By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed July 16, 2011
Rutledge Wood may now have a hotshot role on car-crazed show "Top Gear" on one of the most popular cable networks, History. But he isn't going Hollywood anytime soon.
Take his beard, which is not exactly Ryan Seacrest friendly.
Then look at his home, Senoia, a picturesque town just south of Peachtree City where "Fried Green Tomatoes" was filmed. He putters around in beat-up vehicles he buys, renovates, then sells - 55 of them over the years. He has six on hand now - plus a golf cart.
"I can't imagine living anywhere else," Wood said in a recent interview at the Senoia Coffee & Cafe, where friends regularly stopped by to talk.
The 31-year-old husband with two daughters is currently fixing up a 1996 Buick Roadmaster station wagon, the one with wood paneling on the side, "Brady Bunch" style. ("My wife makes fun of it but I love it," he said.) His home is two blocks from downtown and his parents are four houses down.
He does travel regularly as a roving reporter for cable network Speed, covering NASCAR. Those creds helped him get his job on "Top Gear," an Americanized version of a very popular BBC show of the same name.
History is attempting to replicate that show's chemistry with Wood, exotic car specialist Tanner Foust and muscle car lover Adam Ferrara, an actor best known for his role on FX's "Rescue Me."
On the show, the trio travels the country in souped-up cars, trying goofy stunts and hobnobbing with celebrities who also love cars. Last season, the first episode was shot in Griffin, featuring a faux battle between a Dodge Viper and a Cobra attack helicopter.
During its first season last year, "Top Gear" didn't exactly take the chequered flag, averaging 1.7 million viewers, a fraction of what History's biggest shows "Pawn Stars" and "American Pickers" hauls in.
But History kept the faith, giving it a second season, which debuts Sunday, July 24 at 10 p.m. Wood said the show's saving grace is its youthful audience, which averages about 33 years of age compared to 50-plus for most other History programs.
“What’s so great is everything we did on the show is stuff I totally dreamed about doing as a kid,†Wood said. “I still can’t believe I’ve gotten a chance to do it. And I’m tickled to get to do more of that."
He said it has taken time for the guys to gel. "If you watch season one, you can tell we grew," he said. "The more you learn about each other, the more fun you can have."
Fans embraced Wood's laid-back, down-to-earth demeanor. "He's the voice of reason," wrote Jeff Blalock of Cartersville and a "Top Gear" fan on the AJC Radio and TV Talk Facebook page. "Usually you would have pretty boys doing a show like this or some big-name star but with Rut, you have someone who knows cars and racing and knows what cars mean to people."
One of Wood's favorite upcoming episodes ties in with History's mission as a channel that ties the past and present. Foust and Wood race two Mustangs against two Pony Express riders, following an old Pony Express path. "We went bigger on every level," he said. "We destroyed a lot of things - whether we meant to or not."
And he's already thinking cross-over potential with "American Pickers." "I'd like the pickers to come down here," he said. "They'd love some of my junk!"
On TV
"Top Gear," 10 p.m. Sundays on History Channel, starting July 24, 2011
Join my Facebook fan page and Twitter.
By Rodney Ho, rho@ajc.com, AJCRadioTV blog
