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Scott Patterson on Aliens in America
The Tolchuck dad talks to us about the return of the CW's acclaimed comedy and his role in the Saw series. February 29, 2008 - Scott Patterson is a busy fellow. After finishing seven years of the hit show Gilmore Girls, which began on The WB and then finished its run on the new CW network, Patterson had a role in Saw IV and soon showed up in the new half hour comedy Aliens in America. On Aliens he plays Gary Tolchuck – a somewhat clueless father who's family takes in a Muslim exchange student. We talked to Patterson about his long run as Luke Danes on Gilmore Girls, playing the very different Gary Tolchuck, and what it's like to be a part of the Saw franchise -- Patterson begins filming Saw V soon -- which is about as far from either of his TV shows as you can get. IGN TV: Now that you're done shooting Aliens in America for the season, how do you feel it all went? Patterson: I think it's a great show. It's a relevant show. It's beautifully written, acted and directed. It's one of the really well done comedies on television right now. IGN TV: Were you surprised at some of the early reactions to the show calling it offensive or controversial? Patterson: I was at the TCA event where there was a little dissension in the ranks. IGN TV: Some thought it was offensive to Americans, others thought it offended Muslims. It seemed that you couldn't even include those elements without being called offensive. Patterson: The beauty of the show is that it shows there's ignorance on both sides. I think those critics that were railing against the show – quite vehemently to everyone's surprise – I think they completely missed the point. It's not untrue to say that a lot of Americans don't know a lot about Islamic culture. They don't know the history, their daily customs, the whys and wherefores. It's also safe to say that on the other side there are a heck of a lot of Muslims that don't understand what American culture is all about. So I think this is just really an attempt – in the form of a premise for a comedy show – to try to have a couple balls in the air at the same time. Socially, culturally, comedically – and I applaud [producers] Moses [Port] and David [Guarascio] for attempting it. And I think they pulled it off, and to me it's quite an accomplishment. IGN TV: It also seems the criticism died down after the first few episodes… Patterson: We got them all backstage and bitch slapped them. IGN TV: Now I originally saw the pilot with a different actor playing Gary. Were you convinced to come in, as a sort of "fixer" or how did that come about? Patterson: What they told me - and I think Patrick Breen is a terrific actor, and was great in the role – but having said that they wanted Dan Byrd to appear as though he'd "fallen a little farther from the tree." They wanted somebody who was a little more, I guess you could say – that seemed a bit more capable in a physical sense. And who didn't quite understand how his son turned out to be such a social pariah. That was the reasoning. IGN TV: And how did it work for you? The show had been shot, you'd finished Gilmore Girls, what was the timeline? Patterson: Well the show [Gilmore] was finished, and I'd shot a movie, and there was about a month period there where I was actually getting some rest. The bags under my eyes were receding…But I had a hold deal with the network anyway, in which had Gilmore Girls been cancelled – and it did – they had a timeframe within which they would have to place me on one of their series, or else they would have had to forfeit a large amount of dollars. So it was an 'incentivized' deal and they threw a couple scripts at me and this one came along and I didn't want to do it. Because I'd have to relocate to Canada and I'd just come off of a seven-year series and I wasn't really sure that I wanted to jump back into television right away if I wasn't going to be the lead of the show and have a little more creative control. It wasn't the perfect situation for me, but once I met David, Moses and Tim Doyle - they were just terrific and really talented guys and they made it sound really exciting and they answered all my questions and addressed all of my concerns. I just thought if you're going to get in bed with people, these were the guys. IGN TV: So you did seven years of Gilmore Girls, and that's a pretty small club of actors who have that many years of a single series to their name. I had asked Dan Byrd if you were giving him any pointers, given your experience. Patterson: (laughs) No. Dan Byrd doesn't need any pointers from anybody. He's a very gifted young man who is going to do big things in this business. He's very a pleasant, very easygoing and really good. He's relaxed in front of the camera and he's very specific with his work. He knows exactly what he's working for, he's got great instincts. I can't say enough about him. He's got the goods. Well after seven years on Gilmore, I'm not saying we were phoning it in, but it just got easier and easier to do. We knew our characters. To the point where it became second nature and it was actually a lot of fun. And watching Adhir [Kalyan] on set and sort of muttering to himself and really getting into character, it was nice to see – and refreshing to see someone who was so dedicated to getting it right. Lindsay Shaw is 18 and just kind of weirdly gifted. Acting just comes easy to her. IGN TV: Adhir Kalyan is also great, an incredibly sharp guy. Patterson: Adhir is extraordinary. He did a great characterization and really worked hard on that accent, and really immersing himself in that role. It's real dedication. After seven years on Gilmore, I'm not saying we were phoning it in, but it just got easier and easier to do. We knew our characters. To the point where it became second nature and it was actually a lot of fun. And watching Adhir [Kalyan] on set and sort of muttering to himself and really getting into character, it was nice to see – and refreshing to see someone who was so dedicated to getting it right. Lindsay Shaw is 18 and just kind of weirdly gifted. I think acting just comes easy to her. IGN TV: Let's get back to that idea of playing Luke Daines for that long – do you ever feel like you had to "shake him off?" Since it was second nature, do you feel him coming back up every once in a while? Patterson: No. I've been fortunate, having had the opportunity to work on Gilmore and something like Aliens in America. The level of writing that you'll find on both shows is extraordinarily high. You just don't find writing like Gilmore. It was a very unique voice that Amy Sherman Palladino and Daniel Palladino brought to those characters. That's a lot of characters to write for and they all had a different voice and a unique rhythm, that's very difficult to pull off on a weekly basis. And I think once Amy left the show, after season six, it really suffered as result. There's just no way anybody, no matter how gifted they are – and David Rosenthal and his team were terrific writers in their own right, but that's Amy's voice. Lorelai and Rory and Luke, that's Amy's voice. You simply cannot duplicate that. And I think it showed in the level of the work that was being done. It really comes down to the writing. So again I've been very fortunate to be able to try and interpret these words that these very gifted people have put to paper. IGN TV: Was part of what attracted you to Gary Tolchuck how different he was to Luke? They don't seem to be guys that would hang out. Patterson: No. I think Luke would probably see Gary as kind of a putz. But the thing is, I also saw Gary as the guy Luke would become in 10 years or 15 years. There are some similarities, but he's definitely a different animal, there's no question about it. IGN TV: Something that interested me about how Aliens has progressed is that Gary is sort of inhabiting that American Beauty decline of the middle class man – but here it's how aware his son is aware of it. Even if it's only in narration, we hear your son chronicling how sad you are. It's great it's so funny, because otherwise it might just be sad. Patterson: I think if ignorance is bliss, Gary is really in bliss. He's sort of blithely unaware of everything that's going on around him. I think he has this sort of code of conduct – and this basic rulebook and manual of how to raise kids, and it's sort of old school. If you compare him to Luke, he's a bit castrated for lack of a better term. I always loved playing Luke because he's one of the few characters on television that wasn't castrated – he was his own man. And nobody was going to take his knees out – nobody was going to bring him down. That's what I loved about him, and what was so original about him – he's a throwback to yesteryear. Gary – I don't know if I'd say he's castrated but you know…His wife is definitely more involved in the children's lives, he's a little on the outskirts, on the perimeter of that family. Even though he attempts at times to be the central authoritarian figure – and that's where some of the comedy comes at times. Even though I'm sort of spaced out and out of it, I bring this antiquated methodology about how to raise children – and I'm completely out of touch. IGN TV: Let's talk about the movies for a minute. Saw is about as far as you can get from the two shows we've talked about. How'd that come about? Patterson: My manager called me and said the director [Darren Lynn Bousman] would like to sit down with you and have some breakfast and discuss this role in Saw IV. I met him, we hit it off, I thought he was a groovy cat, and I hadn't seen the Saw films and I watched those, and I watched a Gapsar Noe film called Irreversible, which is one of his favorite films. I decided that he'd be a fun guy to work with. He was crazy and creative and filled with ideas and energy. He just impressed me. So I signed on for three movies. IGN TV: You did? I was going to ask if you knew right up front it'd be more than one film. Patterson: Well, they can kill off any character at any time – as you've seen. I'll be doing V, and I'm signed for VI– but that doesn't mean I'll actually be in it or do it. It's their option. IGN TV: Any hints on what's to come in Saw V? Patterson: I haven't seen the script yet. IGN TV: You haven't? When do you start shooting? Patterson: March 17th. IGN TV: Are they just keeping it a secret, is that what's going on? Patterson: Oh they're very secretive, yeah. IGN TV: When you're shooting do they give hints of what's to come? Because Saw IV is such an open ending, did they give you an idea of where you were going from there? Patterson: Well, yeah – not much though. They don't give you much. And we're not really permitted to talk about it. The level of secrecy…I signed all these forms. They could take away my house if I mentioned a storyline. IGN TV: So often with horror film sequels you end up with fairly disconnected movies directed by different people and the only common thread becomes Freddy or whoever it might be. But with Saw you have a lot of continuity and these interconnecting storylines that becomes a big puzzle, is it fun to play a part in that? Patterson: It's not fun at all. It's a giant migraine headache waiting for you as you figure it all out. My pea brain does not like to take all that on. I just want to show up and do the work and they can explain it to me any way they want. It is important to know all that, I'm kidding of course. It is fun. There's a lot of choices that can't be made, because it doesn't fit into scene six of the first Saw movie. A scene in one film informs the next and so on in every direction possible. And also there's things that the director knows that will be happening in V and VI that will dictate notes that he gives you on a scene. So he can't tell you much, but all he can say is "you really can't make that choice, because it won't fly in VI…and then they'll have to rewrite VI…." It does get a little confusing at times. But as long as you don't knock over the furniture and slip on the blood, you're okay. IGN TV: Speaking of blood, in Saw IV you came in sort of in the aftermath of the really messy stuff. Are you expecting to be participating in a bit more gore the next time around? Patterson: I hope so. I'm a big fan of blood. I would really like there to be more blood. I love blood, I think it's terrific stuff. IGN TV: You think there needs to be more blood in the Saw movies? Patterson: Sure! Why not? It is the stuff of life after all, isn't it? I think it's really life affirming, even when it's splattered all over the walls. There's nothing wrong with it – it's just a movie. If you're going to make a horror film…they're not messing around in there – blood is flying. Ign.com |
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