In La La Land, there are several lines you expect to hear from actors, like “I fell in love with the script,” or “I’m just so blessed to be a part of the (insert network name here) family,” or “The writers just do such a fabulous job,” that it takes you aback when actors step away from their scripts.
Michael Vartan is one of those guys. Despite having acted alongside the likes of Jennifer Garner and Bradley Cooper in Alias, Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda in Monster-in-Law, and Drew Barrymore in Never Been Kissed, the 41-year-old remains as grounded and real as they come.
TVGuide.ca caught up with Vartan on the line from L.A., where he found some time to chat with us between his morning hockey pick-up game (“I look forward to those days like Christmas”) and his hectic afternoon shooting the second season of Hawthorne.
TVGuide.ca: You’ve sort of done it all — movies, network TV and now cable TV. Do you notice a difference between shooting the latter two?
Michael Vartan: Yeah, there are slight differences. The main difference for us is the language. We’re allowed to be a little … ruder and speak dialogue that’s more true to real life as opposed to keeping everything PG-13. In doing that, it adds freedom. In cable, just with the content itself, you’re allowed to be a little more adventurous and creative while shooting because there aren’t all these standards and practices and all the guidelines that govern network television.
TVG: And what’s it like working at TNT?
MV: The TNT folks are cool because they just let us do what we do. On network shows a lot of the time there are a lot of people who have their point of view of how a story should go. Sometimes it creates a bit of chaos. But a good show is a good show, no matter what network or format that it’s in.
TVG: Does the footing feel surer now that Hawthorne has a second season to produce?
MV: We sort of felt that at the end of last year. You’d think as one of the lead actors on the show that I’d know a lot about the show, but our writers are so secretive with us. I’d like to know, to be honest with you. Tell me what’s happening this year; I’d like to be geared up and ready for it. But they prefer to keep it sort of a mystery, I don’t know why. To each his own.
TVG: Have they given you hints at least?
MV: They have told us that this year is going to be grittier and I think the relationships between the characters are going to be a little more intense because of the workplace. Everything is going to be amped up a bit. In the second episode there are a lot of really interesting things that happen with my character (chief of surgery Dr. Tom Wakefield).
TVG: Now that both Hawthorne and (Showtime's) Nurse Jackie have been renewed, do you find there’s a bit less of a comparison made between the two?
MV: I do not follow what is said about any show that I’m on. I don’t like criticism, good or bad. I stay away from it altogether – that way I don’t really know. I have heard that Nurse Jackie is a completely different genre, more based in comedy and suspension of reality, so I don’t think they’re in the same bracket as our show. Who knows? This business has gone through so many weird changes over the past few years – I’m just glad to have a job.
TVG: Everyone in the industry is fussing about comedy’s big comeback right now. Do you notice that trend at all, being on a drama?
MV: I haven’t, but I feel like comedy will always be around. Maybe it’s a function of the economy — people are struggling but they will always want to laugh and forget about their problems, even if it’s for an hour or two. I have noticed there seems to be more funny movies coming out.
To be honest with you, comedy is by far my favourite thing to do. No one thinks I’m funny – I’m not funny at all – but I’d love to do comedy instead of drama because it’s so much more fun and you can be so much more creative. There’s something special about making people laugh. I’m thankful for drama, but it’s tiring and exhausting. But to make people laugh – that’s as good as it gets.
TVG: Did you think in that respect that Big Shots was ahead of its time?
MV: No. It was behind it’s time. There was potential there to have a great show and a great concept and I don’t know where it lost its footing but it just turned into Desperate Housewives. It didn’t have the intelligence and the wit that something like that could have had. We were such a weird foursome, it was such weird casting, but somehow it worked. We were constantly telling each other, ‘God — we could do SO much more with this.’ But it just never clicked. I wasn’t surprised when it got cancelled.
TVG: Obviously with an actor the lingo is within the lines, but with the transition to playing a doctor, was there any difficulty in making it actually look like you’d been doing the procedures all of your professional life?
MV: Some of them can be tricky. We have a tech team on set every day with us — most of them are still working in the medical field — and they’re there to tell us how to do it. As we’re acting, it’s hard enough for me to remember my lines, let alone where a decatheter tube is supposed to go.
TVG: Here in Canada we’re still on the first season of Hawthorne, so do you mind talking a bit about the romantic tension between your character and Jada Pinkett Smith’s character (Christina Hawthorne), and how that unfolds throughout the season?
MV: I don’t want to give out too many secrets, but Season 1 is them exploring the nature of their friendship and how deep it is – could it possibly lead to something else? The fact that her husband in the story is recently deceased makes it a little tricky. My character doesn’t want to be ‘that guy’ and to have a little respect. But the connection is definitely something they’re quite aware of and are going to explore in different ways. In terms of full-on romance, I’m not sure that Season 1 has that. Yet. But it might!
Hawthorne airs Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET, Showcase.
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