Ed Gillow got in some face time as a contestant on a FOX reality show

January 14, 2005 - A FOX reality show seems an unlikely stage for a new actor with a resume already full of television and film roles.

But as one local man will say, it's not easy to break into the acting business and someone starting out should never turn down an opportunity to act.

Laguna Beach resident Ed Gillow recently appeared on FOX's reality show, "Who's Your Daddy?," a show that offers a $100,000 cash prize to a woman if she can pick her biological father, whom she's never met, out of a group of eight men.

Though the show, dubbed by FOX as "a reunion show like no other" has been slammed by adoption organizations and other critics, Gillow thought it was a heartwarming story that he enjoyed taking part in.

"Personally, I feel good doing it because in my mind it was a good cause, reuniting a child with her birth parents," Gillow said.

In "Who's Your Daddy?," Gillow played one of eight potential fathers of the show's star, a woman they called "T.J."

There were a total of eight men to whom T.J. was introduced and had a chance to talk to, but only one was her real father, Gillow said.

T.J. had to decide, based on her brief interactions with these men, which one was her real father, Gillow said.

Before filming the show, Gillow said he was given a small amount of information about the details; he knew that T.J. was adopted and had never met her birth parents. The show was filmed in a mansion in Thousand Oaks, and Gillow said he and the other men on the show were kept separate from each other and no one knew who the real father was.

When T.J. first met all of her potential fathers, Gillow said it was an emotional moment for everyone.

"You would have paid money to see the look on her face when we walked through that door," Gillow said.

"You couldn't help but be affected by looking at her."

Gillow is an actor who is still new to the business and said that the show presented a challenge for him to try and convince T.J. that he might be her real father.

Gillow has no children of his own and said he enjoyed playing the role.

"If you just stay open to the moment and let it affect you, you don't really have to act," Gillow said.

Gillow found his way to reality TV by way of the casting circuit, he said.

About four years ago, he left an engineering career and started working as an extra on TV and in movies. He later took acting lessons and now has expanded his work to independent films and larger television roles, Gillow said.

Gillow's wife, Joan Gladstone, said that she is proud of how far her husband has come in his acting career.

"It gives me and a lot of people we know inspiration that if you have a dream and you take steps to accomplish it you can make it happen," Gladstone said.

Though Gillow views his appearance on "Who's Your Daddy?" as a positive experience, reality television is not the direction he wants his career to go, he said.

"As actors, it's kind of a joke doing reality shows," Gillow said.

It is common for actors who are just starting out to land roles in reality television, Gillow said.

"The incentive is the exposure and the chance to push yourself a bit," Gillow said.

"It's the bane of every actor's existence, but how many of us have done it?"

Gladstone said that although she did not think the show gave her husband a chance to showcase his talents, she said it was a good opportunity for him.

"I'm happy that he's working, I'm happy that he's being selected for these roles," Gladstone said.

In the show's conclusion, T.J. eliminated Gillow's group of "fathers" in the first round and she did pick her real father, Gillow said.

T.J. was awarded with a $100,000 prize and the opportunity to finally get to know her real father.

"She just seemed to know," Gillow said.

Lauren Vane
Coastline Pilot