Millions tune in each week and watch Shawn Pyfrom in the role of Andrew Van de Kamp on ABC’s mega-hit Desperate Housewives. The show's all-star ensemble cast has earned him two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations and a Prism Award nomination. Shawn, who’s been acting since he was four, was also nominated for the Hollywood Reporter's “Young Star Award” for Best Actor for his convincing turn as the young Bonaduce in ABC’s movie-of-the-week about the Partridge Family, and is appearing in the upcoming film, Tanner Hall.

... the FACTS

Born: Tampa, Florida

Resides: Los Angeles, CA

Birth date:  8-16-86

Sign: Leo

Height: 5'9"

Hair: Light Brown

Eyes: Hazel

Family: I have an older brother, younger sister. My brother is a music and chorus teacher in Louisiana, my sister is a college student.

Ethnicity: "I'm a mutt, I'm Italian, French, Hungarian, Welsh."

Status: Never married, no children

Nonsmoker

Occupation: Actor 

Did you know that Desperate Housewives was going to be this big: "No, not at all. I wanted to be a part of this just to find out what was going to happen next before everyone else. When I read the script, that was my only inclination for wanting to be a part of this. I had no idea that it was gong to be as big as it was."

How does it feel: "It's kind of iconic which is really, really interesting. It's something that I have in the past given some thought to and maybe occasionally think about here and there but I never really spend much time thinking about it. It's cool, it's something I never expected to be a part of, it's not that I never thought that I would be, I just never ever thought about it."

As an actor, do you love having parts that are so opposite than who you are: "I love it. One of the reasons why I act is I like being able to do something different, something that's not me. I like being able to take on a character that's completely different from who and what I am and make it my own and get in that character's head. It's fun to figure that person out. I've been doing this for five seasons now and I'm still creating this character. I want to be in movies, I like being able to play different characters but there's also something really great about being able to play the same character for such a long time to a point where you're comfortable with that character and you can explore within that character and bring up new things."

First big break: "I did this MOV for ABC about the Partridge Family. I played Danny Bonaduce. It was the first time I really got to act and play something completely different from what I was."

... on HIMSELF

Strengths:  "That's a hard question to answer without sounding egocentric. I am outgoing. I guess I could say that I'm creative. I love expressing myself through other mediums. I love cooking and painting and music and things like that and writing. I do a lot of abstract artwork."

Are you a good cook: "I'd like to think so. I love food and wine, gourmet, contemporary like french food. That's sort of the genre of food that I like to make. I grew up with my father cooking so I would sit in the kitchen with him and watch him cook. And I don't know if I actually learned any recipes or even techniques from him necessarily. I think what I learned from him was just to love cooking because cooking with him was always fun. It was like a father/son bonding time and my brother and sister weren't really big into it, so it was just always my dad and me. Cooking for me has never been a chore. It's cleaning that sucks."

What's your favorite dish to make: "It really depends on what I'm hungry for. I'm trying to think of something that will wow you. Like I said, I like to do some of the contemnor kind of stuff, so I do a lot of reductions and purees and things like that . For Thanksgiving, I'm doing a brushetto wrapped date stuffed with nitela and strawberry with a hazel nut and port puree and a strawberry jam."

You more than impressed me, wow.

My friends would probably say that I'm a bit neurotic. I'm kind of a neat freak. I don't like things just sitting around. No, they'd probably say that I'm loyal because I am. I would do just about anything for someone who needs me."

Weakness: "I have a weakness for good food, french fries. I have a hard time staying away from french fries. It's kind of boring but it's true."

Others may not see: "For anyone it's easy to just assume by the fact that I act, I mean I'm not out there like Zak Efron. When I am seen, let's just say, to just assume that maybe I'm arrogant or full of myself. And it's possible that something that I have said in an interview has been misconstrued, chopped up and put on page or aired out of context ... Some people are misperceived by the public or the media because they were caught in a human moment. Who knows what caused a person to say a certain thing, a rude thing, an arrogant thing. They could have just received bad news before they said what they said or did what they did. This is me giving my opinion again as opposed to answering the question. Here's a moral lesson from Shawn. I urge anyone to just consider that before making a judgement about that person's character. And I say that is something that has unfortunately happened to me and I'm sure many, many other actors and people as well. I'm not saying I'm any different than them. I'm just a young man who has an interest in wanting to express himself artistically. And that's my only motivation of doing what I do. In any given situation, its just what someone may do and they're just caught off guard doing something that everyone else does but because they who they are, they do what they do, they're held more accountable than other people. Honestly, I think I'm possibly too trusting of other people. But at the same time, I don't want to be cynical so I am trusting. I trust that everyone is approaching me with their purest intentions so sometimes that comes to my determent but I say in most cases it doesn't. And so I don't think that I'm cautious and I don't think that anyone would perceive me as bring cautious. I'm kind to anyone who comes up to me. But if I'm not, then it's for good reason. Maybe because I'm just not in a god mood, or I just received bad news. I can't always be on cue for everyone. I can't always be out there for everyone. I sometimes got to be out there for me."

I've been known to ... "give advice when it's not asked for. Sometimes I forget to ask if people even want my advice. Not like I'm complaining or don't like that people do this, but a lot of my friends vent to me, and I most of the time will ask are you telling me all this right now because you just want to vent, you want someone to listen to you or do you want me to give you my opinion and try to help you. But occasionally I will just forget to ask and I will just give my opinion and sometimes I get my head bit off because they just want to vent."

Interests: "Cooking, writing, painting, For awhile there I was playing a lot of soccer which I've kind of stopped doing so that's not much of a hobby anymore for me. I love movies. I'm very creative. I like to create things and express myself in whatever way I can. But I think that also comes from things that surround me. I'm inspired by things that surround me so I'm constantly searching for things that inspire me, either it be music or film or books or whatever. I just started to teach myself the piano., I haven't taken lessons yet, I'm going to. But I bought myself a keyboard and I've been teaching myself how to play. I have very short fingers, I tried my hand at the guitar. I'm sure it's possible for me to be able to play the guitar but my thick short fingers just did not work for me. So I gave up on the guitar. And then one day, because I've always loved music, and as I've gotten older I've grown to love music even more. So I was like I love music so much, I want to learn how to play it. And so I think the piano is one of the few instruments that you can just sit down and play and sing along to without any other instrument needed. And I also enjoy piano music. I like all sorts of music I like jazz and classical music. You can do all of those on the piano. Since I've been little, I was always in chorus and things like that. I've just grown up singing and I enjoy singing. I don't sing professionally but maybe hopefully one day, if I feel like I'm good enough, I will dabble in music. But I think at this point, it's just for me."

Turn-ons: "Music, I love music. I just got a dog."

Turn-offs: "People who just create unnecessary drama. I have an understanding for people who do that, I personally do not do it. I know that some people just do it because they thrive on that kind of attention, that gossipy attention that they receive from people. So I get it but it still annoys me. People who don't have manners, not that it upsets me necessarily, it just embarrasses me for them. Like when I'm out somewhere like a restaurant or something like that and someone leaves a really poor tip or speaks down to a waiter or just anybody. I guess that is also sort of tied in with just a lack of respect for people. I just have a big problem with that and it just makes me feel weird, it makes me feel just embarrassed for them and embarrassed that I'm with them. If I'm at a restaurant and someone speaks to a waiter rudely I will usually try to make up for it by thanking them profusely for bringing the salt or something to show that I'm not rude. I appreciate what they're doing. I call just about anybody sir and ma'am whether they be old or young, just out of respect for what they're doing. If someone's doing something for me, I give them the respect of calling them sir or ma'am. If I'm with someone that I don't know well and they react rude toward someone, then I probably won't say anything to them unless it's something just really, really rude. If it's a good friend of mine, I'll definitely call them out on it."

Special Talents: "I write songs and screenplays. In high school, I went all the way through Spanish 4 but I probably only know about four words. My plan was if I wasn't doing anything big by the time I got out of high school, I was just going into college and quit acting and I got the show right before I graduated. My plan was to go to Cal State Nothridge for business. But I put that off."

Awards: "Hollywood Reporter's “Young Star Award” for Best Actor.  2000
nominated with the ensemble cast SAG  award. Prism award was abc awards show honoring television and movies that acknowledged drug and alcohol related issues."

Charities: "I help out where I can.(more info) I'm passionate about helping people. I definitely think that if you're in a position to do something for someone who didn't receive as great a hand that you did in life. If you have the time and you're able to, why not go out and help."

Travels: "I went out of the country for the first time this last summer. I went to Bora Bora, Tahiti, Tiki and then Italy and Spain."

Spirituality: "I'm not religious. I am a spiritual being."

Fashion sense: "Well, I have recently been told, up until recently, I have been dressing kind of like a slob. And I guess I was. I was just sort of wearing what I was comfortable in. Until recently my fashion style has just sort of been to dress up in a dress shirt with slacks or jeans. Still with my own personal touch. But typically if I don't have to impress anybody, then I just wear what makes me feel comfortable."

Staying healthy: "I work out when I can, run. I watch what I eat sometimes, I'm not crazy about it. I will go weeks eating not so healthy, going to in and out or getting pizza, and then I'll see that I'm getting a little out of hand or it's been going on for a little too long and I'll pull back and I'll just eat healthy for a little while, just kind of go back and forth. For me, I love food and because I cook, I love to eat. While I still have this young metabolism, I'm going to take advantage."

What touches my soul: "A lot of things, again depending on the moment, touch me. I don't know if there's one particular button that stands out more than the rest as far as being able to touch me emotionally."

... on WOMEN

What I first notice on a woman: "I'm first drawn to their eyes then intelligence is a big thing for me. And also like a sense of humor because I joke a lot. I say a lot of things that a lot of people just don't get. I will make a lot of silly random comments and quote silly random movies sometimes, and if a person doesn't really get my humor, then they're out. It's not even necessarily like a color, sometimes there's just a glow that you just take notice of."

Attention-getters: "I  really am not big on games, I mean, sure you got to play a little hard to get, I suppose just to keep some interest. But I'm not one of those guys who's like big into the game and the pursuit of it. Because I don't pick up on that. If someone's playing too hard to get for me, then I'm not sure if they are into me or what. I'm not very good at reading signals. So I guess if someone is trying to get my attention, all they had to was just talk with me. They don't have to be overly flirty or anything or laugh at even everything that I say. Just kind of like just talk to me, that's all you need to do, just talk to me."

Are you approachable: "Hell yeah, I'm approachable. I'm definitely approachable. I'm kind to everyone."

Ideal woman:  "Someone who I can hang out with, I don't go out, I don't go clubbing or anything like that. I rarely ever go out to a club. So someone who can just hang out with me. Someone who can stay in and watch a movie and be content with that, maybe chill with a bottle of wine. Or do things with, be active with, like take interest in one another's interests. Intelligent, someone that I can talk to, someone who intrigues. I love taking to people who know something that I don't know or know a lot about something that I don't know. I'm drawn to that, I like learning. Someone who just gets me. You  kind of got to have a sense of humor in order to get my sense of humor. Honestly I don't know how to describe it. I can be sarcastic sometimes, not in a judgmental way, just sarcastic. I'm really kind of crazy. Sometimes I will say things, even when I'm not making a joke, sometimes I will just talk and go on a rant about something and I'll even forget what the hell I'm talking about or what my point was. It goes the same for my jokes, sometimes they just don't even make sense.""

I can't resist a woman who ... "makes me smile."

Most important quality in a woman: "Just being very understanding. The other person needs to understand the other person that they're with. They just need to know who they're with and not need to change a thing about them. That's the thing is a lot of people get into relationships wanting to change the other person and that's just never going to work. They're always going to be who they are. And even if that person changes for you, then they're going to resent you for that. Some people will change for the other person just out of love or respect and wanting to be with that person and knowing that there's just no other way. That other person wants you to change and so in order to be with that other person, you have to. But if they do that, they're going to resent you, there's nothing good that can come of it. So be with a person that you want to be with as they are, right when you meet them."

Ideal date: "I'm a foodie, so I would like to go to a restaurant that I really enjoy and the girl has to eat. no picking at a salad. She has to eat. A good concert, or something like that afterwards."

What makes me call a woman back after a first date: "I guess there's just something you get when you're on that first date. You either vibe with the person or you don't. I can't really say that there's one specific thing that would make me want to go back for a second date. You just have to click with the person, if you don't then there's no point, you're just wasting both your time."

I'd never date a woman who ... "was heavy into drugs. Again, I try not to judge people who do things that I don't do, or don't necessarily understand, but I know people dabble, people experiment, whatever, that's fine, you know it's your own journey, and you're entitled to live your own journey, your own life. But my life just does not sync up with someone else's who would be heavy into doing drugs."

How I show I care: "I would tell them. I will occasionally here and there like leave a cutesy little note or something but if something were to come to me, I would just do it. I don't have like a book of things that I do to swoon a woman."

What makes a woman unforgettable: "Sense of humor, intelligence - it just depends on the person."

What I wish women understood more about men: "The only thing that women need to understand about men is that men don't understand women. I mean that's sort of what makes the whole dating/courting/relationship thing so awesome. The whole time you're trying to figure out that other person. And you'll pick up on things over time and that's what's sort of fulfilling about that, is that you can learn something new about that person that you'll either like or you'll dislike. It's just part of the process which is I think what makes it so interesting. If I knew everything there was to know about women, there would be nothing interesting about going out with someone. If I could predict every single move that she was going to make or understand every little subtext that's attached to something she says, then there wouldn't be the beautiful turmoil that comes with being with women. Yeah, that's all you just got to know is like just like you don't know everything there is to know about men, men don't know everything there is to know about women, that's all you need to men. Everyone needs to just chill."

One thing a woman has never done for me yet, but I would love it: "n/a

... on RELATIONSHIPS 

On marriage: (dating 5 years) - I'm not getting married until I'm 40. If you found someone that you click with, there's no point in separating from them."

"I think people just put too much pressure on the process to date and to move in with one another and to get married and plan a wedding and have children and that kind of thing. And that's not, one it's not something that's very important to me but it's also I think by putting so much pressure on it, it puts it up on a pedestal that can never ever meet anybody's expectations. And so I just kind of like let whatever happens happen. How many married couples who are just unhappy or wish  that they had done more before they got married and have the pressure of supporting a household or family. You meet so many people who are like that and you also meet a lot of people who are very, very happy and don't have any regrets. There's the exception to every rule but just for me, it's not something that I holds a lot of importance on."

Is a relationship important to you: "It's like having a best friend and someone that you know for sure that you'll be getting some from, just to say bluntly. It's perfect."

What I love most about being in a relationship: "I like the oomfortability of it. I like knowing a person and being able to share whatever you want with them who knows every single bit about you, or just about everything about you in a relationship. There's something wonderful about it. Let's just say, it's like having a best friend that you can tell anything to because they know everything about you. There's something just wonderful about being in a relationship because it's comfortable, and not being in a relationship because it's comfortable, you have to really enjoy the other person and want to be with them, but being in a relationship, I guess the thing I enjoy most about is how comfortable it is."

Top relationship keys: "Trust and honesty. Those are very typical answers but it's also true. You got to have those in order for a relationship to work. If you don't trust the other person, then you're always going to question their intentions and what they're doing and no one wants to be questioned all the time. You got to have a flow in your relationship, if it's not there, then it's not thee. And if you don't trust the person, then don't be in the relationship. Trust comes from the honesty in the relationship."

A woman in a relationship with me can expect ... "me to be very independent. I like to do what I want to do. And I also like to spend time with that other person. They got to be independent for me as well. That's just what you'd have to expect is you'd have to be your own independent person and know that I am also. That I don't just function as a unit. I function as my own separate unit."
 
What I expect: "I expect to be able to do what I want to do."

When I'm in love, ... "I'm just me in love."

What makes me feel close to a woman:

Greatest relationship lesson: "I guess the trust and honesty thing. It just works."

What makes a woman marriage material:

... on SEX 

What makes sex good: n/a

I feel my sexiest ... "after I've worked out."

Most sensual part of a woman's body is ...

Sexiest thing a woman can wear in private: "Lingerie. I'm not necessarily huge on that. A big T-shirt and undies is fine with me."

Surefire way to seduce me: "Just be yourself. Be comfortable with who you are. I'm not big on games and stuff, so I can usually see right through just about anything."

... on LIFE

Making my mark: "That is probably one of my best and worst qualities is that I'm never satisfied so I don't think that I'm even close to making the mark that I want to leave. I just always strive to do better. I'd like to be able to do it all, all mediums of art, writing, directing, acting, music, painting. I love expressing myself and I love for people to be able to appreciate it; and not just to appreciate to be like oh good job, but I mean to change people's lives, that's the kind of stuff I want to do. If I can help someone realize something about themselves by seeing something or hearing something that I do, now or in the future, then I will have achieved what I wanted by doing what I did or making what I made. That's what I want to. Because everyone's always searching for something about themselves that they haven't realized or be comfortable with about themselves. And sometimes that's revealed to them through art whether it be the person who's making that art is so comfortable with themselves and putting it out there or making a statement and the person observing it realizes something that they hadn't thought about before by hearing or watching. So that's why I want to put myself out there... I mean I don't know if I have something profound to say, it depends on the person who's listening."

Responsibility to society: "No, I don't feel like I have a responsibility to society. That if I never change a single person's life, it's not my responsibility, it's not anybody's responsibility. They're responsible for themselves and being responsible for yourself, you should also include just taking consideration for everybody else as well because that should give you that extra thing that makes you feel whole. I'm sure people who achieve something in life because of someone else's failure doesn't feel whole about themselves because they had to step on somebody to get what they got. The only responsibilities that I have to society is to not hurt them."

Valuable life lesson: "I've learned so many, I can't repeat just one and have it be the one that stands out among all the others."

I must ... "travel, be able to play an instrument well, and I want to be able to make one of my own movies. Write and direct my own movie."

Best advice received: "Just to not take anything personally. Nothing. Even if it's something directed at me about something that I did, chances are the person who is saying what they're saying to me or making a comment about something I did, or me personally, whatever they're commenting on has nothing to do with me, it has to do with them and how they think they're commenting on affected them. So they could have some old memory that happened in their day that is just a very sensitive thing to them and that comment that I made or the shirt that I'm wearing made them think of that and so they lashed out at me because of it. Every thing that people do doesn't necessarily have to do with the individual they're directing their negativity at. The negativity comes from inside of them, something that they have a problem with. (I got that from a few books that I read) It's always where it all comes from. If it's a criticism that I can learn from, that I can change without me feeling like I'm compromising something, then listen to it and change it and take only however you choose to take it, but don't let it affect you because it has nothing to do with you."

Best advice I've given a woman: "I don't know if I've ever given a woman good advice or not."

... on HIS FAVORITE THINGS

Movie: "Braveheart."

TV Show: "Arrested Development."

Book: "The Power of Now. That just kind of got me thinking a different way."

Music: "DAngelo is my favorite artist."

Food: "French fries. It's my favorite thing to eat."

... final THOUGHTS

Wheels: "I have a sports car but now I'm kind of over it. My next car will be a point A to point B car. I have a BMW 335 coupe."

Pets: "Chihuahua corky mix. And the faces that I usually get from everybody, most of the time, is just a look of curiosity. And then they expect it to look like a Chihuahua. this guy is the most unique beautiful looking dog that I've ever seen. I went to this adoption festival to go find a dog. ...(more info) Sky because he's a male but he's like a very calm temperament and it doesn't feel masculine. He's just somewhere in between. So Sky just makes you think of something light and airy. When I think of the sky, I have a smile on my face, so I named him Sky."

Tattoos: "I have a tattoo. It is literally just the word "Be" on my left forearm.".

Did you get that after reading the Power of Now."Indeed I did."

Always in my refrigerator: "Water, some kind of meat, garlic and onion."

Hottest possession: "My crystals. I collect crystals. They all represent something different. My favorite is my crocite. If you look up a picture of it, you'll see why."

I'd change places for 24 hours with ... n/a

I'd most like to hang out with ... "Dangelo, my favorite musical artist. He's only put out two albums and he's brilliant. And I know it's because he won't put out anything that he doesn't absolutely love which is kind of how I am. I am a perfectionist and if I don't think it's perfect then I won't put it out, that's why I haven't actually finished a single script because I always go back and rewrite. I think he's brilliant and I would love to know him and see what makes him tick and just be around that kind of brilliance."

Is there someone you would love to act in a movie with, male or female: "I'd really want to work with Guy Pierce. I just sort of recently decided this. I have other favorite actors, I'm a Robert Deniro fan and also Russell Crowe But I want to work with Guy Pierce because he never plays the same character, he's always different. You almost don't even recognize him in any movie that he's in. Momento, Factory Girl. He played Andy Warhol."

Celeb I'd love to take on a date: "Natalie Portman. She seems very intelligent and sweet and the kind of person that would be a fun date."

Do you have a favorite desperate wife: "I cannot choose one. They're all great."

"She's brilliant."

Why I'm a great catch: "I can't really say why I'd be a good catch. If you like me, you like me."

Me in a word: "Me."