Philly guy sees the world on Bravo's 'Tour Group'

TOUR GROUP
10 p.m. Tuesday, Bravo.

Two episodes in, it seems safe to say Jared Levy is in the running for class flirt of Bravo's Tour Group. The 38-year-old Northeast Philly native, a financial adviser who graduated from George Washington High School ("I actually went to school with Kevin Hart"), has been particularly attentive to two of his fellow travelers, nonidentical twins named Misty and Jenna.

But the fast-talking Levy, whose previous TV experiences involved talking about money, said he was interested in becoming a bit less guarded and careful when he agreed to be part of a group of 11 people chosen to see the world on Tour Group.

Levy spoke recently about his experiences on the show, which airs at 10 p.m. Tuesdays:

You introduced yourself on the show by saying, "If Steven Hawking had a baby with Snooki, I would probably be the product of that relationship." How long have you been using that line?

I obviously look one way, but [in high school] I was in the mentally gifted program, I was kind of a nerd. I got in a lot of fights. I would spike my hair up and go to the tanning salon and look a certain way.

That phrase just came off my tongue during the show, but in a way it defines me. It sucks for dating because I tend to attract the Snookis when I really want - I don't know, I don't want to jinx it - someone who's got a lot more depth, and soul, and character.

How much of what we've seen of your interactions with Misty and Jenna so far has been real, and how much is editing?

No, it was real. When we first walk in - we were in Morocco and we had that meet-and-greet - I was like, "Wow." I mean, right away, they just had good energy, you know? Misty's sort of like the fun and bubbly one, Jenna is like this dark-sided New Yorker.

You didn't seem to be traveling particularly light. Were you given a packing list?

No, we weren't. It was like, "Pack what you would if you were going to be away from your house for two months." I kept things pretty simple, but it was a lot of stuff. I was shedding stuff as we went through different countries. I had all these scarves, and, after the first stop, which was a little bit cool, scarves were really not needed. I had an excess supply.

Did you learn what to pack in the future?

Think about the bare essentials. Your shoes are everything. Everything. More than you can possibly imagine. Lots of cotton. Nothing that doesn't stretch.

Is there one great moment of the trip you can tell me about without spoiling it?

It was in the teaser, so I think we can talk about it. [The episode is scheduled to air Tuesday.] The gorillas - the mountain silverback gorillas in far distant Rwanda. We were hiking for a day, just to get to where the gorillas are.

You look at them in the zoo, behind the glass, sad, playing in the corner, and you're thinking, "God, this thing would rip my face off." And we're up there with these wild animals and they literally were coming up to us, touching us, reaching out to us. And just like a kid, they're laughing and smiling, and they'd touch your face and then roll away.

It was like a dream of mine. It was totally magical. I looked in their eyes and I saw me. I saw my friends. I saw my family.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

graye@phillynews.com
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