Shaun Sipos makes Lux his teacher's pet

"Life Unexpected" is welcoming "Melrose Place's" Shaun Sipos to the cast this season, and his character, Eric Daniels, is... well, not what we expected.

Zap2it visited the show's Vancouver set and had a chat with executive producer Liz Tigelaar to get the scoop on Portland's newest hunk.

Eric blows into town in the Sept. 14 premiere and surprises Lux (Britt Robertson) with his almost dangerously optimistic, hopeful outlook on life. "It's already leaked online that Eric is a teacher at Lux's school," Tigelaar tells us. "She's struggling in her classes -- Lux is definitely not your straight-A student. He's going to become a very influential person in her life who helps uncover and reveal things about what's going on with her."

Tigelaar describes Lux as an "old soul." She has trouble connecting with kids her age because of the struggles she's been through in the foster system, so she tends to relate better to people who are older than her. "Even Bug (Rafi Gavron) is a few years older than Lux," Tigelaar says. "She just doesn't feel like the kind of girl who could have a normal high school boyfriend, who could be dating Jones (Austin Butler)."

Does this mean that Lux's relationship with Eric will go beyond your appropriate student-teacher connection? It sounds like she's steadily moving into Pacey Witter: Teacher's Pet territory. "They have a deep connection," Tigelaar teases, "and it's awkward because of the school dynamic. She's sixteen, yes, but she's a character who has never had a lot of boundaries in her life. She just doesn't recognize them. She doesn't have the same regard for boundaries as Eric does - Baze is pretty boundary-free, so maybe it's in her blood."

"It's a great question for us to explore. What do you do with a girl who has never had boundaries set for her?" Tigelaar says. "And what do you do when you connect with somebody who you're not supposed to be with?"

It doesn't hurt that Shaun is gorgeous and beyond charming. "Of course, he's super hot," Tigelaar laughs. "Who's not in love with him?"

We'll say this much: we may have hung around the craft services tent a little bit longer than necessary while Sipos was getting his coffee. We were observing for professional purposes! Honest.


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