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You loved him in Something Borrowed, now see if you can resist him with a triple-cinnamon cupcake in hand. Actor Colin Egglesfield is coming to town this Thursday, and he'll be at Sprinkles [50 East Walton Street] from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. to serve frosted treats and chat up his new clothing line, Shout Out! In advance of his local bakery stint, we talked to the actor about Twitter, chick lit, and the inspiration behind his charming t-shirt collection. Here's what he had to say.
So, why a cupcake shop for the Shout Out! launch? Are you a cupcake man yourself?
Cupcakes and chocolate donuts are my vice! I don't eat them often, but when I do I don't mess around—and Sprinkles is the best.
Fair enough. So, what inspired the idea for the Shout Out! line?
I thought a shirt that you could create messages on and change it up instantaneously had unlimited potential—not to mention the ability to give people a voice about what's important to them, especially kids. Through my tutoring work and reading to kids through the Screen Actors Guild's reading program, BookPALS, I've come to recognize that most of the time, kids just want to be heard and express themselves. Shout Out! allows for that in a fun and creative way.
Did you test drive the line with kids? What were some the funniest or most memorable phrases they came up with?
We originally made samples for men, women, and kids, and kids absolutely loved them. Some of the funniest I've seen are: "I'M A LEGEND IN JAPAN," "I MAKE GOOD SAND CASTLE," and "MY MOM MADE ME DO IT." And my favorite: "HI FART FACE."
The shirts come with 108 characters— just shy of Twitter's character limit. What's the strangest Tweet someone has directed at you?
"Boxers, briefs or commando?"
I won't probe. But speaking of Twitter, you recently tweeted to Emily Giffin: "Come on, let's get [Something Blue] made." Can we officially get excited?
It's super preliminary, but the producer liked the script and they're trying to see if they can put all the pieces of the puzzle together. This one takes place in London, which would be amazing to shoot in! [Eds's note: October book club, anyone?]
You'll be working at Sprinkles on Thursday. What other odd jobs have you had over the years?
The oddest job I ever had was in college, where I got a job as a lab assistant having to remove and identify all the different insects in reservoir water samples over the course of the year to monitor water pollution. I decided a career in acting was probably going to be a bit more exciting.
· Shout Out! [Official Site]
· Sprinkles [Official Site]
· Emily Giffin on What a Best-Selling Author Wears to Work [Racked Chicago]