2007

Timothy parle de la série, de ses projets, de ses premiers pas avec la série, comment il doit se concentrer sur son rôle face a James, de la formation qu'il a du prendre avec Maggie, de ces moments avec les autres acteurs hors tournage, de sa vie...

by: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the current projects that you are working on?

A) I am currently on hiatus from the show "Psych," and we're getting ready to shoot our second season in April, which involves moving my family north to Canada. I've had about four months off so far. I have old friends who are run "Jericho," (Carol Barbee, one of our old writers and some others from the show) called me and asked if I'd come there for a few episodes. So, I play a dastardly bastard on that. I am just really getting ready for this coming season of "Psych."

Q) Please tell us about what is going to be new with your character Carlton Lassiter next season on "Psych?"

A) I wish I knew! I have absolutely no idea what they have in store for him. I couldn't tell you! I really hope they expand Lassiter's off duty persona. They started delve in that and who he is. You play a character like that and people immediately think he's a jerk, for a lack of a better term. The fun thing is to go, "Why is he like this? He certainly doesn't think he is a jerk." As the audience got to see, "Oh, he's separated from his wife. Oh, he's really a lonely guy." You start to realize why he is the way he is, which I think is the really fun part. Hopefully, there will be more of that. I hope that he and Shawn will start to expand their nonsense. He's never going to fully embrace Mr. Spencer, but I think it is fun to see those two almost be forced to work together. They have a begrudging respect, which was kind of revealed in a drunken confession where he admitted to admiring Shawn. That's the really fun stuff.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the show?

A) Flat out, because it was the funniest thing that I had read in a long time. When I went in, I just had one scene to audition for. I didn't know the people involved and I didn't know anything about the project, just that I was reading the interrogation scene for the pilot and I knew I was playing a detective. I said, "Ok, I'll put on my dark blue detective suit and go in." Before I even started, they said, "Just so you know, this is not 'NYPD Blue'. If anything, it's more the flavor of 'Moonlighting.'" Right away, that set everything on fire with me. I said, "I know how to do that!" It was one of my favorite shows as a kid. It is that kind of banter, that sort of Preston Sturges silliness, but being taken very seriously was something that really appealed to me. That was my initial reaction, that this was very funny. When I got to meet the cast, James is one of the funniest people I've ever encountered. That was just icing on the cake that I really liked the people I worked with and for. There is nothing bad about the show.

Q) What about your role is challenging?

A) It is challenging keeping a straight face to James Roday. That is what they pay me for. They don't pay me for the acting. They pay me to keep a straight face because that is the hardest work. That to me, is like working in a salt mine. Like I said, he just destroys me every take. We have such similar sense of humor. In fact, we all do! The whole ensemble comes from the same foundation of what we think of funny. We execute it differently, but we all have the same idea of what we like and that's why I think the show works so well. James and I love the same comedians and the same kind of comedy. He just destroys me every take. It is really difficult every take. I am such a bad actor around him, which is hard because I am playing such a straight guy. I am not allowed a crack of a smile and once it starts I can't stop that freight train!

Q) Where does Detective Lassiter's animosity towards Shawn stem from?

A) It's the fact that Lassiter really worked his way up the chain of command and he's very good at what he does. There is a reason why he is head detective as a guy in his mid thirties-ish. He's worked very hard at his game and to see this kid sort of skip his way into his world and start getting successful at it without paying any of the dues pisses him off. He's a dues paying kind of guy. That's why he respects O'Hara [Maggie Lawson] so much, even though she is young she is working her way up. There is a reason why she has gotten to her position at her age and it is because she is a very good detective. I think he has a lot of respect for that, where is with Shawn there is nothing to respect. Other than the fact that, gosh darn it, he keeps coming up with the right answers. On a personal level, any time a Converse wearing, jeans wearing, unshaven little slacker boy comes in and starts messing with his domain it is going to piss him off. It's all Alpha male territory.

Q) What is your most memorable moment from filming?

A) Maggie Lawson and I went to gun training. It wasn't for filming, but sort of a filming experiment. There was a scene where I shoot Hummel like figurines and Maggie and I had been asking the producers to get us some proper gun training so we'd really look like we know what we're doing. There is no gun ranges in the city so you have to drive about an hour and a half to get to a proper gun club. She and I drove out one Saturday afternoon, almost to the Washington state border, to this beautiful outdoor range. To see Maggie, who a petite girl, shoot a sawed off shotgun is a pretty funny thing! She's a very good shot, by the way!  So, that was a great day getting to shoot guns with Maggie Lawson. Also, every time I laugh my ass off and ruin a take is memorable.

Q) What is it like working with such an amazing cast?

A) It's a Godsend! We put in very long hours. I am not working on the docks or in a salt mine, but it requires very specific kind of focus. It is difficult work in its own way. Like I said, comedy is pretty hard. It is a tough nut to crack. We put in very long hours and to get to do that with people you enjoy being around so much is just a really lucky thing. We shoot in Vancouver and it is sort of like being away to Actor Camp because we're all up there (in my case, my family comes with me - my wife, my girls and my dogs) and we don't really know anyone else up there other than the cast. I happen to have a few friends there from other projects, but it tends to make us stick together and hang out together. We see each other on our off hours and it is a sort of testament that we all enjoy each others company. So, if you have people who are stuck together for fourteen hours a day and then they still want to go have a drink after work together or on the weekends, I think that is saying a lot. That is one of the benefits to being out of town is that you get to know each other in a way you wouldn't normally. If we were shooting in LA, I am a busy father of two crazy little girls. We are wrapped up in our lives here so it is nice to go up there and get to spend some time together.

Q) Do you think the chemistry between the cast off of the set helps to translate to the chemistry on set?

A) Absolutely! You get to know each other much more quickly when you are hanging out together in your offset time. It can't do anything, but benefit you on screen. Part of my line of work is being comfortable and being free to let it all flow. The more comfortable you are with your cast it is going to show on screen and I think it does. I think that is why our show clicks so well is because we do know each other so well and get along so well.

Q) You have great comedic timing. Is it something that comes natural to you or is it something that you are constantly working at?

A) I have a pretty specific idea of what I think is funny. Pretty much, I am just ripping off people that I think are funny and have been doing it kind of all my life. My mom and dad watched a lot of movies and I watched a lot of sitcoms growing up. I remember being twelve years old, getting ready for bed, going to say goodnight to my dad (Since it was a school night) and he actually said to me, "You should stay up and watch this movie. I'll give you a hall pass tonight." The movie was The Thin Man with William Powell. From a really early age, I kind of had a specific idea of what I liked and my timing comes from what I think is funny and what makes me laugh. I am constantly mining bits to steal!

Q) Why do fans keep tuning in to the show?

A) I think the characters are very appealing. What I really think it is, is that we are having such a good time making this television show. What you are seeing is real. You are seeing people really enjoying the process, enjoying each other, having a good time and making each other laugh. When the audience tunes in, they're seeing something really genuine. The mountain lion may not have eaten the guy, but we're really having a good time talking about it. I think that is one of the biggest factors. People are very savvy and they can tell when it is not real and people aren't clicking. You can't fake that and I think the audience sees that, enjoys that and wants to come back. I think you really get to feel like you know these people. We're starting a new season and you are getting to know these people more. I think people tune in once a week to see who they are familiar with and you're going on your twelfth date with to get to know them a bit better.

Q) You played Shawn Potter on the beloved show "Judging Amy." Do you keep in touch with any of you former cast mates?

A) I spoke with Tyne and she lives in Manhattan currently. She is living her theater going life that she has always wanted to do. I see her and see Marcus Giamatti every now and then. I get email from Kevin Rahm and Adrian Pasdar and I are in a little bit of contact. Adrian, Kevin and I have been playing some golf. When you are on a show like that for six years, you really make some nice relationships. The lovely thing about that is when you are on a show for six years, beyond the work, is getting to hang out with actors who I happen to like a lot!

Q) What do you do in your spare time?

A) I hang out with my girls a lot, they are two and a half and almost five years old. It's pretty full on dad mode around my house. I golf badly every now and then. I have resigned myself to the fact that I am never going to be a really good golfer until both girls are in school. I am okay with that. That's not a terribly exciting life. It is pretty domestic. I am not jumping out of planes or rock climbing at the moment. I would say I spend most of my off time with my girls. I have an old 63' Falcon Convertible that I tinker around with every now and then. I come from a long line of gear-heads, my dad and brother are big car guys. Not that I have any of their skills, but I mess around with that.

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A) Thank you. It's such a big question because I am so grateful for your support. You are not anywhere unless you have people watching and tuning in. It is because of them that I am able to still do this. In TV, it's not like theater where you get to share in the experience with the audience. Every time I get a letter or someone asking for a picture of something, it's really gratifying that they'll take the time to sit down and write a letter saying they like my work or what I do makes them laugh. That's a really lovely thing and I am grateful and appreciative. Thank you and keep watching, please!

© Starry Mag

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