An interview on Daily Telegraph

Matthew Rhys on Brothers and Sisters

The Welsh actor discusses moving from Cardiff to California and starring in the hit US drama series.

By Neil Midgley
Published: 10:37AM GMT 21 Jan 2010

Luke MacFarlane, Matthew Rhys and Marion Ross in the US drama series Brothers and Sisters.

“Security will direct you to the Zorro parking structure,” says the email from the PR, explaining how to get to the set of the hit ABC show Brothers & Sisters. This is a Disney studio lot in Burbank, California: generously landscaped and sun-drenched, with its own gas station and murals featuring Donald Duck. It’s a long way – both literally and metaphorically – from the south Wales childhood of Matthew Rhys.

“I love and embrace the cultural differences,” says Rhys – now almost a California native, after four years’ worth of Brothers & Sisters (shown here on More4). “In some ways, they’re so profoundly different from Britain. In other ways, very similar.”

Rhys plays Kevin Walker, a glossily gay Californian in his mid-thirties, and one of the siblings of the show’s title. He’s sitting in a Disney conference room joshing with actor Luke Macfarlane, who plays his on-screen husband Scotty. Though Rhys’s American accent never slips on-screen, his voice now is straight from the valleys. “When I speak to people from Britain, that’s when I feel like a fake, speaking with an American accent,” he says, slightly sheepishly.

Macfarlane, who hails from Canada, joins in. “Matthew’s also exceptionally talented at all accents,” he says archly.

“Yes. Even neighbourhoods of Canada,” says Rhys.

“Not just neighbourhoods – specific hockey teams,” quips Macfarlane.

The pair’s good-natured off-screen banter is exactly how fans of the show would hope. Brothers & Sisters has no time-travelling cops, no jets crashing on desert islands. It rivets more than 10million American viewers with nothing more than the intertwined stories of one family. Warm, prosperous and sentimental, the show - and its high-octane, often tear-jerking emotion – is kept from descending into soap opera not just by polished scriptwriting, but by a classy cast: Calista Flockhart, Rob Lowe and, crucially, Sally Field as materfamilias Nora Walker. On Facebook, there’s a “Which Walker are you?” quiz – and, quips Macfarlane, “everyone just keeps taking it until they get Nora.”

As British viewers start season four tonight, they will catch up with Kevin and Scotty’s newest storyline: the quest for a baby. “We’re lucky that that storyline is relatively uncharted,” says Rhys. “The whole journey of going about it makes very interesting TV.”

“And so do the different ways one goes about it – adoption versus surrogacy,” adds Macfarlane.

Along with the gay couple on ABC’s new sitcom Modern Family, Kevin and Scotty are blazing a trail for gay parenting on American primetime television. But, says Rhys, he doesn't feel like a “poster child” for gay rights. “The press we’ve had has been very positive,” he says. “A very healthy, very nice response – that what we’re doing is on the right track.”

Macfarlane agrees. “The cultural significance is always surprising,” he says. “We just show up and do the work, and they tell us it’s groundbreaking – but it doesn’t necessarily feel groundbreaking.” Certainly Brothers & Sisters doesn’t trumpet itself as a genre-altering show. It is executive produced by Ken Olin, who appeared on screen as self-obsessed ad exec Michael Steadman in the Eighties-zeitgeist series thirtysomething. Brothers & Sisters reflects a more mature version of the same sensibility, with enviable suburban houses and beautiful knitwear as much on show as Rhys’s American accent.

Rhys himself is evidently having the time of his life. “I feel comfortable here primarily because I think Los Angeles is made up of people who don’t come from here, so you can find kindred spirits very easily,” he says. “It’s a town of gypsies.”

But Rhys has a more versatile CV than some TV actors, having played Dylan Thomas in the 2008 film The Edge of Love – and opposite Kathleen Turner in the West End version of The Graduate. “I definitely want to go back to the theatre. It is hard work, it is repetitive, but it is intensely rewarding,” he says.

His career as a chameleon extends even to talking to journalists. “You play to whatever publication you’re being interviewed by,” he says cheerily. So who is he being today, for The Daily Telegraph. “Upright Tory. Bring back Maggie!” So… does he hunt and shoot and fish? “I do, yes. I actually do! Well, I don’t hunt on horseback. In Wales, it’s a little more practical. It’s vermin control.” As Rhys is called back to the cavernous sound stage, it’s hard not to think: you can take the boy out of Cardiff…

Happy 30th Birthday!!

Happy Birthday!!

Side Dish - 18th Jan.

Side Dish - Scotty's Food Blog from ABC, Brothers & Sisters.

Last night I took my future Baby Mama Michelle (Barack and I have things in common, you know) out for a celebratory dinner at a fantastically unpretentious little restaurant tucked away in the corner of a strip mall. Their menu features a uniquely thoughtful wine list (no booze for Michelle though!) and dishes that have probably been described by adjective-loving food critics as New Southern, artisanal and sustainably-minded fare. Although here's what I think: This place simply rocks! I'm not sure I want to tell you all the name of it for fear of losing my little gem, but for careful readers I promise to pepper this post with subtle hints.

So the thing that hooked me on this place and made me want to write about it here in the first place -- was a little something they call Pig Candy. If you've never heard of it (and I hadn't), Pig Candy is thick strips of smoky bacon covered in brown sugar and broken into bits.

That sounds strange I know, but believe me: this stuff is better than a backstage stage pass to Wicked. (Don't tell Kevin I said that, he would divorce me immediately.) As I enjoyed the Pig Candy with Kevin and Michelle, it started me thinking about all of the other unexpected food combinations I've tried over the years. Some popular, some not so much. Have you ever tried:

- Pumpkin pie filling seasoned with bay leaves
- Watermelon and feta cheese
- Tomato and peanut butter
- Melon and Prosciutto (Of course! Yummmmm.)
- Cantaloupe with chili powder
- Oysters and Raisins
- Apple pie cooked with duck meat
- Strawberries and Balsamic Vinegar
- Nectarines and Basil
- And Justins favorite: French Fries dipped in a vanilla milkshake


As Kevin and Michelle raced to see who could eat more of the Pig Candy (Michelle won) I couldn't help but thinking that our lives are full of these seemingly random pairings. Who would have thought a handsome lawyer would end up marrying an unemployed and homeless cater waiter? Or that the biggest party girl I knew would end up not just as our surrogate, but laughing and joking with my husband. My own grandparents probably would have never thought they would see the day when guys having could have a kid.

SCOTTY'S PIG CANDY
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, 8 slices

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Mix brown sugar, cayenne, and black pepper together in a medium bowl. Add bacon and toss. Line a baking sheet with a wire rack and lay bacon on the rack. Pat any remanding spice mixture on the bacon. Put the baking sheet on the top rack of the oven and bake until crisp, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven to a serving dish and let cool slightly before serving.

If using thick cut peppered bacon, omit the pepper in this recipe.

Brothers & Sisters S4E13

"Run Baby Run"

I actually love his gay owl.

Sometimes Kevin makes me learn clearly that he is his mother's son. I prefer him to be a lawyer.

From the very beginning, I really loved Scotty and I never stopped loving him. Sometimes he is too nice though. Lately he's got more involved with their stories, not only with the Walkers, and it's totally different from the way of involvement in Season 3.

Brothers & Sisters S4E12

"The Science Fair"

Sometimes Kevin annoys me, but I love their chemistry.

Scotty: Don't be weird.

That's hilarious! And I also like the scene where Kevin and Paige are talking and she repeats many times "Because you're gay?", that's also hilarious! I love those scenes.

Side Dish - 11th Jan.

Side Dish - Scotty's Food Blog from ABC, Brothers & Sisters.

"When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." We have all heard that old proverb, but in my case life has recently handed me a truckload of lemons.
Let me just apologize upfront for what historians will probably call the Great Lemon Shortage of 2010. If you live anywhere in the Western Half of the US and have gone to your neighborhood grocery store in the last week, you may have noticed there are no more lemons. It's a mystery that has had farmers scratching their heads. Of course, there is no mystery. There is just Kevin Walker.
You see if you're married to Kevin Walker, when he hands you lemons you DO make lemonade, but then you are faced with a new problem. After you've made more lemonade than you could possibly drink or give away in two lifetimes and you still have lemons lying around, what do you do then?

After gallons of lemonade you can graduate to acres of lemon squares before moving on to other things: Lemon Cheesecake, Limoncello, Lemon Garlic Tilapia, Lemon Sorbet, Lemon and Herb Risotto Cake, Lemon Meringue Pie, Lemon Curd, Lemon-Berry Trifle, Lemon Drop Martinis, Lemon Zucchini Drops, Blueberry Lemon Cakewell, you get the idea. I'm starting to sound like Bubba talking about shrimp on Forrest Gump!

But did you know you can use lemons for other things around the house too?

* Use lemon juice to get the smell of garlic or fish off of your hands.
* Run lemon halves through the garbage disposal to make it smell great.
* Add a teaspoon of lemon juice to dishwashing soap to increase its grease-cutting power.
* Squeeze lemon juice onto a stained cutting board, rub and let stand for 20 minutes to get rid of stains.

Lemon juice also can be used to clean grout, brighten whites when doing laundry and bleach stains from things like tomato soup on dishwasher-safe plastic food containers.
So lets not disregard the wisdom of the"when life hands you lemons" proverb, but lets also expand on its meaning until our laundry is bright white, our grout is clean and our garbage disposal has never smelled better. Because lemonade is always just the beginning.

SCOTTY'S SIMPLE LEMONADE
This is more a guide than a recipe. It's always a 1:1:1 ratio of sugar to water to lemon juice.

Ingredients
1 cup sugar (can reduce)
1 cup water
1 cup lemon juice

3-4 cups of cold water to dilute

Method 1. Make a "simple syrup" by heating the sugar and water together in a saucepan until the sugar completely dissolved.
2. Extract the juice from 4-6 lemons. You want one cup of juice.
3. Combine the juice and simple syrup in a large pitcher. Add 3-4 cups of cold water, depending on the strength you're looking for.
4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before enjoying. If it's too sweet, adjust the flavor with more straight lemon juice and/or water.

Serves 6.

Side Dish - 4th Jan.

Side Dish - Scotty's Food Blog from ABC, Brothers & Sisters.


On a recent trip to our neighborhood grocery store Kevin sarcastically commented as we strolled through the frozen food aisle that perhaps I should consider adding a few frozen entrees to the menu at San Estephe.

"Who doesn't love Salisbury Steak?" he joked, looking at a box featuring two glistening, almost-edible-looking Salisbury Steaks. "And it even comes with dessert, too!" Kevin said, pointing to the brownie on the package.

"Very funny" I muttered, as we proceeded to the deli counter. But it got me thinking -- the TV dinner market must be a multi-million dollar industry and I'm sure those frozen little trays have come a long way since Americans first sat down with Swanson's in front of their TV to watch John Glenn orbit the earth and Jack Paar in color.

Maybe they were worth a second look. In terms of convenience, a TV dinner you can cook in 5 minutes while doing nothing more strenuous than peeling back plastic and stirring once, seems like a no-brainer. We're all short on time. All of our lives are hectic (especially mine over the last few weeks with Kitty's illness!) And, if the pictures on the boxes were to be believed, these dinners might not be so bad after all. And if I can have dinner ready in 5 minutes (with almost nothing to clean up afterwards), I can spend more time with the people I love. I was sold.

So as Kevin considered the difference between Bratwurst and Bockwurst (he loves his sausage), I scooped up a few frozen dinners to taste and review. As I loaded my basket I also got to thinking, with restaurants adding gourmet versions of home-cooked classics to their menus all the time (Mac and Cheese, meatloaf, etc.) maybe I'd find inspiration for one or two new menu items in one of these frozen plastic trays. Maybe Kevin was right about everyone loving Salisbury Steak.

But maybe not.

Below are some of my findings:

Fettuccine Alfredo: Mushy noodles with a side of Nursing Home Vegetables just like Grandma use to make. After she got dementia.

Pumpkin Squash Ravioli: The aroma of autumn in northern Vermont, the taste of a wet sleeping bag. No thank you.

"Healthy" Ham and Cheese Panini: Gummy texture and hot hot hot. I can't tell you what it tastes like for it burned my buds off!

Gold Rush Chicken Pot Pie: This was my top pick by far. The flakey upper crust is a miracle. "There is gold in these here mountains" It, however, had the longest cooking time of any of the meals. And finally we come to it…



Salisbury Steak: This meal featured very eccentric multi-phased cooking instructions: "Cut and remove the plastic around the brownie. Cook. Remove the brownie. Cook some more." I think this kind of contradicts the image of a starving guy looking for food: "Fee Fi Fo Fum, hold on a second until this crappy brownie is done" The main protein of this meal were two truly terrifying Salisbury steak-like meats. Stay away. No one should eat this. It will never be near the menu at San Estephe. In fact, I will cook a meal for any of you who have eaten one of these as my way of exorcising those demons from your system.

So there you have it. We may be able to put a man the moon but the frozen dinner is still mostly gravity-locked. And the idea that these meals are "convenient time savers" really doesn't hold up to me. In fact, watching the Salisbury Steak slowly turn as it cooked, I was reminded of a basic tenet of cooking: Slow food is good food. I believe that cooking a meal is a way of preparing for a moment when time stops.

A fine and balanced forkful should freeze us in time until we finish chewing. So what's the rush? If you take the time to cook, your "food" becomes a "meal" and you get all that time back.

Brothers & Sisters S4E11

"A Bone to Pick"

Before referring the episode, I've got to tell you something. I got the second warning from YouTube, so I might get suspension soon. Actually I wanted to make this episode into two clips, but I was too scared to do it. Because the length of the clip is more than 12 minutes, if it includes Kevin's appearance without Scotty, then I decided to upload only Kevin & Scotty's part.
Anyway I think Scotty has never visited Kevin's new office, so I feel it is fresh for some reason. I know it's Kitty's story, but I want more Kevin & Scotty's scene. And most unbelievable thing is Ryan finally decided to help Walkers. I can't expect how the story will be. There are a lot of things I want to refer about Kitty's illness but it's a little different matter here.