Ryan Lochte is a pro in the pool, but on camera, he’s a fish out of water.
The 11-time Olympic medalist, 28, recently began shooting his guest spot on The CW’s 90210, opposite AnnaLynne McCord, 25, and Josh Zuckerman, 27. Lochte spoke to Us Weekly about his foray into TV at The Expendables 2 premiere in Hollywood August 15.
“It was my first acting gig and I was a little nervous going on set,” Lochte said. “I kind of messed up my lines the first couple of takes, but after talking with the cast and them helping me out, I started nailing it towards the end and it felt normal.”
“They knew it was my first time, so they wanted to make it as easy as possible,” the swimmer added. Lochte will play a resort guest a hotel where Naomi Clark (McCord) and Max Miller (Zuckerman) try to repair their relationship.
Across town, at the Live in Pink party in West Hollywood, 90210 regular Shenae Grimes, 22, told Us she missed her chance to meet the Olympic champion. “He was there today and I didn’t get to meet him, but I’m sure it was a lot of fun,” the actress said.
Though it’s unconfirmed if Lochte will appear shirtless in the episode, it wouldn’t surprise Grimes. “I don’t think our network would let him go without that,” she laughed. “I’m sure there will be some eye candy for the audience.”
Despite casting changes over the past few seasons, Grimes assured Us that she’s maintained tight bonds with all her costars, including Matt Lanter, 29, Jessica Stroup, 25, Tristan Wilds, 23, Jessica Lowndes, 23, and Michael Steger, 32.
“We’re like a family. You can’t spend five years with each other and not be that way. We are really close,” she explained. “The days when we all get to film a scene together are all of our favorite days.”
Lochte will appear on the October 29 episode of 90210 at 8 p.m. EST on The CW.
