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WHITE COLLAR stars Willie Garson, Matt Bomer, Tim DeKay and Tiffani Theissen
The USA Network is on a roll with such hit series as Psych, Monk and Burn Notice all bringing solid ratings during their respective seasons. The light crime drama genre is definitely the niche that USA has been looking for for years so why stray too far from what works? Enter White Collar, which premieres tonight on the network. Take a criminal mastermind (Matt Bomer) who breaks out of jail just as his sentence is up and the FBI agent (Tim DeKay) who ends up taking him under his wing to take down criminals. Add great supporting character turns by Sex and the City’s Willie Garson, 90210’s Tiffani Theissen and Dynasty’s Diahann Carroll and you have a solid cast that gels from the first episode. Bomer and DeKay talked to journalists earlier this month about their partnership and the fun their having on the show.
Jim Halterman: Hello. Hey, I just watched the pilot this morning and loved it. That was really fun. You guys have a great chemistry.
Tim DeKay: Thank you so much.
JH: Story-wise, the fact that, you know, Matt, you’re character’s going to still be seeking out his girlfriend Kate, is that kind of a thread that’s going to go through the whole first season or is it just a few episodes or how is that going to work or at least what can you tell us?
Matt Bomer as Neal Caffrey
Matt Bomer: I can say that it plays out over the course of the first season.
JH: Okay. [laughs] And anything else you can tell us?
MB: That was a little vague wasn’t it? Well I can say one of the things that really attracted me to the role was that, you know, he wasn’t just this smooth slick con artist out for money. Ultimately what motivates really the entire performance and the pilot and what continues to motivate him through the season is he’s collaborating with the FBI in order to try to find the love of his life on the side, which is Kate. And over the course of the first season he gets little glimpses and gets – takes steps closer and closer to her and starts to slowly unravel the mystery of where she is and what’s happening to her and starts to find out if there’s hope of them getting together again.
JH: Tim, you and Tiffani have a really nice chemistry and I like that relationship. Does she get involved with the cases and gets a little more action as the series goes along?
TD: Thanks for saying that about the chemistry. She does. I mean I think Elizabeth is somewhat Peter’s consigliore. She helps him look at problems that he has in his work through different lenses. And she does help every so often. And she’s wonderful. The role of Elizabeth is wonderful and certainly Tiffani is wonderful. Yes, you’ll see more of her.
Thiessen and DeKay as Elizabeth and Peter Stokes
Question: Matt, what made you want to be a part of this show?
MB: I think I wanted to be a part of this show because when I read the role I thought the writing was incredibly intelligent and I thought Jeff Eastin had a really excellent handle on all the characters. His characters were really well drawn out. They were very three-dimensional. They were intelligent but they also had shadowier aspects of their characters. And I like the mix of really intelligent procedural with really character driven scenes. And what I responded to about Neal was the fact that he wasn’t just the smooth slick con artist. He was also very kind of childish in a really fun way. He was always testing his boundaries with Peter and seeing what he could get away with. And ultimately he was a romantic at heart. And everything that motivated his collaboration with the FBI, it was all motivated by his love for Kate. And I thought that was fun, that would be fun to play.
Question: Matt, what do you find challenging about the role?
MB: The challenging thing for me is really the speed at which the process of shooting a TV series in seven days moves and really trying to make sure you flush out all the aspects of your character that you can and all of the story points in every episode. But I think the most challenging thing in terms of just the character was really figuring out what was underneath the front of the cool, slick Grace under pressure demeanor that Neal has and what motivated him to want the better things in life.
Thiessen and Bomer in the WHITE COLLAR pilot
Question: Is there any chance you might make reappearance on Chuck this season?
MB: I would love to make reappearance on Chuck. I have no idea how that is going to work out scheduling-wise. It’s something I’ve been in a dialogue with about the creators. But if everything were to align properly I would – nothing would make me happier.
Question: Moving forward, what can we expect from this relationship [between Tim and Matt’s characters]?
TD: What’s interesting is the way these two solve a puzzle. They each – I think they each respect that they can tell that the other one is very good at solving a problem be it a crime, a caper, a puzzle. They don’t necessarily look at it from the same way but they both realize that they each love the hunt.
MB: Yes, this is Matt. One of the things we fight for in every episode and Jeff does a great job of writing is the fact that we really respect each other’s intelligence. There’s no – it’s not like Tim is the bumbling FBI agent and I’m the genius con artist. We’re both hopefully the smartest guys in the room and our certain qualities that other – that, you know, Peter has that Neal doesn’t complement his style of problem-solving. And so ultimately they form kind of a good team that way. And that’s something we really try to flesh out in every episode.
TD: I think throughout it all — and it was certainly there in the pilot — down at the bottom of this these two guys like each other.
Question: How is it being at USA? Are you guy happy on cable?
MB: I’m over the moon about it I mean for the simple fact just to start with that the motto of the network is ‘Characters Welcome,’ which for an actor is kind of a dream come true. And they’re really on a roll. I think, you know, I’m not surprisingly anybody when I say the Bonnie Hammer obviously really knows what she’s doing. And they’ve been so supportive of us. And it’s not like they do 15 pilots a year so they really have taken the time to nurture us and get behind us. And that always feels good as an actor as well. And, you know, I think it’s just – I think cable and the 13 episode arc is just – is a really great place to be as an actor.
TD: It goes to that same thing of characters welcome or actors. So it’s always great to be on a network that says, you know, characters. That’s a big part of it and it’s fun to do that. And I also think there is something to say for doing the, I’ll say under 20 season. I think writers might also say it’s beneficial to them. I’m not quite sure but yes, it’s wonderful working for USA.
White Collar premieres tonight on the USA Network at 10/9c.
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!! 
