Jeff Eastin is the excutive producer and creator for the show White Collar. He took the time to talk to several of us a few days ago about how he came to create the show, how Matt Bomer was cast as Neal Caffrey and so much more! Here’s the entire discussion:
Q: My first question here was about season two. And we heard the good news, I guess in December, that season two got picked up. But I just wondered if you could maybe talk a little bit about planning for that, what you might do different, and are we going to get a major cliffhanger leading into that?
Jeff: Yes. We have a pretty major cliffhanger coming up here in two weeks. And what we’ve done in season two is really—we’re right into it now. The writers’ group has been going about two weeks now and most of that time; we’ve been just working on the mythology moving forward into season two. What I did, really, was looked and say what we thought we really did right in season one and just try to duplicate that.
Luckily, I was sort of surprised, but most new shows, there’s usually a few shows you’re sort of not happy with and I’ve got to say, I mean, just amazing cast, amazing crew. We had some really good directors this year and we got really lucky. I mean, I can’t really think of any show in season one that I wasn’t happy with. I mean, I’ve got my favorites. But even the ones that are my least favorite, I still think came out pretty good. So I’m pretty happy about that. I mean, we have been dealing pretty specifically with Tiffani’s pregnancy. That’s something we’re really trying to deal with in season two.
We’ve decided not to bring it up on the show. So working around that has been a real challenge and very interesting, but kind of fun to find out technologically what you can do in terms of green screen and things like that to be able to work around that. So those are the challenges we’ve got going into season two.
But for the most part, the way I’m looking at the show right now is it ain’t broke and we’re not going to try to change anything majorly in season two in terms of dynamic. For me, the show is really about Peter and Neal and that’s where the focus is going to stay, supported by Elizabeth and Mozzie, and that’s really where we want to keep it going into season two.
Q: One of the things that I think was probably the most amazing things I’ve read was how when you’re coming up with this concept, you’d never been to New York and you did your research, I guess, with Google Streets. I was kind of wondering how in hindsight did that work out, and is New York, I guess, different than you thought it would be?
Jeff: That is true. Yes, I had not been to New York. New York was a very obvious choice if you’re going to do a world of white collar crime. And Manhattan, you really can’t beat it. I mean, it’s the perfect city for the show. And the one problem that I had was that I had not been there. So I’m a computer geek anyway, and I think Google Streetview when it had first came out, I thought it was pretty amazing, and once I started poking around on it, in Manhattan, it was really nice. I mean, you could stroll down the street. I could plan out Neal and Peter’s movements and actually walk through them. That was really helpful just in terms of sort of orienting myself geographically.
What really shocked me about New York, I have to say, are the people. I mean, I sort of—being from Colorado originally and then from L.A., there was sort of a perception that people from New York can be very cold and sort of distant. I was really surprised that that was the exact opposite of what I found. I found that people there were incredibly nice, incredibly warm.
I have to say that I was sort of—Central Park was probably the biggest surprise I had. I spent some of the most peaceful moments in my life I’ve spent just sort of strolling through Central Park. And that’s from a guy who grew up in a very small town in Colorado. So that was probably the biggest shock is that there were these places of solitude in New York that you could find. It wasn’t the big hustle bustle capital that I was expecting. It does have those elements, but there are also these wonderfully tranquil moments that really surprised me.
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White Collar Episode 1.12 – Front Man Air Date: March 2, 2010
Q: First of all, I just really loved your role as Burke’s mother in Grey’s Anatomy. I mean, it brought a whole new depth to Burke’s character and his relationship with Christina.
D. Carroll: Oh, that’s a lovely thing to say. I always feel very good and comforted when someone has taken the time to really understand the character, so I’m delighted to hear that. Thank you.
Q: Of course, but my real question, though, relates to some of your earlier work in 1978. You were part of the Star Wars Holiday Special. Can you talk a little bit about how you got that role, your feelings about the holiday Special, and if you’ve had any Star Wars fan experiences regarding that role?
D. Carroll: You know, I think it’s the biggest secret in the world. I don’t know that … ever was, much less that I was ever a part of it. I think it was co-produced by a friend of mine, who called and asked if I would be a part of it and I had never done anything like that before. The fascination with Star Wars and what compiled Star Wars was sort of “in the air” and I was intrigued by it and, yes, I decided to be a part of it. As I recall, I was practically nude on … That’s my recollection.
Q: Have any Star Wars fans approached you and asked you about that, or any of that interaction?
D. Carroll: No, the only thing I’ve ever been asked is “When are you coming back?”
Q: Do you have an answer?
D. Carroll: “’I don’t know” is my answer.
Q: How did the role come about on White Collar?
D. Carroll: The creator, actually, is the person who approached us about doing this role and he really understood the period of time that was—my character, June—that was her hey-day and I thought, well, this is going to be really great fun because it goes back to the period of the Rat Pack and she was, obviously, a part of it to the degree where she was married to one of the musicians, or—it’s not exactly clear what he wants to do with that area of it and that’s another thing that I love—the creativity as you go along. That’s how she meets the main character, getting rid of some of the clothing that she has kept, her memorabilia from that period that was a wonderful time in her life, but actually, he has a great feeling for that period of time, and so it’s been, really, a joy being there and doing it.
Q: In your career you seem to have done it all. Is there anything that you still have yet to accomplish?
D. Carroll: That’s a great question. I appreciate that question and I really have not done it all, but, I mean, in terms of—I’ve done theater and television and film and nightclubs, that is true, but I really would love another opportunity to do something as fascinating as Dynasty was, on television. I really enjoyed doing that and I’d like to see something like that come about again. Something that is totally absurd and fun.
Q: As the first black woman to star in your own TV show, what are your feelings about how it’s changed for, not just black women, but for minority women, today?
D. Carroll: Well, I would have to say that I have a positive feeling about that. There are so many shows on the air that I’m not really familiar, but I do believe that the stereotypical woman that was dominating television when I started, we’ve done away with that, for all of but what we call third world women—people—and that’s very gratifying that we’ve done that. The integrating is still not on a level that I would like to see it, but I do think it’s coming. I do feel that we are trying and that it’s getting better.
Q: You think we still have a long way to go?
D. Carroll: Oh, indeed. Yes, we do.
Q: Could you tell us anything about June? What’s going to be happening with her on the remainder of the season of White Collar?
D. Carroll: June is, at this moment, enjoying her relationship with her new found friend and I think that they’re just getting, really, to know each other under all circumstances and she trusts him and is fascinated by him and also his friend. The characters are developing into very interesting—I’m trying to think of, the young man with the glasses—
Q: Willie Garson. He plays Mozzie.
D. Carroll: Oh, he’s a wonderful character and I think all of it together is something that I’m enjoying having to relate to that.
Q: As a cancer survivor myself, and I know that you’re an activist for breast cancer, and have had a personal experience and I understand you have a program coming up about that and I was wondering if you would mind sharing, with us, your thoughts about that.
D. Carroll: Any time I have the opportunity to talk, particularly to women who are going through what I experienced, it’s always a very gratifying exchange for me and I learned something and I hope that I give them something in return, something they can use, something they can move on, and I think that’s one of the best things—one of the perks actually if that can be called a perk—when one knows that they have breast cancer—is the exchange, meeting each other, discussing, making new friends, learning new things that they have done that they can pass along to me, and vice verse, and that’s what we will be doing.
Q: I do enjoy your character on White Collar. It’s fun to see that relationship with Matt Bomer. I was wondering, is he as good looking in real life as he is on TV?
D. Carroll: If it’s possible, he’s better looking in real life and also very charming, and I think this is going to catapult him into the kind of stardom that he deserves. He is very hard-working and it’s a delight to watch him in front of the camera. I think the character is perfect for him. He is really a bad boy who has good instincts and he looks the part. I’m enjoying it very much.
Q: You were around when African Americans were first starting in television, so I was wondering—you were talking about that we needed to be—people of color need to be more integrated in television and you said that that was coming. What can—what are some things that can be done to help facilitate that integration?
D. Carroll: I suppose our lives need to be more integrated. We have white communities and black communities and white country clubs and black country clubs. It’s very important when we integrate ourselves, and it helps us to have a better understanding of the world, to people all over the world and this is the time in history that we have become very aware of how important that is, so I think it’s just really—we have to know each other and work together and play together in order to write about each other.
Q: That’s pretty inspiring, actually.
D. Carroll: Well, I certainly hope so. I do, because I believe it’s true.
Q: I’m actually a writer and so I’m always interested to think about what actors think about when they read writing, and so, the question I have for you is what do you look for in a script that helps you identify with your character?
D. Carroll: Oh dear, that’s a very complicated question. Identify. It can be a negative too, you know, … something that someone has written on the page. It’s not always something that you are able to verbalize. It’s something that happens intrinsically and also if there’s … action to some the action that is required of the character and it moves you in a way that is different from anything else that’s on your desk, that’s the piece that you will respond to and wish to have as a part of your life and as a part of your legacy. It’s something that’s inexplicable, really, that’s down in your gut and it’s moved by something that makes you feel “I’d like to do that, I’d like to be able to say that and make people hear me because I think it’s important,” even if it’s not—even if it’s a negative, it’d still be important, so I think that’s as much as I can say about it, because it’s something that really is emotional and difficult to verbalize.
Q: When you were saying negative, were you talking more of negative as far as the role being perceived as negative, or just a gut reaction to what you see on the page, being negative?
D. Carroll: If the role is negative on the page, and by negative I can—it can also be not negative to someone else. Someone may have a terrible reaction … someone is playing a whore and someone else may not have that same understanding of the role, so that’s why I say, it’s such an emotional reaction each time, that it’s very hard to say why you want to play a role. It’s something you feel—a kinship—and you know that you can make it understood or felt easily by others, I think.
Q: Wow! Now that, for a writer, is an education. Thank you so very much.
D. Carroll: Oh, I thank you. My pleasure.
Moderator Okay, the next question comes from the line of Kristyn Clark with Popculturemadness.com. Please go ahead.
Q: What would you say is one of the most important lessons that you’ve learned, throughout your career? Is there any advice you would share with an aspiring actor or actress?
D. Carroll: I think, probably, the lesson that I would hope everyone would learn quite early in their career is don’t take it personally. Whatever it is that happens, you’re accepted for a role or rejected for a role of whatever, don’t take it personally. It’s part of the business and the person that is either hiring or firing—that’s their business. That’s what they are there for and it has nothing to do with how you feel about … It has to do with someone else’s perception of should you, or can you, do this particular part, so just don’t take it personally,. The business is really about rejection, so don’t take it personally.
Q: You were mentioning Dynasty and I was wondering, some of your… have gone on to go back to daytime television and I was wondering if you’d ever considered, if there was a good role for you on daytime television—
D. Carroll: You know, it’s very strange. I have never considered any daytime television role. I don’t know why. I don’t know, maybe it’s because they do the same … thing over and over. I don’t know why. But it’s never been stimulating to me and I could bite myself for saying that because I know millions of people fall in love with these characters and stay with them 15, 25 years, and that’s wonderful. I don’t think I could do that well.
Q: If there was one thing you could tell your fans from White Collar about your character that they would find surprising, what would it be?
D. Carroll: I think the relationship with Matt is very interesting and it’s something that I see in my life, constantly, and that is women who are no longer young seem to find young men interesting and amusing, whereas they were not as interesting and amusing when I was young, and I think that happens to most women. We can afford that kind of relationship at this age.
Q: You are a role model, a pioneer in your craft, and have taken on Joan Collins and cancer, and slapped them both. What else do you wish to conquer?
D. Carroll: Joan Collins and cancer and what else? Well, I don’t know, to tell you the truth. Living day-to-day is quite a feat, I feel, and I’m enjoying it and getting something out of it and putting something into it is a lot to do. I’ve been doing it now for—it will soon be 75 years, in July, and I’m pretty satisfied. I’ve also had four marriages that I went through, which is, also, difficult to do, so I don’t know. I’m feeling satisfied and so everyday—not satisfied to the extent that im not making—I’m still making the effort and the effort to do what? Everything.
Q: Are we going to get a glimpse of your musical side on White Collar?
D. Carroll: I don’t know. We have thought about it. We’ve never brought that conversation to a conclusion, but it would please me. We’d just have to find out how and where it makes sense, if our writers can find that.
Q: I would love to see that.
D. Carroll: I would, too and I trust them, because the writers are outstanding, and I would trust therm to find the right circumstances, which would make me comfortable.
Q: I’m here with my sister Nancy, who is also my writing partner, and we were just wondering—you look as beautiful now as when you started your career and we wanted to know if you had any beauty secrets that you could share with us?
D. Carroll: Well, if I look the same as when I started, I would be very disappointed in me. That’s a long time ago. I started in the fifties at twenty, and I don’t think, that in 2010, that I look the same, however—secrets? I don’t think there are any secrets any more, for anyone’s regimen. It’s all been laid out there. It’s every place. It’s on the radio, television, our computers, whatever it is you’re looking for, you can certainly find it today. If anything, there’s maybe too much information, but, you know, taking care of your skin is not a secret, but it’s very important. What you eat, I suppose, is the most important thing that I can say about remaining attractive and healthy. I would only say be very careful with the diet and make sure that you exercise.
Q: You’ve obviously had a long and illustrious career in theater, too when … you had any more plans on doing more theater in the future?
D. Carroll: I thought about doing theater and I don’t think Im going to be able to do eight performances a week. That’s what’s required and I know lots of women my age who do it with great ease. I don’t know. Maybe, Im just too … or something but eight performances a week … but I do thank you for asking, you know, because I had a wonderful theater career. I enjoyed it very much and from musicals to straight drama, and that’s not always offered, but I’ve had that experience, but I don’t know that that’ll be again, in my lifetime.
Q: Did you prefer one drama over the other form of drama?
D. Carroll: I can’t say that I—it’s not as demanding to do a … play, because singing is something that … keeps the body as healthy as possible to sing well, and that doesn’t allow for anything except classes and exercising and, well, I think you get the picture, but I like the characters. All of the characters, but if I had to select a character, I would have to say that I did love the … play. I did Agnes of God, and I played the doctor and she was a wonderful experience for me. Just wonderful.
Q: White Collar has become a real hit with fans. I just want to know, what is it about the show that you think draws in the viewers?
D. Carroll: Oh, so many things and not only is Matt beautiful, and his partner Tim, is a very handsome man also, the writing is outstanding, I think, and the look of it, it brings you into it immediately. You want to know what is going on in that set and you want to know who these people are, that operate in that—it’s a very—it grabs you, as we say on the … It’s a grabber and, once again, I must make comment about the writing. It’s really wonderful.
Q: Have you learned anything interesting about the FBI, or con men, since being on the show?
D. Carroll: No. I knew a great deal about that before, and in particular, con men, but I think every week, we all learn a little something, but more than anything I think the characters—who they are—is more important than the FBI.
Q: How much will June factor into the remaining episodes for this season and will she return next season?
D. Carroll: Well, we’ll have to ask the person who … it … but, this season, yes she has some very interesting things to do this season. I’m not going to let the cat out of the bag. She has lots of things to do.
D. Carroll: Thank you, so much. That was great fun.
Q: This question is for both of you. It seems that both Neal and Peter seem to toe the line between right and wrong on the show, especially after seeing the cliffhanger in your fall finale. My question is what types of real life shenanigans have you gotten yourselves into that you can draw inspiration from?
M. Bomer: Tim, do you want to go?
T. DeKay: I know we only have a little under an hour so I won’t be able to go through all of my real-life shenanigans. That’s a good question.
M. Bomer: I snuck my brother’s car out of the driveway in the middle of the night and was trying to run over trash cans with it. I was 16 and I got a flat tire and literally tried to go to the gas station to put air back into it. It was nothing but shredded rubber and the rim. I came home and by the time I got home the rubber from the tire was literally slapping on the concrete so loud the entire neighborhood – my dad was waiting for me at the door and my license was revoked for quite some time. I wouldn’t say that I have the same kind of criminal savvy that Neal does.
T. DeKay: Is that a shenanigan?
M. Bomer: If that’s not a shenanigan I don’t know what is.
T. DeKay: That’s an excellent shenanigan; I can’t top that one.
Q: Tim, the show obviously took a large step, something that you don’t always see in a mid-season finale. What did you like about that last scene and what can you tell us about the ramifications as we move into the second half of the first season here?
T. DeKay: Jeff Eastin approached me with that last scene a couple weeks before he was going to put it on the script. I said, “You’re the writer; this sounds exciting, let’s go for it.” I love the scene and I love the continuation of the scene as well. I think it’s some great writing and some great storytelling and very exciting and it’s a perfect cliffhanger. That’s all I’m going to say about it.
Q: Natalie Morales and Jeff Eastin are both currently on Twitter. In order to get more followers, Jeff was putting out topless pictures of Matt and even offering naked pictures of Matt to get more followers. Are either of you planning to get on the Twitter wagon and, Matt, we want to see more topless pictures of you.
M. Bomer: If you want to see more topless pictures you can tune into the season finale, as weird as that response was. But no, I will not be joining Twitter any time soon. I just don’t think that the day-to-day ramblings of my life would be interesting enough to hold an audience. Tim?
T. DeKay: I’ve got quite a few pictures of Matt shirtless. No, I don’t have any. But if there is some Web site like, I don’t know, Hippie Shirtless or Shirtless Hippie or something like that I was told about as well. I don’t Twitter; I don’t think most people want to know about my daughter’s dance class or Little League baseball. I don’t think people would want to hear about where I’m headed or up to.
Q: Was it a coincidence or was it just a red herring or is there a reason, if you can tell us, that the actress that plays Kate looks an awful lot like with Tiffani-Amber Thiessen?
T. DeKay: I’ve been asked that and I never realized that they look alike. Now that it was brought to my attention I do see the similarity, two beautiful women. I think it was, I don’t know, maybe the writers have something up their sleeves that I don’t know.
Q: As far as you know it’s coincidence?
T. DeKay: I believe so, yes.
Q: The season finale, like everyone’s been saying, they had one hell of a twist that I really don’t think many people saw coming, if anyone saw it coming. How has this suspicion between the two characters changed the series, as it’s been the first half of the season to the last half of the season?
M. Bomer: I think it actually comes to resolution pretty quickly. It’s not something that is as dire as it might seem; it’s something that resolves itself relatively quickly in the second half of the season. Ultimately it’s one of those things that ends up, I think, really bringing the two characters closer.
T. DeKay: I couldn’t have said that better myself; I concur.
Q: Over the first half of the season, Neal seems to have been developing a kind of trust in Peter and Peter has become kind of protective of Neal. With that last twist and having seen the second half premiere, it seems like, as you said, things do resolve. Could you speak to the development of each character in regards to the growth of trust and that sense of protectiveness?
M. Bomer: In terms of trust I think that Peter is the first person in Neal’s life that he’s really been able to have that with, but I also think it’s an interesting dynamic that’s always kind of liquid between the two of them given their history and given the fact that Neal’s not really ready to jump over to the other side of the moral spectrum immediately. It’s something that he’s struggling with and it’s kind of his journey on the second half of the first season to figure out if I’m going to buckle down and be with the FBI or am I going to do whatever I have to do, legal or not, to find Kate. I think the trust thing is sort of everything in the relationship, but as opposed to normal relationships where it can be a little bit more black and white, in this particular relationship, it can be more liquid. He has more trust for Peter than he’s ever had for anybody else.
T. DeKay: As far as the protection that Peter has for Neal, I like that observation a lot. At first, Peter’s protection of Neal was a bit self-centered. He’s protecting himself because he made that decision to take this guy out. But as time has gone on he’s gotten to know Neal in a different way and is now protecting him because he sees a great potential in this guy. He’s protecting him on more than just a professional level.
Q: Matt, what’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned so far in the world of con men?
M. Bomer: I think the most interesting thing I’ve learned is how much of it is about just like a good actor does his research on a role and does all the homework he needs to do to know a character inside and out, the amount of work that goes into a skilled con artist’s game, the amount of research, the knowledge of the mark and the amount of confidence it takes to pull it off are all really fascinating to me. The similarities to the craft of acting are actually fascinating as well.
Q: You tend to have very distinct fashion styles. I know this sounds like a really wild question to ask especially because it’s guys and you’re not usually in charge of your wardrobe. Tim, as an FBI agent, you seem to be pretty black suit kind of person, FBI kind of guy. How does the fashion style suit what you actually dress in real life?
T. DeKay: I think that Stephanie Maslansky, who’s the costume designer, and the rest of the wardrobe team do a great job. They put me in mostly Brooks Brothers suits, a couple Burberry suits. For the most part they certainly can’t be too flashy. We keep pushing the envelope with ties. That’s what Stephanie keeps saying. Every time we get too flashy of a tie we get a note from USA Network.
My immediate reaction to this question is the fact that I love wearing a suit because I hardly ever wear a suit in real life. And every time I put on a suit I think I should wear this more often. I like wearing a suit. It heightens wherever I’m headed to. That’s why I love putting on a suit for Peter because it puts me in a different world than my own. I used to dress up; my dad teases me. He says this show’s haunting me because when I was five years old and I wanted to buy a suit and a fedora and there’s a picture of me somewhere like that, I’m leaning up against the coffee table, but kind of in a cool way with my legs crossed and I’ve got the fedora on. I’m about ready to walk up the street and ask Julie Buchanan if she wanted to take a walk around the block. This all just came back to me right now. That’s where it all began, enjoying wearing a suit. Even then I was kind of playing this guy who was certainly not me at five. I don’t know if that answers your question.
Q: Matt, can you talk about it?
M. Bomer: I’m definitely more of a T-shirt and jeans kind of guy. For me, I’ve learned a lot from Neal’s wardrobe. The fun part for me is just that it helps me get into the character. When you dress a certain way especially something as specific as Neal’s fascination with the Rat Pack, sort of the Marcello Mastroianni nicely cut suits with the thin ties and stuff like that. It just helps me feel like I’m kind of slipping into the skin of the character and forms the way he moves and things like that.
I always like to try to make an effort if I have to dress up nice, but I’ve definitely learned that you get treated a little bit differently when you’re wearing a suit. I’m definitely trying to make the effort to dress up a little bit more.
T. DeKay: You are trying to do that?
M. Bomer: I’m trying. On any given day I’m probably in a T-shirt and jeans, but –.
T. DeKay: I’m trying to do that, too. I think part of it is because when you’re in New York and the weather is a factor, you can kind of layer. Maybe I’ll wear this certain kind of overcoat or sweater. In L.A. it’s just what T-shirt, long sleeve or short sleeve.
The other thing that I’ve noticed with the wardrobe that they give Matt is just, I’ll be the first to say it, they’re going to trap themselves because he can only wear a certain kind of suit because it comes from June’s closet. I was so wrong with that. It’s unbelievable the variations of suits and ties and outfits that they’ve given Matt to wear.
M. Bomer: I think it’s so cool.
Q: You have such great chemistry onscreen we were wondering what your off screen relationship is like and if you spend a lot of time hanging out together.
M. Bomer: We always have fun and I can’t remember a day we have not been laughing and having a good time. I’m going to go out on a limb and speak for both of us and say that we both have been in the business long enough to appreciate what we’ve got going on this show and the fact that we like to work with each other so much and the fact that we have a network behind us. Thankfully so far people have been watching so I think we realize; we’re grateful for every day we get to work together. That’s certainly how I feel. It’s just been easy and fun from day one for me. Tim is just a great guy, the kind of actor you feel really safe working with because he just sort of says yes to whatever you bring to the table and then goes with it.
T. DeKay: That’s the way I feel about Matt, to be honest with you. I really do. It is true, but even more importantly, Matt told me that I’m a good singer. I haven’t heard that in a long time. Matt complimented me; he said that I can hold onto the melody while he harmonizes, which I never knew was a difficult thing to do. Now I feel like I’ve got that in my back pocket.
M. Bomer: It’s true.
T. DeKay: Here’s the thing. You can ask; I’ll speak for both of us on this one as well, which echoes what Matt is saying. In order to be able to work with somebody in acting, it’s going to sound judgmental and I hope it doesn’t, but you’ve first got to think that person’s a good actor before you can enjoy working with them. I guess that goes with the trust. I like this person, the way they work; I think they’re a good actor. Great, that is done now we can just go from there and see what happens and listen and play together.
M. Bomer: Agreed.
Q: My question has to do with the character of Neal. He’s definitely so far a likable bad guy kind of person. I was wondering what you thought personally about the character of Neal, what you didn’t like and what you do like about him.
M. Bomer: I think you always have to be your character’s defense attorney. As an actor you have to find what’s likable about them and you have to empathize with them enough that you understand why they do what they do. I never really judge anything he did, but what I like about the character was that he wasn’t a goody-two-shoes and he didn’t just jump over to the other side of the law and become a good guy. I like the fact that he struggles with it and that he’s human and that he has real Achilles’ heel in terms of his sloppy romantic life. That’s where he makes bad decisions. For me those are the really fun parts of the character to get to play.
T. DeKay: I’ve always liked Neal. I think Peter has always liked Neal. I’m looking through Peter’s glasses as well. I’m sometimes jealous of Neal. Peter can get jealous of that kind of life and sometimes doesn’t understand it. Not jealous that he breaks the law, but jealous that he has that carefree attitude that he can walk in a place with his hat on and be free about that. There’s something that Peter can’t quite, that’s just not in him. He wishes he had it. Peter likes Neal a lot and I think that’s a big part of what keeps Peter rooting for Neal when maybe he shouldn’t on the surface.
Q: As actors, when you go through the process of trying to determine what your character is like and trying to get the back story, could you explain a little bit about how script can inspire your performance?
M. Bomer: I think your text is everything; it’s what informs you; it’s what gives you the given circumstances. Then you take that and you add your own creativity and your own spin on things and you make it personal. That’s what makes that character and that text unique to you, when you personalize it. I think that’s where your job as an actor comes in. The text is everything especially in TV, which is really a writer’s medium.
T. DeKay: I agree. The text and the words simply have to inspire you. If they don’t it’s an awful, awful battle that is not fun. If they inspire you it’s great, you fly. If they don’t you spend much of your time justifying what has been written for you. Fortunately that’s not the case here. The words are great; we get to fly off of them.
Q: Sounds like you’re super lucky.
M. Bomer: We are.
T. DeKay: I feel we are.
Q: I just wanted to know what we can expect out of the rest of the season. Can you tell us?
M. Bomer: Even more car accidents, lots of violence.
T. DeKay: A lot of death scenes. I think the Martians come back.
M. Bomer: They do. I think the intelligent procedurals continue, what I like to think of as intelligent procedurals as well as a lot of character development. In terms of my character, a lot of the stuff is coming to fruition that happened in the cliffhanger gets ironed out between me and Peter. Then my character really starts having to make the decision, is he going to operate for the law or is he going to do whatever it takes, against the law, operating outside of the legal system, to find Kate. That’s his struggle in the second half. He starts to push those boundaries a little bit more.
Moderator: We have time for one more question with both Matt and Tim before Matt needs to head out. We’ll continue the session with Tim for the remainder of our time.
Q: I’m so curious about actors, how they feel when a show switches a day and time, if there was a particular reason in this case why it did. Even if there wasn’t, if it were due to programming differences, how does that have an effect on you? Does it become nerve-wracking? Do you get nervous to see how the show’s going to do in a different time slot?
T. DeKay: It doesn’t become nerve wracking. A lot of that business stuff and the decisions that come from that certainly come into your brain. You don’t want to hear about it because you know, I know my job is to be an actor and to be in the show and to play the role. I have to say it’s nice when your boss at the network continues to say they’re behind you and they feel that they’ll get more viewers if they move to Tuesday night instead of Friday. When moves like that are made you feel that they have great confidence in you. Whenever somebody else has confidence in you, the person who hired you, you feel they have confidence in you, it does give you more confidence as well.
M. Bomer: I agree and would just say in the hands of another network it might be worrisome, but I think USA does a really incredible at marketing their shows and making sure their audience knows that there’s a time change coming. As an actor it’s important to understand what you’re in control of, as Tim was saying. That’s our work and showing up and doing the best we can when the cameras are rolling. The rest of that stuff we have to trust and leave to the professionals. I trust that they know what they’re doing.
Q: I want to know if you have a favorite moment from shooting the episodes that are upcoming that you could share with us.
T. DeKay: There are so many favorite moments. The scene that I did with Kate was exciting because it just was very different for Peter. I think there are some really fun, on the set and with the writers, we call them Peter/Neal moments where it’s just the two of them. Those are the ones I enjoy greatly. You’ll see Peter go undercover a couple times, a few times, I think, in the second half of the season. He’s good at it; not as good as Neal.
Q: You do have time to do other things and I wanted to ask you about an upcoming project, I believe called Political Disasters, if you’re able to talk about that or if you wanted to talk about that at all.
T. DeKay: It’s a movie that I shot a good year ago. It’s an independent film; I’m not quite sure what the release on it will be. I know that they just finished it up in post. It’s by a very promising young writer and director. I’m trying to get you some information on that, but I don’t want to say too much because that will be coming out soon. It’s part of a trilogy that I think is quite good, actually. Political Disasters, Natural Disasters and I think the other one is Plane Disasters; I’m not quite sure.
I’m also producing a film with my brother that my brother wrote. It’s called The Bride of San Lorenzo. It’s actually a bilingual piece in Spanish and English that is going to be done. We’re going to be doing it in Mexico. We’re going to try and start that sometime in the next month or two. We’re working with a production company right now.
Political Disasters by Zak Horton should be coming out soon so be looking for it.
Q: Can you give us a typical day on the set of White Collar, what you do and everything that goes on?
T. DeKay: The typical day starts very early. You get there and you get your breakfast and then we shoot about anywhere from seven to ten pages a day. We try to, depending on where we are. Sometimes we’re on location; sometimes we’re on the set. For the stages we have the FBI offices, Neal’s apartment, Peter’s apartment, Peter’s home. Sometimes they’ll build something else as well then everything else is on location. So half the day we may be on the stages and then the other half we have to go to some location. Then you’re dealing with these New Yorkers who want to be part of the movie or some cabbie’s mad at you because you’re taking up his street that he’s supposed to be driving down and we’re not supposed to be shooting. It’s a good, exciting 12 to 14-hour day.
It’s gorgeous. It’s amazing how many wonderful locations we’ve been to and how many homes. Every time I walk into one of these homes I just think really, somebody lives here in what looks like a museum? It’s astounding how many gorgeous, six-story homes are right in Manhattan, just astounding.
Q: As a fan of both White Collar and your former show, Carnivale, it’s really nice to see you back on network television. I think it’s really interesting what you said about protectiveness. Your character, Jones, in Carnivale, who coincidentally is very protective of his group, the relationship is kind of similar with Peter’s role with Neal. Having said that, I think that would, with the cliffhanger that it has, is there going to be any sort of disruption with the supporting cast as far as their reaction to what happened, like Mozzie or Elizabeth? Will they be caught up in –?
T. DeKay: That’s a good question. They will become part of that. They will become part of, let me say, not to get any spoilers out there, but they’ll become part of answering that cliffhanger, yes. That’s a good question. Everybody gets involved. It becomes a big family affair.
Q: That’s great because I think one of the things about the show that makes it good is that connection he has with the people in his life; he’s not just contained in his work. I that it’s interesting how he has kind of a darker side, would you say?
T. DeKay: Yes. You’ll see, but to that I think all four characters – Neal, Peter, Mozzie and Elizabeth – as the season progresses you see all four of them mingling together in a certain way. It’s great. I think it’s one of the reasons why the show’s so special; it’s about the characters. The writers always write some very smart procedural, but really, it’s about how these characters are going to solve that crime. Not so much about you want to see the crime solved; you want to see how they’re going to solve it.
Q: How do you think the series would change if roles were reversed, if Matt played the agent and you played the con man?
T. DeKay: I don’t know. We’ve never had that question, I don’t think. When we shot the pilot friends of mine would ask me what I was doing. I would say I’m shooting a pilot about this con artist who helps out this FBI agent solve crimes. Most of my friends would say, “You’re playing the con artist, right?” It would be interesting. That would be fun. You just may have given us an idea for an episode where Neal has to play the FBI agent and Peter has to wear the fedora and be the cool ex con artist. Who knows.
What do I think would happen? Honestly I think parts of the show would be very much the same. It would still be Matt and me working together. You have stumped me on that one. That’s a good one; I’ll have to think more about that. One of the reasons I couldn’t imagine that is because I feel that the two of us, the roles fit us, I believe. We certainly enjoy playing these roles. I’m speechless on that one; I’ll have to think about that and get back to you.
Q: There’s a scene in Tuesday’s episode where you’re actually out trap shooting. I wanted to ask Matt how long he practiced that because we didn’t get to really see you do it. Is there anything coming up at the tail end of the season, anything that sort of takes you out of your element that Peter attempts to do for the first time? We’ve seen Neal have a lot of that kind of fun, but not so much Peter.
T. DeKay: Peter has to go undercover as a massage therapist, chiropractor. That was fun. There’s a bit more action in the second half of the season, but I’ve always enjoyed doing action. I wanted to do skeet shooting. I’d just done it for the first time in Maine this past summer. I was all ready to show the boys how to do it.
Q: Did Matt really take those shots?
T. DeKay: No he didn’t. I’ll say yes; yes he was amazing.
Q: You ratted him out.
T. DeKay: No I didn’t. Matt’s an athlete; he’s a good athlete. I think he used to skeet shoot in Texas. I guarantee you he would have been able to hit them.
Q: Your resume is really impressive and you have worked with a lot of really talented people throughout the span of your career. I was wondering if there is anyone that stands out to you that you thought would be a good guest star for White Collar or maybe what role you could see them potentially filling.
T. DeKay: That’s a great question. That is fantastic and I feel that if I gave you ten people I’d hang up the phone and say oh, my gosh I didn’t mention this person. This person would have been great, let alone all the people that I did theater with. Let me answer this. I go back to actors on Carnivale –.
Q: … play favorites. It’s okay; I won’t tell anyone.
T. DeKay: … you won’t tell anyone; you’ll write it though. It won’t come out of your mouth; it’ll come out of your fingertips onto your computer.
Q: Details, details.
T. DeKay: I’m on to you. I play an FBI agent; I know these things. You can’t get that by me.
Q: Fair enough; I tried.
T. DeKay: You did try. There could be scores of people. That would be a dream of mine to have all these different people that I’ve worked with come and guest star. That would be a dream.
SpoilerTV has just released its latest predictions for the fate of the current television series. A couple of them seem to be old information, but for the most part, this seems correct.
Here’s the transcript from the conference call interview with the most recent cast addition for White Collar, Natalie Morales:
Q: I did want to know something, because they did have a female costar, an FBI agent, in the pilot, Diane, and then she mysteriously disappears, and then you appear as Lauren Cruz. Do you happen to know the dynamics there? Not that I’m complaining, mind you. It was just an interesting change. They got rid of her and then you were sort of her replacement, but I think you play the role much differently than the one who played…
N. Morales: Well, it’s not the same role. It’s a completely different role, and I actually don’t know what exactly went on because that was before I sort of…I think I’ve heard Jeff Eastin, the executive producer, sort of explain that there was a scheduling conflict with the actress. I’m not entirely sure what happened, but I know that Lauren Cruz was always intended to be a completely different role from the Diana character.
Q: You have quite an ensemble of outfits in the first episode. Are we going to see more of your wardrobe?
N. Morales: That particular episode was based around Fashion Week and that’s why there were the fancy dresses, but I believe that Lauren does a lot of undercover work, which is where the different outfits come from, because, basically, if you see her in the office she’s in her button-down shirt and jacket, all FBI gear, but yeah, I think that undercover stuff you’ll see more often. It’s very fun to do because you get to sort of play a different character playing a character so, yes, you know, you’ll see a lot more of that.
Q: I have to say I miss The Middleman so it’s good to see you on TV again.
N. Morales: Oh, well, thank you. I miss The Middleman, too, although this is a blast, but I loved that show as well.
Q: Yes, and you have really short hair now.
N. Morales: Yes, I do. Well, I always kind of had short hair, didn’t I?
Q: It was longer and blacker.
N. Morales: Yes, that’s true. It was a little darker.
Q: What about this particular role brought you to the show?
N. Morales: Well, honestly, I read the pilot and it was one of the best pilots I’ve ever read in my entire life, and I just thought that it was just something I really wanted to be a part of, and I got lucky that I got the role, you know. Everybody behind the project is so completely all about it, and it’s really, really fun and refreshing to have a cast that really gets along, and everybody is great, and it’s just like I couldn’t be luckier, to be honest with you. It’s really, really fun.
Q: You’re surrounded by a lot of handsome men…
Question: Thanks for all of the great news about Chuck and Lost. All of this plus you appreciate Santa Barbara, Smurfs, and constantly give incredible scoop. Thanks so much for being you. Any chance you have White Collar scoop? —Jennifer Ausiello: After all that ass-kissing you just did? You bet I do. In the upcoming Dec. 4 midseason finale, our partners in crime-solving are called onto the case of a missing diamond, only to find Neal at the top of the list of suspects. The winsome swindler tries to clear his name and, in a shocking reveal, finds out he’s not the only one that’s been good at lying. Now tell me what else you like about me. [Source: EW]
Question: Thanks for all of the great news about Chuck and Lost. All of this plus you appreciate Santa Barbara, Smurfs, and constantly give incredible scoop. Thanks so much for being you. Any chance you have White Collar scoop? —Jennifer
Ausiello: After all that ass-kissing you just did? You bet I do. In the upcoming Dec. 4 midseason finale, our partners in crime-solving are called onto the case of a missing diamond, only to find Neal at the top of the list of suspects. The winsome swindler tries to clear his name and, in a shocking reveal, finds out he’s not the only one that’s been good at lying. Now tell me what else you like about me. [Source: EW]
I hope you are watching the new USA drama, White Collar. It’s fresh and fun and has a fantastic cast. One of the great actors for the show is Tiffani Thiessen. She’s a very warm and interesting person and yesterday I got the chance to take part in a conference call interview with her. Here’s what we all talked about:
Q: What made you want to be a part of this show?
T. Thiessen: Ever since I read the script, which has been a little over a year ago now, I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the characters. I fell in love with the show, and more and more, when the cast was brought together, the more excitement I had for the show and wanting to be a part of it. This is really the first time I feel like in my whole entire career which has been over 25, 26 years of doing this that I finally feel like I’m kind of playing a role a little closer to home for me, which is kind of exciting.
Q: Was there instant chemistry when everyone began working together? I know you’re very close working together with Tim and Matt as well.
T. Thiessen: We are, from day one. I of course had met Tim through the testing process of us being put on screen and doing our scenes together, and we had chemistry from day one. I absolutely adore that man and then met Matt, actually, after we had already started shooting the pilot. We actually were on the same flight going to New York to shoot the pilot last year.
Then Willie Garson I actually had known just being in the business for so long. We had met prior, and I’ve always really enjoyed him and loved him, so I was really excited to know that it was actually really kind of a special cast that we were putting together. I couldn’t be more thrilled with everybody I’m working with. It’s really a nice group of people. Being away from home, it makes it so much nicer when you actually like the people you’re working with.
Q: It feels like there’s more to your character than what we’ve seen. I almost feel like maybe she’s hiding something.
T. Thiessen: Oh gosh, I’m so curious to know what you think I’m hiding.
Q: What sort of background can we expect as we move along?
T. Thiessen: I think you’ll start to see background on all of our characters, especially the guys. Surely, this show is definitely the guys’ show. It’s Matt and Tim’s show, and Willie and I definitely play more of a supporting role, but you will definitely see much more of me in the further episodes as you’re coming along. Last week or two weeks ago you saw a little bit more of what I really do for a living and kind of my career, which is really nice to kind of see because we really never saw that in the pilot, and it was something that we kind of came up with actually after we shot the pilot.
They’re definitely putting more of what I do outside of my relationship with Tim into the show a little bit, and that’ll continue on even, hopefully, in seasons from here on out, which hopefully there’ll be five to ten years of White Collar. In general, I can’t give you exact specifics, ideas of what’s going to be happening, but I can promise you you’ll see a lot more of her.
Q: What about any sort of action scenes. Do you get involved in any of the sort of cops and robbers element of it?
T. Thiessen: I don’t think so. It’s really not part of my character and my storyline in this show. Again, I’m definitely a supporting role, especially being that I’m the wife of Tim’s character, but you will see a lot of a triangle in a sense of what I can do and help with Matt’s character as well, especially, I think, when it involves the storyline of Kate. You’ll see that a lot as well.
Q: I’m sure I’m the millionth person to tell you this, but it never gets old. I want to say congratulations on your pregnancy.
I was very happy to get to take part in a conference call interview with Willie Garson, one of the stars of the new drama White Collar. You may also remember him as Stanford from Sex in the City.
He is a very warm, friendly man with a fun and lively conversational style. I’m sure it comes through in the conversation:
Q: What was it about this particular show or about the script that drew you back to TV?
W. Garson: Well, I found the script to be very interesting and very timely. Certainly, we all have been reading about a lot of people figuring out ways to scam and get money for doing nothing, other than figuring out a way to get over on hard working people. So I thought that was a really interesting time for a show like this.
Q: What’s the most challenging aspect of your role?
W. Garson: That’s an interesting question. The most challenging aspect was for me, my characters have always been very showy. This character kind of operates under the radar and that was an interesting difference in many of the characters I’ve played, certainly from Stanford and certainly from NYPD Blue, certainly a little more behind the scenes kind of guy.
Q: I love the show and I like your character. He’s very interesting and even though you call him under the radar, he kind of has a real dynamic, interesting attitude. How much of that character was your invention?
W. Garson: Well, certainly, the reality is when you buy me, you get what you get, so that’s kind of what they’re trapped with is that I’m a little bit of a hambone. But I find that he’s really only quirky and interesting more so when he’s alone with Neal Caffrey played by Matt Bomer. They have a very strong and deep partnership. So I like to say that he’s more the people person and I’m more the quiet, I should be able to fade into the background if there’s anyone else around. That was interesting for me to try to play.
Q: How would you like to see Mozzie develop as a character on the series?
W. Garson: Well, I think what’s happening now is as the scripts are developing, what’s great is that I’m getting the opportunity to fade into any situation. So whether that means hiding behind the caper or pretending to be someone else kind of a lawyer, a cop, a driver or something that someone would just walk by and then the camera knows that I’m actually deeply involved. But the person that we’re dealing with has no idea that I would be an operative in the caper.
Q: Will we be finding out more of the character’s back story and how you originally came to be friends with Neal?
It’s official, folks, I have another show that I love. I just caught it by chance on USA Network last week and I’m already hooked. The show is entitled White Collar and I’ll be following it now on this site too.
Earlier this week, I got a wonderful chance to be involved in a conference call interview with the costume designer for the show. Her name is Stephanie Maslansky and she’s the one responsible for the sexy, glamorous look of the main characters on the show. Here’s the full discussion:
Q: I’d like to know, how much input do the actors have on the costumes that are created for them? Can you talk about that a little bit?
S. Maslansky: Sure. The wonderful thing about working on something dramatic is that the actors do have quite a bit of input and it’s a real collaboration between myself and the actors to come up with the look and pretty much the back-story, as well, of this particular character. We both have different ways of thinking about the character but in the long run, both the actor and I think about the character’s history, where he comes from. There may be some valid information that the writers have come up with in terms of the actors’ history, but often times, a lot of it has to be made up by the actor and myself.
I come with various ideas, the actor comes with various ideas and the first time we meet, we discuss these and we, sort of, feed off of one another. We actually wind up giving each other great ideas about the history of the particular character. That’s how we start to build or create closets, which would then be believable, based on the history of the character. So yes, the short answer is yes. I love getting input from the actors because I think they have a lot of wise things to say about the characters that they’re about to inhabit.
Q: What made you choose the Frank Sinatra look for Neal in the pilot?
S. Maslansky: Well first of all, I need to be honest with you and tell you that I did not do the pilot. The pilot was designed by another designer named Cat Thomas, and I will have done all of the episodes after that, beginning on Friday of this week. Quite honestly, as far as I know, that designer also didn’t come up with that idea. The writer actually came up with that idea.
The writer, whose name is Jeff Easton, I’m sure you know, had it in mind that he’s not a real clothing person but he did have a sense of that era in the late ‘50s/early ‘60s. He knew about Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. He was aware of that particular look and that’s not an era that’s difficult for, say, people in their forties and fifties to reach back and think about because some of us either recall that particular era, or we have parents who were alive during that era and we have old photos to get information from, and we have movies, and that sort of thing. So, it’s not something that we can necessarily not connect to. He appreciated that time, and he appreciated the music, and he appreciated what he saw of the style, and he wanted to work that into this particular character, Neal Caffrey, who in the story also has a very strong idea about style.
