Category Archives: Parade

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

james-spader-parade

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’

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’

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

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

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 

Fall’s Top 10 New Shows

fall top 10 new shows

At TCA summer press tour in July/August, I spent a lot of time speaking to the stars of fall’s most anticipated series — including several of my favorite freshman shows, like The Blacklist, Masters of Sex and Brooklyn Nine-Nine — for this Parade roundup of Fall’s Top 10 New Shows. Look for more extended Q&As with each star in the weeks ahead.

Fall’s Top 10 New Shows