TV Tattler: Celebrity Interviews

Ashton Kutcher Relishes the Role of Matchmaker

Related Links 'Beauty and the Geek' Listings Ashton Kutcher: Bio, Photos & More

Jan. 3 -- "We're all beauties and we're all geeks."

It's not the first thing one would expect from Ashton Kutcher, who's best known by TV audiences for his frat boy antics on MTV's 'Punk'd' and for portraying the dim-witted Kelso on Fox's 'That '70s Show.'

But Kutcher, who executive produces the hit CW reality show 'Beauty and the Geek,' showed his sensitive side during an interview with AOL Television editor Geoff Bennett.

He opened up about his marriage to Demi Moore, what he's learned from watching "the geeks" and why he decided to pull the plug on 'Punk'd.'

Where did the idea for the show come from?
A fella walked into our office one day and said, "Hey, I've got a show idea: 'Beauty and the Geek.'" He walked in with the title, and the general idea of putting geeky guys and hot girls together to see how the guy gets the girl. And I sort of liked the idea of combining the game show element with the reality element. But, you know, good ideas never come from one place -- they always come from a lot of people. That's how you get the good stuff.

Richard was the big draw of season one. So what were you looking for during the casting process of season three?
Casting is the one part when I make sure I'm there every day. I think it's the most important element. If you get a great group of people and put them together, you always have a party. We were really looking for people with unique human traits because those are fun people to watch. I actually think every single person in the cast this year, I'd love to just put a camera on and observe how they live.

Have you seen any of the international spinoffs?
Yeah, I've seen a lot of them.

What's your take?
It's sort of affirming when you have a show that you helped create that gets seen around the world ... And it also makes me wish I owned the show.

Wait. You don't own it?
No. I mean, the studio owns the show and you get paid to make it and produce it -- do all the
work -- and they make all the money.

Oh, right. Well, when I read the list of all the spinoffs, I was thinking, "Jeez, this guy is really cashing in!"
(Laughs) Yeah, well ...

So what kind of challenges have you come up with this season?
We have the girls giving museum tours and they do some news casting. And the guys get the classic makeover, which we do every year. And the challenges are a little bit more sneaky. The guys -- I sort of don't want to give it away. But for the guys, it's a bit more about appreciating the aesthetic.

With so many similar shows like 'The Bachelor' or 'Flavor of Love' on TV, how do you set yours apart?
This show has never been a dating show. The goal of the show is just to become a better person. With that in mind, we decided to start the show this year by offering everyone the chance to buy their way out of the show. We start it with a baton competition that says for this much money, you can leave the show right now. We don't want people who are just there to be on TV or who are there for the money. We want people who are there for the experience.

What have you learned from the geeks that you have applied to your own relationship with Demi?
I think that the biggest thing that I get from the show is that everyone has their insecurities, and nobody feels that they are perfect or great. No matter how good somebody might look on the outside, they have their insecurities inside. We're all the same. We're all wonderfully flawed individuals.

Early on, you billed the show as a social experiment. What's been the result?
It's the very thing that I learned -- that deep down, we're all beautiful but we all have our qualities that we're insecure about. We're all beauties and we're all geeks.

So what's up with 'Punk'd'?
We just finished 'Punk'd.' We're done. Signed, sealed and delivered.

Why did you decide to call it quits? Did you run out people to punk or was it a natural ending to a show that had its run?
You know, there's always somebody that's gonna become famous. There's always new people to punk. For us, I don't think we're gonna go any bigger. We burned a house down. I feel like we've done what we're gonna do. For now, it's time to give it a break.

What do you enjoy about producing as opposed to acting?
Well, I can work on more than one project at once because I don't have to be on camera. I love creating things that give other people opportunities to shine. And I love giving people jobs. And I like being creative on multiple levels as opposed to just picking a project and having it be my sole focus.

And married life is going well for you?
You know, I'm maybe the most happily married man on the face of the earth. And I have every reason to be.