BRONSON PINCHOT Acting SAVED MY LIFE

The Perfect Strangers alum talks about his role in The Residence and the long road he's traveled

- Lindsay Hoffman

All of the characters Bronson Pinchot plays have a secret. On The Residence, Netflix’s hit comedy murder-mystery series, he plays harried White House executive pastry chef Didier Gotthard, who’s good with a knife — maybe too good? “When I play a murderer or somebody hideous, I always make sure that deep inside my brain is the thing that makes me vulnerable,” he tells Closer. “You have to. Or if I play somebody who’s soft, I like to have the thing inside that makes me strong.”

A veteran of the stage, television and movies, Bronson, 65, is best known as buoyant Balki Bartokomous, whom he played on TV’s Perfect Strangers from 1986 to 1993. Beyond his new role on The Residence, Bronson is a passionate home renovator who had his own DIY show, and the narrator of more than 400 audiobooks.

What do you consider your big break?

Beverly Hills Cop without question. The day it came out, I was just walking along the cracked sidewalk of Poinsettia Place in Hollywood. I had walked to the grocery store just to look at a magazine — which I couldn’t even afford to buy. And a car full of teenagers stopped about two feet from me and jumped out and started to hug me. It happened instantly.

Soon after you began starring in Perfect Strangers. How did that change your life?