Category Archives: Profiles

Neil Patrick Harris on His Best and Worst Emcee Moments

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Neil Patrick Harris

As he prepared to emcee the Emmys, awards show host extraordinaire spoke with me for this Daily Beast story about his best (and worst) hosting moments from over the years. One of his favorites was the magical opening number to this year’s Tonys:

I have watched a lot of You Tube performances of Harry Blackstone Jr. and his unfortunate halftime show at the Orange Bowl [in 1987] where all the tricks were exposed and everything went terribly wrong. It’s one thing to say, “Sure, I’ll do a magic trick, I’ll be in this box and I’ll reappear over here … I know how to do it,” but then doing it live, you can’t redo it. If you screw it up, everyone knows not only how it was done but it becomes its own disaster footage. So I was more wrought with nerves about that than almost anything in that number. 

I don’t think he’ll do any magic tricks at the Emmys, but you never know!

Neil Patrick Harris on His Best and Worst Emcee Moments

Tom Mison Takes on the ‘Iconic’ Ichabod Crane in ‘Sleepy Hollow’

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At Parade, I spoke with Tom Mison about his new Fox supernatural drama, Sleepy Hollow. He talked about how often the Headless Horseman, who figures prominently in the pilot episode, will be making return appearances:

It’s like in Jurassic Park, where you’ve got the T-Rex—that’s the Headless Horseman—and the T-Rex can roar and do his thing and leave. You know he’s going to come back, and you’ll love it when he’s back, but [in the meantime] we can battle raptors and the things with the fans on their side. Sleepy Hollow: It’s like Jurassic Park! There you go!

Tom Mison Takes on the ‘Iconic’ Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow 

‘Once Upon a Time in Wonderland’s’ Sophie Lowe: ‘I Always Wanted to Be Alice’

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At Parade, I spoke with Sophie Lowe, the star of ABC’s Once Upon a Time spinoff, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. She told me about her approach to playing Alice:

She’s becoming a woman just like I am, so I’m trying to use my own experiences and make it really truthful. I feel like we’re growing up together. But I can’t really fight like she can!

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland‘s Sophie Lowe: ‘I Always Wanted to Be Alice’ 

How Michael J. Fox’s Real Family Life Has Been Worked Into His New Show

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At Parade, I spoke with Michael J. Fox about his new NBC sitcom, The Michael J. Fox Show. He talked with me about how different NBC is now than during his Family Ties days in the ’80s:

I mean, I have NBC beach towels from 1984. So that’s kind of au courant again, which is kind of amazing. I’ve been made to feel that that can actually mean something to NBC, and that means something to me. Certainly I’d like to have an opportunity to help turn the tide at the network. If that doesn’t happen, I’m not going to blame myself, but I’d like to be a part of it.

How Michael J. Fox’s Real Family Life Has Been Worked Into His New Show 

‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s’ Andy Samberg: ‘I Didn’t Think I’d Ever Play a Detective, Even in an ‘SNL’ Sketch’

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At Parade, I spoke with Andy Samberg about his new Fox sitcom, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He told me that he never thought he’d play a detective on a series:

I didn’t even think I’d ever play a detective in a sketch! In my time on [SNL], if there was ever a detective in a sketch it was going to be Bill [Hader] or Jason [Sudeikis]. So it’s awesome.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Andy Samberg: ‘I Didn’t Think I’d Ever Play a Detective, Even in an SNL Sketch’ 

James Spader on His ‘Blacklist’ Character: ‘He’s Going to Make You Feel Very Uncomfortable’

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At Parade, I spoke with James Spader about his new NBC drama, The Blacklist. He told me that his character, Raymond “Red” Reddington, might turn out to not be as bad as he first appears:

I think there’s no question that the audience is going to be wrong about things, [and that] a presumption is going to turn out to be just that. Hopefully just when you’re starting to feel comfortable, he’s going to make you feel very uncomfortable in a startling way. But the opposite is true as well, I think.

James Spader on His Blacklist Character: ‘He’s Going to Make You Feel Very Uncomfortable’ 

Clark Gregg: ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ is the ‘World’s Greatest Midlife Crisis’

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clark gregg

At Parade, I talked to Clark Gregg about rising from the dead — well, at least his alter ego, Agent Phil Coulson, did — to star in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. He told me that he’s still amazed at his good fortune:

I look around at the first couple of episodes we’ve done, whether it’s the flying Corvette or the amazing plane… ABC and Marvel are giving me the world’s greatest midlife crisis, and I don’t even have to pay for it!

Clark Gregg: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Is the ‘World’s Greatest Midlife Crisis’  

Margo Martindale Goes for Laughs in ‘The Millers’: ‘It’s Fun to Be Wild Again’

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The-Millers-Margo-Martindale

At Parade, I spoke to one of my favorite people, Margo Martindale, about her new CBS sitcom The Millers. While most people who know her from her dramatic roles in Justifed and The Americans are surprised to see her doing a multicam sitcom, she told me that it’s a lot harder than it looks:

The thing that’s interesting to me is that so many people applaud actresses who go from comedy to drama, but they weirdly look down on actresses who go from drama to comedy. Comedy’s hard. It takes a lot of muscles to make it look easy.

Margo Martindale Goes for Laughs in The Millers: ‘It’s Fun to Be Wild Again’ 

‘Hostages’ Stars Dylan McDermott, Toni Collette Have All the Answers

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hostages

At Parade, I spoke with Dylan McDermott and Toni Collette about their new CBS drama, Hostages. McDermott admitted to me that he was concerned at first whether the show’s kidnapping premise could be sustained over a whole series:

It’s a concern of everybody’s, but that’s the coolest thing about the show, that people are asking that. Because it means people are paying attention. All the looming questions will be answered, and it will go on for multiple seasons because of those answers.

Hostages Stars Dylan McDermott, Toni Collette Have All the Answers 

How ‘Masters of Sex’ Star Michael Sheen Got ‘Comfortable’ with Sex Scenes

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michael sheen

At Parade, I spoke with Michael Sheen about his terrific new Showtime series Masters of Sex. As he explained, unlike the gratuitous sex scenes on many cable shows, the ones in Masters are there to serve the story:

It’s not that [the story] stops and there’s a sex scene, then we go back to the story; the story is being told through the sex scene. Like the songs in the best musicals, they’re advancing the story. That’s what we’re aiming towards.

How Master of Sex Star Michael Sheen Got ‘Comfortable’ with Sex Scenes