Entertainment

A Major 'Bachelor' Alum Was Sorta In 'Will & Grace' & You TOTALLY MISSED IT

MGM International Media Distribution

It may be two more months until The Bachelor makes its big return, but, apparently, its stars are still finding their way to screen. On Thursday, franchise alum Nick Viall was on Will & Grace... well, sort of. He was in a Will & Grace-themed Honda commercial that aired during its regular time slot, which is kinda close, I guess? Or, at least, that's close enough for a guy that's stretched out his 15 minutes of fame as much as Viall.

In the commercial, he appears alongside Sean Hayes, who plays on-again, off-again actor Jack McCormack. In an attempt to land a gig as a "beautiful golden trophy" in a Honda Accord commercial, he shows up to the casting offices in a golden spandex bodysuit. As he's waiting for his audition, he sits down next to none other than Viall, who informs him the part is for a voice role. Jack brushes it off as if he knew, but he doesn't seem to be fooling anyone. He's then seen driving off in his car while talking to Karen (Megan Mullally). End scene.

For Viall, this technically marks his acting debut, but Bach fans should be very, very familiar with him by now. He appeared in some variation of the franchise not once, not twice, not even three, but four times in total: First on Andi Dorfman's season of The Bachelorette, then Kaitlyn Bristowe's, then Bachelor In Paradise, and, finally, on the last season of The Bachelor, after which he officially said he wouldn't be returning.

Viall, however, wasn't done with television. He subsequently appeared on Dancing With the Stars, from which he was eliminated in week six, and, in July, reports began circulating that he had enrolled in acting classes. Three months later, Deadline reported that he'd landed a guest role on Speechless (which airs on ABC, the network also home to The Bachelor). According to the outlet, his character, Tyson, is a "hunky B-movie actor who takes his craft way too seriously," and, after a quick scroll through Viall's mirror selfie-filled Instagram, it seems like the part shouldn't be too much of a stretch.

The episode is expected to air later this month, and, in it, Viall will befriend JJ (Micah Fowler) on a set before summoning "all his powers for the performance of a lifetime" in order to deceive Maya (Minnie Driver) and Jimmy (John Ross Bowie) and get JJ out of hot water. Based on his IMDb page, Viall is also set to play a captain in TV movie A Christmas Cruise, which appears to be scheduled to debut in December; a network is not yet listed.

Since joining the Bach family, Viall has become somewhat of a polarizing figure, and the reactions to his new career focus have followed suit. Some are excited to see him tackle a new venture, while others are getting really, really tired of seeing him on-screen. It doesn't seem like a lot of people actually caught his Honda cameo (either there's not a lot of crossover between Will & Grace and Bach fans, or those watching were taking full advantage of their DVRs and skipping through commercials). But, of those that did, the responses seem mostly positive. "Just saw @viallnicholas28 on a commercial and he was great!! So glad your dreams are coming to fruition," tweeted one viewer. Wrote another: "Nick soo proud of you! Keep up the Excellent work!"

His scene lasted roughly 10 seconds and included precisely one line, so it's not exactly the best gauge for his acting skills, but he pulled it off, so... nice work? It doesn't seem like he'll be leaving TV any time soon, so, for now, you might as well embrace it.