Ryan McPartlin

Actor Ryan McPartlin is "Captain Awesome" in our book and he is unforgettable in the role of Devon Woodcomb on NBC's Chuck. Before Chuck he teamed up with mouthy Fran Drescher for The Nanny and the sitcom Living With Fran.

Chicago-born and raised in the suburb of Glen Ellyn, McPartlin's roots are in Chicago. A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, McPartlin was a member of the Illinois Fighting Illini football team and graduated with a degree in speech communication.

He is a certified personal trainer and married to to actress Danielle Kirlin. They have two sons.

Ryan McPartlin sat down for lunch with Jerry Nunn in downtown Chicago to discuss his latest project LiveLifeLocal.

JN: (Jerry Nunn) Hi, Ryan. What brings you to town? You don't live here anymore, right?

RM: (Ryan McPartlin) No, I live in Los Angeles now. I was just up in Minneapolis doing some paddle-board yoga. I decided it would be beneficial to come to Chicago, my hometown, and check out some activities that focus on this side. I have been talking to local news about this LiveLifeLocal campaign. I just made a quick trip here before we go back to LA.

JN: Tell our readers about LiveLifeLocal.

RM: I partnered up with Safeco Insurance who put a program together called LiveLifeLocal.com. Basically they asked if I would come onboard to do local activities that people will post. What is really cool is that Safeco wants to be involved in these communities across the country because they are insuring so many of the products like the boats and the cars. They just wanted to find out what people are doing in their communities and get a website to share that on.

They did a really good job and it's a good starting ground. It is a user generated website so people go on there and post activities. You might not hear about these kinds of activities on mainstream media.

JN: It seemed like a lot of outdoor stuff.

RM: Yes and some unusual things like lawn bowling in Minneapolis. I would have never heard of it had I not checked out the website ahead of time. You wouldn't even see it from the street if you were walking by. I tried cardio tennis in Atlanta and the rodeo in Fort Worth.

JN: You grew up in Illinois?

RM: I was born in Chicago and grew up in Glen Ellyn. I went to University of Illinois in Champaign. I wandered out to LA to give acting a shot so far so good. That was 14 years ago.

JN: Did you go to Comic Con this last time?

RM: I didn't. We had a Chuck reunion but they had a statue of my head that Zach brought there.

JN: So you were there in spirit. Are you a comic book fan?

RM: I was into the big ones like Superman, Batman and Spiderman. The big three! It was culture shock the first time I went to a convention where the nerds take over. They drive multimedia studios to make million dollar movies now. I have befriended the nerds and the geeks in the most positive way!

JN: I heard you auditioned for Superman.

RM: I went out for both times. I think this one would have been really interesting because from what I could tell at the audition is they are trying to humanize him as much as possible. They want to see what becomes of Superman in a modern world. It's a good character take on it and not something that has already been done.

JN: The superhero thing seems to follow you around.

RM: Yes, the creator of Heroes and 24 did the web series with me called Daybreak at daybreak2012.com. AT&T wanted to see if a web series could rival production of a TV show. I think we pulled it off in a short amount of time. I got to do a lot of stunt work playing a badass a little bit. That was amazing but I would crumble in the face of real terror though!

JN: You are a friend of Fran Drescher?

RM: Oh yeah from doing the sitcom Living With Fran. I played her boyfriend. We locked lips enough that we had to have a friendship.

JN: I interviewed her and she was great.

RM: Once you get her talking she won't stop. (laughs)

JN: Have you watched her in her new show Happily Divorced?

RM: Yes, it is a great premise about her ex-husband who is gay and the best of friends. What a great story they have turned that into. She turned cancer into a great book and throws Cancer Schmancer parties. She does a great job. She knows so many people to help fundraising.

JN: She knows Barbra Streisand.

RM: "Babs" I am sure she calls her…

JN: What project do you have coming up?

RM: I am doing a Christmas movie. I laugh every time I say it called Mr. Christmas. I'm a mannequin that comes to life in it. There hasn't been a good mannequin movie since Mannequin! This will be something fun for my nieces and nephews to watch.

I am heading to Canada to do an independent movie called Sex and Sunsets. It is Ryan Kwanten from True Blood. It is not finalized but on the table right now. I haven't stop working after Chuck, thank God.

JN: That's good.

RM: I like traveling with LiveLifeLocal. I get to see places like here at the Russian Tea Time that I would never see. It is better to support family run businesses. I like that Safeco supports local businesses in this day and age. They are the things that make our cities interesting before they are taken over by every corporation. I was excited to be a part of it.

JN: I work sometimes at a local family owned restaurant in Andersonville called Andies.

RM: Well, go on the website and describe it and make it detailed. It is a user generated website so that will make it easier people to come check it out. It is all about insider tips. We hope people get excited about it!

Visit livelifelocal.com to check out activities in whatever area you visit.