Mekhi Phifer and Tim Roth in LIE TO ME
After a successful spring run, FOX’s crime drama Lie To Me is back for a second season and I had the pleasure of talking with star Tim Roth last week about what is to come with the new season now that new producers have taken over, how he deals with some of the questionable things his character Dr. Cal Lightman does to elicit the truth as well as how having more people on the show helps him as an actor on the weekly drama series.
Jim Halterman: Hey, Tim, loved the season premiere. It was a really great episode to start the new season.
Tim Roth: Oh, you’ve seen it. Oh, that’s good.
JH: I wanted to know, there’s a moment in there where Cal really pushes the envelope trying to get some information out of the Erika Christensen character. I don’t want to give too much away for people who haven’t seen it, but do you always agree with what Cal does as an actor, or do you just kind of go with it because that’s your job as an actor?
TR: Yes.
JH: How do you reconcile that?
TR: No, I don’t necessarily agree with his methods, but I find that appealing. It’s the sort of thing that you wouldn’t do yourself, but you get a chance to do when you play the character. So, no, won’t necessarily agree with him completely, but I think that’s quite a luxurious position. And you’re going to see a lot more that too, that kind of behavior.
JH: Good.
TR: Yes. There’s a fun episode there, very, very good.
JH: Yes, it was really intriguing. Also, when we go into the second season, is the grind of the TV series, are you kind of getting used to it now, or are you still kind of shocked at how much work goes into it?
TR: It is a ton of work. But when it works, there is – it’s very long hours. It’s a high page count. But when you’re enjoying it, when you get to the end of a day, or we get to the following morning, if you feel like you’ve accomplished something, then I’m okay with it. And I do very much feel that the season – that everyone who’s – from my assistant through to the set dressers to everyone, the V.P.’s and so on, everyone feels that they’re involved in something that’s very creative, and I think there’s a satisfaction to be had in that. Of course, you want your sleep, but hopefully, we’ll be around to do this for awhile. It’s a real pleasure at the moment. I’m happy in my job.
[Note: The remaining questions were asked by my fellow journalists on the call.]
Question: Is there anything you can tell us, that you’re allowed to tell us, this season about what’s coming up, people can look forward to?
TR: Well, it’s a much more character-based scripts that are coming forward, and so you’re going to find out a little bit more about the history of the characters and Lightman’s connection to them and so on. And I think the aim really was to make each episode a quality effort … and exciting drama ….on its own. You’ll see there’s going to be an investigation of my relationship with my ex-wife.
James Marsters (c) guests in next week's episode with Jennifer Beals and Roth.
Question: What’s it been like, specifically, to have Shawn Ryan onboard, and what are the differences that you’ve noticed with the changes that have come through? I know that there’s going to be some changes behind the camera and things like that. So if you could just talk about this season versus last and what your take on that is.
TR: Last season was – I thought of it as an experiment, really. It’s my first experience of doing this, and it was – I found it quite difficult at times. And we were working on stories just to find out – trying to find our feet, really, and I think by the end of the season we did. And when Shawn came on, he came on to do a couple of episodes last season, and I think it’s episodes 11 and 12 he came on to do, and with that, he brought a couple of writers in, and that was when I think we really found our strife, found a way of making this work, so it was very good when he came onboard this year.
The changes are many, but the one that I suppose I notice more is in the way the writing takes place and in the kind of scripts that the writers’ room are generating. The new writers that came onboard come from all walks of life. They’re very different and have very different ideas. And Shawn’s the kind of lynchpin, really, brings them all together and oversees things, and it’s been an incredibly creative force.
And then we have Dan Sackheim and Vahan Moosekian and those guys have taken on the look and the feel of the show and the casting, so it’s a very – it is a different animal, but I think its heart is still with last season, at least with the end of last season and moving on from there. But it’s been an extraordinary experience. I’ve loved it this year, really have. Last year was a struggle. This year has been an absolute pleasure. It is, which means that you’ve got some acting to do, which is great. Hang on a second. I just want to come inside. Yes, it’s much more for us to think about and to emote than last season. Last season, we were scrambling around a little bit, I think. Although, we did come up with some good stuff, and it seemed to have hooked an audience, which is a – always, I guess, a good thing, right?
Question: What do you find is the most difficult or enjoyable aspect of playing a character? Is it the jargon or the attitude or the combative approach?
TR: I think initially it was the science and how – and also, there’s a certain, just on a technical note, really, it’s – you have to … to the plots. There’s a certain about of exposition that you have to deal with, and I found that that was very difficult in a limited amount of time to slide that into the audience and not to hit it on the head with a hammer, so that was an aspect that was tricky. It gets easier. The better the writing, the easier it gets. And this season, it’s been really very good, I think, very high standards.
Question: With the addition of several new cast members this season, does it feel like more of an ensemble? Do you have more people to play off of?
TR: I have more people to play off, but I’m still working the same amount of days. I just said goodbye to Brendan [Hines]. He’s got 12 days off and I thought – I’m wondering what that must be like. It just gives me more to play with. I’m sure there’ll be more characters down the line. I know there’s hints of girlfriends and that kind of behavior, and maybe they’ll be recurring, maybe they won’t be. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re not. Would like them. But, no, it just gives me more people to bounce off, and I must say I do enjoy that. And Mekhi [Phifer] and Jennifer [Beals] are terrific actors to work with, so –
Question: Well, you mentioned earlier that the first season was sort of an experiment for you. As you were shooting those early episodes, did you have a sense that you wanted things to take this different turn creatively that they’ve taken?
TR: Yes, very much so. I was desperate to get some character stuff to play and some drama to play and not just be doing procedural work. And as we neared the end of the season, and was – I think it was episode 11 that Shawn did with Liz and Sarah, the writing team that went with him, it was one about a rapist that was in prison, a copycat or something. It was an interesting episode. And suddenly, I found that was when I was – earlier, when I read the script for it, okay, you can actually mix the two. You can have the character-driven stuff, and you can have a good … to tell, and that’s when they came onboard. That’s been the starting point this season. And it’s been a lot of interesting stuff to do every day. We’re happy at work.
Lie To Me airs tonight in the plum post-House slot on Fox starting at 9/8c.
Jim Halterman spends his days interviewing the top tier of talent and creative forces in the television world and then, because he's that kind of guy, he brings it all to YOU! And, because we all like free stuff, check back often for giveaways!! 
