Touched by a Teen Angel (7/14/1998)

KidsEyeView gets the lowdown on 17-year old Mike Damus, who stars in ABC's new comedy "Teen Angel."

Talk about bad hamburger! Mike Damus, the star of ABC's new comedy "Teen Angel," plays a kid who ate such rotten meat that he died and went to Heaven. Really! Now he's back on earth as an angel trying to give his best friend advice about how to be cool in high school. The show is created by a couple of guys who used to write for "The Simpsons." So who is this guy Damus? Well, he started acting at age 11, landed a role on Broadway as an understudy a year later, and has already been in a couple of TV shows that you never saw because they only ran a week or two. But Damus isn't putting all his eggs in the showbiz basket. This fall, he started classes at UCLA. Even though he's juggling a lot of stuff, Mike Damus doesn't take himself too seriously, as you'll see in the interview below.

KidsEyeView: What got you first started in comedy?
Mike Damus: Well, I'm from New York and I used to dance on the street for money. No, that's not true, I'm kidding...I kind of fell into it. I was about 12 and I understudied on Broadway in "Lost in Yonkers," and then I did the film. And I re ally wanted to stay in comedy. And I did a couple of pilots that never went anywhere, but this is finally, hopefully, going to stay on, so I'm excited about it.

Kids: This is a huge role to be playing at the age of 17. What's it like?
Mike: Well, it's boring. I want something more challenging. No, it's exciting, it's the greatest thing. I love "The Simpsons," it's my favorite show, and I get to meet these guys who are, you know, great writers. And we have a fun cast, and I'm really excited about it.

Kids: You were on three pilots that had short runs and then got dropped. How does that affect you?
Mike: Well, to say I'm scarred for life is an understatement...But I've forgotten about it for now. It still wakes me up though, at night.

Kids: What do you have in common with your character, Marty?
Mike: The closest thing that Marty and I share is the same haircut. Because I do it myself. No, I'm a little off, I think, in real life, and I think my heart's always in the right place, like Marty. (In the show) I die early and actually hav e to live through my best buddy. I have to live vicariously through somebody else. So in a way, it's a little selfish, but at the same time, it's fun.

"Teen Angel" airs at 9:30 pm ET, Fridays on ABC.