Last week, the offices of Best Week Ever came alive when Project Runway Season 4 Contestant Jack Mackenroth stopped by, glowing smile, huge muscles and all. Jack was nice enough (no, really, he’s so nice) to sit down with us for a bit and dish dirty on all the behind-the-scenes things you want and care to know about. From how fierce Christian really is, to the in-fighting on the Sex and the City movie, Jack ends up quickly becoming our favorite celebrity interview ever. When the time comes, he will definitely be our Bravo.com vote for Fan Favorite! So those of you obsessed with Project Runway, Sex and the City, and/or (and) The Golden Girls, prepare to be entertained.

Life Since Project Runway

Michelle: First of all, how are you?

Jack: I am great.

Mich: What have you been up to these past couple months?

Jack: There’s still some involvement with the show. There is a lot of press and interviews like this. I actually developed a whole menswear line, but at this point going from samples to production is a huge jump, and I don’t know if I am up for that yet. But you can see all of that on my website: www.jackmackenroth.com. There’s a whole collection now with photos and my model is really cute. You have to go look at him.

Mich: We’ll definitely check it out. (Ed. Note: He’s right.)

Being on Project Runway

Mich: Let’s talk about Project Runway, because that’s how we know and love you. How was the experience overall?

Jack: Loved it. For a creative person to be in this weird, creative bubble… literally, we had no outside influence at all. Sometimes they prevented us from looking out of the window, because they didn’t want us to discuss any current issues. We were at Parson’s and you can see all of Times Square. They didn’t want us seeing billboards, the tickers, no newspapers, no music, no TV, nothing. People think it’s happening in real time. When we were taping, the whole “Paris Hilton” thing was going on then. I saw a newspaper and I was like [gasp] “Paris Hilton’s in jail?!?” And they were like “Don’t look at that.”

Mich: Are the challenges really as difficult as they’re made out to be?

Jack: It is 100 times harder than compared to what you see on TV. You can tell we are sleep deprived. People think there’s a bank of sewers in the back, but there’s no help. Literally, you go get your fabric and its like, “Okay. Go. You have until midnight. Hurry up.” But beyond that, besides all the anxiety and freaking out and sweating — I lost 10 pounds the first week!

Mich: Oh my gosh, really? Sign me up for Project Runway.

Jack: It was so funny. They feed us – obviously — but you are so anxious and you’re looking at the clock the whole time. You run by the table, grab a chicken breast and shove it in your mouth and then go back and sew.

Mich: It would probably save time just to eat the fabric scraps.

After the jump: Jack spills some secrets off the set of The Sex and The City movie… and dishes on his fellow PR contestants! Plus, Tim Gunn as Atlas

Mich: Starving aside, though, it seems like you loved it.

Jack: It was so fun; it’s like going to camp with only these people. We weren’t allowed to talk to the production staff. We could only talk to each other. We had no other entertainment source. So it was like you are at camp and all of these relationships form so quickly.

Mich: Do you think the contestants are portrayed on the show as they are in real life?

Jack: Pretty much. For every hour of the show there is 100 hours of us doing other crazy things. I think some people are funnier and don’t get enough air time. Kit is hilarious. She is hysterical, but you don’t really ever see that. Most of the people that get the airtime are those in the bottom or the top. And she’s kind of in the middle a lot. She even calls herself “The Ghost Designer of Season Four.” She’s actually on for a long time! You just don’t get to know her.

But in general, I think you have to make characters out of everyone, and there is only a limited amount of time to do that. Are the people I know exactly how they are on TV? No, not exactly, but pretty much.

On His Fellow PR Contestants

Mich: So tell me about Victorya? Unfriendly, right?

Jack: No, She’s one of my good friends. I love her.

Mich: I’m shocked, because on the show, I found her to be very calm, a little quiet, sort of brooding even.

Jack: She herself says she has a total stubborn, bitchy side. Other than that, she is sweet as pie.

Mich: Then it’s a shame she got voted off last week. Between us, and the blog, and all the readers… I didn’t think Ricky deserved to win with that little denim dress. Love him like a son, but I thought Christian deserved it!

Jack: Christian should have won! That’s the best thing Ricky’s made. So I think they gave him snaps for that.

Mich: Is Christian as fierce as we think he is?

Jack: He is ten times fiercer. He is perfect for the show because he basically spent two years making patterns and sewing samples. He worked at McQueen, and Vivienne Westwood, cutting the most complicated patterns you could ever do. It is off the chain. He is amazing.

Mich: Do you think he’s is going to win?

Jack: I don’t know. I mean I know who the finalists are, but I not sure who is going to win

Mich: Who is your favorite without giving anything away?

Jack: My favorite is Christian.

Mich: I think you are correct.

Jack: I mean just what he can do is like… it’s crazy.

Mich: Even the architecture of his hair is amazing.

Jack: That alone should win a prize. Maybe 10 grand.

Mich: So now the other big question… The Judges: Love em or hate em?

Jack: My experience with the judges is: They are doing a job. They don’t really get attached to us. It’s a week for you guys but for us it is every other day. It is challenge, after challenge, after challenge. So people are gone, it’s like “Bye!” They call it like they see it. It’s very business.

Mich: And what about Tim Gunn? Best man who has ever lived?

Jack: Since I left the show, I have met Tim on several occasions. He is darling, just sweet. On the show he is sort of robotic to us because he’s like “This is my objective, what I think.” But he is a genuine, nice guy. Nina, I saw her, we did a couple of promotional events and she gave me a big hug. She is super nice. I know they make her out to be the mean one. I haven’t really spoken to Michael [Kors] outside the show but he is the judge whose opinion I trusted the most. He is really on it. He would point out things. He would always be spot on. He really knows his game.

On His Health

Mich: Onto more important things: How are you feeling?

Jack: Great. That was really blown out of proportion. Five days later I was out of the hospital. I was kind of bummed they weren’t really clear about that. People think it is in real time and they are emailing “Are you okay?” Which is great, but a little overwhelming. It was a serious thing and also not serious. Very curable. But in those five days I was gone, I’d miss three challenges or two and a half. Even so, it was a contagious bacteria, it wasn’t just me I was worried about.

Mich: You have a good heart. Does it bother you, when you’re watching the show, thinking of all the fabulous thing you would have made?

Jack: More than anything else, I have had a positive experience. I came off well in the show. I’ve had good feedback and that was my goal. It is more of a bummer when I see that that challenge would have been fun. That denim challenge – I think I could have done really cool stuff. That part when I am watching it I am like, “Ohhh, that could have been fun.” It is what it is.

On That Sarah Jessica Parker Challenge

Mich: So one of the biggest events of this season was the appearance of Sarah Jessica Parker on the show. Did you cry when she showed up?

Jack: Ummm. I didn’t cry. I mean did you see my reaction? Actually, someone said it was like the gayest moment on television. Of the whole year. Basically she walked in and I was like [large gasp].When I saw this on TV, I was like “Oh my god, I am soooo gay.” Are you kidding me?

Mich: You didn’t cry, so that’s good.

Jack: I think Chris fake cried. He was like “I actually cried” and I was like “No you didn’t”…

On The Sex and the City Movie and/or Catfighting

Mich: Tell me about your cameo in Sex in the City?

Jack: The funny thing is, we had already filmed all the segments for Project Runway, so I had already met Sarah Jessica. Basically what you saw on TV is how we met her.

So I had met her briefly, and the filming was just in July. Shortly thereafter, about a month later, I was at home and a friend of called and said the casting director for the Sex and the City movie is looking for a guy with a good body to play “Gay Guy #2.” I was like “Oh… okay.”

Mich: Role of a lifetime!

Jack: My friend was like “Go meet the director.” So I met him. He told me “You’re going to have to walk down the street, walk in front of the girls. And Samantha” — you know Kim Cattrall — “is going to check you out and say something about you. Then you walk around and you kiss some guy.” By the way, this was an actor named Jonathan Fryer who is totally straight.

Mich: Get out of here. That is very funny.

Jack: Yeah. Hot though. Very all American. Not really my type, but very handsome.

Mich: Say no more, I understand.

Jack: The cool part was that they didn’t want me to show any of my tattoos. So I had to go to the makeup trailer where they put plastic paint on my arms. And in the trailer, Cynthia Nixon is right there. Then, Kristin Davis walks in and sits in the chair next to me. She was so nice and I was like “Oh my god, I’m sitting next to Kristin Davis!”

Mich: She is adorable.

Jack: So adorable, so nice. Sarah Jessica had her own special make up trailer because, well, she’s the star. When she got done, she was talking to Kristin. It seems like they are good friends in real life. And so they’re chatting and Sarah Jessica looks over at me and asks “How do I know you?” But [the Project Runway contestants] signed this really exclusive confidentiality agreement. And this was before the show aired. They hadn’t even announced the cast yet.

Mich: Ahhh, Television

Jack: So when nobody was looking, I whispered to Sarah Jessica: “Project Runway!” And she was like “Oh my god! Totally!” Then Kristin Davis was like, “What? What? What? I wanna know, I wanna know” And I was like “I’m sorry, I can’t say.” It was cute. They are super, super nice. [whisper] Although, they didn’t talk to Kim Cattrall.

Mich: Get out of here

Jack: She has a separate trailer. I don’t know how much I want to get into this, but they do their blocking separately, at least in my scene. Then she comes up and does the scene with them and then she leaves and doesn’t even talk to them. It’s weird.

Mich: Wow.

Jack: That is what I witnessed. I don’t know the whole story; that was my perception. She has her own handlers, her own makeup, her own everything. I knew she had some issues. The movie almost didn’t happen. Although, apparently, there is already a Sex in the City 2, 3, and 4 planned. It’s going to be like Golden Girls.

Mich: [laughter]. That’s one of my favorite shows. Lifetime 4 to 5, every day! That’s where you’ll find me.

The End

Mich: Thank you so much! This was a true pleasure.

Jack: Of course, anytime – I am a media whore!