Peter hopes ‘Nurse Jackie’ doc never grows up

Peter Facinelli hopes his character never changes.
The actor plays the hilariously immature Dr. Fitch “Coop” Cooper on “Nurse Jackie” (season finale tonight at 10 on Showtime)
“I’m not sure if I want him to grow,” Facinelli told the Herald recently. “I like seeing the situations that he’s put in with the dysfunction that he has right now and the limited social skills that he has. If he grows up, then he won’t be as fun to watch.”
This season, Coop had a more serious story line when his two moms decided to divorce. “The energy shift was different,” he said. “Coop is usually very much riding on a 10-volt charge, running around like he had three cans of Red Bull. This season, there’s a couple episodes where he’s kind of like Eeyore from ‘Winnie-the-Pooh.’ I felt a little sad playing him that way. I was glad when he snapped out of it and started getting back to his old self.”
Showtime recently renewed “Nurse Jackie” for a fourth season.
Of the season finale, he said, “There’s quite a shocker of information that occurs. If there’s one episode not to miss, it’s definitely the last one. I don’t want to spoil it, but it’s definitely worth watching. For my character, his whole arc for the season comes to a head with his wedding plans and getting married. It’s the wedding of the century, people. You have to watch it.”
The actor, who is married to actress Jennie Garth (“Beverly Hills, 90210”), reprises his role as Dr. Carlisle Cullen in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1,” in theaters November.
“I’m really happy right now that people can take a look at two things I have going on simultaneously, and they’re 180 degrees away from each other,” he said. “Carlisle and Coop have one thing in common: They share the same occupation. I like when the characters are vastly different from each other because it excites me as an actor.”
The father of three is also writing and producing. His film “Accidentally in Love” starred Garth and aired earlier this year on the Hallmark Channel.
“As an actor, you’re really a cog in the wheel of a bigger machine, and you come and you do your part and you leave, and over 16 years I’ve realized you have very limited control,” he said. “I read scripts all the time, and a lot of them are being produced, and you’re like, ‘Why is this being made? I’ve seen this movie.’ Or, ‘This movie is not great. I don’t know why they are spending money on it.’ I started thinking about what kind of movies I would want to tell and then I started writing them.”

bostonherald.com

~Robstenfan