Luke Macfarlane and Rob Stewart Talk Killjoys Season 1 and 2 with the press during a set visit attended by TV Goodness in February 2016.
Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts
Tuesday, 7 June 2016
Luke Macfarlane and Rob Stewart Discuss Killjoys Season 1 and 2
Luke Macfarlane and Rob Stewart Talk Killjoys Season 1 and 2 with the press during a set visit attended by TV Goodness in February 2016.
Friday, 19 June 2015
Luke Macfarlane On Sexuality and the Sci-Fi Genre In ‘Killjoys’
[Source]
Luke Macfarlane On Sexuality and the Sci-Fi Genre In ‘Killjoys’
By: Jim Halterman on June 19, 2015
Luke Macfarlane does everything right.
First, he grabbed our attention by playing Scotty, the man who stole the heart (and ours) of Kevin (Matthew Rhys) on the drama “Brothers & Sisters” and was part of groundbreaking moments as big as a gay wedding and smaller like just having scenes showing male intimacy, which had typically been something left to viewers’ imaginations.
Then, he popped up guest-starring on shows like “Satisfaction,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Smash” but we all knew we needed the out actor back on our TVs on a regular basis. His recurring role as the war vet/boyfriend to Brendan Fehr’s Drew on NBC’s “The Night Shift” was a step in the right direction but as of tonight we have Macfarlane back in a new series that is something of a departure from what we’ve come to expect from him.
Yes, Luke Macfarlane is now in a science fiction series and he’s playing something of a bad boy. In “Killjoys,” he is D’avin Jaqobis, a futuristic bounty hunter who teams up with his estranged brother (Aaron Ashmore) and the first scene we see him in in tonight’s premiere episode on SyFy he’s in a cage kicking ass…with his shirt off.
Actually, Macfarlane has his shirt off quite a bit in the show, which is something I asked him about when we talked recently about the new show, his love of sci-fi (who knew?) and how sexuality is portrayed in this new world.
On the surface it seems like a really different role for you. Have you done sci-fi before?
Luke Macfarlane: Sci-Fi is definitely new territory for me. Action I have definitely done before but sci-fi made sense for me and I’m quickly learning how an established little group it is. I feel very much like, “Oh, I hope they’ll allow me to sit at their table.”
I think the sci-fi fans are pretty loyal like the LGBT audience. We’re like, “We’ll stand by you no matter what.”
LM: Yeah, but they also might turn on you if you make them upset in any kind of way. [laughs]
Was this the kind of role you were looking for because I’m sure you had a lot of options.
LM: I really, really wanted to do an action show and I really wanted to a sci-fi show, very much. When I read this pilot I was like, “Oh, this is really good.” It was really well written. It takes the genre seriously enough but there’s still a sense of fun to it, this idea. The show doesn’t take itself that seriously [and] it takes its audience members seriously so it was a really delicate touch that I thought was really smart so I was definitely wanting to be part of a show like this.
Can you tell me what exactly a ‘killjoy’ is?
LM: A killjoy is a kind of derogatory term. We’re basically bounty hunters so a killjoy is a kind of derogatory term for a RAC agent. A RAC agent, think of them like black water, it’s a sort of private corporation that exists kind of in the murky areas of the law.
I actually loved the brother relationship just because I feel like that allows you guys to have a lot of extra layers instead of just being bad ass bounty hunters and fighters. How was that for you to play?
LM: I think the brother relationship is really unique and I also think that all of the relationships are. Playing a brother is awesome, especially brothers that are estranged. But then I also love Hannah John-Kamen’s relationship with Aaron Ashmore because they’re best friends and it’s not sexual. We don’t see that where a guy and girl can be friends but they don’t want to have sex with each other. It’s just two people who are friends. I think that’s really realistic and it’s fun. We’re so used to seeing, “It’s a pretty girl and a pretty guy of course they’re going to want to have sex.” I think that’s a really unique relationship. It’s very real.
And your character has a definite edge to him. Can you talk about who this guy is?
LM: We find out that he was actually in the Galactic Army and he left for sort of reasons we don’t know yet and I’m in that prisoner transfer ship when they find me because if you don’t have money it’s very hard to travel across the galaxy so you kind of become a bit of an indentured slave in order to get free passage so it’s less of being a criminal and more of being a cheap ticket across the galaxy.
What is sexuality like in this world? From the first episode I didn’t get a big sense of that or even your character for that matter.
LM: It’s really great. Our showrunner, Michelle Lovretta (who also created the queer-centric “Lost Girl“) is really smart about sexuality and what sexual identity meant. She has very cool opinions on it. The thing I told you about Aaron Ashmore and Hannah’s relationship, that’s a unique sort of sexual relationship in that they’re people that are not having sex but they’re really close. My character could really have sex with whoever he wants and has a very sort of careless relationship to sex. I don’t think he’s gay in any way but I don’t think it would be above him or like anybody in the world to have sex with somebody of the same sex if it was going to get them something that they needed. It’s a very transactional world in that sense.
We go to a bar that we spend a lot of time at where the owner is a transgender person, perhaps. It’s not really spoken of but his clothes suggest that he’s a woman. And there’s also ‘sexers.’ There are these prostitutes that are in the world that are actually very empowered. They don’t work for anybody but themselves and people have sex with them all the time. They work at the bar.
I couldn’t help but notice that your shirt is off a couple of times in the first episode…
LM: Yeah, it became a running joke amongst the group. It’s all in the script and in fact I would actually rather have my shirt put on like, “This is just getting ridiculous,” but yeah.
But you’ve obviously been taking care of yourself and we see you doing some MMA (mixed martial arts) type of fighting. Is that what you were going for or is that something that you were trained in?
LM: Yeah. The fight choreographers do a kind of MMA-style kind of thing and I’ve been interested in boxing for some years now. I’ve always actually taken very good care of body. I don’t tend take my shirt off in my television shows so it was kind of fun to take it off. for the show It does come off a lot in the show. It’s also that hilarious thing of when you’re filming all the time and you just stop eating so it was quite a terrifying thing to always try to be in good shape.
And you can’t go to craft services for a snack too often, right?
LM: [laughs] No, you really can’t!
Are you personally a fan of sci-fi?
LM: Totally. Like growing up, one of the shows that the entire family ate dinner at the table was “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” That was one of the greatest television shows ever and then I’m a fan of “Firefly.” I’ve always loved the genre.
And there’s something nice about the fact that today there are so many gay characters popping up in shows that you wouldn’t call gay-centric but it’s kind of reflective of our world.
LM: Absolutely. It’s been interesting just watching everything with the Supreme Court happening right now and the thing that the media keeps saying over and over and over again is that the attitudes of this country have changed so quickly and so drastically…I heard some statistic today that 30 percent of Americans, in 1997, thought that people of the same sex should get married and now it’s 70 percent. That’s just great.
“Killjoys” airs Fridays at 9pm on SyFy.
Luke Macfarlane On Sexuality and the Sci-Fi Genre In ‘Killjoys’
By: Jim Halterman on June 19, 2015
 |
| Luke Macfarlane stars as D'avin on 'Killjoys.' (SyFy) |
First, he grabbed our attention by playing Scotty, the man who stole the heart (and ours) of Kevin (Matthew Rhys) on the drama “Brothers & Sisters” and was part of groundbreaking moments as big as a gay wedding and smaller like just having scenes showing male intimacy, which had typically been something left to viewers’ imaginations.
Then, he popped up guest-starring on shows like “Satisfaction,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Smash” but we all knew we needed the out actor back on our TVs on a regular basis. His recurring role as the war vet/boyfriend to Brendan Fehr’s Drew on NBC’s “The Night Shift” was a step in the right direction but as of tonight we have Macfarlane back in a new series that is something of a departure from what we’ve come to expect from him.
Yes, Luke Macfarlane is now in a science fiction series and he’s playing something of a bad boy. In “Killjoys,” he is D’avin Jaqobis, a futuristic bounty hunter who teams up with his estranged brother (Aaron Ashmore) and the first scene we see him in in tonight’s premiere episode on SyFy he’s in a cage kicking ass…with his shirt off.
Actually, Macfarlane has his shirt off quite a bit in the show, which is something I asked him about when we talked recently about the new show, his love of sci-fi (who knew?) and how sexuality is portrayed in this new world.
On the surface it seems like a really different role for you. Have you done sci-fi before?
Luke Macfarlane: Sci-Fi is definitely new territory for me. Action I have definitely done before but sci-fi made sense for me and I’m quickly learning how an established little group it is. I feel very much like, “Oh, I hope they’ll allow me to sit at their table.”
I think the sci-fi fans are pretty loyal like the LGBT audience. We’re like, “We’ll stand by you no matter what.”
LM: Yeah, but they also might turn on you if you make them upset in any kind of way. [laughs]
Was this the kind of role you were looking for because I’m sure you had a lot of options.
LM: I really, really wanted to do an action show and I really wanted to a sci-fi show, very much. When I read this pilot I was like, “Oh, this is really good.” It was really well written. It takes the genre seriously enough but there’s still a sense of fun to it, this idea. The show doesn’t take itself that seriously [and] it takes its audience members seriously so it was a really delicate touch that I thought was really smart so I was definitely wanting to be part of a show like this.
Can you tell me what exactly a ‘killjoy’ is?
LM: A killjoy is a kind of derogatory term. We’re basically bounty hunters so a killjoy is a kind of derogatory term for a RAC agent. A RAC agent, think of them like black water, it’s a sort of private corporation that exists kind of in the murky areas of the law.
I actually loved the brother relationship just because I feel like that allows you guys to have a lot of extra layers instead of just being bad ass bounty hunters and fighters. How was that for you to play?
LM: I think the brother relationship is really unique and I also think that all of the relationships are. Playing a brother is awesome, especially brothers that are estranged. But then I also love Hannah John-Kamen’s relationship with Aaron Ashmore because they’re best friends and it’s not sexual. We don’t see that where a guy and girl can be friends but they don’t want to have sex with each other. It’s just two people who are friends. I think that’s really realistic and it’s fun. We’re so used to seeing, “It’s a pretty girl and a pretty guy of course they’re going to want to have sex.” I think that’s a really unique relationship. It’s very real.
And your character has a definite edge to him. Can you talk about who this guy is?
LM: We find out that he was actually in the Galactic Army and he left for sort of reasons we don’t know yet and I’m in that prisoner transfer ship when they find me because if you don’t have money it’s very hard to travel across the galaxy so you kind of become a bit of an indentured slave in order to get free passage so it’s less of being a criminal and more of being a cheap ticket across the galaxy.
 |
| (l-r) Aaron Ashmore, Hannah John-Kamen and Macfarlane. (SyFy) |
LM: It’s really great. Our showrunner, Michelle Lovretta (who also created the queer-centric “Lost Girl“) is really smart about sexuality and what sexual identity meant. She has very cool opinions on it. The thing I told you about Aaron Ashmore and Hannah’s relationship, that’s a unique sort of sexual relationship in that they’re people that are not having sex but they’re really close. My character could really have sex with whoever he wants and has a very sort of careless relationship to sex. I don’t think he’s gay in any way but I don’t think it would be above him or like anybody in the world to have sex with somebody of the same sex if it was going to get them something that they needed. It’s a very transactional world in that sense.
We go to a bar that we spend a lot of time at where the owner is a transgender person, perhaps. It’s not really spoken of but his clothes suggest that he’s a woman. And there’s also ‘sexers.’ There are these prostitutes that are in the world that are actually very empowered. They don’t work for anybody but themselves and people have sex with them all the time. They work at the bar.
I couldn’t help but notice that your shirt is off a couple of times in the first episode…
LM: Yeah, it became a running joke amongst the group. It’s all in the script and in fact I would actually rather have my shirt put on like, “This is just getting ridiculous,” but yeah.
But you’ve obviously been taking care of yourself and we see you doing some MMA (mixed martial arts) type of fighting. Is that what you were going for or is that something that you were trained in?
LM: Yeah. The fight choreographers do a kind of MMA-style kind of thing and I’ve been interested in boxing for some years now. I’ve always actually taken very good care of body. I don’t tend take my shirt off in my television shows so it was kind of fun to take it off. for the show It does come off a lot in the show. It’s also that hilarious thing of when you’re filming all the time and you just stop eating so it was quite a terrifying thing to always try to be in good shape.
And you can’t go to craft services for a snack too often, right?
LM: [laughs] No, you really can’t!
Are you personally a fan of sci-fi?
LM: Totally. Like growing up, one of the shows that the entire family ate dinner at the table was “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” That was one of the greatest television shows ever and then I’m a fan of “Firefly.” I’ve always loved the genre.
And there’s something nice about the fact that today there are so many gay characters popping up in shows that you wouldn’t call gay-centric but it’s kind of reflective of our world.
LM: Absolutely. It’s been interesting just watching everything with the Supreme Court happening right now and the thing that the media keeps saying over and over and over again is that the attitudes of this country have changed so quickly and so drastically…I heard some statistic today that 30 percent of Americans, in 1997, thought that people of the same sex should get married and now it’s 70 percent. That’s just great.
 |
| (l-r) John-Kamen, Ashmore and Macfarlane during the NBC Summer Press Day. (SyFy) |
Monday, 30 June 2014
Interview: Luke Macfarlane - The Backlot
[Source]
Interview: Luke Macfarlane on “The Night Shift,” Gay Military Couples, “Brothers & Sisters” & More
by Jim Halterman | June 30, 2014
If you’ve been watching NBC’s new hospital drama The Night Shift, we’ve heard mention of Rick, the BF of semi-closeted Drew (Brendan Fehr). In this week’s episode we finally get to meet him, and it’s not under the best circumstances.
In the episode, Rick is brought into the hospital for more of a medical than personal reason and Drew is immediately not comfortable having his personal life crash up against his professional life, where he’s tried very hard to keep the fact that he’s gay close to the vest.
Luke Macfarlane plays Rick and the Brothers & Sisters alum talked to TheBacklot about the role, how gay couples in the military handle their relationship, working with Fehr as well as what else he’s been up to. Let’s check in with one of our favorite out actors.
TheBacklot: Where are Rick and Drew in terms of their relationship? They’ve been apart but is it a pretty solid relationship or is it a more tenuous relationship?
Luke Macfarlane: I think they’re pretty solid. I think they’re actually representative of a lot of the military guys that I’m actually friends with in that they have these really clear boundaries about what can and can’t be discussed, but I think that they really value each other and they bond over this sort of separate life that they have together. I think it’s healthy. They definitely vacation, they spend time together. I don’t think necessarily anybody’s bringing them home to meet Mom and Dad, but like I said, it’s really a good representation at least of a few of the gay, military couples that I know that both happen to be enlisted. But I think they’re pretty healthy, other than the distance between them, which technology has made easy.
Being out is still an issue in the military for some, but it sounds like even though ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is gone, it’s still not perfect in the army. Is that how you see it?
LM: You know, it’s such a complicated issue. Frankly, I’m not entirely well-equipped, but I’ll offer some insight. I think that it’s like anybody in the world. It always takes a certain amount of courage to just say, ‘this is what I am.’ People are very reluctant to define themselves. It takes a lot to say, ‘I’m this, I’m that.’ We know it’s okay theoretically to be gay, but sometimes you just don’t want to be known or seen. You want to keep your secrets. We do this in all kinds of aspects of our lives and, especially in the military culture, I found that any sort of expression itself is kind of frowned upon. I mean, they all wear the same thing, they have the same haircut and a lot of them have the same interests, so to say, ‘I’m this,’ is not necessarily a good thing or they’ve been taught that it’s not a good thing if that makes a little bit of sense. That’s my little two cents on it. It’s not that anyone’s going to get kicked out, it’s just it takes a certain stepping outside of the fold that’s not always something they want to do. They want to be with their unit.
We’ve seen on this show, Drew is very bullish and has a lot of rage that he gets out through his mixed martial arts. Do you think Rick kind of balances out that more aggressive side of Drew?
LM: I think that would make sense. I mean, like most couples, he’s sort of the gardener and I think you’re right, I’m sure they balance each other out…I will say this. There might be sort of a role reversal, with Drew as the caretaker. My rage might come out a little bit later [and] Drew might have to sit on his anger for a bit while I deal with mine.
What can you say about working with Brendan and how you guys worked on the relationship between your characters?
LM: Brendan, he’s great. He’s a fellow Canadian. I really enjoyed him. He’s very serious about his work and really enjoys talking about the scenes. I was tremendously impressed with him. He really did his work. Everybody really did their work. I think sometimes you show up on sets and you can just tell that everybody’s a little bit tired. Everyone was just really, really working hard, and Brendan especially. He’s great and very handsome.
It’s funny because people know him from Roswell, and now it’s like, ‘oh, he grew up to be a hunky guy!’
LM: Yes, totally! Isn’t that weird, you know? We watch people grow up on TV. It’s very strange.
Speaking of good-looking guys, you got to work with Scott Wolf on the show, which is exciting.
LM: Yes! Scott Wolf. Another good looking fella. I really liked him too. I actually interacted with him a few years back and it’s always that nice thing when someone really remembers you, and they’re like, ‘oh, yes, Luke, we met when so and so and so and so’ and when someone’s famous like Scott Wolf, you go like, ‘oh really, you remembered me, how nice,’ so it shows good character.
From what you know, will we be seeing more of Rick in the future?
LM: Well, that’s all I’ve filmed to be perfectly honest with you. If the show continues to do well, which I understand it’s doing very well, I think they want to bring me back, and hopefully they can.
I hope so. I liked seeing you on my TV again.
LM: Oh, thank you. I like being on TV. I like being on network TV.
Tell me, it’s been several years since Brothers & Sisters was on the air, but safe to say you still hear from people about the show?
LM: I do, yes. It’s very nice, yes. I had a really nice experience just the other day. I was walking out of an audition with these two other people that I had just been auditioning against, and this lady passed me on the street, and she said, ‘no disrespect to the other two of you, but I just have to say I’m such a huge fan of Luke.’ And I turned to the people beside me, and I said, ‘I swear to God, I didn’t tell her to say that.’
If the right role came along would you want to do another series like Brothers & Sisters or another drama. I know you did a comedy [Satisfaction] last year in Canada.
LM: I did and that was a really fun experience. Yes, I mean, you’re always looking for the opportunity and kind of hoping…we were so blessed with Brothers & Sisters. It was just such a wonderful role for me and such a wonderful cast and show, but yes, I would be very happy to do that and hopefully something comes along, I keep hoping for it.
You’ve played a mix of gay and straight roles. Have you seen a change in the last five or ten years since we have out actors like Neil Patrick Harris playing straight roles? You played a straight role on Satisfaction, for example.
LM: That’s right and I think that that’s why I got into acting, you know, to play all kinds of different roles. Yes, it’s really exciting, and I think the other fields are opening up. I think Michael Sam has been just a fascinating and an amazing thing to watch unfold. Yes, I really do believe it’s easier and I’m so grateful for that. It’s going to make for a better world, a better country, I think.
What would your advice be to a young actor, or not even young actor, but somebody who was out in their personal life but not in their professional life?
LM: Oh, God, Jim, that’s a hard question. It’s so personal. I would say that my education by my family was very special and different and accepting and I don’t know if that is the right thing for everybody, because everybody has different families and different friends and different circumstances. You really just have to figure it out for yourself, I think
What else is going on with you, Luke, besides The Night Shift?
LM: I filmed a new movie for the Hallmark Channel, which is a sort of romantic comedy so I’m excited about that, and I think that’s coming out later in the summer, maybe in August…it’s called The Memory Book. And I have my fingers crossed for another television show.
Anything in the personal life we should know about, any dating or marriages or anything going on?
LM: On marriages and dating, no. You know, Jim, I never talk about my personal life. I’m a healthy and happy guy.
The Night Shift airs Tuesdays at 10pm on NBC.
Interview: Luke Macfarlane on “The Night Shift,” Gay Military Couples, “Brothers & Sisters” & More
by Jim Halterman | June 30, 2014
In the episode, Rick is brought into the hospital for more of a medical than personal reason and Drew is immediately not comfortable having his personal life crash up against his professional life, where he’s tried very hard to keep the fact that he’s gay close to the vest.
Luke Macfarlane plays Rick and the Brothers & Sisters alum talked to TheBacklot about the role, how gay couples in the military handle their relationship, working with Fehr as well as what else he’s been up to. Let’s check in with one of our favorite out actors.
TheBacklot: Where are Rick and Drew in terms of their relationship? They’ve been apart but is it a pretty solid relationship or is it a more tenuous relationship?
Luke Macfarlane: I think they’re pretty solid. I think they’re actually representative of a lot of the military guys that I’m actually friends with in that they have these really clear boundaries about what can and can’t be discussed, but I think that they really value each other and they bond over this sort of separate life that they have together. I think it’s healthy. They definitely vacation, they spend time together. I don’t think necessarily anybody’s bringing them home to meet Mom and Dad, but like I said, it’s really a good representation at least of a few of the gay, military couples that I know that both happen to be enlisted. But I think they’re pretty healthy, other than the distance between them, which technology has made easy.
Being out is still an issue in the military for some, but it sounds like even though ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is gone, it’s still not perfect in the army. Is that how you see it?
LM: You know, it’s such a complicated issue. Frankly, I’m not entirely well-equipped, but I’ll offer some insight. I think that it’s like anybody in the world. It always takes a certain amount of courage to just say, ‘this is what I am.’ People are very reluctant to define themselves. It takes a lot to say, ‘I’m this, I’m that.’ We know it’s okay theoretically to be gay, but sometimes you just don’t want to be known or seen. You want to keep your secrets. We do this in all kinds of aspects of our lives and, especially in the military culture, I found that any sort of expression itself is kind of frowned upon. I mean, they all wear the same thing, they have the same haircut and a lot of them have the same interests, so to say, ‘I’m this,’ is not necessarily a good thing or they’ve been taught that it’s not a good thing if that makes a little bit of sense. That’s my little two cents on it. It’s not that anyone’s going to get kicked out, it’s just it takes a certain stepping outside of the fold that’s not always something they want to do. They want to be with their unit.
We’ve seen on this show, Drew is very bullish and has a lot of rage that he gets out through his mixed martial arts. Do you think Rick kind of balances out that more aggressive side of Drew?
LM: I think that would make sense. I mean, like most couples, he’s sort of the gardener and I think you’re right, I’m sure they balance each other out…I will say this. There might be sort of a role reversal, with Drew as the caretaker. My rage might come out a little bit later [and] Drew might have to sit on his anger for a bit while I deal with mine.
 |
| With Brendan Fehr in this week’s episode of The Night Shift. |
LM: Brendan, he’s great. He’s a fellow Canadian. I really enjoyed him. He’s very serious about his work and really enjoys talking about the scenes. I was tremendously impressed with him. He really did his work. Everybody really did their work. I think sometimes you show up on sets and you can just tell that everybody’s a little bit tired. Everyone was just really, really working hard, and Brendan especially. He’s great and very handsome.
It’s funny because people know him from Roswell, and now it’s like, ‘oh, he grew up to be a hunky guy!’
LM: Yes, totally! Isn’t that weird, you know? We watch people grow up on TV. It’s very strange.
Speaking of good-looking guys, you got to work with Scott Wolf on the show, which is exciting.
LM: Yes! Scott Wolf. Another good looking fella. I really liked him too. I actually interacted with him a few years back and it’s always that nice thing when someone really remembers you, and they’re like, ‘oh, yes, Luke, we met when so and so and so and so’ and when someone’s famous like Scott Wolf, you go like, ‘oh really, you remembered me, how nice,’ so it shows good character.
From what you know, will we be seeing more of Rick in the future?
LM: Well, that’s all I’ve filmed to be perfectly honest with you. If the show continues to do well, which I understand it’s doing very well, I think they want to bring me back, and hopefully they can.
I hope so. I liked seeing you on my TV again.
LM: Oh, thank you. I like being on TV. I like being on network TV.
 |
| Luke Macfarlane and Matthew Rhys in Brothers & Sisters |
LM: I do, yes. It’s very nice, yes. I had a really nice experience just the other day. I was walking out of an audition with these two other people that I had just been auditioning against, and this lady passed me on the street, and she said, ‘no disrespect to the other two of you, but I just have to say I’m such a huge fan of Luke.’ And I turned to the people beside me, and I said, ‘I swear to God, I didn’t tell her to say that.’
If the right role came along would you want to do another series like Brothers & Sisters or another drama. I know you did a comedy [Satisfaction] last year in Canada.
LM: I did and that was a really fun experience. Yes, I mean, you’re always looking for the opportunity and kind of hoping…we were so blessed with Brothers & Sisters. It was just such a wonderful role for me and such a wonderful cast and show, but yes, I would be very happy to do that and hopefully something comes along, I keep hoping for it.
You’ve played a mix of gay and straight roles. Have you seen a change in the last five or ten years since we have out actors like Neil Patrick Harris playing straight roles? You played a straight role on Satisfaction, for example.
LM: That’s right and I think that that’s why I got into acting, you know, to play all kinds of different roles. Yes, it’s really exciting, and I think the other fields are opening up. I think Michael Sam has been just a fascinating and an amazing thing to watch unfold. Yes, I really do believe it’s easier and I’m so grateful for that. It’s going to make for a better world, a better country, I think.
 |
Macfarlane with his Satisfaction co-stars, Ryan Belleville & Leah Renee
|
LM: Oh, God, Jim, that’s a hard question. It’s so personal. I would say that my education by my family was very special and different and accepting and I don’t know if that is the right thing for everybody, because everybody has different families and different friends and different circumstances. You really just have to figure it out for yourself, I think
What else is going on with you, Luke, besides The Night Shift?
LM: I filmed a new movie for the Hallmark Channel, which is a sort of romantic comedy so I’m excited about that, and I think that’s coming out later in the summer, maybe in August…it’s called The Memory Book. And I have my fingers crossed for another television show.
Anything in the personal life we should know about, any dating or marriages or anything going on?
LM: On marriages and dating, no. You know, Jim, I never talk about my personal life. I’m a healthy and happy guy.
The Night Shift airs Tuesdays at 10pm on NBC.
Monday, 8 July 2013
‘Satisfaction's' Luke Macfarlane says his new comedic role is a dream job
[Source]
‘Satisfaction's' Luke Macfarlane says his new comedic role is a dream job
By Sheri Block
Date: 7/8/2013 10:11:00 AM
Luke Macfarlane has studied at Juilliard, starred in countless theatre productions and won acclaim for his dramatic acting in film and television, but the London, ON-native says he couldn’t imagine a better next step than playing a comedic role on “Satisfaction.”
“I really wanted to do a comedy. It was a goal of mine. I want to have a long career and I think the thing you need for that is to have diversity,” says Macfarlane, who previously played a leading role on “Brothers and Sisters” and guest roles on “Person of Interest” and “Smash.”
“It’s been a dream job in so many ways.”
In “Satisfaction” Macfarlane plays Jason, a PhD student in a long-term relationship with Maggie (Leah Renee). Together the couple navigates the challenges of being in a couple and being in their 20s, alongside their single friend and roommate, Mark (Ryan Belleville).
Macfarlane says the show – and the hilarious situations the characters find themselves in – offers a fresh perspective to this often tumultuous time.
“It’s a comedy that feels relevant – it’s a single camera, it’s not a multi-camera, and it doesn’t feel like a throwback to anything. I’m just grateful to try this thing on that I’ve always wanted to try and hopefully be moderately successful at it.”
Though his degree at Juilliard, theatre experience and dramatic roles didn’t train him for acting on a sitcom per se, Macfarlane says there are plenty of transferable skills.
“There’s a lot of comedy in theatre and ‘Brothers and Sisters’ certainly had comedic moments,” says Macfarlane.
Even though there has been comedic elements in everything he has done, “Satisfaction” is the first time Macfarlane’s sole focus has been on making things funny and he says it’s all about not over-thinking things.
“That’s part of comedy. You kind of have to access the softer part of your brain and just look for the joke.
“I don’t do standup like Ryan (Belleville), but I am willing to embrace it.”
In addition to the challenge of working on a comedy series, Macfarlane also enjoys being back in his home country to film the show.
“It’s amazing. This is the first time I’ve lived back in Canada for more than a week in 15 years. I see all my high school buddies, which is helpful for this, too. I went to a bachelor party (recently) and I felt like I was in an episode of this show,” he says with a laugh.
He also likes that the show is not hiding the fact it films in Toronto.
“It’s not some generic ‘anywhere.’ It’s Toronto. We’re not making Don Valley Parkway jokes but we’re not hiding the fact we’re from Canada, which I think is important.”
“Satisfaction” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV. Full episodes are also available online at CTV.ca.
‘Satisfaction's' Luke Macfarlane says his new comedic role is a dream job
By Sheri Block
Date: 7/8/2013 10:11:00 AM
Luke Macfarlane has studied at Juilliard, starred in countless theatre productions and won acclaim for his dramatic acting in film and television, but the London, ON-native says he couldn’t imagine a better next step than playing a comedic role on “Satisfaction.”
“I really wanted to do a comedy. It was a goal of mine. I want to have a long career and I think the thing you need for that is to have diversity,” says Macfarlane, who previously played a leading role on “Brothers and Sisters” and guest roles on “Person of Interest” and “Smash.”
“It’s been a dream job in so many ways.”
In “Satisfaction” Macfarlane plays Jason, a PhD student in a long-term relationship with Maggie (Leah Renee). Together the couple navigates the challenges of being in a couple and being in their 20s, alongside their single friend and roommate, Mark (Ryan Belleville).
Macfarlane says the show – and the hilarious situations the characters find themselves in – offers a fresh perspective to this often tumultuous time.
“It’s a comedy that feels relevant – it’s a single camera, it’s not a multi-camera, and it doesn’t feel like a throwback to anything. I’m just grateful to try this thing on that I’ve always wanted to try and hopefully be moderately successful at it.”
Though his degree at Juilliard, theatre experience and dramatic roles didn’t train him for acting on a sitcom per se, Macfarlane says there are plenty of transferable skills.
“There’s a lot of comedy in theatre and ‘Brothers and Sisters’ certainly had comedic moments,” says Macfarlane.
Even though there has been comedic elements in everything he has done, “Satisfaction” is the first time Macfarlane’s sole focus has been on making things funny and he says it’s all about not over-thinking things.
“That’s part of comedy. You kind of have to access the softer part of your brain and just look for the joke.
“I don’t do standup like Ryan (Belleville), but I am willing to embrace it.”
In addition to the challenge of working on a comedy series, Macfarlane also enjoys being back in his home country to film the show.
“It’s amazing. This is the first time I’ve lived back in Canada for more than a week in 15 years. I see all my high school buddies, which is helpful for this, too. I went to a bachelor party (recently) and I felt like I was in an episode of this show,” he says with a laugh.
He also likes that the show is not hiding the fact it films in Toronto.
“It’s not some generic ‘anywhere.’ It’s Toronto. We’re not making Don Valley Parkway jokes but we’re not hiding the fact we’re from Canada, which I think is important.”
“Satisfaction” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV. Full episodes are also available online at CTV.ca.
Monday, 24 June 2013
Interview: Luke Macfarlane on comedy, sex and getting Satisfaction
[Source]
Jun
24
2013
Interview: Luke Macfarlane on comedy, sex and getting Satisfaction
Posted by Diane Wild
By Adam Langton for TV, eh?
Tonight, CTV's latest sitcom offering Satisfaction will be debuting at 8pm. The show stars Luke Macfarlane and Leah Renee as a loving couple, with comedian Ryan Belleville playing their best friend and roommate. As detailed in the breakdown, Satisfaction is about struggling with the next step. Whether it's committing to a career, a relationship, or living arrangements, it's not easy being a twenty-something when you're torn between your immature past and your potential future. Luke Macfarlane took a few minutes out of his busy press day to chat with me about the show.
First off, I read that you're from London, Ontario. I actually went to grad school there and I was curious: do you ever make it back for any London Knights games?
No, unfortunately not! I've learned a bit about hockey but was never a big hockey fan. My father worked at the University, however. He was actually the director of Student Health Services for almost twenty years.
Oh wow, good for him! Perhaps he and I crossed paths, who knows?
Well that depends, did you have any psychological counselling?
I think we'll save that for off the record. (laughs)
(Laughs) okay!
So with your acting background through Over There and Brothers and Sisters and your recent appearance on Person of Interest, you're well known for your drama chops. I was wondering if switching to comedy came as a relief, or is it a challenge?
Oh it's definitely a challenge. It was something that I really, really wanted to do. I actually had a conversation with my agent after I finished Brothers and Sisters. I said you know, when I look at the actors that I really admire, they've all done their time in comedy. And I really, really, really wanted to do it, so I started reading comedy scripts. I got a lot of responses with people saying “I don't know if we think Luke is funny.” Then, it was a relief when I read this script. Not only did I think it was super, super funny, Tim (McAuliffe)'s script, but they also said “we think you're funny too!” So it's definitely something that is scary and a challenge and I'm learning so much. But if you're going to stay in the business for a long time you have to be willing to do everything.
Sounds like a perfect match. So how is the tone, on set? Is it a lighter and goofier tone than you're used to, even when you're not actually rolling? Or is it business as usual?
It's funny. We do laugh a lot, for sure?there's always laughs on set, no matter what. I will say of this show, the pace at which we film is so fast. We just get through so much material. I have never worked this hard in my life, ever; the hours that I've been keeping… when I was doing other shows in the past, I would come in and do a couple of days a week. This is every single day at the crack of dawn. So that's hard, but laughter is the way that we get through the day.
Tell us a little bit about Jason Howell.
Jason Howell is a PhD candidate in plant genetics … so something that's really exciting to a lot of people, I'm sure (laughs). Tim actually intentionally wanted Tim to have a job that sounded really boring. He kind of is the nerd of the group. I've got this beautiful, beautiful, intelligent, quick-witted girlfriend and I think that we wanted him to be smart on the page and maybe not as smart when it came to more practical matters.
Are you an academic type, like Jason?
I do think I am a bit of a nerd, although it's such a cliche for people to say that now. I think I am a nerd. When I was making my decision of what I wanted to do in life I had a very real interest in going into the sciences. And I applied to the Applied Sciences program at [the University of Toronto] and I also auditioned for Juilliard, and I instead went down the path of acting as I somehow got into Juilliard.
Well I was reading how during the development of Satisfaction there was a heavy emphasis on keeping Jason's relationship with Maggie very much about love ? they didn't want their relationship to be about fighting and bickering. Is that very clear in the script or did you guys have to sort of bring that love to life while shooting?
Leah (who plays Maggie) and I get along so well, so that was really easy. And, although love is not the same as sex, when the show actually starts you find Jason and Maggie goin' at it in a few inappropriate places in the house.
So it's part of the struggle of living with a roommate and how you try to have a private life in the company of somebody else. So that's definitely something present. We want to show that these guys are all really bonded in the problems that they face. It's really easy, Leah and I get along really, really well. And they certainly write us as a very affectionate couple.
Well I think I should post this interview as fast as possible ? tell people about the opening sex scene and make sure that all eyes are on CTV tonight!
I really hope so! I'm really, really optimistic and I have to say, honestly, I've been lucky to be a part of a lot of things but I feel so strongly about the quality of this. I'm really proud that it happens to be Canadian. I've always wanted to come back and work here. I am really, really proud of the show and I hope that everyone else likes it as much as I do.
Jun
24
2013
Interview: Luke Macfarlane on comedy, sex and getting Satisfaction
Posted by Diane Wild
By Adam Langton for TV, eh?
Tonight, CTV's latest sitcom offering Satisfaction will be debuting at 8pm. The show stars Luke Macfarlane and Leah Renee as a loving couple, with comedian Ryan Belleville playing their best friend and roommate. As detailed in the breakdown, Satisfaction is about struggling with the next step. Whether it's committing to a career, a relationship, or living arrangements, it's not easy being a twenty-something when you're torn between your immature past and your potential future. Luke Macfarlane took a few minutes out of his busy press day to chat with me about the show.
First off, I read that you're from London, Ontario. I actually went to grad school there and I was curious: do you ever make it back for any London Knights games?
No, unfortunately not! I've learned a bit about hockey but was never a big hockey fan. My father worked at the University, however. He was actually the director of Student Health Services for almost twenty years.
Oh wow, good for him! Perhaps he and I crossed paths, who knows?
Well that depends, did you have any psychological counselling?
I think we'll save that for off the record. (laughs)
(Laughs) okay!
So with your acting background through Over There and Brothers and Sisters and your recent appearance on Person of Interest, you're well known for your drama chops. I was wondering if switching to comedy came as a relief, or is it a challenge?
Oh it's definitely a challenge. It was something that I really, really wanted to do. I actually had a conversation with my agent after I finished Brothers and Sisters. I said you know, when I look at the actors that I really admire, they've all done their time in comedy. And I really, really, really wanted to do it, so I started reading comedy scripts. I got a lot of responses with people saying “I don't know if we think Luke is funny.” Then, it was a relief when I read this script. Not only did I think it was super, super funny, Tim (McAuliffe)'s script, but they also said “we think you're funny too!” So it's definitely something that is scary and a challenge and I'm learning so much. But if you're going to stay in the business for a long time you have to be willing to do everything.
Sounds like a perfect match. So how is the tone, on set? Is it a lighter and goofier tone than you're used to, even when you're not actually rolling? Or is it business as usual?
It's funny. We do laugh a lot, for sure?there's always laughs on set, no matter what. I will say of this show, the pace at which we film is so fast. We just get through so much material. I have never worked this hard in my life, ever; the hours that I've been keeping… when I was doing other shows in the past, I would come in and do a couple of days a week. This is every single day at the crack of dawn. So that's hard, but laughter is the way that we get through the day.
Tell us a little bit about Jason Howell.
Jason Howell is a PhD candidate in plant genetics … so something that's really exciting to a lot of people, I'm sure (laughs). Tim actually intentionally wanted Tim to have a job that sounded really boring. He kind of is the nerd of the group. I've got this beautiful, beautiful, intelligent, quick-witted girlfriend and I think that we wanted him to be smart on the page and maybe not as smart when it came to more practical matters.
Are you an academic type, like Jason?
I do think I am a bit of a nerd, although it's such a cliche for people to say that now. I think I am a nerd. When I was making my decision of what I wanted to do in life I had a very real interest in going into the sciences. And I applied to the Applied Sciences program at [the University of Toronto] and I also auditioned for Juilliard, and I instead went down the path of acting as I somehow got into Juilliard.
Well I was reading how during the development of Satisfaction there was a heavy emphasis on keeping Jason's relationship with Maggie very much about love ? they didn't want their relationship to be about fighting and bickering. Is that very clear in the script or did you guys have to sort of bring that love to life while shooting?
Leah (who plays Maggie) and I get along so well, so that was really easy. And, although love is not the same as sex, when the show actually starts you find Jason and Maggie goin' at it in a few inappropriate places in the house.
So it's part of the struggle of living with a roommate and how you try to have a private life in the company of somebody else. So that's definitely something present. We want to show that these guys are all really bonded in the problems that they face. It's really easy, Leah and I get along really, really well. And they certainly write us as a very affectionate couple.
Well I think I should post this interview as fast as possible ? tell people about the opening sex scene and make sure that all eyes are on CTV tonight!
I really hope so! I'm really, really optimistic and I have to say, honestly, I've been lucky to be a part of a lot of things but I feel so strongly about the quality of this. I'm really proud that it happens to be Canadian. I've always wanted to come back and work here. I am really, really proud of the show and I hope that everyone else likes it as much as I do.
A Candid Conversation with SATISFACTION Star Luke Macfarlane
[Source]
A Candid Conversation with SATISFACTION Star Luke Macfarlane
By theTVaddict on June 24th, 2013
Good News: BROTHERS & SISTERS star Luke Macfarlane is coming back to television tonight! Bad News: Only those fortunate enough to live north of the 49th parallel [Translation: Canada] will be able to see him. Starring in a new single-camera comedy called SATISFACTION, Macfarlane plays Jason Howell, a twenty-something, who alongside girlfriend Maggie (Leah Renee) and roommate Mark (Ryan Belleville) struggle with the usual things twenty-somethings struggle with. Which is precisely why we were afforded the opportunity to catch up with Marcfarlane on the set of his Toronto shot show early last week to talk about his newest comedic departure and reflect on life during/after BROTHERS & SISTERS. See for yourself, after the jump.
Before we get to your new project SATISFACTION, this TV Addict can't resist delving into the project that turned you into a household name! Did you ever imagine a one-off guest spot on BROTHERS & SISTERS would turn into five years?
Luke Macfarlane: No, it was the kind of great story that you hope for. The creator of the show had known me from another series, so I had met them very early on in the process and originally auditioned for the part of Justin. But since ABC was really in love with another actor [Dave Annable] for that role, they did me a total solid and invited me to come on for this little part that ended up being Scotty. So I came on, did it and it just turned into more and more and more. It was a dream, it really was and I was so very grateful for not just the role, but to the fans. Because I think they had a lot to do with it, responding to my character that led to the Producers bringing me back.
When you're in the midst of shooting a series like BROTHERS & SISTERS, is there time for you and co-star Matthew Rhys to grasp the importance of such a relationship on primetime television?
I don't know if you can ever really feel it, but the writer's took it very seriously and Matthew Rhys and I took the acting of it very seriously. It's always really moving to be stopped on the street. Even two weeks ago at the gym, a guy came up to me, one who you might not think would be a fan of the show and said, “I used to watch that show with my roommates in college and because of that show I was able to come out to them.” I remember thinking… Oh wow… that was not where I was expecting interaction to go!
Well it must happen a lot, because between QUEER AS FOLK and WILL & GRACE, I think BROTHERS & SISTERS did an awful lot in terms of changing people's perceptions about the LGBTQ community.
That's so nice of you say. Nowadays there are so many gay voices on network television now and I like to think Kevin and Scotty's relationship was one of the most authentic and real.
Of course, Hollywood loves to pigeonhole actors. Was proving you could do something different one of the things that attracted you to this latest project?
It's so easy to do one thing, do it well and keep doing it until that one thing dries up. But if you want to stay in this business for an extended period of time you have to do everything. And that was a big part of me wanting to do this project. To see if I could do comedy, which seems to be very popular these days. Also, to play a straight character as well.
Has it been a challenge post-BROTHERS & SISTERS to get casting directors, writers and producers to see you as a straight leading man?
They know they can't say that, but I always felt that. I always felt that it was something I had to fight against and overcome. That said, it's also funny because while BROTHERS & SISTERS was a successful show, it wasn't WILL & GRACE, so I have been able to get by. It was also not a hugely popular show in Hollywood, where people only watch four shows [Editor's Note: Most likely BREAKING BAD, MAD MEN, GAME OF THRONES and HOMELAND!]. I think it will be harder for actors on more popular shows, like those kids from GLEE for instance.
Yourself alongside co-stars Ryan Belleville and Leah Renee are the three faces of this show. Is there pressure that comes with your face on the poster?
It's really terrifying and totally scary but also exactly what I was saying about trying different things. You hope that you can do them successfully and that people will accept you for it. But I don't know, I really have no idea. I know I'm working harder than I've ever worked on any other show. That being said, I feel relieved, from what I've seen, I think the show is funny, so we'll see.
Having presumably started out your career as a struggling actor with roommates, is it safe to assume that you could relate to a show that saw you live with two other people in a cramped apartment?
Totally. Like my character I'm a bit of a nerd! In fact, I love driving and when I was driving across the country to start filming here I spent some time talking to the show's creator Tim McAuliffe where I was telling him that I got a National Park Passport to visit all these National Parks along the way. And Tim was like, “Okay, we're working that into the scripts because that is so corny!.”
BROTHERS & SISTERS had a seemingly endless stream of, well, brothers and sisters, while SATISFACTION features three cast members. What was it like working with Ryan and Leah?
I hated them immediately! [Laughs]. I got along with everyone. It really couldn't have been a better combination. Ryan is stand-up comedian and is really comfortable being the ham, where as Leah and myself play more of the grounded characters. But I feel blessed, because in the past it's not always been the case where you show up on set.
The show has attracted some very high profile guest stars, including MAD MEN's Jessica Pare. What's that been like?
She was lovely and knew Tim [Creator Tim McAuliffe] from back in the day. Jerry O'Connell who was also on our show and was a really hard worker and hilarious. I'm grateful to [Network] CTV because someone has to pay for this and they obviously see value in the show to spend that kind of money on guest stars.
The show's title, SATISFACTION, is somewhat ambiguous. What does it mean to you?
I like that about the show. It feels more like a throwback to those classic comedies where the premise was pretty loose. Think THREE'S COMPANY. Nowadays so many shows have these complex premises like HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER or THE CLASS!
I love that you threw out such a random reference to THE CLASS. A comedy cancelled far before its time!
Well, I loved it and one of my best friends was on that show, but you know pitches, like 100 QUESTIONS, which was a show that didn't last very long is another example of a very specific pitch. And what I love about this show is that it's about these people and what happens to them. SATISFACTION is a title that touches on lots of different themes: Relationships, life, money, food, sex. I think it's broad, but I like that we don't feel trapped down to any concept that often gets in the way of shows.
You seem to be a real fan of television which is nice because it's always disappointing when one interviews actors who don't actually watch!
I love television. As an actor I think it's the medium you want to be in. In a movie some guy may write a beautiful script where you have to somehow find your way into it. With TV shows, the actor gets to really take charge of the character and who he becomes and what his life develops into it. It sort of unfolds in a much more organic way. TV, when it's a good job, see actors working with a family and evolving together.
SATISFACTION is a Canadian shot series. Is there a difference between working in TV North versus South of the border?
The fast answer is no because the technique is the same, but I do have a story from my time spent on Canadian sets which may illuminate a point. I had to come into a costume fitting and I forgot a suit I was supposed to bring and when I came in, the look on the costume department's face was that I completely let them down, like it was a huge f*ck up! Where as in the United States, they would have sent me nine messages, sent someone to pick it up, with the assumption being that the actors are kind of useless. In Canada, they give you more responsibility as an actor and treat you more like a capable human being. There's far less coddling. I might get knocked for saying that but actors in the United States become divas for a reason!
And finally, I can't wrap this interview up without one reference to your brief stint on SMASH! Did you know before signing on the the role that the show wouldn't see a third season?
It would have been nice. but I think I knew the show wasn't coming back. There was always a possibility but it was a nice thing. I've known the Producers for a long time, and the episode director Michael Morris was one of the directors on BROTHERS & SISTERS, so it was really nice to touch base with all those people. I had so much fun working with those people and just to be part, in a tiny way, of what was such a fantastically huge failure was really fun. I loved it.
SATISFACTION airs Mondays at 8PM on CTV in Canada.
A Candid Conversation with SATISFACTION Star Luke Macfarlane
By theTVaddict on June 24th, 2013
Good News: BROTHERS & SISTERS star Luke Macfarlane is coming back to television tonight! Bad News: Only those fortunate enough to live north of the 49th parallel [Translation: Canada] will be able to see him. Starring in a new single-camera comedy called SATISFACTION, Macfarlane plays Jason Howell, a twenty-something, who alongside girlfriend Maggie (Leah Renee) and roommate Mark (Ryan Belleville) struggle with the usual things twenty-somethings struggle with. Which is precisely why we were afforded the opportunity to catch up with Marcfarlane on the set of his Toronto shot show early last week to talk about his newest comedic departure and reflect on life during/after BROTHERS & SISTERS. See for yourself, after the jump.
Before we get to your new project SATISFACTION, this TV Addict can't resist delving into the project that turned you into a household name! Did you ever imagine a one-off guest spot on BROTHERS & SISTERS would turn into five years?
Luke Macfarlane: No, it was the kind of great story that you hope for. The creator of the show had known me from another series, so I had met them very early on in the process and originally auditioned for the part of Justin. But since ABC was really in love with another actor [Dave Annable] for that role, they did me a total solid and invited me to come on for this little part that ended up being Scotty. So I came on, did it and it just turned into more and more and more. It was a dream, it really was and I was so very grateful for not just the role, but to the fans. Because I think they had a lot to do with it, responding to my character that led to the Producers bringing me back.
When you're in the midst of shooting a series like BROTHERS & SISTERS, is there time for you and co-star Matthew Rhys to grasp the importance of such a relationship on primetime television?
I don't know if you can ever really feel it, but the writer's took it very seriously and Matthew Rhys and I took the acting of it very seriously. It's always really moving to be stopped on the street. Even two weeks ago at the gym, a guy came up to me, one who you might not think would be a fan of the show and said, “I used to watch that show with my roommates in college and because of that show I was able to come out to them.” I remember thinking… Oh wow… that was not where I was expecting interaction to go!
Well it must happen a lot, because between QUEER AS FOLK and WILL & GRACE, I think BROTHERS & SISTERS did an awful lot in terms of changing people's perceptions about the LGBTQ community.
That's so nice of you say. Nowadays there are so many gay voices on network television now and I like to think Kevin and Scotty's relationship was one of the most authentic and real.
Of course, Hollywood loves to pigeonhole actors. Was proving you could do something different one of the things that attracted you to this latest project?
It's so easy to do one thing, do it well and keep doing it until that one thing dries up. But if you want to stay in this business for an extended period of time you have to do everything. And that was a big part of me wanting to do this project. To see if I could do comedy, which seems to be very popular these days. Also, to play a straight character as well.
Has it been a challenge post-BROTHERS & SISTERS to get casting directors, writers and producers to see you as a straight leading man?
They know they can't say that, but I always felt that. I always felt that it was something I had to fight against and overcome. That said, it's also funny because while BROTHERS & SISTERS was a successful show, it wasn't WILL & GRACE, so I have been able to get by. It was also not a hugely popular show in Hollywood, where people only watch four shows [Editor's Note: Most likely BREAKING BAD, MAD MEN, GAME OF THRONES and HOMELAND!]. I think it will be harder for actors on more popular shows, like those kids from GLEE for instance.
Yourself alongside co-stars Ryan Belleville and Leah Renee are the three faces of this show. Is there pressure that comes with your face on the poster?
It's really terrifying and totally scary but also exactly what I was saying about trying different things. You hope that you can do them successfully and that people will accept you for it. But I don't know, I really have no idea. I know I'm working harder than I've ever worked on any other show. That being said, I feel relieved, from what I've seen, I think the show is funny, so we'll see.
Having presumably started out your career as a struggling actor with roommates, is it safe to assume that you could relate to a show that saw you live with two other people in a cramped apartment?
Totally. Like my character I'm a bit of a nerd! In fact, I love driving and when I was driving across the country to start filming here I spent some time talking to the show's creator Tim McAuliffe where I was telling him that I got a National Park Passport to visit all these National Parks along the way. And Tim was like, “Okay, we're working that into the scripts because that is so corny!.”
BROTHERS & SISTERS had a seemingly endless stream of, well, brothers and sisters, while SATISFACTION features three cast members. What was it like working with Ryan and Leah?
I hated them immediately! [Laughs]. I got along with everyone. It really couldn't have been a better combination. Ryan is stand-up comedian and is really comfortable being the ham, where as Leah and myself play more of the grounded characters. But I feel blessed, because in the past it's not always been the case where you show up on set.
The show has attracted some very high profile guest stars, including MAD MEN's Jessica Pare. What's that been like?
She was lovely and knew Tim [Creator Tim McAuliffe] from back in the day. Jerry O'Connell who was also on our show and was a really hard worker and hilarious. I'm grateful to [Network] CTV because someone has to pay for this and they obviously see value in the show to spend that kind of money on guest stars.
The show's title, SATISFACTION, is somewhat ambiguous. What does it mean to you?
I like that about the show. It feels more like a throwback to those classic comedies where the premise was pretty loose. Think THREE'S COMPANY. Nowadays so many shows have these complex premises like HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER or THE CLASS!
I love that you threw out such a random reference to THE CLASS. A comedy cancelled far before its time!
Well, I loved it and one of my best friends was on that show, but you know pitches, like 100 QUESTIONS, which was a show that didn't last very long is another example of a very specific pitch. And what I love about this show is that it's about these people and what happens to them. SATISFACTION is a title that touches on lots of different themes: Relationships, life, money, food, sex. I think it's broad, but I like that we don't feel trapped down to any concept that often gets in the way of shows.
You seem to be a real fan of television which is nice because it's always disappointing when one interviews actors who don't actually watch!
I love television. As an actor I think it's the medium you want to be in. In a movie some guy may write a beautiful script where you have to somehow find your way into it. With TV shows, the actor gets to really take charge of the character and who he becomes and what his life develops into it. It sort of unfolds in a much more organic way. TV, when it's a good job, see actors working with a family and evolving together.
SATISFACTION is a Canadian shot series. Is there a difference between working in TV North versus South of the border?
The fast answer is no because the technique is the same, but I do have a story from my time spent on Canadian sets which may illuminate a point. I had to come into a costume fitting and I forgot a suit I was supposed to bring and when I came in, the look on the costume department's face was that I completely let them down, like it was a huge f*ck up! Where as in the United States, they would have sent me nine messages, sent someone to pick it up, with the assumption being that the actors are kind of useless. In Canada, they give you more responsibility as an actor and treat you more like a capable human being. There's far less coddling. I might get knocked for saying that but actors in the United States become divas for a reason!
And finally, I can't wrap this interview up without one reference to your brief stint on SMASH! Did you know before signing on the the role that the show wouldn't see a third season?
It would have been nice. but I think I knew the show wasn't coming back. There was always a possibility but it was a nice thing. I've known the Producers for a long time, and the episode director Michael Morris was one of the directors on BROTHERS & SISTERS, so it was really nice to touch base with all those people. I had so much fun working with those people and just to be part, in a tiny way, of what was such a fantastically huge failure was really fun. I loved it.
SATISFACTION airs Mondays at 8PM on CTV in Canada.
THE TELEVIXEN
[Source]
The Cast & Creator of Satisfaction at the 2013 CTV Upfront
By thetelevixen Published: June 24, 2013
CTV’s new comedy series Satisfaction kicks off tonight at 8pm and I’m excited to check it out. Yes, they’ve had some successful comedies in the past, but none have really clicked for me. Satisfaction has both a cast and a premise that I can relate to as someone who was once in her 20s, living in Toronto, and torn between being a responsible adult and trying to hold on to fun, frivolous youth.
At the 2013 CTV Upfront earlier this month, we met the creator of the series, Tim McAuliffe, and the cast, Luke Macfarlane, Leah Renee and Ryan Belleville. Here’s a little clip of them that includes Macfarlane talking about his shift from dramas like Smash and Brothers & Sisters to a homegrown comedy, and a rundown on some of the amazing guest stars that will be appearing, including Jessica Paré and Gordon Pinsent!
The Cast & Creator of Satisfaction at the 2013 CTV Upfront
By thetelevixen Published: June 24, 2013
CTV’s new comedy series Satisfaction kicks off tonight at 8pm and I’m excited to check it out. Yes, they’ve had some successful comedies in the past, but none have really clicked for me. Satisfaction has both a cast and a premise that I can relate to as someone who was once in her 20s, living in Toronto, and torn between being a responsible adult and trying to hold on to fun, frivolous youth.
At the 2013 CTV Upfront earlier this month, we met the creator of the series, Tim McAuliffe, and the cast, Luke Macfarlane, Leah Renee and Ryan Belleville. Here’s a little clip of them that includes Macfarlane talking about his shift from dramas like Smash and Brothers & Sisters to a homegrown comedy, and a rundown on some of the amazing guest stars that will be appearing, including Jessica Paré and Gordon Pinsent!
Friday, 21 June 2013
'Satisfaction': CTV Comedy Channels 'New Girl' And 'Friends'
[Source]
'Satisfaction': CTV Comedy Channels 'New Girl' And 'Friends'
HuffPost Canada TV | By Bryan Cairns
Posted: 06/21/2013 2:45 pm EDT | Updated: 06/21/2013 3:13 pm EDT
Everyday life can be a hoot and a holler. That philosophy is certainly evident in CTV's new series, "Satisfaction."
Created by Tim McAuliffe ("The Office," "Up All Night," "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon"), the 30-minute comedy follows Jason ("Brothers & Sisters" Luke MacFarlane), his long-term girlfriend Maggie ("The Playboy Club"s Leah Renee), and their bromantic roommate, Mark ("The L.A. Complex"s Ryan Belleville) as they struggle to make ends meet, keep their relationships thriving and their sanity in check while somehow living "harmoniously" under one roof. Naturally, hilarity ensues.
On a sunny Tuesday afternoon in Toronto, a quick tour of the "Satisfaction" studio reveals an apartment, a coffee shop, a store and a pub/bar. There's definitely a "Friends" vibe to the surroundings -- with a dash of "Beverly Hills, 90210" -- considering Jason "Brandon Walsh" Priestley is directing this episode.
Today's first scene finds a snazzily dressed Mark rifling through birthday cards for money to take a girl out on a date. Each empty one is whimsically discarded in the air until he finally hits the jackpot: three dollars. A few takes later, the sequence changes. Jason, wearing a form-fitting green T-shirt and blue denim jeans, frantically speeds by Mark, who is sleeping on the couch.
"There's a mouse in the cupboard," announces Jason.
"I feel like ordering pizza anyway," replies a dazed and groggy Mark.
During a break from their tongue-in-cheek banter, MacFarlane and Belleville sat down with us to discuss comedic chops, relatability, and suppressing their laughter.
HuffPost TV: How does it feel to be back on your home turf, doing a Canadian series?
Luke MacFarlane: Very little of it feels any different than any other show I've done. A set is a set and material is material. We all work on the same thing. It's nice to be near my family again. They are happy about that. I've really enjoyed coming back and the only reason I found this project is I really wanted to do a comedy. My manager was like, "This is the funniest thing I've read." I read it and felt the exact same way.
None of your recent projects has been comedic. What appealed to you about the genre?
LM: The biggest thing I want for my career is to have longevity and the best way to do that is to do everything and not be afraid. The more you limit yourself and what you're comfortable doing, the less opportunities you are going to have. Your ability to stay in the business a long time cuts down. A lot of the actors I really admire have all done comedy and it can be harder. I don't know why exactly. I think there's this whole other aspect of rhythm and the timing of a joke you need to practice.
What excited you about the premise, Ryan?
Ryan Belleville: The thing that drew me to the show was definitely the writing. Being in the U.S. reading tons and tons of comedy scripts every year, it just totally stood out. There's a lot of horrible stuff out there. "Satisfaction" was awesome and it was Canadian. I knew Tim before from the comedy scene. It [the script] was really funny and it takes place in Toronto, and it was shooting in Toronto. I find that appealing as a guy who has a kid in Toronto vs. Los Angeles. The number one thing, though, was it is really funny.
I like doing comedy because everyone needs to laugh. You always have a great time on set. I've worked on dramas before and it can get a little heavy. There's drama here where people are tired and it's really hard. But, generally speaking, we're always laughing and having a good time. Also, you feel good about making people laugh. When people come up and say, "Hey, I saw your show. It was really funny," or "You really made me laugh," it means a lot.
Are you a funny guy?
LM: I don't know. That is to be determined. It's definitely scary. I saw some of my old buddies and they were like, "Of course you're doing a comedy. You always made us laugh." I play more of the traditional straight man in the show, but he has his funny moments.
Can you introduce us to your characters and their circumstances?
LM: Jason Howell is a PhD candidate in plant genetic engineering. I'm smart, but I think it's also very boring. That's part of the charm. I remember Tim saying he wanted to come up with what sounded like the most boring job. I disagree with him because I'm a bit of a nerd, so I think it's interesting. Jason lives with his girlfriend Maggie of about four years, and his best buddy Mark Movenpick from undergraduate school. In school, they were each other's wingman. Mark was always getting into a little more mischief, but they played off each other well. I don't think Mark was able to let go of those college years. He wasn't able to let go of his roommate, so they have this strange relationship where they all live together. Of course, there's that funny thing where we aren't really making any money, so we have to make it work by all living together.
RB: Mark is sort of a third wheel who hijacks everything all the time. They are three friends who get along. It's not like they are always angry at Mark. They are really good friends, but it's at that point in life where they aren't as compatible. Jason and Maggie are trying to focus on being a couple and doing couple things, but they still enjoy having the fun single life and feeling that they're young and can party. I'm the guy who's too deep in that world and can't relate to the relationship life. I'm the single yin to their committed yang.
McAuliffe infused his life experiences into "Satisfaction." Do you identify with your alter-egos?
LM: It's totally universal. There's that time in your life when you get out of college and are figuring out the mysteries of becoming an adult. For me, when I first moved to Los Angeles, I lived with my buddy and his girlfriend, so I can totally relate to that. You're terrified and excited about where life is going to lead you. It's a really interesting time in your life where there's a lot of anxiety about where you're going to go, because you really have no idea whether that's marriage or relationship or work. All that stuff created a great playing field to work in.
RB: I lived in Toronto in a horrible apartment, super-broke. I literally only had Minute Rice to eat and I ate that for a week. I would steal my neighbour's condiments just to put a little bit of soya sauce on my food. I was getting so light and skinny and underweight that girls that I was flirting with would start showing up to bring food to my house. They felt sorry for me, which is totally sweet, but not good to impress a lady. I relate to Mark in that sense of being broke and single, but he is the nth degree of that.
The various sets are reminiscent of "Friends." Are the comedic elements in that wheelhouse or is it more of a dry sense of humour or slapstick or wacky?
LM: The humour is so personal and Tim's sense of humour is really unique. I would be very reluctant to describe or relate it to anything. It's less sentimental than shows of a different era. The humour tends to be a little goofier and we play with time a lot. It's very non-linear storytelling. We flash back in time a lot and sometimes very quickly. I don't know if they'd agree with this, but there's this whole generation that grew up watching "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy," where you can really do anything and are not locked into linear storytelling.
There's touching aspects to Maggie and Jason, but at the core of it, a lot of the humour comes from silly goofy times. We definitely push the envelope too. We obviously can't swear, but you can bleep it out. It's a way of getting around that sort of censorship where everyone knows exactly what is happening. We show pornographic pictures, but we just digitize them. There's stuff like that which is self-conscious in a good, funny way.
RB: It is kind of "Friends" in that the characters are grounded, and it's all about relationships between people you're close to. Tonally, I think it's a lot like a "New Girl." It's a little quirky and fast-paced, but we're not all crazy antics all the time. Probably the most antics-filled episode is the first one where we have a blackout. "Satisfaction" is quite serious at times and Tim really wanted to make people like the characters.
What happens in the premiere about the blackout?
LM: In the first episode, you get thrown into the world madly. We debated what the first episode was going to be. We ultimately went with what takes place during the blackout, which I think a lot of Torontonians can relate to. It's like the world kinda shuts down. How does everyone deal with that? Maggie and Jason are going through a very typical relationship quandary where they are trying to debate who's right. Because they have no Internet to figure out the answer, they go back and forth a little bit. Of course, Mark gets up to some rotten antics.
How do you manage keeping a straight face during filming?
LM: Oh my God. Patrick Thornton makes me crack up all the time. I feel I have so much to learn, so I'm in awe of these comedians. They really do make me laugh.
RB: We crack each other up all the time on set. Especially when you're on hour 13 of the day, something just happens. Me and Pat will be joking around and we can't stop laughing. Then you feel guilty because everyone wants to go home, which only makes you laugh harder.
"Satisfaction" premieres on Monday, June 24 at 8 p.m. on CTV.
See some shows from CTV's Fall 2013 fall lineup below.
'Satisfaction': CTV Comedy Channels 'New Girl' And 'Friends'
HuffPost Canada TV | By Bryan Cairns
Posted: 06/21/2013 2:45 pm EDT | Updated: 06/21/2013 3:13 pm EDT
Everyday life can be a hoot and a holler. That philosophy is certainly evident in CTV's new series, "Satisfaction."
Created by Tim McAuliffe ("The Office," "Up All Night," "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon"), the 30-minute comedy follows Jason ("Brothers & Sisters" Luke MacFarlane), his long-term girlfriend Maggie ("The Playboy Club"s Leah Renee), and their bromantic roommate, Mark ("The L.A. Complex"s Ryan Belleville) as they struggle to make ends meet, keep their relationships thriving and their sanity in check while somehow living "harmoniously" under one roof. Naturally, hilarity ensues.
On a sunny Tuesday afternoon in Toronto, a quick tour of the "Satisfaction" studio reveals an apartment, a coffee shop, a store and a pub/bar. There's definitely a "Friends" vibe to the surroundings -- with a dash of "Beverly Hills, 90210" -- considering Jason "Brandon Walsh" Priestley is directing this episode.
Today's first scene finds a snazzily dressed Mark rifling through birthday cards for money to take a girl out on a date. Each empty one is whimsically discarded in the air until he finally hits the jackpot: three dollars. A few takes later, the sequence changes. Jason, wearing a form-fitting green T-shirt and blue denim jeans, frantically speeds by Mark, who is sleeping on the couch.
"There's a mouse in the cupboard," announces Jason.
"I feel like ordering pizza anyway," replies a dazed and groggy Mark.
During a break from their tongue-in-cheek banter, MacFarlane and Belleville sat down with us to discuss comedic chops, relatability, and suppressing their laughter.
HuffPost TV: How does it feel to be back on your home turf, doing a Canadian series?
Luke MacFarlane: Very little of it feels any different than any other show I've done. A set is a set and material is material. We all work on the same thing. It's nice to be near my family again. They are happy about that. I've really enjoyed coming back and the only reason I found this project is I really wanted to do a comedy. My manager was like, "This is the funniest thing I've read." I read it and felt the exact same way.
None of your recent projects has been comedic. What appealed to you about the genre?
LM: The biggest thing I want for my career is to have longevity and the best way to do that is to do everything and not be afraid. The more you limit yourself and what you're comfortable doing, the less opportunities you are going to have. Your ability to stay in the business a long time cuts down. A lot of the actors I really admire have all done comedy and it can be harder. I don't know why exactly. I think there's this whole other aspect of rhythm and the timing of a joke you need to practice.
What excited you about the premise, Ryan?
Ryan Belleville: The thing that drew me to the show was definitely the writing. Being in the U.S. reading tons and tons of comedy scripts every year, it just totally stood out. There's a lot of horrible stuff out there. "Satisfaction" was awesome and it was Canadian. I knew Tim before from the comedy scene. It [the script] was really funny and it takes place in Toronto, and it was shooting in Toronto. I find that appealing as a guy who has a kid in Toronto vs. Los Angeles. The number one thing, though, was it is really funny.
I like doing comedy because everyone needs to laugh. You always have a great time on set. I've worked on dramas before and it can get a little heavy. There's drama here where people are tired and it's really hard. But, generally speaking, we're always laughing and having a good time. Also, you feel good about making people laugh. When people come up and say, "Hey, I saw your show. It was really funny," or "You really made me laugh," it means a lot.
Are you a funny guy?
LM: I don't know. That is to be determined. It's definitely scary. I saw some of my old buddies and they were like, "Of course you're doing a comedy. You always made us laugh." I play more of the traditional straight man in the show, but he has his funny moments.
Can you introduce us to your characters and their circumstances?
LM: Jason Howell is a PhD candidate in plant genetic engineering. I'm smart, but I think it's also very boring. That's part of the charm. I remember Tim saying he wanted to come up with what sounded like the most boring job. I disagree with him because I'm a bit of a nerd, so I think it's interesting. Jason lives with his girlfriend Maggie of about four years, and his best buddy Mark Movenpick from undergraduate school. In school, they were each other's wingman. Mark was always getting into a little more mischief, but they played off each other well. I don't think Mark was able to let go of those college years. He wasn't able to let go of his roommate, so they have this strange relationship where they all live together. Of course, there's that funny thing where we aren't really making any money, so we have to make it work by all living together.
RB: Mark is sort of a third wheel who hijacks everything all the time. They are three friends who get along. It's not like they are always angry at Mark. They are really good friends, but it's at that point in life where they aren't as compatible. Jason and Maggie are trying to focus on being a couple and doing couple things, but they still enjoy having the fun single life and feeling that they're young and can party. I'm the guy who's too deep in that world and can't relate to the relationship life. I'm the single yin to their committed yang.
McAuliffe infused his life experiences into "Satisfaction." Do you identify with your alter-egos?
LM: It's totally universal. There's that time in your life when you get out of college and are figuring out the mysteries of becoming an adult. For me, when I first moved to Los Angeles, I lived with my buddy and his girlfriend, so I can totally relate to that. You're terrified and excited about where life is going to lead you. It's a really interesting time in your life where there's a lot of anxiety about where you're going to go, because you really have no idea whether that's marriage or relationship or work. All that stuff created a great playing field to work in.
RB: I lived in Toronto in a horrible apartment, super-broke. I literally only had Minute Rice to eat and I ate that for a week. I would steal my neighbour's condiments just to put a little bit of soya sauce on my food. I was getting so light and skinny and underweight that girls that I was flirting with would start showing up to bring food to my house. They felt sorry for me, which is totally sweet, but not good to impress a lady. I relate to Mark in that sense of being broke and single, but he is the nth degree of that.
The various sets are reminiscent of "Friends." Are the comedic elements in that wheelhouse or is it more of a dry sense of humour or slapstick or wacky?
LM: The humour is so personal and Tim's sense of humour is really unique. I would be very reluctant to describe or relate it to anything. It's less sentimental than shows of a different era. The humour tends to be a little goofier and we play with time a lot. It's very non-linear storytelling. We flash back in time a lot and sometimes very quickly. I don't know if they'd agree with this, but there's this whole generation that grew up watching "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy," where you can really do anything and are not locked into linear storytelling.
There's touching aspects to Maggie and Jason, but at the core of it, a lot of the humour comes from silly goofy times. We definitely push the envelope too. We obviously can't swear, but you can bleep it out. It's a way of getting around that sort of censorship where everyone knows exactly what is happening. We show pornographic pictures, but we just digitize them. There's stuff like that which is self-conscious in a good, funny way.
RB: It is kind of "Friends" in that the characters are grounded, and it's all about relationships between people you're close to. Tonally, I think it's a lot like a "New Girl." It's a little quirky and fast-paced, but we're not all crazy antics all the time. Probably the most antics-filled episode is the first one where we have a blackout. "Satisfaction" is quite serious at times and Tim really wanted to make people like the characters.
What happens in the premiere about the blackout?
LM: In the first episode, you get thrown into the world madly. We debated what the first episode was going to be. We ultimately went with what takes place during the blackout, which I think a lot of Torontonians can relate to. It's like the world kinda shuts down. How does everyone deal with that? Maggie and Jason are going through a very typical relationship quandary where they are trying to debate who's right. Because they have no Internet to figure out the answer, they go back and forth a little bit. Of course, Mark gets up to some rotten antics.
How do you manage keeping a straight face during filming?
LM: Oh my God. Patrick Thornton makes me crack up all the time. I feel I have so much to learn, so I'm in awe of these comedians. They really do make me laugh.
RB: We crack each other up all the time on set. Especially when you're on hour 13 of the day, something just happens. Me and Pat will be joking around and we can't stop laughing. Then you feel guilty because everyone wants to go home, which only makes you laugh harder.
"Satisfaction" premieres on Monday, June 24 at 8 p.m. on CTV.
See some shows from CTV's Fall 2013 fall lineup below.
Luke Macfarlane ready for comedy in Satisfaction
[Source]
Luke Macfarlane ready for comedy in Satisfaction
London, Ontario native stars in CTV series debuting June 24 with Leah Renee and Ryan Belleville
By:Bill Brioux Special to the Star, Published on Fri Jun 21 2013
Luke Macfarlane decided that there was just too much drama in his life. So he switched over to comedy.
The London, Ont., native starred for five seasons on Brothers and Sisters, where he played husband to Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys from The Americans), one of the “brothers” on the series.
Before that, he was a modern-day soldier in the front-line drama Over There.
“That was my first television show,” says Macfarlane, a Juilliard grad with off-Broadway credits before landing the FX soldier series. Legendary executive producer Steven Bochco was the showrunner. What could go wrong? Macfarlane could already see himself “on the cover of every magazine.”
Then the series was cancelled after one season. “It really put into perspective how difficult the entire process is and how rare it is to really connect.”
Fortunately, he rebounded straight into Brothers and Sisters and a five-year U.S. network run.
He's hoping for similar luck on his new series, Satisfaction (debuting June 24 at 8 p.m.).The CTV sitcom, created and executive produced by Tim McAuliffe (The Office, This Hour has 22 Minutes), stars Macfarlane opposite Toronto native Leah Renee (The Playboy Club).
They play Jason and Maggie, a frisky young couple who share their downtown apartment with Jason's BBF Mark, played by Ryan Belleville (Almost Heroes). Pat Thornton, Thomas Mitchell, Nikki Payne and 22 Minutes funnyman Mark Critch, as shell-shocked neighbour Gary Breakfast, make up the comedy ensemble.
Between takes on the Toronto set, Macfarlane said he is hoping to emulate the career paths of actors like Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling: “guys who were able to straddle everything,” he says.
Cooper, he points out, went from TV drama (Jack & Bobby) to action shows (Alias) to Broadway before becoming a film star in The Hangover and Silver Linings Playbook.
Macfarlane has been on a similar path. Satisfaction is the 33-year-old's first job back in Canada in ages. “Since I graduated school really,” he says.
The move back to Canada and into comedy couldn't come at a better time, figures Belleville.
The Just for Laughs comedy fest veteran has felt that, for several years, there's been a sitcom “vacuum in Canada.” Like a lot of Canadian performers, he tried his luck in the States, enjoying a short run on the 2005 Fox comedy Life on a Stick, where he worked with fellow Canuck Rachelle Lefevre (Under the Dome).
The Calgary native returned in 2011 to co-write and star in the Showcase comedy Almost Heroes. That failed to stick, but he's optimistic about Satisfaction.
“I feel like there's a renaissance, like when Flashpoint came out and Rookie Blue, and all the networks realized, ‘Oh, we should make dramas' . . . and I feel like, right now, that thing is happening for comedy.”
There does seem to be, if not an explosion, a surge in Canadian comedy production. Besides CBC's Mr. D, City is producing two sitcoms: Seed (like Mr. D, shot in Halifax) and the fall four-camera sitcom Package Deal, starring Harland Williams. Besides Satisfaction, CTV has the shot-in-Toronto sitcom Spun Out, which stars Dave Foley as the head of a PR firm. The comedy will join their schedule sometime next season.
Macfarlane says he's impressed that CTV is “trying to create a comic voice that also feels really contemporary and urban. We've seen comedies out of Canada featuring “rural dwellers,” he says, not naming Corner Gas. He likes that both Satisfaction and Spun Out are set in the city.
Renee says she's ready for her comedy close-up, too, and enjoying this cast. “Luke and Ryan are like my brothers. We've been joking around and hanging out all day.”
The series is based on McAuliffe's real-life experience sharing a city apartment with a couple while he tried to make it as a comedy writer.
Jessica Pare, who guests later in the season, used to crash on the couch of that apartment, long before her Mad Men success. Other guest stars include Andy Kindler, Gordon Pinsent and Jerry O'Connell. Jason Priestley and Mike Clattenburg (Trailer Park Boys) are among the directors.
Belleville's character is pretty much based on McAuliffe. His advice to the actor: “You need someone incredibly funny to play me, so don't even try.”
As for Macfarlane and Renee, Critch says not only do they have the comedy chops, they're perfectly cast as romantic leads.
Quips Critch: “They're attractive enough for American television.”
Luke Macfarlane ready for comedy in Satisfaction
London, Ontario native stars in CTV series debuting June 24 with Leah Renee and Ryan Belleville
 |
BELL MEDIA PHOTO
Ryan Belleville as Mark Movenpick, Leah Renee as Maggie Bronson and Luke Macfarlane as
Jason Howell in CTV's Satisfaction, which debuts June 24 at 8 p.m.
|
By:Bill Brioux Special to the Star, Published on Fri Jun 21 2013
Luke Macfarlane decided that there was just too much drama in his life. So he switched over to comedy.
The London, Ont., native starred for five seasons on Brothers and Sisters, where he played husband to Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys from The Americans), one of the “brothers” on the series.
Before that, he was a modern-day soldier in the front-line drama Over There.
“That was my first television show,” says Macfarlane, a Juilliard grad with off-Broadway credits before landing the FX soldier series. Legendary executive producer Steven Bochco was the showrunner. What could go wrong? Macfarlane could already see himself “on the cover of every magazine.”
Then the series was cancelled after one season. “It really put into perspective how difficult the entire process is and how rare it is to really connect.”
Fortunately, he rebounded straight into Brothers and Sisters and a five-year U.S. network run.
He's hoping for similar luck on his new series, Satisfaction (debuting June 24 at 8 p.m.).The CTV sitcom, created and executive produced by Tim McAuliffe (The Office, This Hour has 22 Minutes), stars Macfarlane opposite Toronto native Leah Renee (The Playboy Club).
They play Jason and Maggie, a frisky young couple who share their downtown apartment with Jason's BBF Mark, played by Ryan Belleville (Almost Heroes). Pat Thornton, Thomas Mitchell, Nikki Payne and 22 Minutes funnyman Mark Critch, as shell-shocked neighbour Gary Breakfast, make up the comedy ensemble.
Between takes on the Toronto set, Macfarlane said he is hoping to emulate the career paths of actors like Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling: “guys who were able to straddle everything,” he says.
Cooper, he points out, went from TV drama (Jack & Bobby) to action shows (Alias) to Broadway before becoming a film star in The Hangover and Silver Linings Playbook.
Macfarlane has been on a similar path. Satisfaction is the 33-year-old's first job back in Canada in ages. “Since I graduated school really,” he says.
The move back to Canada and into comedy couldn't come at a better time, figures Belleville.
The Just for Laughs comedy fest veteran has felt that, for several years, there's been a sitcom “vacuum in Canada.” Like a lot of Canadian performers, he tried his luck in the States, enjoying a short run on the 2005 Fox comedy Life on a Stick, where he worked with fellow Canuck Rachelle Lefevre (Under the Dome).
The Calgary native returned in 2011 to co-write and star in the Showcase comedy Almost Heroes. That failed to stick, but he's optimistic about Satisfaction.
“I feel like there's a renaissance, like when Flashpoint came out and Rookie Blue, and all the networks realized, ‘Oh, we should make dramas' . . . and I feel like, right now, that thing is happening for comedy.”
There does seem to be, if not an explosion, a surge in Canadian comedy production. Besides CBC's Mr. D, City is producing two sitcoms: Seed (like Mr. D, shot in Halifax) and the fall four-camera sitcom Package Deal, starring Harland Williams. Besides Satisfaction, CTV has the shot-in-Toronto sitcom Spun Out, which stars Dave Foley as the head of a PR firm. The comedy will join their schedule sometime next season.
Macfarlane says he's impressed that CTV is “trying to create a comic voice that also feels really contemporary and urban. We've seen comedies out of Canada featuring “rural dwellers,” he says, not naming Corner Gas. He likes that both Satisfaction and Spun Out are set in the city.
Renee says she's ready for her comedy close-up, too, and enjoying this cast. “Luke and Ryan are like my brothers. We've been joking around and hanging out all day.”
The series is based on McAuliffe's real-life experience sharing a city apartment with a couple while he tried to make it as a comedy writer.
Jessica Pare, who guests later in the season, used to crash on the couch of that apartment, long before her Mad Men success. Other guest stars include Andy Kindler, Gordon Pinsent and Jerry O'Connell. Jason Priestley and Mike Clattenburg (Trailer Park Boys) are among the directors.
Belleville's character is pretty much based on McAuliffe. His advice to the actor: “You need someone incredibly funny to play me, so don't even try.”
As for Macfarlane and Renee, Critch says not only do they have the comedy chops, they're perfectly cast as romantic leads.
Quips Critch: “They're attractive enough for American television.”
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Wednesday, 16 January 2013
Matthew Rhys On New Role: "This Couldn't Get Any Different From Dear Old Kevin"
[Source]
Matthew Rhys On New Role: "This Couldn't Get Any Different From Dear Old Kevin"
Posted by Jim Halterman, Entertainment Reporter on January 16, 2013
We watched him for years on Brothers & Sisters, but actor Matthew Rhys has a new role that is worlds apart from his long-running role as gay brother Kevin Walker. In FX’s new spy thriller The Americans, the Welsh actor plays Phillip Jennings, husband to Felicity alum Keri Russell’s Elizabeth and living in 1981 suburbia with their two kids.
What we find out in the pilot episode (airing January 30th), however, is that Phillip and Elizabeth are Soviet KGB agents who have spent the last fifteen years pretending to be Americans.
To find out more about the new series and, of course, glean some of his thoughts on his B&S past, AfterElton grabbed a few minutes with the uber-friendly (and dreamier-than-ever) Rhys at Fox’s recent Television Critics Association All-Star party.
AfterElton: Obviously this is very different from your last TV gig. Was this role a big adjustment for you, or did you just jump right in?
Matthew Rhys: That was an enormous draw. It’s an actor’s dream, really, to play a wide variety of parts and this couldn’t get any different from dear old Kevin.
AE: We miss Kevin, but this is such a good role, too!
MR: Yes! It was perhaps a dream to step into something so wildly varied.
AE: You and Keri have a great chemistry but it’s complicated how your characters were thrown together for their mission. Is there love between the two of them?
MR: I think what makes it interesting in the beginning with the pilot is you’ve clearly been watching this forced marriage evolve over fifteen years. At the point we meet them you see that there are real emotions coming into play which I think sets off for an interesting journey.
AE: Is it safe to say it was those layers to the characters that drew you in more than the action elements?
MR: It was exactly that. I think it’s wonderful that this concept at its heart is a spy thriller but, as you said, I think it’s far deeper and more complex than that because of the relationship element to it.
AE: How are you with the guns you get to use on the show? Was that tough to get used to?
MR: All that I find is like being twelve years old running around in your garden again. You fit straight back into it! You’ve drilled those things a million times in your head through your boyhood, and all of a sudden you’re acting it out!
AE: What do you hope audiences take from watching The Americans?
MR: I think it’s a type of show that a boyfriend and girlfriend can watch together and they’ll both be rewarded.
AE: You were playing a gay character for a long time and obviously it hasn’t hurt your career. Looking back, that was a very mainstream show and audiences loved it and Kevin.
MR: I’m incredibly, incredibly proud of that and most specifically what Jon Robbie Baitz set out to do. He was incredibly strong about this. [Kevin] is not to be defined by his sexuality and no coming out story. He’s the lawyer brother who happens to be gay. The other thing, and I’ve been asked so many times, were you scared to be pigeonholed, which I find mildly offensive in some way because I don’t really even know what that means. But the fact that this project came along, I hope disproves that slightly odd theory, which I always find strange.
The Americans premieres on FX on January 30th ET at 10pm.
Matthew Rhys On New Role: "This Couldn't Get Any Different From Dear Old Kevin"
Posted by Jim Halterman, Entertainment Reporter on January 16, 2013
 |
| Matthew Rhys in FX's The Americans |
We watched him for years on Brothers & Sisters, but actor Matthew Rhys has a new role that is worlds apart from his long-running role as gay brother Kevin Walker. In FX’s new spy thriller The Americans, the Welsh actor plays Phillip Jennings, husband to Felicity alum Keri Russell’s Elizabeth and living in 1981 suburbia with their two kids.
What we find out in the pilot episode (airing January 30th), however, is that Phillip and Elizabeth are Soviet KGB agents who have spent the last fifteen years pretending to be Americans.
To find out more about the new series and, of course, glean some of his thoughts on his B&S past, AfterElton grabbed a few minutes with the uber-friendly (and dreamier-than-ever) Rhys at Fox’s recent Television Critics Association All-Star party.
AfterElton: Obviously this is very different from your last TV gig. Was this role a big adjustment for you, or did you just jump right in?
Matthew Rhys: That was an enormous draw. It’s an actor’s dream, really, to play a wide variety of parts and this couldn’t get any different from dear old Kevin.
AE: We miss Kevin, but this is such a good role, too!
MR: Yes! It was perhaps a dream to step into something so wildly varied.
AE: You and Keri have a great chemistry but it’s complicated how your characters were thrown together for their mission. Is there love between the two of them?
MR: I think what makes it interesting in the beginning with the pilot is you’ve clearly been watching this forced marriage evolve over fifteen years. At the point we meet them you see that there are real emotions coming into play which I think sets off for an interesting journey.
Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys are married KGB agents on The Americans
AE: Is it safe to say it was those layers to the characters that drew you in more than the action elements?
MR: It was exactly that. I think it’s wonderful that this concept at its heart is a spy thriller but, as you said, I think it’s far deeper and more complex than that because of the relationship element to it.
Rhys (here with B&S co-star Luke MacFarlane) never saw playing a gay role as a negative.
AE: How are you with the guns you get to use on the show? Was that tough to get used to?
MR: All that I find is like being twelve years old running around in your garden again. You fit straight back into it! You’ve drilled those things a million times in your head through your boyhood, and all of a sudden you’re acting it out!
AE: What do you hope audiences take from watching The Americans?
MR: I think it’s a type of show that a boyfriend and girlfriend can watch together and they’ll both be rewarded.
AE: You were playing a gay character for a long time and obviously it hasn’t hurt your career. Looking back, that was a very mainstream show and audiences loved it and Kevin.
MR: I’m incredibly, incredibly proud of that and most specifically what Jon Robbie Baitz set out to do. He was incredibly strong about this. [Kevin] is not to be defined by his sexuality and no coming out story. He’s the lawyer brother who happens to be gay. The other thing, and I’ve been asked so many times, were you scared to be pigeonholed, which I find mildly offensive in some way because I don’t really even know what that means. But the fact that this project came along, I hope disproves that slightly odd theory, which I always find strange.
The Americans premieres on FX on January 30th ET at 10pm.
Friday, 28 September 2012
THEATER REVIEW: Luke Macfarlane stars in “Sam Bendrix At The Bon Soir”
[Source]
THEATER REVIEW: Luke Macfarlane stars in “Sam Bendrix At The Bon Soir”
Jean Lowerison - SDGLN Theater Critic
September 28th, 2012
Bartenders spend their working hours listening to tales of love,
loss and desertion. But it’s not often that a bartender is the
storyteller.
It’s a cold, snowy night in Greenwich Village and barkeep Sam Bendrix (Luke Macfarlane) has decided to leave New York. On this, his last night, he gets a chance to provide the entertainment and tell his story.
Keith Bunin’s “Sam Bendrix At The Bon Soir” is the third in La Jolla Playhouse’s “Without Walls” theater series of off-campus productions. Martini’s Above Fourth in Hillcrest is the location (the first time an actual bar has been used) for the show that has already been extended through Oct. 17. Mark Rucker directs.
It’s pre-Stonewall 1958, a time when even talking about being gay could lead to unpleasant consequences, and doing more might mean loss of job or even life.
Backed up by a boffo three-man combo on piano (Charlie Reuter), bass (Kevin Cooper) and percussion (Danny King), the closeted Sam sings nearly 20 songs and tells the sad “Story of My Life,” beginning with his father’s desertion and ending with another unhappy event.
Sam describes childhood with his single mom in Nebraska, where “the landscape is so flat, you can watch your dog run away for five days.” It was here that his mom gave him a cello and encouraged him to sing.
After the war, he goes to New York, where he meets the no-nonsense Helene from Joliet, Ill. (“It’s the biggest maximum-security prison in the country. And there’s a jail.”), who becomes his best gal pal. When he mentions he’d like to sing, she advises him to work in a bar and take it from there.
The other major person in Sam’s New York life is Joel, also closeted and fearful of exposure, who brings both joy and sadness for Sam.
Macfarlane, perhaps best known for his work as Scotty on the TV series “Brothers & Sisters,” is a convincing actor, but his too-cautious approach to singing gets in the way of connecting with the audience. It’s a pity, because many of the songs – by the likes of Kurt Weill, Cole Porter and George Gershwin – are classics.
Still, the band is great, the martinis are strong, and where better for a show like this than a nice Hillcrest bar?
The details
"Sam Bendrix At The Bon Soir" plays through Oct. 17 at Martinis Above Fourth, 3940 Fourth Ave., Suite 200, Hillcrest.
Monday through Wednesday at 7:30 pm; Saturday at 2 pm; Sunday at 2 and 7:30 pm.
For tickets, call 858-550-1010 or visit HERE.
To read more reviews by SDGLN Theater Critic Jean Lowerison, click HERE.
THEATER REVIEW: Luke Macfarlane stars in “Sam Bendrix At The Bon Soir”
Jean Lowerison - SDGLN Theater Critic
September 28th, 2012
 |
Photo credit: J. Katarzyna Woronowicz
Luke Macfarlane of "Brothers & Sisters"
fame stars in Keith Bunin’s “Sam Bendrix
At The Bon Soir.”
|
It’s a cold, snowy night in Greenwich Village and barkeep Sam Bendrix (Luke Macfarlane) has decided to leave New York. On this, his last night, he gets a chance to provide the entertainment and tell his story.
Keith Bunin’s “Sam Bendrix At The Bon Soir” is the third in La Jolla Playhouse’s “Without Walls” theater series of off-campus productions. Martini’s Above Fourth in Hillcrest is the location (the first time an actual bar has been used) for the show that has already been extended through Oct. 17. Mark Rucker directs.
It’s pre-Stonewall 1958, a time when even talking about being gay could lead to unpleasant consequences, and doing more might mean loss of job or even life.
Backed up by a boffo three-man combo on piano (Charlie Reuter), bass (Kevin Cooper) and percussion (Danny King), the closeted Sam sings nearly 20 songs and tells the sad “Story of My Life,” beginning with his father’s desertion and ending with another unhappy event.
Sam describes childhood with his single mom in Nebraska, where “the landscape is so flat, you can watch your dog run away for five days.” It was here that his mom gave him a cello and encouraged him to sing.
After the war, he goes to New York, where he meets the no-nonsense Helene from Joliet, Ill. (“It’s the biggest maximum-security prison in the country. And there’s a jail.”), who becomes his best gal pal. When he mentions he’d like to sing, she advises him to work in a bar and take it from there.
The other major person in Sam’s New York life is Joel, also closeted and fearful of exposure, who brings both joy and sadness for Sam.
Macfarlane, perhaps best known for his work as Scotty on the TV series “Brothers & Sisters,” is a convincing actor, but his too-cautious approach to singing gets in the way of connecting with the audience. It’s a pity, because many of the songs – by the likes of Kurt Weill, Cole Porter and George Gershwin – are classics.
Still, the band is great, the martinis are strong, and where better for a show like this than a nice Hillcrest bar?
The details
"Sam Bendrix At The Bon Soir" plays through Oct. 17 at Martinis Above Fourth, 3940 Fourth Ave., Suite 200, Hillcrest.
Monday through Wednesday at 7:30 pm; Saturday at 2 pm; Sunday at 2 and 7:30 pm.
For tickets, call 858-550-1010 or visit HERE.
To read more reviews by SDGLN Theater Critic Jean Lowerison, click HERE.
Saturday, 22 September 2012
Jazz 88 - Inside Art
[Source]
Inside Art
Host:Dave Drexler
I missed recording this air, so I borrowed the audio from yinyang077. Thanks.
Inside Art
Host:Dave Drexler
I missed recording this air, so I borrowed the audio from yinyang077. Thanks.
Thursday, 20 September 2012
KUSI.com - KUSI News Luke's interview
[Source(http://www.kusi.com/video?clipId=7742847)-deleted]
Luke Macfarlane stars in "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir"
Last Modified: Sep 20, 2012 3:56 AM
Luke Macfarlane stars in "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir"
Last Modified: Sep 20, 2012 3:56 AM
Friday, 22 June 2012
Friday, 18 November 2011
Luke and Keith Bunin was on Pittsburgh TODAY
Luke Macfarlane and Keith Bunin was on Pittsburgh TODAY on the 16th of November.
Original clip was posted on facebook.
Saturday, 26 February 2011
CineTeleRevue Interview
26/Feb/2011
Luke Macfarlane : "Une série peut aider à changer les mentalités"
© TF1
Célèbre pour son rôle de Scotty Wandell dans "Brothers & Sisters", diffusé tous les jours sur TF 1, Luke Macfarlane est aussi connu pour être l'ami à la ville de Wentworth Miller.
Grâce à la série, vous êtes reconnu dans le monde entier. Cela vous fait-il peur ?
Non, car je suis encore très loin d'être une star ! J'en suis seulement à mes débuts. " Brothers & Sisters ", c'est en quelque sorte un pas sur le chemin pour devenir une célébrité.
Pourquoi avoir accepté le rôle de Scotty Wandell ?
Eh bien, d'abord, il fallait que je trouve un travail. (Rires.) Lors d'une conversation avec le producteur de la série qui est un ami, il m’a demandé de rejoindre l’équipe. Au départ, je pensais que c’était pour cinq épisodes.
Et l’aventure continue encore aujourd’hui...
Oui, et j’en suis le premier étonné !
Etonné ? Votre personnage fascine les téléspectateurs, non ?
Certainement. Comme je dis souvent, à la télévision, on utilise pas mal de choses de soi-même. Pourtant, Scotty a plus de patience que moi et beaucoup plus d’ennuis. (Rires.)
Comment expliquez-vous le succès de " Brothers & Sisters " en Europe ?
Ça parle de grandes familles et, sur ce continent, c’est toujours important. Cela reste populaire.
Vous avez fait votre coming out lors d’une interview en 2008. Depuis, la presse people ne cesse de vous " fiancer " à Wentworth Miller (" Prison Break ")... Ça vous agace ?
Sachez une chose : je ne parle jamais de ma vie privée. Et pour répondre à votre question, non, je n’en ai pas marre.
Le mariage gay n’est toujours pas toléré aux Etats-Unis. Comprenez-vous ce blocage ?
Tout d’abord, je trouve génial que des pays comme la Belgique, l’Espagne et le Canada acceptent l’union entre deux personnes du même sexe. Je pense que les USA le feront aussi un jour, mais cela prendra un peu plus de temps. Nous espérons pouvoir faire avancer plus vite les choses avec des séries comme " Brothers & Sisters ".
Avez-vous remarqué un changement depuis l’arrivée de Barack Obama à la présidence ?
Oui, mais il faut savoir qu’il a une tâche très lourde et beaucoup de choses à réaliser. Mais je crois sincèrement qu’il va aider la communauté homosexuelle.
On annonce moins d’épisodes dans la prochaine saison. Est-ce un signe que « Brothers & Sisters »est en danger ?
Je ne sais pas. Deux éléments sont essentiels aujourd’hui pour la survie d’un feuilleton télévisé : « Est-ce que ça va marcher ? Les chiffres d’audience seront-ils bons ? » Ce que je peux vous dire, c’est que certains acteurs ne reviendront pas. La série sera même très différente !
Cela se passe bien avec Calista Flockhart, votre partenaire ?
J’adore Calista ! C’est une de mes actrices favorites ! C’est très agréable de travailler avec elle. Je vous avoue que j’étais intimidé lors des premiers tournages, car c’est une grande star... Elle est quand même mariée à Harrison Ford ! (Rires.) Mais j’ai vite découvert que c’était quelqu’un de très simple et humble.
Calista, Rob Lowe, Sally Field... Avec autant de célébrités dans la série, n’y a-t-il pas des disputes comme sur le plateau de « Desperate Housewives » ?
Non, non. Nous connaissons tous les bonnes manières. (Rires.) Nous nous entendons très bien depuis le début. Nous sommes même devenus des amis et profitons souvent d’une soirée pour nous retrouver dans un restaurant. Il n’y a donc pas de conflits.
Retrouvez l’intégralité de l’interview dans Ciné-Télé-Revue du 24 février 2011.
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Luke & Emily Interview
Quelle est votre série préférée ?
--What is your favorite?
Vos meilleurs moments sur la série ...
--Your best moments on the series
Comment voyez-vous l'évolution de votre personnage ?
--How do you change your character?
Que va-t-il se passer dans la saison 5 ?
--What will happen in the sason 5?
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Luke Interview
SCOTTY DEVAIT-IL RESTER SI LONGTEMPS ?
--Scotty did he stay so long?
UN AUTRE SCOTTY?
--Another Scotty?
SCOTTY ET SES PARENTS...
--Scotty and his parents...
LA REPRESENTATION DE L'HOMOSEXUALITE A LA TELEVISION
--The representation of homosexuality on television
PAS DE CENSURE ?
--No censorship?
VOUS AVEZ CHANTE DANS LE FINAL DE LA SASION 4
--You sing in the final 4 sasion
UNE SCENE FAVORITE DANS LA SAISON 4 ?
--A favorite scene in season 4?
UN PESONNAGE PREFERE DANS LA SERIE?
--A favorite character in the series?
LA SAISON 5 SERA-T-ELLE LA DERNIERE ?
--Season 5 will be the last?
OVER THERE ...
--OVER THERE ...
L'ACTEUR LE PLUS HOT DE 2010 SELON AFTER ELTON
--The hottest actor of 2010 according AfterElton
VOS SERIES FAVORITE?
--Your favorite series?
Sunday, 24 October 2010
An article from SX News
An article [source]
Beam me up, Scotty: Luke Macfarlane
25 October 2010When it comes to gay characters and storylines, Brothers and Sisters is among the select few that gives them prominence on mainstream television. And this is thanks, in large part, to out actor Luke Macfarlane.
The relationship between Kevin Walker and Scotty Wandell on Brothers and Sisters, one of the best-rating dramas on American television, has arguably been a watershed for gay rights. Their courtship, intimacies and eventual wedding have played out in millions of lounge rooms around the world. As Kevin and Scotty prepare to have a baby, Canadian actor Luke MacFarlane, who plays Scotty, talks about his character, the politics of the show, and craft of acting.
It's been a pretty interesting year for Brothers and Sisters. Talk about what stands out to you with regards to the storyline.
I guess this year was a big storyline for us with this, kind of, 'How do two men have a baby?' story, which I think is an important area. And they've been taking their time with it and addressing the details really carefully so [I'm] really, really impressed with that story line and the boldness of [US network] ABC going out there and telling their story.
Certainly something big was playing out back in the US with regards to the politics and everything too.
Yes, absolutely. Totally. Well, there seems to always something terrible happening to the gays in the media, so ... there's always some big story about it. Actually, I remember hearing this controversy when Adam Lambert who was refused an interview or something like that. Do you remember the story too?
Yeah. I remember the season of American Idol and also following up, yes.
Right. And I remember listening to some talk radio program and they were saying the "ABC and the news media coverage, they're not letting Adam Lambert go on and it is just a shame, it's awful". And I felt like calling him in and saying, "ABC has these incredible gay story lines that are being represented in both Brothers and Sisters and Modern Family".
Do you guys feel like a certain sense of responsibility because you are on the front lines with that particular kind of topical theme that's happening?
Sure. I mean, everybody takes their storylines really seriously, so yeah, in some sense I think we're doing good things. I was actually friendly with one of the lawyers that was responsible for this new federal case which is trying to overturn some of the legislation at federal level of proposition 8. And he said that quite often, Brothers and Sisters was used as a conversation pointer, that it was a sort of good representation of a gay healthy couple to others. That was encouraging.
How long do you think that it will be for gays who want to ever really be something accepted by everyone?
Who knows? You know, all you can continue to do is look forward and generally, politically speaking, all political movements kind of move towards inclusion, so we'll see it one day.
Has it restricted you in terms of your career?
Sure, absolutely. I mean, one never knows. I've been fortunate enough to be on a show that's lasted for more than three episodes, which is not often the case in television. So, there's certainly concern about what life will bring after, but, you know, life's short. Then you die.
Are there any other projects looming that you'd like to work on?
I began in the theatre and that's always been my passion. I went to Juilliard and started in New York, so actually, right before we go back to work, I'm going to New York to work on a musical which is new for me. And it's actually a one-man musical.
A one-man musical? Excellent. Singing and dancing?
No, no dancing. I cannot dance. I wish I could. So, this is something that a good friend of mine has written and he's a fantastic writer and I've done his plays before and hopefully this will have a life of its own, and I can go right from Brothers and Sisters to my touring one-man show.
This is quite a different thing.
It is, yes.
What kind of emotion you have in one side and then the other one?
Well, the theatre is great. I mean it is really the actor's medium. Television is the producer's medium and film is the director's medium. So, I think actors love going back to the theatre so they can kind of get back to a little bit of the control.
And do you know Scotty very well?
I'm getting to know him better. It took me a little bit of a while to get to know him, but I think I started off in a very different place than I ended up now. But that's part of the joy of getting to figure a character out over a long period of time.
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