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'Nashville''s Charles Esten Is a Songwriter Just Like Deacon

I know I usually wait until Thursdays to recap everything that happened on Nashville, but since I'm actually in Nashville -- the city, not the show -- right now, I can tell you exactly what is going on with Deacon.

Well, OK, not Deacon. But the man who plays him, Charles Esten. He was at Tuesday night's (Nov. 5) BMI Country Awards, and I had the chance to ask him all about his real life and a little bit about his fictional one.

Snce the BMI Awards are all about songwriting, I had to know if the real Esten had any country songwriting chops like his character does.

"I've written so many songs," he told me. "In fact, I wrote one today. I wrote one on Sunday, and I wrote one on Friday. They're really good. I can only say that because songs are kind of like your children, and you can brag about your children, right? And because I was really impressed with the co-writers I worked with."

As for the musician he plays on Nashville, it sounds like Deacon was a perfect fit for Esten and a gig he had to have.

"I fought tooth and nail for this role," he said. "I did everything I could to get it. I knew as soon as I read it that it was all I ever wanted in a role because it combined everything I love -- great writing, great music and great people."

It also sounds like there's a little more crossover between Esten's real life and Deacon's television life. Namely, the dog Sue that Deacon's ex-girlfriend gave him on the ABC series. That little yellow lab is now Blue, the Esten family dog. According to him, it's the best dog ever.

"We are not dog people," he admitted. "My wife and I sort of supported each other in being a dog-free house over the years. But then I worked with this dog and fell in love. Plus, I was moving my family here and my kids had to say goodbye to a lot of friends, so we had to sweeten the pot. Blue helped with that a little."

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