Oliver Hudson On 'Rules Of Engagement,' Kate Hudson, Mom Goldie Hawn

Well, even just coming into this whole thing was a bit intimidating.  You know, only because I had never done a sitcom before, as a guest spot or anything else. I was sort of thrown into this with David Spade and Patrick Warburton. I remember the first episode, they made the whole world very comfortable to bring yourself up there and do what you needed to do. I guess one thing that stands out is that Spade had to play a guido at one point where he sort hooks up with this girl, whose father is in the Italian mob, and he starts wearing track suits and wears pinky rings and starts talking all crazily, and that sort of stands out as an episodic memory of Spade.  But for the most part, man, we just have such a good time doing the show.  We all hang out after the show.  We all hang out off set.  It’s become somewhat of a family.  

I think so. I mean, it always takes work. Everything takes work. I’ve always thought I was pretty funny in my own life. My family thinks I’m funny, and I guess they’re a pretty good judge. My friends seem to think I’m funny, but when it comes to translating it onto a screen and using other people's work, it’s about finding the timing, especially in a sitcom because you have something to say and it's either funny or it's not, and sometimes it's not, and that’s when we rework stuff on the night of the show and try something else. But the main thing that I’ve learned is the sort of rhythm that it takes –- it’s a process. It’s a timing-based sort of genre. You have to hit it all correctly for it to flow and work out right.

Not notes, but definitely, you know, for the first few seasons she was very involved. She was at a lot of the shows and she was sort of “back-seat directing.” She was watching the monitors. She was coming up to me and saying, “Well, maybe do something like this” or, “Why don’t they write this? Why don’t they do this line instead of that?" And, I’m like, “All right, Mom, that’s a good suggestion, but if you have the balls to go up and talk to [creator and writer Tom Hertz], then go ahead.” I’m not going to say anything.

Well, hopefully I’m nothing like him. I hope that the people who know me don’t compare me to him. I mean, [the character] started off as one thing and it sort of degraded in a good way. My character has sort of devolved to borderline moron but it’s fun — I like it. I like the relationship between [my character's wife] Bianca and I and the rest of the guys. I’m sort of the one who gets picked on and Bianca is wearing the pants in the family. I submit to her demands, which is fun to do because it’s not much like me. I hope to God that no one thinks I’m like him.

I’m not a very body-conscious guy, you know? I work out here and there. I don’t mind my ass but I don’t know, man. It’s all doable. There’s a commitment to it, maybe I think I might rip my abs up a little bit. Maybe I think I'll get a little [Mario] Lopez abs going. For athletic purposes of course, get that core strong.

I always made movies. As a kid, my friends and I, most every weekend, would make a movie. It would involve blank guns, squids and gore. But it was more about the process of making it. It was sort of alluring to make. And as I went through life, I went to college for a couple years and came back. I went to USC for a semester to do a short film. I sort of fell into acting. My sister [Kate Hudson] was doing well and my whole family. I thought, "I’ll give it a whirl" and I liked it. I got into class and it presented challenges that I’ve never been confronted with, ever: both career -- especially just starting out -- and personal. Acting is a very interesting thing. It really breaks you down. On many levels it was a very beneficial thing for me to stumble into. But starting out, I never dreamed of being an actor. I didn’t do school plays. It wasn’t my gig.

I’ll see her now and then but, you know, we say hi. But, no, we don’t really talk. Bianca was on Dawson’s Creek. That’s actually where I met her first. I think she played James [Vander Beeks’] love interest — back like 80s love interest. We were in North Carolina for six months, hanging out and becoming friends and then however many years later it all reconnected.

It’s great. It’s amazing. Even relating at home to work, this job couldn’t be better as a father, a family man and a husband. The sitcom schedule allows me so much freedom to have a life because, you know, the hours are so much easier than any other genre in television or film. So, it’s been great. It’s been a blessing. I have two boys and it’s going good, you know? I’m exhausted.

Right now it’s [Rules of Engagement]. When I’m locked into this there’s not much other opportunity. I mean, we work so much that it’s hard to fit anything else in and I ate it last year. It was slow. I went on a few meetings and that’s it. The state of our business is in sort of a funky place. You know, it’s a timing thing like anything else. I struggled as an actor for four years and then finally carved out TV gigs. You know, I’m still young and I have TV gigs I’m trying to produce and movies that I’m trying to get off the ground. My brother and I are writing a movie right now so I keep busy. It’s a comedy. It’s a movie that we thought of a few months ago. It responds to a news story, with a little twist on it. We’re giving it a whirl. We wanted to write something that, you know — it’s so hard to get anything done nowadays. There’s so many politics involved but we wanted to find an idea that we would have a blast writing, whatever came out of it. Obviously, the goal is to make it happen and sell it and see it on the big screen. But if nothing is to happen, we’re having fun doing it and moving on to the next if it doesn’t work out.