Tom Irwin's new job has given him a few gray hairs. In fact, ithas given him a whole head of them.
Every week, the 34-year-old Steppenwolf actor sprouts grayhairs, wrinkles and age spots as he is transformed into an85-year-old in the ABC series "My Life and Times." The show, from"Beauty and the Beast" creator Ron Koslow, will premiere Wednesday at8:30 p.m. on WLS-Channel 7.
Set in the year 2035, the series is a sort of golden age "WonderYears" that gives Irwin a chance to play a different age in eachepisode. His character, Ben Miller, is a retired writer who recallsa new chapter of his life each week. It's a wonderful challenge foran actor, but it may take audiences some getting used to.
"Whether people will have the patience for this, I don't know,but I love the idea that it travels back and forth in time," saidIrwin, who was in town last week for the opening of Steppenwolf's newcomplex. Irwin, who appeared in Steppenwolf productions of "TheGlass Menagerie," "The Homecoming," "Tracers" and "Balm in Gilead,"created roles of the narrator and the "Ragged Man" for the company's"The Grapes of Wrath."
Like other Steppenwolf actors, Irwin has scaled the heights ofHollywood and kept his feet on the stage. His latest film is "TheMrs.," a psychological thriller with Goldie Hawn and John Hurt, setfor a summer release.
If television is a departure for him, the series also is adeparture for the medium, which routinely packages sitcoms inhalf-hour chunks and dramas in hourlong blocks. "My Life and Times"offers a fully developed story in a half-hour episode.
Irwin and his wife, Patricia Hammell, maintain homes in Chicagoand Los Angeles. But Irwin's real home always will be Steppenwolf.In 1979, he got his start there among an extraordinary group ofactors and directors.
"I don't know how many of us would be in the business if itweren't for the fact that we had this kind of comfort and this familyatmosphere that remains a comfort still."
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