Whether you call it a drama, a bromance or a dramedy, White Collar has it’s share of action, suspense. giggles and good-looking men- and the guys (and girls) are back Tuesday Night 1/19 @ 10 PM on USA NETWORK.
Here’s a transcript and also a podcast of the interview that I was part of last week.
Our first question’s from Courtney Golden from SmallScreenScoop.com; please go ahead.
C. Golden This question is for both of you. It seems that both Neal and Peter seem to toe the line between right and wrong on the show, especially after seeing the cliffhanger in your fall finale. My question is what types of real life shenanigans have you gotten yourselves into that you can draw inspiration from?
M. Bomer Tim, do you want to go?
T. DeKay I know we only have a little under an hour so I won’t be able to go through all of my real-life shenanigans. That’s a good question.
M. Bomer I snuck my brother’s car out of the driveway in the middle of the night and was trying to run over trash cans with it. I was 16 and I got a flat tire and literally tried to go to the gas station to put air back into it. It was nothing but shredded rubber and the rim. I came home and by the time I got home the rubber from the tire was literally slapping on the concrete so loud the entire neighborhood – my dad was waiting for me at the door and my license was revoked for quite some time. I wouldn’t say that I have the same kind of criminal savvy that Neal does.
T. DeKay Is that a shenanigan?
M. Bomer If that’s not a shenanigan I don’t know what is.
C. Golden That definitely qualifies for me, thank you.
T. DeKay That’s an excellent shenanigan; I can’t top that one.
Moderator Our next question comes from Joshua Maloni; please go ahead.
J. Maloni Tim, the show obviously took a large step, something that you don’t always see in a mid-season finale. What did you like about that last scene and what can you tell us about the ramifications as we move into the second half of the first season here?
T. DeKay Jeff Eastin approached me with that last scene a couple weeks before he was going to put it on the script. I said, “You’re the writer; this sounds exciting, let’s go for it.” I love the scene and I love the continuation of the scene as well. I think it’s some great writing and some great storytelling and very exciting and it’s a perfect cliffhanger. That’s all I’m going to say about it.
Moderator Our next question comes from Rosa Cordero with AccidentalSexiness.com; please go ahead.
R. Cordero Thanks for taking the call, I really love the show. Everyone wanted me to ask. Natalie Morales and Jeff Eastin are both currently on Twitter. In order to get more followers, Jeff was putting out topless pictures of Matt and even offering naked pictures of Matt to get more followers. Are either of you planning to get on the Twitter wagon and, Matt, we want to see more topless pictures of you.M. Bomer If you want to see more topless pictures you can tune into the season finale, as weird as that response was. But no, I will not be joining Twitter any time soon. I just don’t think that the day-to-day ramblings of my life would be interesting enough to hold an audience. Tim?
T. DeKay I’ve got quite a few pictures of Matt shirtless. No, I don’t have any. But if there is some Web site like, I don’t know, Hippie Shirtless or Shirtless Hippie or something like that I was told about as well. I don’t Twitter; I don’t think most people want to know about my daughter’s dance class or Little League baseball. I don’t think people would want to hear about where I’m headed or up to.
Moderator Next question is from Suzanne Lanoue; please go ahead.
S. Lanoue Hello, I love the show and some other friends of mine were wondering, that last scene in the aired episode I don’t know if you can tell us this or not. Was it a coincidence or was it just a red herring or is there a reason, if you can tell us, that the actress that plays Kate looks an awful lot like with Tiffani-Amber Thiessen?
T. DeKay This is Tim. I’ve been asked that and I never realized that they look alike. Now that it was brought to my attention I do see the similarity, two beautiful women. I think it was, I don’t know, maybe the writers have something up their sleeves that I don’t know.
S. Lanoue As far as you know it’s coincidence?
T. DeKay I believe so, yes.
Moderator Our next question comes from Travis Tidmore with The Cinemaniac. Please go ahead.
T. Tidmore Thanks for joining us today. The season finale, like everyone’s been saying, they had one hell of a twist that I really don’t think many people saw coming, if anyone saw it coming. How has this suspicion between the two characters changed the series, as it’s been the first half of the season to the last half of the season?
M. Bomer I think it actually comes to resolution pretty quickly. It’s not something that is as dire as it might seem; it’s something that resolves itself relatively quickly in the second half of the season. Ultimately it’s one of those things that ends up, I think, really bringing the two characters closer.
T. DeKay I couldn’t have said that better myself; I concur.
Moderator Our next question’s from Sheldon Wiebe with Eclipse Magazine; please go ahead.
S. Wiebe I kind of have a thing for both of you, a little bit of background. Over the first half of the season, Neal seems to have been developing a kind of trust in Peter and Peter has become kind of protective of Neal. With that last twist and having seen the second half premiere, it seems like, as you said, things do resolve. Could you speak to the development of each character in regards to the growth of trust and that sense of protectiveness?
M. Bomer: In terms of trust I think that Peter is the first person in Neal’s life that he’s really been able to have that with, but I also think it’s an interesting dynamic that’s always kind of liquid between the two of them given their history and given the fact that Neal’s not really ready to jump over to the other side of the moral spectrum immediately. It’s something that he’s struggling with and it’s kind of his journey on the second half of the first season to figure out if I’m going to buckle down and be with the FBI or am I going to do whatever I have to do, legal or not, to find Kate. I think the trust thing is sort of everything in the relationship, but as opposed to normal relationships where it can be a little bit more black and white, in this particular relationship, it can be more liquid. He has more trust for Peter than he’s ever had for anybody else.
T. DeKay As far as the protection that Peter has for Neal, I like that observation a lot. At first, Peter’s protection of Neal was a bit self-centered. He’s protecting himself because he made that decision to take this guy out. But as time has gone on he’s gotten to know Neal in a different way and is now protecting him because he sees a great potential in this guy. He’s protecting him on more than just a professional level.
Moderator Our next question is from Troy Rogers, Deadbolt; please go ahead.
T. Rogers Matt, what’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned so far in the world of con men?
M. Bomer I think the most interesting thing I’ve learned is how much of it is about just like a good actor does his research on a role and does all the homework he needs to do to know a character inside and out, the amount of work that goes into a skilled con artist’s game, the amount of research, the knowledge of the mark and the amount of confidence it takes to pull it off are all really fascinating to me. The similarities to the craft of acting are actually fascinating as well.
Moderator Our next question is from Stevie Wilson, LA-Story.com ; please go ahead.
S. Wilson: Huge White Collar fan here. I’ve been writing about it for a while. You tend to have very distinct fashion styles. I know this sounds like a really wild question to ask especially because it’s guys and you’re not usually in charge of your wardrobe. Tim, as an FBI agent, you seem to be pretty black suit kind of person, FBI kind of guy. How does the fashion style suit what you actually dress in real life?
T. DeKay I think that Stephanie Maslansky, who’s the costume designer, and the rest of the wardrobe team do a great job. They put me in mostly Brooks Brothers suits, a couple Burberry suits. For the most part they certainly can’t be too flashy. We keep pushing the envelope with ties. That’s what Stephanie keeps saying. Every time we get too flashy of a tie we get a note from USA Network.
My immediate reaction to this question is the fact that I love wearing a suit because I hardly ever wear a suit in real life. And every time I put on a suit I think I should wear this more often. I like wearing a suit. It heightens wherever I’m headed to. That’s why I love putting on a suit for Peter because it puts me in a different world than my own. I used to dress up; my dad teases me. He says this show’s haunting me because when I was five years old and I wanted to buy a suit and a fedora and there’s a picture of me somewhere like that, I’m leaning up against the coffee table, but kind of in a cool way with my legs crossed and I’ve got the fedora on. I’m about ready to walk up the street and ask Julie Buchanan if she wanted to take a walk around the block. This all just came back to me right now. That’s where it all began, enjoying wearing a suit. Even then I was kind of playing this guy who was certainly not me at five. I don’t know if that answers your question.
S. Wilson Matt, can you talk about it?
M. Bomer I’m definitely more of a T-shirt and jeans kind of guy. For me, I’ve learned a lot from Neal’s wardrobe. The fun part for me is just that it helps me get into the character. When you dress a certain way especially something as specific as Neal’s fascination with the Rat Pack, sort of the Marcello Mastroianni nicely cut suits with the thin ties and stuff like that. It just helps me feel like I’m kind of slipping into the skin of the character and forms the way he moves and things like that.
I always like to try to make an effort if I have to dress up nice, but I’ve definitely learned that you get treated a little bit differently when you’re wearing a suit. I’m definitely trying to make the effort to dress up a little bit more.
T. DeKay You are trying to do that?
M. Bomer I’m trying. On any given day I’m probably in a T-shirt and jeans, but –.
T. DeKay I’m trying to do that, too. I think part of it is because when you’re in New York and the weather is a factor, you can kind of layer. Maybe I’ll wear this certain kind of overcoat or sweater. In L.A. it’s just what T-shirt, long sleeve or short sleeve.
S. Wilson Coming from L.A. I got that part.
T. DeKay The other thing that I’ve noticed with the wardrobe that they give Matt is just, I’ll be the first to say it, they’re going to trap themselves because he can only wear a certain kind of suit because it comes from June’s closet. I was so wrong with that. It’s unbelievable the variations of suits and ties and outfits that they’ve given Matt to wear.
M. Bomer I think it’s so cool.
Part 2 of the podcast and the interview will be tomorrow.
Also USA will launch a new online game called “Chasing the Shadow” which will give fans the opportunity to win a car and other prizes. Already online is the White Collar Crimes Basic Training game to learn how to become an FBI agent like Peter Burke. To play the Chasing Shadows game you need the skiills in the Basic Training game. So start now! Plus there is the Greatest Cons in History Trivia Game too.
Don’t forget: Tuesday, 1/19 USA Network 10 PM: WHITE COLLAR. Get your friends together and have a little White Collar Party. Maybe have a cocktail or two. The liqueur Hypnotiq is the same color as Matt Bomer’s eyes!!
Stevie Wilson, LA-Story.com
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