird. The Chopper guys have been on twice already."
Rowe may slip easily into the role of jester, but he has done more than any on-air talent to bring the Discovery Channel back from a ratings trough earlier in the decade. Discovery was rebuilt mostly on the strength of a few gritty series, including Deadliest Catch and Mythbusters. But Jobs is the clear standout. "It's our number-one show," says David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Communications, which oversees Discovery and more than 100 other channels. And Rowe is "perfect for Discovery. He's curious, smart, and fun. He teaches you about the world. And the subject matter is really accessible. I mean, he's not climbing Everest." Asked if Rowe could ever be replaced, Zaslav doesn't even blink. "The show wouldn't work without him." Period.
That anyone would see him as a brand comes as a huge surprise to Rowe. In an acting career spanning two-plus decades, he has never appeared in a movie or soap opera. Not even a sitcom pilot. "This business is a great way for a lazy guy to work," he says, only half-joking. And Rowe has been, well, lazy. By looking for opportunities that were doomed to fail, he managed to get about six months of playtime every year. "You can have a great life in television if you don't want to get too successful. You just carve it off as you need it. It's why I worked in reality TV."
Email
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Buzz Up!
LinkedIn
Recent Comments | 12 Total
February 8, 2008 at 11:00am by Robert Safian
Mike Rowe is appearing at the Border's bookstore in Westwood California tomorrow, Feb 9, at 1pm to sign copies of the magazine and of the new Dirty Jobs DVD. All are welcome!
February 12, 2008 at 7:26pm by Andrew Wilson
Good article. Fascinating character morphed out of a seemingly ordinary lad.