You know his face, though if you're only a casual watcher of TV and movies you might not immediately connect the name Jack Plotnick to it. You might think, “Hey, it's that guy” — the one from Ellen or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Reno 911! or Lovespring International. To his gay fans, Plotnick is probably most recognized as the man behind the unstoppable bag of hormones and wrinkles that is Evie Harris, his drag persona and the protagonist of the cult film Girls Will Be Girls. True fans might even recognize his voice as that of Xandir on Comedy Central's Drawn Together.

It's part of being a character actor: playing a wide variety of roles and doing it so well that viewers remember the performance without realizing they've seen the actor in many other roles. Plotnick has appeared on enough shows that he's arguably one of the most prolific, out actors in television and film today.

“I didn't have much of a choice,” Plotnick says of his career playing an odd assemblage of the quirky, neurotic and perverted. “I love acting, and this is the tool God gave me. I'm not a leading man, but it's fine because I think character roles are much more fun anyway. I've always just liked making people laugh.”

He continues: “Character actors get all the juicy parts in terms of comedy. And I love turning into different people. I got to play a 90-year-old woman in Girls Will Be Girls, and now I get to play this lecherous pussyhound of a psychologist on Lovespring International.”

On the ensemble improv comedy, which began airing on Lifetime in June, Plotnick plays the womanizing Steve Morris. The show gives viewers a chance to see three openly gay actors — Plotnick, Sam Pancake (Kitchen Confidential) and Jane Lynch (Best in Show) — interact at a matchmaking service that's about as reliable as you'd expect for a firm based out of Tarzana.

As if that weren't enough gay credibility, the show's executive producer is Will & Grace's Eric McCormack. “I was really happy that Eric turned out to be such a super nice guy,” Plotnick says before joking about McCormack's role on the set. “He actually works in craft services. He's a great chef. Not many people know that.”

Fans of Evie Harris might be surprised to see Plotnick revel in playing a Tom Selleck wannabe in Lovespring, but he explains that the character is a semi-evolved version of Steve Mamella, his recurring role on Reno 911!. “He has a moustache and he's a pervert,” Plotnick says.

“So basically, I took [the Reno 911! character] and I took the gay out,” he explains. “I think the heart of that character came from Geraldo Rivera, who I've always been obsessed with because he's kind of über-masculine, but at the same time, if you listen to his voice, it's really kind of effeminate. … And it's great, too, because so many people know me as Evie, and I can play the other end of the spectrum.”

The show, which Lifetime initially only picked up for six episodes, has been extended to a full season. This fact has undoubtedly contributed to the comedic atmosphere on the set. “It's really just like playtime with your friends,” he says. “We look around sometimes and wonder how we all lucked into this, because it's just such a great group of people, and most of us have been friends for a long time. We got a show on the air and it's crazy.”

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