Category Archives: Profiles

Life After Deaths: Sean Bean on ‘Game of Thrones’ Paternity and ‘Legends’

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Spoiler alert about Sean Bean’s acting career: He dies. All the time. And he does so spectacularly well.

That lede for my Daily Beast profile on Sean Bean pretty much says it all. But for a man who has been killed 20-plus times on screen — so many that even Bean himself has trouble remembering them — the actor was remarkably chipper as we sat down to discuss his new TNT drama, Legends. As I wrote,

Spending time with Bean is somewhat disconcerting after seeing him play so many somber, doomed roles. His infectious smile is permanently plastered on his face, and he punctuates most sentences with laughter, emotions that are foreign to almost all of his characters over the years. The actor talked, and laughed, about life after onscreen death, his toughest death scene to film, the time he almost died for real—and why we may not have seen the last of him on Game of Thrones.

Can’t stress enough how happy this guy is, and how delighted he was to talk about Game of Thrones (he really wants to figure out a way for Ned Stark to return!).

Life After Deaths: Sean Bean on ‘Game of Thrones’ Paternity and ‘Legends’

Everything Will Be Awesome if Will Arnett is in ‘Lego Movie’ Sequel

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Sorry, Christian Bale and Michael Keaton, but Will Arnett’s version of Batman (he voiced the Caped Crusader in The Lego Movie) is my favorite cinematic take on it yet.

At TCA summer press tour, I spoke again with Arnett, this time for Today.com, about The Lego Movie — and how his kids are just as obsessed with it as everyone else’s are.

“My kids are super into it too, nonstop,” said Arnett, who voices Batman in the hit film. “In fact, a couple of mornings ago, my son got into my bed at 6 a.m., turned on my iPad, and started watching ‘The Lego Movie.’ So I woke up to ‘Everything is awesome!’ and was like, ‘Oh my God!’”

We also spoke about the upcoming Lego Movie sequel, which he’s not yet signed for, and the second season of his sitcom The Millers.

Everything Will Be Awesome if Will Arnett is in ‘Lego Movie’ Sequel

‘Sharknado 2’ in Winter: Has the Franchise Jumped the Shark?

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I can’t remember too many nights of TV that I enjoyed more last year than watching Sharknado last July 11, along with seemingly all of Twitter. Even Syfy was shocked by the social media tsumani that ensued, so it’s no surprise that they’re hoping to replicate it again this summer with Sharknado 2: The Second One. At The Daily Beast, I spoke with stars Ian Ziering and Tara Reid, director Anthony C. Ferrante and writer Thunder Levin (in interviews I conducted at TCA summer press tour) about the first film’s unlikely success, and the attempt to over-the-top themselves with the sequel. As I wrote,

The cast and crew also bristle whenever someone describes Sharknado as “campy,” insisting that one of the secrets to its success is that everyone involved is playing it straight. “That’s the brilliance of Anthony, because he made sure that there was never a moment where anybody would break the fourth wall. No one’s feeling better than this material. No one’s winking, like, ‘Hey, we both know…’ We took it all seriously,” says Ziering, who has now embraced the franchise to the point where he refers to the films as “S1” and “S2.” “If you put yourself in that situation, it’s lethal, and there’s really nothing funny about this. So even the most ridiculous lines have to be said earnestly. But if you step outside and you’re watching, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, did he just say there are flaming sharks flying out of the air? It sounds ridiculous!’”

Adds Ferrante, “The magic to the movie is that you have everybody play it straight, unless they’re intentional comic relief like Judd Hirsch or Judah. If everybody’s taking it seriously, that’s where it’s funny. And the fact that Matt Lauer gives a war cry before he kills the shark, and he does it with conviction, that’s just gold.”

The first Sharknado was set in L.A. and its sequel is in New York City, so where should the third film be set? I asked the cast and crew, who have some pretty intriguing ideas.

‘Sharknado 2’ in Winter: Has the Franchise Jumped the Shark?

‘Phineas and Ferb’ Pilot Disney’s Premier Voyage into ‘Star Wars’

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When you have two young kids, you’re subjected to a lot of awful children’s TV shows. But there are a few diamonds in the rough: a very limited number of programs that are even more entertaining to parents than they are to kids. And Disney’s Phineas and Ferb is at the top of that list. On the heels of last summer’s successful Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel, the show’s creators, Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, have taken on an even more ambitious crossover: Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars.

While I was in L.A. for TCA summer tour, the pair invited me to their offices (which, not surprisingly, is packed with super-cool Phineas and Ferb swag), where I talked to them for this Daily Beast profile. Among many other things, they explained how they pull off that rare feat of appealing to both parents and kids:

That’s because Povenmire and Marsh emulated the Chuck Jones formula of layering their shows with jokes that viewers will appreciate even more as they grow older. “When we watched them again in high school and college, you catch all these other levels of humor,” says Povenmire. “To me, that’s the best thing. The kids who are watching Phineas today will see it again with their kids someday, and they’ll get a whole other level of jokes that they didn’t get before.”

Adds Marsh, “We tell the guys, ‘You’re not writing kid jokes. Write funny jokes.’ You can never go wrong betting on the kids being smarter than everybody gives them credit for. Never. If we just did jokes that went over the kid’s heads, that would be a problem, but trust me, the next one we tell is going to be stupid. We’re going to follow it with a song called, ‘Squirrels in My Pants.’ You can guarantee that following the joke about existentialist trading cards will be a classic piece of slapstick.” Povenmire interjects, “Kids love jokes about Nietzsche. They eat that stuff up.”

Povenmire and Marsh also talked how Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars is “perfectly accurate” with the events of the original Star Wars (which unfold in the background), the future of Phineas and Ferb and which Disney-owned property they hope to tackle next.

‘Phineas and Ferb’ Pilot Disney’s Premier Voyage into ‘Star Wars’

Tony Goldwyn Tackles Political Scandal Again on ‘The Divide’

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There are lots of actors in Hollywood who become white hot, and then quickly flame out and are never heard from again. But very few get a second chance to grab the spotlight, which is why Tony Goldwyn — who rocketed back to stardom thanks to Scandal — is making the most of his comeback. In addition to starring in (and directing episodes of) Scandal, he also has co-created his first series, The Divide, on WE tv. I profiled Goldwyn at The Daily Beast, where he talked about juggling both shows, what’s next for President Fitz on Scandal and the joy of becoming a “sex symbol” at 54.

Out of the blue, to be hot again and have this resurgence and become this leading man in my 50s, this sex symbol… [Laughs]. He’s just a very sexy character and women dig him, and it’s given me all these opportunities now. And it gives me, frankly, leverage in my other projects. It’s awesome! But also, I have a sense of humor about it because it’s a moment that won’t last, so I’m just trying to have as much fun and be as creative as I can while this Scandal train is on the tracks. And it’s wonderful.

He also had a very funny story when I asked about something I’d been wondering about for months: what it was like shooting the last season of Scandal while trying to disguise Kerry Washington’s pregnancy.

Goldwyn was a terrific interview. I could have talked to him for hours!

Tony Goldwyn Tackles Political Scandal Again on ‘The Divide’

Allison Janney’s Incredible ‘Double O’ and That ‘Masters of Sex’ Love Scene

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I cannot resist a dual Emmy nominee! At The Daily Beast, I spoke with Allison Janney, who this week was nominated for two Emmys — supporting actress in a comedy for Mom, and guest actress in a drama for Masters of Sex — and will likely win both of them. She and I spoke just hours after she received the happy Emmy news, and while we touched on that, we spent most of our conversation discussing her bravura return to Masters of Sex in tonight’s Season 2 premiere.

She was unsurprisingly in great spirits, and had this to say when I reminded her that last month she called her dual Critics Choices wins (for the same two roles) “the climax of my career,” and asked how two Emmy nominations compare.

[Laughs] I should have said, “Well, this is certainly a climax!” I didn’t mean to say that this was going to be it, because I plan on doing a lot more in my life. But it’s an incredible feeling to have a double O—a double orgasm!

Janney also talked about juggling Mom and Masters, when we’ll next see her on Masters of Sex (you’re not going to like her answer!) and why she refuses to take a vacation.

Allison Janney’s Incredible ‘Double O’ and That ‘Masters of Sex’ Love Scene

‘The Good Wife’s’ Christine Baranski on Life After Will Gardner’s Death

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The Good Wife fans are still reeling from the show’s shocking March 23 episode, in which Will Gardner (Josh Charles) was gunned down in court. And while Charles, Julianna Margulies, and showrunners Robert and Michelle King have given several interviews about the devastating twist, I’d yet to hear from Christine Baranski, who has been equally stellar in the aftermath of Will’s death. I talked to her for this Daily Beast profile about her “breathtaking” year, hoping against hope that Charles would change his mind about leaving the show and the trauma of shooting those emotional episodes as her character, Diane Lockhart, coped with Will’s loss:

Even a seasoned pro like Baranski wasn’t been prepared for what was required of her in those episodes. “I’ve done so much comedy and I’ve done drama now, but I’ve got to be honest, never in my career have I been called upon to do that kind of work in front of the camera,” she says. “It was hard, but what a privilege to be able to go to that place of deep, deep sorrow and pain and trauma.”

There’s lots more from Baranski, on juggling The Good Wife last fall while also shooting the movie adaptation of Into the Woods and how she’ll decompress after such an emotional roller coaster this season. Robert and Michelle King also spoke about how deftly Baranski pulled off her character’s darkest, and lightest, moments this spring.

‘The Good Wife’s’ Christine Baranski on Life After Will Gardner’s Death

‘Turn’ Star (and New Dad!) Jamie Bell on Sleepless Nights with Wife Evan Rachel Wood

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At Parade, Jamie Bell spoke with me (back at TCA winter press tour) about his new AMC Revolutionary War drama Turn, fatherhood, the hardest thing about period acting and how he avoided the usual pitfalls that plague child actors as they grow up:

 “I can only speak for myself, really. I was fortunate to have a really good manager who kept me very grounded, [as well as] my family, my mom especially. I was just working all the time. I didn’t really have time to go off the rails in that way. I’m sure I did it in my teenager kind of ways, but I wasn’t publicized. I wasn’t a Disney kid, I wasn’t Bieber, I didn’t have the attention of the world on my shoulders. I did for a second and then I just went and did a bunch of work, and started to live an actor’s life. You go from one to the next to the next to the next. In that regard, I was lucky that the focus wasn’t so heavy on me. I don’t really know another way around it. Just having really good, solid people around you that you trust.”

Turn Star (and New Dad!) Jamie Bell on Sleepless Nights with Wife Evan Rachel Wood

Alyson Hannigan Crosses Fingers for Third Show as ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Signs Off

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How I Met Your Mother signs off tonight after nine seasons on the air. I spoke with Alyson Hannigan for this piece at Today.com, where she talked about her next movie: shooting a CBS sitcom pilot, More Time With Family.

“I’ve been incredibly blessed that I’ve gotten two wonderful shows, but when I signed onto this, this was a hybrid show. It was going to be partially pre-taped, and partially in front of an audience,” Hannigan, 40, said of “Mother,” which ended up being entirely shot without one. (The laugh track is added in later.) “Well, we’ve yet to have the audience! So my next one is definitely an audience multi-cam.”

Alyson Hannigan Crosses Fingers for Third Show as ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Signs Off

James Van Der Beek on Playing an M.D. and the Chance of a ‘Dawson’s’ Reunion

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Who is “Walter Scott,” and why does he keep taking credit for my interviews? (I kid. Mostly.) At Parade, James Van Der Beek talked to me (from an interview back at TCA winter press tour) about his new CBS sitcom, Friends with Better Lives, the chances of a Dawson’s Creek reunion and what happened the last time he played a doctor on TV:

“I was in the last 10 episodes of Mercy on NBC. I came in for the last 10, and the ratings went up a tick but it wasn’t enough. The show got canceled [and] they used my picture: “James Van Der Beek’s Mercy…” and I was like, “Wait a minute! I wasn’t even in the pilot! How is this my show all of a sudden?”

 James Van Der Beek on Playing an M.D. and the Chance of a ‘Dawson’s’ Reunion