Beverly Hills, Calif. | Christoph Sanders is about to co-star in “Last Man Standing,” ABC’s marquee new comedy that marks a return to TV for “Home Improvement” vet Tim Allen. But no matter how popular “Last Man Standing” proves to be, for some folks in western North Carolina, Sanders will always be remembered as Pinocchio.
Sanders, 23, grew up in Hendersonville, where he started acting in local theater as a kid. When he was 11, he played Tiny Tim in the Flat Rock Playhouse production of “A Christmas Carol,” and he appeared in many more regional productions, including “Pinocchio” when he was 17.
“There’s a couple different plays I did there that I will never, never outlive – never outlive,” he said, laughing. “No matter what else I ever do in my life, I will always be Pinocchio.”
Not that he wants to disassociate himself from his small-town upbringing. Sanders may have found success in Hollywood, landing a regular gig in 2008 on the final few seasons of CBS’ “Ghost Whisperer” and co-starring with Dakota Fanning in the filmed-in-Wilmington indie “Hounddog” in 2006. But he appreciates how his friends and family in Hendersonville keep him grounded and humble.
“I go back, and my dad will be like, ‘You ready to build that fence?’ The past two times I’ve gone back to North Carolina, he’s like, ‘All right, put your work pants on. Let’s get outside and do our thing.’ I mean, it’s great.”
Sanders was back in North Carolina this summer, spending time in both Hendersonville and Wilmington, where his brother now lives. Sanders family once owned the building that now houses the Wrightsville Beach Museum, he said, and Sanders said he visits the area every year.
“We’ve rented a cottage in Wilmington, or in Wrightsville Beach, every single summer – maybe two summers we’ve missed,’ Sanders said. “This past year we rented three cottages on the same street because there’s about 45 of us that all get together in the family. Wrightsville Beach is generally where I go to hang out, but the downtown strip down there with all the bars, the breweries and stuff like that – I always go down there, too.”
Sanders returned to Los Angeles in August to begin production on “Last Man Standing,” which premieres at 8 p.m. Tuesday. After being cast in the pilot as a guest star, he’s since been promoted to series regular, playing an easy-going guy named Kyle who works with Allen’s character at a sporting goods company. Allen plays Mike Baxter, a “guy’s guy” who feels outnumbered at home with his wife and three daughters and out of touch at work, where he must launch a video blog to stay relevant.
“I am like his right-hand man at his store,” Sanders said. “He has all these daughters and he as a 2-year-old grandson, but you can’t relay man-stuff to a 2-year-old grandson. So he comes to his workplace… and he’s able to be a man there. He’s kind of able to center himself in his manliness. And then he goes home to this array of women problems… Then I get to kind of be a part of his home life by dating one of his daughters.”
Kyle may come across as a bit simple-minded in the pilot, but Sanders said Kyle is just happy and easygoing.
“He’s not simple. He’s just positive. He loves working with Tim. He loves everything about him, and he loves his family. He just loves life.”
Sanders is generally loving life these days as well, though he does get homesick for North Carolina on occasion.
“I miss being able to step out my door and go camping – stuff like that,” he said. “The one thing about Los Angeles that I love is the food. You can go anywhere and get any type of food you ever want. My friends are all here now, and everything like that. (But) the environment in Hendersonville is unduplicated.”
And he wouldn’t mind getting a care package filled with one of his favorite local treats.
“Apple butter, a lot of apple butter,” he said. “I miss that.”
