Q&A with Dennis Haysbert
|
|
|||
| 24 SEASON 3 Q&A with Dennis Haysbert |
Search all of phase9.tv | |||
Interview with Dennis Haysbert (as President of the Unites States of America) Okay, ladies and gentlemen. We have Dennis Haysbert, who plays President David Palmer on the show 24. He’s been with the show for the past three years. And, it’s an honor and a pleasure to have him here. First question? [As she’s saying, you’ve done three years] DENNIS HAYSBERT: Oh, thank you for all these gifts. Hello, everyone. Three years is a long time on 24, which has a propensity to kill people off. What do you think the President’s life expectancy is on the show 24? You know what, I don’t know. That’s the honest truth. I don’t think the writers and producers know. That’s become the beauty of the show, that no one knows who’s going to die when. I really think it really does extend to Kiefer now, as well. I mean, we really don’t know how much more this man can take. So, I don’t know. Pretty long-winded answer for I don’t know, but that’s it. How significant for you is it for you that they decided to choose an African-American for a President in this series? I think it’s significant on a number of levels. One, it gives me a sustained job. (laughs) Two, I really believe that it’s changing the way people think around the world. Especially in light of all the things that are happening. Specifically 9/11. It has become important to everyone in the world that it’s not a matter of what color a person’s skin is. What matters is how much integrity that person has, how much dignity that person has. I think it’s going to work out a great deal for our country this year. Not so much in the color of the candidates that are out there right now, but in their points of view. I would love to be able to guarantee that Bush won’t be in there next year. Hopefully that’ll come to pass, and hopefully we’ll have someone in there that has the people’s interests at heart. And I hope that’s true for all the countries that you represent. I don’t know whether you’re happy with your leaders or not. I hope the show is changing the way the people think in your country as well. I just got back from South America, where we have, what, 60 percent of the audience there? Rio de Janeiro. I was really happy to see how I was received on the streets. It’s been a blessing. It really has. I hope I’ve answered your question. I’m in a long-winded mood today. About two years ago you said you wished Colin Powell had run for President. How do you feel about that now, and how did you feel about Colin Powell being part of the Bush administration? I have mixed feelings about that. I still feel the same way about Colin Powell, I think he’s making the best of a very bad situation. I believe he’s a man right now who has to do what he’s told. And that’s always tough. I think that has a lot to do with his recent illnesses, if you can relate to that. I’m a very metaphysical person. I think that certain things that you do in life, if they’re not really agreeing with you, it’s going to manifest itself in some way. And that’s the way I think it’s gone for Colin Powell. I could be wrong. I just have so much respect for this man. And I’ve lost so much respect for this administration, the way they’ve handled things. But you know, I would still like to see Colin Powell run. I think things would be a whole lot different. After three years, do you think the show has to evolve? Because now it’s in a place where the audience needs a little bit more? Well, I wish I could tell you that it’s going to change. I know it will. I know how the writers think. And they still surprise me. I feel fairly certain that this format—well, not the format so much—but the characters, will change a great deal. Like I said before, I think even Kiefer’s at risk. This is just conjecture, of course. I know I’m at risk. I didn’t even know I was coming back to the third season until a month before we started shooting. So they had me dead and almost buried. Normally a character prepares his role before shooting begins. And I’m pretty sure that Bush, didn’t, like you, do that for a couple of days. So how did you prepare? Well, in the first season, if you recall, I was a senator running for president. And the second year, when they told me I was going to be president, I started looking at the people that I most admired. Mostly, started looking within myself. What would Dennis do, if he were President? You know? I think I’m an innately idealistic person. So I probably wouldn’t survive too long if I was the real President. (laughs) I’d probably be more like Howard Dean before he had his little outburst. Even after that outburst, I still admire the man. I think right now he’s set the bar very high for the Democratic candidates that are still in the running. They’ve all adopted his platform. The way I prepared for the role, is that I collected my heroes, took the best parts of them, took the best parts of myself and applied it to the job. Talking about the nearly dead and buried thing. I remember that your near-death experience was going to change President Palmer substantially, and maybe make him darker or maybe less direct in his approach to his job. You’ve been offered a lot of dark paths this year and you haven’t taken then. Can you talk about where you think that’s going to go? The dark paths, well, I (laughs) think I did one really bad thing, in bringing Sherry back. (laughs) At least so far. Yes, so far. I’m not saying anything. You see, I keep forgetting that [the US] is ahead of you guys. No, he gets progressively darker. Could you talk at all about the changes in industry then, generally? No. (laughs) I really can’t, without divulging things that are coming up. Or not coming up. He doesn’t trust very many people. The biggest change is that he has his brother as his Chief of Staff. I know a lot of people are questioning this, saying, “Okay, what’s the brother going to do?” Who knows? We still have six episodes to shoot, and you still have a few episodes to see before that. So you have to make up your mind as to what’s going on with him. But as to anything darker, I can say that David Palmer is always going to have his integrity. He’s always going to have that dignity. I don’t think I’ll ever do anything that will make you think that it was a mistake to put him in office. If you’re looking for that kind of darkness, I don’t think that’s going to ever appear. At least, it wouldn’t be my first choice. I want to keep this man the way people see him. As a kind of a model as to what politicians should be. Has the role inspired you to seek politics yourself? Only if it motivates or inspires your kid—in my country, in your country, in any of your countries—to run for office and to put the people first. That’s as far as I want to go, politically. I’m an actor, and I love what I do. And I can’t wait for the next thing. Most people distrust politicians. Yeah, well, you know what? My hat goes off to them. I think you’re speaking specifically of Arnold? Arnold’s always wanted to do it. He’s always wanted to run for office, for as long as I’ve been watching his movies and enjoying them. He’s always mentioned that he wanted to be a part of politics. And I think that’s great. I mean, he married into one of the most influential and powerful political families in the United States. So I thought it was pretty clear where he was headed. But for me, politics, no. Maybe. I never say never. But something really special has to come up, for me to throw my hat in the ring. Whichever ring that might be. You mentioned Sherry before. Mm-hmm. This fantastic character. Didn’t President Palmer need the First Lady? It’s very unusual for a President without one. Well, I’d like a First Lady, yes. Definitely. Do I think he needs one in order to be President and to be an effective president? Not necessarily. I think he was very happy with Ann, and I think he was distressed and disheartened that she couldn’t handle it. He doesn’t seem to have much luck with the women. No, he really is kind of a tough luck President, you know. I kind of like that, it engenders a little sympathy for him. If President Palmer was elected in real time, today, what do you think he would do with the situation in the Middle East? (laugh) Well, it’s a pretty big mess right now, over there. I don’t have any advisors or anybody telling me what I could or what I couldn’t do. What’s feasible and what’s not. But I would get the soldiers out of there as soon as possible. What are your feelings toward Colin Powell’s son, who as boss of the FCC, is seeing that it’s the government’s job to clean up network television? Say that again? What are your feelings toward Colin Powell’s son, who as boss of the FCC, is seeing that it’s the government’s job to clean up network television? With extra censorship. I have to read more material on that, in order to give you a really informed answer. Just off the top of my head, I don’t think any kind of government interference in television is warranted or necessary or wanted. I think in some ways, yes, there should be some kinds of censorship, but I’d have to look at what he’s trying to do in order to comment on that effectively. On a more flippant note, after what happened to President Palmer at the end of season two, have you been more careful with the way you shake hands with fans? With fans? I’ll put it to you this way, any fan that can come up with the chemical that was introduced to David Palmer will probably end up killing themselves. So, (laugh) I don’t worry about that too much, you know. In what ways have the roles for black characters changed? The more things change, the more they stay the same. And, yes, they have changed. I choose roles where it’s clear that they’ve changed. Sadly, a lot of them still stay the same. There are still a lot of stereotypes out there. I think that extends to all races, and to women as well. But it’s getting better. It’s getting better. I’d like to see it get much better. Time will tell. I have a question about fans. Mm-hmm. Nobody expected the kind of audience that the show would get, worldwide. What has been the funniest fan reaction when they see and recognize you now, as opposed to maybe before? Playing other roles? Yes. Well, what I get now mainly is just a lot of enthusiasm. People really, really love this President. He is written in such a way that he’s an idealist. He does have the people’s interests at heart, first and foremost. That’s something that we just don’t have here. We’re all controlled by special interests and corporate interference. I think that’s true for all of our countries. Every one of us here has to deal with that. That’s why I think so many people were afraid of Howard Dean. Most of his money came from the internet. And young people who got very mobilized. That scared everyone to death, Democrats and Republicans alike. They were out to get him, and they got him. But I hope that answered your question. Did I? The fans… Oh, the fans. Actually, I get asked to run for President a lot. Yeah, I do! And I recently won a poll here in the USA. What was that? Between Martin Sheen’s Bartlett, and my Palmer, Palmer won. So that’s a good one for us. Yay. From a viewer’s point of view, can you explain what’s go good about 24, and can you also imagine some people think it’s very a exhausting show to watch. Oh, I think it’s a very exhausting show to watch. I watch it. I like to watch it when it airs on Tuesday nights here along with everybody else. I think what people like is the concept. It is an exhausting show to watch, and I’d have to say it’s because this show has a progression. It keeps moving you forward and up, to this crescendo. Whereas most shows go for an hour and wrap up the show in the last five to ten minutes, we don’t let you off the hook. With our show, every episode is different. It keeps moving you forward to the ultimate climax. And that gets everybody racing. I have spoken to friends, I’ve spoken to fans, and they all say to me, “You know, maybe you guys should put it on earlier, because it’s hard for us to get to sleep.” (laughs) You know, “Because we have to go to work in the morning.” And I say, “Well, I sympathize with you.” Enjoy it. What in life gives you that kind of adrenaline rush? That’s a good healthy one. It’s something you can talk about, it gets you out of yourself. I think that’s what entertainment’s supposed to do. Get you out of yourself for just a few minutes a day. At the water cooler, you can stand around and talk about it, “Did you see what happened last night?” If you’re in the UK, you have a talk show right afterwards. Which I think is great. By playing the President, I wanted to know how your life changed on the daily basis. Did it change regarding your behavior or the way you speak to people? No, not really. I mean, I’ve always been… Do you feel any sense of responsibility, for example, now? Well, the success of it has given me a little bit more responsibility. I’m a little bit more careful about how I answer political questions. Especially when I’m on foreign soil. People ask me some pretty provocative questions about the country, which I have to abstain from. I don’t like to bash my country when I’m on foreign soil. Or bash the President, even though he is (laughs) bashable. Those things I just try to stay away from. I just try to impress upon everyone that it is an entertainment. I am not the President. I’m an actor playing a President, and it’s a role that I relish. I visualized playing roles like this all my career. I just don’t want to do the same old things. I don’t want to be the drug dealer or the dirty cop or the rapist. Those kinds of characters, even though those characters serve a purpose. It’s all part of entertainment, but it has always been my goal and my wish to play roles that, even if they don’t entertain you thoroughly, at least, after you turn off the set or you walk out of the theater, you will have learned something. And that’s still my mantra. What are the cast like when new scripts come in? What’s the cast like? Oh, we devour them voraciously. It goes to the department heads first. We usually find a script in the makeup. There are a lot of people that look to the department heads, who get the scripts before we do, and try to get an idea of what’s coming up next. I cannot and will not do that. I seriously believe that it affects the way I work, on a subconscious level. If I have two scripts that I’m working on, I won’t look at another script until I’m finished with the two that I’m working on. Are you allowed to take them home, or have they got to stay? Oh, we take them home, absolutely. The fans here and the fans elsewhere, I know you’re very curious about what’s coming up next. If you asked us what was coming next, you’d probably stop me before I got the chance to tell you. “Oh no, no, don’t tell me!” Which is what I get. I get that more now in the second or third season than I got in the first season. People were so enthusiastic in the first season. They wanted to know what was happening next, because they were not used to it. They weren’t used to this kind of format, this kind of show. And so they went: “Hey man, what’s coming up next? I can’t take it.” But after the first season, nobody asked that anymore. If they did ask, they’d stop me just before I open my mouth. Even though I was only opening my mouth to say, “I can’t tell you.” (laughs) You know. Continued on page 2 |
|
|||
|
© 2012 PHASE9 ENTERTAINMENT |
||||
Subscribe to the free PHASE9 Entertainment
newsletter
|
||||
| PHASE9
ENTERTAINMENT - HOME MOVIES MUSIC DVD GAMES COMPETITIONS HOT PHOTOS VIDEO STREAMS |
||||