In Numb3rs, Krumholtz plays Charlie Eppes, a mathematician whose smarts meet the streets when he is recruited by his brother (who is an FBI agent) to help solve federal cases using maths.
One would expect a four-eyes, retainer-wearing, sloppy-looking kid to play this nerdy character, but Krumholtz has managed to pull it off with panache.
"I don't think I'm much cooler than nerds," says the US actor at a recent press conference in London. "But," he says, "I've done a good enough job of representing nerd-dom, because my character is a pretty cool nerd."
"I've met real nerds and," he pauses before smiling widely, "I don't know what they're thinking with the way that they are dressed. But it's okay, because geek is chic right now." And he'd know, considering Krumholtz has been known to play a geek in more than one production.
Among others, Krumholtz has had roles in Serenity and 10 Things I Hate About You. But he insists that although he doesn't mind representing all the nerds out there, he isn't about to be typecast. He elaborates: "I've tried to put as much diversity into my work as possible, but ultimately I do fulfil a certain art type that Hollywood is trying to cast."
Plus, it doesn't hurt that this art type has landed the New Yorker who now lives in Los Angeles a spot on several lists of sexy men in entertainment. Is he bringing sexy back to nerd-dom? Well, whether nerd-dom ever had any "sexy" to begin with is debatable, but it's undeniable that Krumholtz's looks are a drawcard to his crime investigation series.
However, the Numb3rs star is already spoken for. He shares: "My girlfriend and I came to London about two-and-a-half years ago and fell in love . We then went to Paris and got engaged."
But Krumholtz isn't about to make a Mrs out of anyone anytime soon, he says, "I'm going to wait a couple of years."
And, hopefully, by that time Numb3rs will have made geniuses out of US school children. The TV show is being used as extra aid for maths classes in selected areas in the US. "It seems people really love our show," smiles Krumholtz.
"Numb3rs has been embraced by the academic community. The math community in America really loves us. I mean, when they see me, math teachers scream for me like I'm a Beatle.
"I love it when 6-year-old kids say that they love the show, but hate math. Now kids are really into math, because of our show.
"Educating people on prime time television instead of dumbing it down is cool. I like helping people feel smart, even though they don't know what I'm talking about on the show - I don't even know what I'm talking about on the show."
Then Krumholtz surprises the press when he says: "Math is about deductive reasoning, because the most finite language that nature uses to communicate with humanity is through numbers." In fact, he chuckles: "Right now, there are mathematicians who are trying to mathematically prove that there is a God. It's called the unifying theory."
It's clear that Krumholtz has learned a thing or two himself by being a part of the series. And with that Krumholtz leaves the press feeling like maybe, just maybe Numb3rs + David Krumholtz = equation that works.
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