From PEOPLE Magazine
Click to enlarge
These days McIntyre is his own man. Undaunted by the poor sales of his first two solo albums, he just released a CD with collaborator Emanuel Kiriakou, One Too Many: Live from New York, on his own label. And like fellow ex-Kid Donnie Wahlberg, he has found a role in this fall's prime-time TV lineup—debuting on FOX's Boston Public as hip new teacher Colin Flynn.
Having real Beantown roots served McIntyre well; he talked Red Sox with series creator (and onetime Bostonian) David E. Kelley at his audition. "There's even a bar on the show, Doyle's, that I go to," says McIntyre, whose credits include the 2001 Off-Broadway musical tick, tick...BOOM! "My sister Kate used to work there. There was just so much kismet there."
On the set, however, he is haunted by Kids-met. Chi McBride (principal Stephen Harper) "runs around singing all the New Kids songs," says Jeri Ryan (teacher Ronnie Cooke). McIntyre takes the hazing in stride—and his castmates have taken a shine to him. "He's been a delightful surprise to all of us," says Ryan. "He's the real deal. He can act. Plus he's a goofball. He fits in with the rest of us."
McIntyre has had plenty of experience blending in with ensemble groups—starting with his own family. The youngest of nine children, he was 10 when his parents, Tom, now 72, a bricklayers' union official, and Katherine, 71, a homemaker and community-theater actress, separated. Encouraged by his mom, he starred in local productions of Oliver! and The Music Man. In 1985 music impresario Maurice Starr invited Joey to a private audition at his home, which led to his getting signed as the "baby" New Kid—joining Wahlberg, then 16, Danny Wood, 16, and Knight brothers Jordan, 15, and Jonathan, 17. Before disbanding in 1994 the group would sell more than 50 million albums.
The early years, though, were rough on McIntyre, who says he was bullied by the older Kids. "Me and Donnie would fight like cats and dogs," he says. "Then he'd come back and say, 'I'm sorry,' or whatever." Today he and Wahlberg "are really good friends," says McIntyre—even if there's still a hint of the old rivalry. "He's on a soap opera; I'm on a really dramatic series," claims Wahlberg, who stars on NBC's Boomtown. "But it'll be okay." McIntyre howls with laughter at the jibe: "I've taught Donnie everything he knows, so I'm proud of him."
He's also proud of the New Kids—despite their detractors. Attending a recent art show in Hollywood he was mocked by one of the artists: "New Kids suck, man." "I just walked away and laughed," McIntyre says. "I wasn't for a second going to defend myself. I don't judge it—why judge it? It's like, who wants to look back at high school and get into it? It's another lifetime ago." Says his older sister Judy, 48, an actress: "For a long time you're looked at as 'the former New Kid.' Now I say my brother's an actor and entertainer, because he deserves that."
His first meaty storyline on Boston Public starts in January. Though the producers won't divulge details, "Joey's waiting with baited breath to see if [his character] gets any chick action," teases Ryan.
He may not have as long a wait as McIntyre did. "I was a late bloomer. I was 18 when I had my first girlfriend," he says. At age 20, McIntyre met model Nina Cammarota, and after seven years of dating off and on, they announced their engagement in 1997. Two years later McIntyre ended it. "The worst thing in the world was having to call it off," he says, adding that he remains friends with her. "But I just wasn't ready to get married."
Now he's dating someone new. "Sorta, kinda," he says, blushing. All he'll reveal is that she's not in show biz and lives in L.A., not far from his two-bedroom rented cottage in Venice. "Pretty much every girl I meet, I'm like, 'This is it!' But this is different," insists McIntyre, who has even written a song about his new romance. "Right now, I'm in a good place."
Michael A. Lipton
Marisa Laudadio in Los Angeles
- Contributors:
- Marisa Laudadio.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
