On a Date With David Giuntoli From NBC’s Grimm (and It’s Our Most Intimate Conversation Yet!)

One year ago, on a rainy, humid evening in St. Louis, I was playing catch with a fellow baseball fanatic in the underground tunnels of Busch Stadium (home of the St. Louis Cardinals). We were goofing off in the front offices, taking ridiculous photos on golf carts, and chatting about life in Hollywood while stuffing ourselves with pretzel sticks. Who knew a rain delay could be so fun? But with David Giuntoli, star of the NBC hit cult drama, Grimm, it’s no surprise. Charismatic and down-to-earth, he was the clear choice for our fourth installment of On a Date With….

Over lunch at Los Feliz hotspot Little Dom’s (a favorite of Jon Hamm’s), we chatted about everything ranging from calling Glamour readers at home (yep, he’ll do it) to a guy’s biological clock (it totally exists). Get ready for the most honest and revealing date yet.

Glamour: Welcome back to L.A.! You’re in Portland shooting Grimm for eight months throughout the year, so what have you been up to during your summer hiatus?

David Giuntoli: I know! It’s like I’m on a space shuttle I’m gone for so long. [Laughs] I’ve been writing, I’ve been producing this small movie, and I’ve been going out…a lot. Like I was a college freshman. I’m probably sleeping until 10 A.M. after going to bed at 2 A.M.

Glamour: According to most interviews, your career path goes something like this: Born in Milwaukee, grew up in St. Louis, went to Indiana University, got cast on MTV’s Road Rules, and then hit it big in L.A. Set the record straight.

David: Road Rules did not help out in the acting career. It did kind of show me that Los Angeles existed, and it piqued my interest in the world of production and entertainment. I studied a bit at iO [Improv Olympics] in Chicago, and then I came to L.A. and studied for a couple years before I even tried to get an agent. One of my actor friends said, “Don’t even think about the business until you’ve studied for two years.”

Glamour: How soon after did you book your first role?

David: I came out here in the summer of 2005. In early 2007, I got an agent, and in that first week I booked two different roles: Ghost Whisperer and Veronica Mars.

Glamour: What do you remember most about the moment you found out you got the lead role on Grimm?

David: I had to pull over. I had just tested at Universal, and then afterward they called me back in and I thought, Oh man, this is good! I made a change that they asked me to do. Bob Greenblatt, the head of NBC was there, and they were all cool and receptive. Afterward, when I got into the car, I got a call from my manager, my lawyer, and my agent. I thought, This is not a bad call! They don’t all call at the same time when you don’t get it! They called to tell me I got it, and I lost my mind. I had to pull over on Lankershim Boulevard because I didn’t want to drive through a Poquito Mas. It was such a vivid memory because you work so hard, and you know that it’s going to somehow change your life. And it did.

Glamour: And then panic sets in. [Laughs]

David: I was really frightened of how much work it was going to be, if I was going to be able to pull it off—basically I started to get nervous about actually doing the job. You don’t think about that part when you’re auditioning!

Glamour: You’ve talked about your struggle as a kid with ADD. In television, there’s a lot of downtime. How do you handle that, and how does it still affect you?

David: I used to be on Ritalin like crazy, but I’m not anymore because the side effects aren’t positive. I don’t take anything [now]. When I’m on set, there’s a lot of downtime. At first there was a lot of Angry Birds, but that goes nowhere. Now it’s a New Yorker subscription that my sister gives me for my birthday or I’ll create distractions on set. I’m sure different directors hate me at certain times. [Laughs] But, yes, it’s hard. It’s hard to get my attention. I get very excited around people that I like, so when so-and-so shows up, I’m like, “Ahhh!” and we’re just joking around all day.

Glamour: Which is how you greeted me today. You were all, “Ahhh!”

David: One hundred percent.

Glamour: Your Twitter photo is you with a photoshopped Santa hat on. You know it’s July, right?

David: Christmas 24/7, all year long! I think the photo is actually from Comic-Con, and I put it up there. Then I quit Twitter for a month, and when I came back on it was late January/early February, and people were really annoyed by it. I liked the fervor it created. [Laughs] I’m like that old man that keeps his Christmas lights up all year long.

Glamour: I can’t not mention that your Twitter bio reads “Beefcake.”

David: I’m a self-proclaimed beefcake. [Laughs] It’s supposed to be self-effacing—it’s supposed to be a joke—but maybe it comes across that I’m conceited, which I’m not. At all. Someone called me a beefcake one day, and I thought it was the greatest word of all time, so it’s going in there!

Glamour: You recently posted a letter you wrote to baseball star Bo Jackson as a kid, asking him to write you back or call you. It’s the cutest thing ever.

David: How cute was that?

Glamour: So cute that I’m thinking fans have probably asked the same of you now, and you should indulge them.

David: I asked him for his phone number and area code! I asked if he would also sign his name somewhere on the letter. I said, “How are the [Kansas City] Royals? I play for three hardball teams myself.” [Laughs] It actually did remind me of how important that stuff is for kids. He did end up signing it—or someone did, but it meant a lot! It’s a lot of work to do that. I will indulge every fan I possibly can.

Sifting through the wistful detritus of years lived. pic.twitter.com/5LR1DBzbIH

— David Giuntoli (@mistergiuntoli) June 12, 2014

Glamour: So if a fan gives you their phone number, I say you have to call it.

David: Only if they are a child.

Glamour: No, not just if they are a child.

David: If someone sends a phone number, I will call them. I would. No one says that. They all want a signed photo nowadays. I will call them. I will call them, I’ll block my number, but I will do it. So send me your numbers, readers!

Glamour: Promise?

David: Promise! I will do that. I would rather call the fan than write. It seems more personal and fun. So send me your phone numbers, and I’ll call you. Will you print that?

Glamour: One hundred percent. So, what’s been your most surreal night in Hollywood?

David: Probably when I first got out here and was fresh off the Volkswagen from the drive out here. I was in Hollywood, and Catherine Keener, Johnny Knoxville, and John C. Reilly came into this bar, and we were all doing shots together. It was really fun. It blew my mind. They were all very cool.

Glamour: Who would you die to have drinks with now?

David: Brigitte Bardot circa 1961. And then Ricky Gervais.

Glamour: You just got back from a trip home with the family. What has your dad taught you about women?

David: My dad is very old-school in his manners. He taught me to treat women with an old-school respect.

Glamour: How’s that going for you?

David: I think it taught me manners, and I think that goes a long way. [Smiles]

Glamour: So what is your relationship status at the moment?

David: I cannot comment.

Glamour: Oh, come on!

David: Gosh. I have to leave everybody guessing. I may or may not be in a relationship. Who knows?!

Glamour: Oh, brother.

David: I know, Jessica. It’s so annoying.

Glamour: For lack of a better word, we are at such a super-cute restaurant today. Have you taken girls to Little Dom’s on dates?

David: I have taken girls here on dates. Numerous girls on numerous first dates, and then they all leave me.

Glamour: Am I the most fun?

David: By far! Yes! You’re the only one that would want to be seen with me.

Glamour: Well, you know, I wasn’t going to say it, but now that you are…[Laughs]

Glamour: What is your type?

David: My type is type-less. If you look at the girls I’ve dated, you’ll see there’s no type. But I like girly girls who have their sh-t together, and also girls that are very organized and smart.

Glamour: What is one thing your past girlfriends would agree about you?

David: That I can’t commit to even a dinner because I don’t know what I’m going to have to do that day, which is terrible.

Glamour: You can’t commit to a dinner?

David: Well, unless it’s that night. I’m impulsive, I’m very kind, very sensitive, think that I’m funny, and a bit of a scatterbrain.

Glamour: So what if a girl says, “I want to plan a date night with you and another couple, but it’s next weekend.” What do you say?

David: First, I get riddled with anxiety because I think, Oh gosh, what’s next weekend? What am I forgetting that I’m already doing?! Going back to the ADD, I forget what I’ve written down, and I just panic. So they have to deal with that part of me. It is definitely a part they have to deal with.

Glamour: Coming from divorced parents, did that change your views on marriage growing up?

David: I think my parents had a good, long relationship, and I generally think I’m extra careful for a lot of reasons. I want to get married for all the right reasons.

Glamour: Some girls, whether they admit it or not, think to themselves, OK, I’d like to be married by this point or I’d like to have a family by this age. You’re 34 years old, which is young, but do you think about these things?

David: Most guys, no, but me, yes. I have ovaries it feels like! I see babies, and I start to salivate. Not like I want to eat the baby!

Glamour: Well, if they came with toasted ravioli (a St. Louis specialty), then yes.

David: If it was a baby holding a toasted ravioli, then there would be salivating. [Laughs] But most guys, no. This guy, yes.

Glamour: So what’s your timeline?

David: I know it never works this way, but I’d like to have a puppy before I’m 40. I definitely want a family. Ideally I’d have one now. Getting a job made me really consider it more. I never thought much about having a family until I could support one. Once Grimm came along, I’m like Mr. Family Magoo.

Aww! David posted this photo on Twitter of himself as a baby.

Glamour: What are the little things that a girl does for you that totally wins you over?

David: I like to come home and feel like…oh, man, this sounds so bad…

Glamour: Why does it sound bad?

David: Because I’m like a feminist! OK, so I remember one time I was really busy and had to take my crappy car to a meeting in Beverly Hills, and this girl went and got it washed for me. That was the sweetest thing. I have a lot on my plate, so I like it when girls try to take care of me in that way—like tidy up or have dinner or something. I love that stuff. I don’t expect it, but I do love it. And I respond to it. I don’t know how to decorate a house, I don’t know how to cook, though I would love to, but I appreciate when someone can take care of things. And when they can, my heart just leaps. OK, and here’s another thing: I say stupid things often. I don’t mean bad, but I need somebody that can forgive me for being a moron.

Glamour: I need specifics.

David: I mean, I joke and tease. I don’t know, I’m just a moron. I say stupid stuff. If someone has patience in that way, I fall in love.

Glamour: What’s something that turns you off about a girl you’re dating?

David: Rudeness. I like girls that have their stuff together. I like kindness. I like girls who own their own life and don’t blame other people when things go wrong. I think it’s a Midwest thing. You reap what you sow.

Glamour: What do you prefer: texting or calling?

David: I understand the world is texting now, but I prefer calling. You can be more clever and polished in a text, so I just recruit some of my guy friends who are clever. [Laughs]

Glamour: Will it turn you off if a girl you’re into texts you too much?

David: At a certain point it doesn’t matter, but again, not too much. Remember, I have ADD! But grammar is a thing with me—I’m a New Yorker reader, remember.

Glamour: Should a girl have “the talk” with you if it’s been a few months of dating and she doesn’t know where she stands?

David: Yes. When you’re young, perhaps that happens on its own, but women who have their stuff together will eventually be like, “Yo, what’s going on?” And that’s awesome.

Glamour: If they even have to ask, does that mean the guy isn’t as into you as you’d like or is that just guys?

David: There’s not one answer to that. It runs the spectrum.

Glamour: You have three sisters. What have they taught you about dating?

David: I’m very pro-woman. I think about how difficult women have it. They’ve made me more empathetic. They didn’t help me with girls because sisters are one thing, and girls you’re going to date are another. I’m terrified of one and not the other. [Laughs] But, no, I understand more where women come from, so to speak, than perhaps someone that doesn’t have sisters.

David with his dad, David Sr., at a baseball game last summer.

Glamour: What are your biggest turn-offs?

David: I like girls that keep their nails nice, even though mine aren’t. I bite mine. It’s terrible. And girls that keep their house filthy.

Glamour: What’s your idea of a perfect day?

David: Eight hours of sleep, sugarplum dreams, drinking at The Meadow in Silver Lake. LACMA is great. Maybe something outside, like day drinking. I’m a foodie, so I’d want to go eat somewhere fantastic.

Glamour: What’s the best thing a girl has ever cooked for you?

David: I give girls A for effort. It doesn’t even have to be good. If they try, I’m down.

Glamour: What’s the sexiest outfit a girl can wear aside from being dressed to the nines?

David: I like simple, but I’m a fan of a good pair of heels. I like a really simple T-shirt kind of thing. I’m a bunsman.

Glamour: What the heck is that?

David: A girl’s butt.

Glamour: Oh! I actually thought you meant a bun hairstyle!

David: That’s because I’m a dork!

Glamour: Would you date someone older than you?

David: Yes.

Glamour: Would it freak you out if a girl told you she had gone ahead and frozen her eggs?

David: No! That’s smart! That’s just smart living! Not at all. That’s like using the AC when it’s hot out. There are certain things you should do in certain circumstances. It’s a great idea.

Glamour: Can a girl wait too long to sleep with a guy she likes?

David: Um, I guess, but I kind of enjoy…appreciate the extended sexual tension part of the relationship. It’s like back when I would drink and I wasn’t 21. It was the best. I love things I can’t have.

Grimm will return to Comic-Con with a panel on Saturday, July 26 at 3 P.M. that will feature an exclusive video. The panel will include cast members David Giuntoli, Russell Hornsby, Bitsie Tulloch, Silas Weir Mitchell, Sasha Roiz, Reggie Lee, Bree Turner, and Claire Coffee, as well as executive producers David Greenwalt, Jim Kouf, and Norberto Barba.

Also, Grimm returns for season four on October 24 at 9 P.M. on NBC.

Stay tuned for our next On a Date With… coming next month! In the meantime, what do you think of David’s advice?