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Zachary Levi at the NBC All-Star party held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. on July 17, 2007.
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By Christina Radish
From executive producer Josh Schwartz (The OC) and executive producer/director McG (Charlie’s Angels), the one-hour action-comedy series Chuck tells the story of Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi), a computer geek who is catapulted into a new career as the government’s most vital secret agent. When Chuck opens an e-mail subliminally encoded with government secrets, he unwittingly downloads an entire server of sensitive data into his brain. Now, the fate of the world lies in the unlikely hands of a guy who works at a Buy More Electronics store. Instead of fighting computer viruses, he must now confront assassins and international terrorists.
With the government’s most precious secrets in Chuck’s head, Major John Casey of the National Security Agency (Adam Baldwin) assumes the responsibility of protecting him, while Chuck's partner is the CIA’s top agent, Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski), both of whom will try to keep him safe, by trading in his pocket protector for a bulletproof vest. Also starring are Joshua Gomez as Morgan, Chuck’s best buddy, and Sarah Lancaster, as Chuck’s ever-supportive sister, Ellie.
Schwartz and star Zachary Levi talk to MediaBlvd Magazine about their new NBC series.
MediaBlvd Magazine> Zack, how did you get this part? Was it a complicated process?
Zachary Levi> I wouldn’t call it complicated, but I wouldn’t call it easy, either.
Josh Schwartz> It was easy for us. As soon as we saw his audition, we were like, “We found Chuck!”
Zachary> Any time you’re auditioning for a pilot, normally there are about four steps involved. You go and audition for the casting director, and then, if that goes well, you’ll come back for the producers. And then, if that goes well, you come back for the studio executives and the studio brass. And, if that goes well, then you come back for the network brass. And then, hopefully, God was in your corner, and you got the job. In this case, NBC was in my corner. I went in for the casting director, and Josh was actually shooting the last episode of The OC.
Josh> His tape came over on the last day of the last episode of The OC.
Zachary> So, I was unable to do a producer session, but the casting director put me on tape and sent that video directly down to Josh, on set, and they said, “Hey, we found our Chuck.” The next Monday, they sent me to battle my way through the studio, and that was fantastic. All was well. The head of Warner Brothers was very supportive, as was everyone there. And then, the next day was the network test, which was more of the same, as far as all the suits sitting there, staring at you, and you having to entertain. But, I got the news pretty quick.
Josh> The good news was that we were so thrilled to get Zack. The show is called Chuck, and Zack was able to read with potential Morgans and Sarahs. So, when Josh Gomez walked in the room and those two guys read together, it was instant chemistry. We knew we found Morgan as soon as we saw them do scenes together.
MediaBlvd> Zack, you’ve been a part of ensembles before, and Chuck is also an ensemble. Now that you’re the title character, what’s that been like? Have you noticed a difference, just for yourself and the way you’re approaching this, or are you completely calm?
Zachary> It’s a weird combination of jumping into a job that is very different, not just in the fact that Less than Perfect was an ensemble and multi-camera and this is single camera with longer hours, but I’m the title character. It’s a grind. It’s a long day, but it’s so worth it. Basically, I told every one of my friends and family that I’m a ghost. I said, “I’m not going to see you for a long time.” I have new friends and family now, and they’re my cast and crew. I spend all day with them and, hopefully, we make some magic. And then, on top of that, on my commute home, I see an eight-foot version of my head on a billboard, just looking at me. It doesn’t even look like me. I look at it and I’m like, “Who is that schmuck?” It’s very surreal, but it’s the greatest blessing I’ve ever been given, so I’m super excited about it.
MediaBlvd> Josh, when The OC premiered, you got to have it launch in the summer, a little bit away from the fray. What’s it like, now, to have a show premiere during Premiere Week, and have it compete for attention, amidst all these other shows?
Josh> It’s scary, and it’s exciting. We couldn’t be happier, in terms of being on Mondays at 8:00, before Heroes, and being a part of that Monday night lineup. And, NBC has been supportive, and they’ve really gone all-out, in promoting the show. You can watch it on a plane, if you’re flying on United. You can see trailers in movie theaters. You can eat popcorn out of Chuck popcorn bags. So, they’re really pushing the show, and you’ve got to feel really good about that. For us, we’re just trying to stay focused on making the best show we can, and we’re really proud of the show we’re doing and how the first few episodes have turned out. NBC seems thrilled. The rest will work itself out.
MediaBlvd> Have you tweaked the show much, since the pilot, or is it going to stay the way you originally envisioned?
Josh> I think we’ve been really fortunate that we started out with a real plan of what we wanted the show to be, and we’ve all been really in sync, at the studio, the network, with all the writers and, of course, the cast. We all seem to be moving together, which is not easy. We’re really fortunate that we have a shared vision for what the show is, and everybody is working together to execute that.
MediaBlvd> Zack, how are your own computer skills?
Zachary> I would say that I’m pretty computer savvy. I won’t say that I’m the greatest typer of all time. I skimmed my way through my typing classes a little bit, but I’m a hell of a poker, and I can poke my way through a keyboard like it’s nobody’s business. So, I’m pretty good at navigating through my computers. I’ve got friends that are much better at it than I am. In fact, they’re kind of my Chucks that I go to, to help me get through all of my troubleshooting. But, I’m pretty good.
MediaBlvd> If you were able to go through secret government files and, unlike Chuck, you knew what you’re looking for, is there some super top-secret information you’d love to unearth?
Zachary> I just want to know how Velcro works. That’s really boggled me for years. The JFK thing would be pretty interesting to find out. But, maybe ignorance is bliss. Maybe the one thing that I’ve learned from being this Chuck character is that ignorance is bliss. I don’t know if I’d want to know anything.
MediaBlvd> How self-contained are the episodes going to remain? Will there be a more serialized elements introduced?
Josh> Some episodes will be self-contained. The personal lives of these characters will have a serialized component. And, there’s also the villain of the week, for lack of a better phrase. There are some over-arching series mythology questions that we will touch upon in the series, like why Bryce sent Chuck this email, who Bryce was working for, and that kind of thing.
MediaBlvd> In terms of the action, will you be keeping up the big-budget, high-octane sequences?
Josh> We are trying our best. In the first episode, I think there’s two car explosions, a serious hand-to-hand combat battle sequence, where Sarah now works, and a helicopter chase. So, we’re definitely doing our best to deliver the action.
MediaBlvd> Zack, can you talk about being involved in big action scenes?
Zachary> Oh, my gosh! I’m a kid in a candy store. It’s ridiculous. I love every single thing about it. I love blowing things up. I like shooting at things. I like flying around, in out of control helicopters. I like car chases. Whatever. I insist on doing as much stunt work as I can, like falling and flying through the air, and all that, because ever since I was a little kid, all I did was play war, and dirt clods were our hand grenades. Now, I get to do that and get paid for it, so it’s pretty fantastic.
MediaBlvd> Chuck isn’t supposed to be the guy who knows how to do stuff, but do you have to do any training to be able to weather all that physicality?
Zachary> Not really. Not nearly as much as Yvonne, who plays Sarah, or Adam Baldwin, or any of the guest stars that come in and play bad guys. They all go through much more intensive fight training and choreography. I do have some choreographed stuff that I have to pull off, but fortunately, it’s mainly things like falling out of the way just before I get clocked in the face by someone’s fist. So, it’s not so much me having to choreograph with another stunt fighter and really making it a dance. It’s more me dancing with the ground. That’s pretty much what I do, mostly. I fall to the ground and then I scurry away, which, by the way, can be very dangerous. You have to have the appropriate equipment.
MediaBlvd> How would you like to see the relationship between Chuck and Sarah evolve this season?
Zachary> I’ve thought about that and wondered whether it might be more interesting for Chuck to go out and get some other love interests. One of the things that I love about the show is that I love the surprises that we get from our writers every week, and the direction that they’re taking the characters. If it means that Chuck and Sarah start getting a little bit more lovey-dovey, and it actually starts becoming a thing, then cool. I trust them to know what’s going to be good for ratings. And, Yvonne’s nothing to shake a stick at. That’s one gorgeous, tough girl. If I have to be lovey-dovey with her, then I’ll take that bullet. Or, if it’s Rachel Bilson, or whoever else, I look forward to wherever they take the characters. I just think it’s really fun.
Josh> The show is called Chuck, and the guy is doing just an extraordinary job of bringing this character to life. And, I really think it’s a big reason why the show is going to stand on its own and feel so unique, special and different. It’s because of his performance as the titular character. And, also, it’s the ensemble that’s around him -- Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah, Adam Baldwin, who is hilarious and deadpan as John Casey, Josh Gomez as Morgan, Sarah Lancaster as Ellie and Ryan McPartlin as Captain Awesome. The Chuck/Ellie dynamic is really the soul of the show, in a lot of ways. We just have this really wonderful cast that does it all, in terms of comedy, action and romance.
MediaBlvd> With Rachel Bilson coming to the show for a few episodes, is Chuck going to be more fond of blondes, like Yvonne, or brunettes, like Rachel?
Zachary> I think Chuck’s a lover. It’s apples and oranges. I’ll tell you. personally, I’m out of my mind that Rachel Bilson is going to be on the show. I can’t even stand it. I think she’s so gorgeous and talented, and she’s had a great past, working with Josh and a lot of our crew, who are also from The OC. It will be really fun.
Josh> I think the fun thing about when she comes on the show is that Chuck has had this relationship with Sarah, who is this unbelievably beautiful woman that has showed up in his life, but she’s sort of there on assignment to babysit him. Anything that feels like it’s a flirtation or a chemistry between them, Chuck is always wondering, “Is this real, or is this part of the cover? Where do we stand?” And so, for the opportunity for him to meet a real girl and potentially have a real relationship, even though he’s supposedly involved in a fake relationship with Sarah, and she can keep popping up as the ex-girlfriend who’s kind of crazy, but she’s really doing her CIA duty to babysit him, creates a really fun, potential dynamic. And then, because of Chuck’s spy-infested world that he finds himself in, maybe this Rachel Bilson character isn’t exactly who she says she is, after all.
MediaBlvd> Any other details about Rachel Bilson, or upcoming episodes that she’s doing?
Josh> She’s going to do a couple of episodes. We were thrilled that it worked out. She’s been off filming this giant Doug Liman action movie (Jumper) all over the world, and she was going to be in L.A. for a few weeks. And, she’s really funny. It just felt like she could really fit the tone of the show. And, the chemistry she would have, and the comedy between her and Zack, seemed ideal. We were really excited that she was around and available and willing to help out our little show, as we get launched. She’s introduced to Chuck as this really great, sweet girl. She’s a sandwich maker and can work some magic. What starts off as a real relationship, for Chuck, in his spy-infested world, then makes him wonder if she’s not exactly who she says she is. It creates a really nice dynamic between Chuck and Sarah, as they’re trying to figure out what’s real and what’s just the cover in their dynamic. It brings all of those issues to a head, and we’re just super excited.
MediaBlvd> Now that Traveler is done, will we see Matthew Bomer return?
Josh> We’re just getting ready to shoot an episode where Chuck goes back to Stanford, which is sort of the Chuck origin story, and it’s an opportunity for him to understand more about his relationship in college with Bryce. And, through the use of flashbacks, Matthew Bomer will be returning.
MediaBlvd> As you go forward with the series, will it be more about Chuck’s mission of the week, or is it about him trying to keep his life a secret, or is it a mix of all that?
Josh> It’s really a combination. It’s as much about him trying to save the world, as it is about him trying to save the Buy More. His spy life is equally as dangerous as his life at the Buy More, with everyone angling for that assistant manager position, and the nefarious going-ons that happen at his real job. So, it really is a balance between that office place comedy and the spy action, and then his life crisis, for lack of a better word, at home.
MediaBlvd> Are Morgan and Chuck’s sister, and those folks, going to find out what’s going on with him, or is that part of the show?
Josh> I never say never, but a huge part of the show is this secret identity, which is really hard for a guy like Chuck to maintain because he loves his sister and his best friend, Morgan, and shares everything with them. And, now, he has to keep the most important thing in his a secret.
MediaBlvd> Chuck seems to prefer the word nerd over the word geek. What’s the difference between the two, in your eyes?
Zachary> What it came down to was that, because we’re this Geek Squad competitor -- we’re very much like the Geek Squad, but we’re not the Geek Squad -- I just thought it would be funny to have a moment where we take being called geeks personally because we’re not the Geek Squad. We’re the Nerd Herd and, within our nerd-dom, we consider nerd to be a better word than geek. It’s one of those little nerdy layers that you want to put into your character.
MediaBlvd> Josh, what is it about nerds that appeals to you?
Josh> For me, certainly, and I’ll speak on behalf of Chris Fedak, also, it’s a little bit of writing what we know. The idea of doing a spy show was always something that was really cool and exciting, but I certainly didn’t feel prepared to write a Jack Bauer-like character at the center of that show. I wouldn’t really know how to relate to that character, per se. But, with a character like Chuck, it’s really fun to imagine yourself in that kind of situation, and how would you react. Hopefully, the audience will have that same kind of wish-fulfillment, in watching the show, because I think a lot of people relate to the character and feel like they have Chucks in their own lives. As a writer, it’s my way into the show, and it’s a character that the audience identifies with. If greatness was thrust upon me, I believe I would be able to rise to that challenge. That’s Chuck’s journey. I think a lot of people really do relate to that.
MediaBlvd> Zack, have you taken on the mantle of making nerds cool? Are you up to that challenge?
Zachary> I have to say that I took this mantle on, head first. I’ve been bringing cool to nerd, or nerd to cool, for quite some time, and it’s really just a steady regimen of video games. I think that helps the transition. It really makes it real for people. I haven’t done anything, really, other than actually play video games a lot, when I have the time to do so. I think that I’m more Chuck than I’m not Chuck, so I think that it’s just allowing myself tobe nerdy, and that makes it real and fun.
MediaBlvd> There was a very nice moment at the end of the pilot where Chuck realizes the gravity of the situation he’s in. Are there going to be more moments like that, where he will realize that?
Zachary> Every single episode we’ve had, we service the action and the comedy, to keep people in our through line. There will be many moments of him knowing the gravity of what the situation is and wondering who is going to kill him, around the next turn. And then, the responsibility that he’s given, Chuck will have a moment of realizing a new part of this responsibility and this new life, in every episode. Fortunately, that will lend itself to an overall arc for Chuck himself, over the next 7 to 10 years, or however long they decide to let us live. Maybe, one day, Chuck will find his legs and be the cool dude that he could be, if given the right encouragement, or maybe that won’t happen.
Josh> In every episode, we try to carve out real moments for Chuck, in terms of what this means, and keeping it from his family, and his relationship with Sarah, and all those kinds of things. At the end of every episode, we try to ask ourselves, “How has Chuck evolved emotionally? Whatever the mission, whatever the action, how has this moved Chuck forward as a human being?” That’s really how we approach each episode.
MediaBlvd> Is it a tricky balance, to make sure the show doesn’t get too serious?
Josh> It’s tricky, but it’s fun. It means that, if things seem like they’re getting too heavy, we know it’s time to go to the Buy More. There’s some really good comedy to be found, and if things are feeling like they’re just too fun, we can always ground them into something real. So, it’s really fun to write. And, hopefully, it’s fun to act, to be able to hit all those different colors.
MediaBlvd> Josh, there are a number of new shows this season that are similar to Heroes, in that they feature ordinary people doing really super things. How does this show fit into the mold, and how does it stand on its own?
Josh> I guess it is in the zeitgeist, this year. The experience in writing it was taking the spy genre, that myself and Chris love so much, and trying to insert what would be every man, into that world. That was the fun and the wish fulfillment. I think what separates our show, first of all, is the spy component, but also I think the blend of humor and big action and real romance and a grounded quarter life crisis does as well. We’re trying to hit everything, and that’s what’s been really fun for us. Once you see the show, you’ll understand how it is unique. Plus, we have Zack Levi.
MediaBlvd> Josh, you had great influence on The OC with the music. Are you going to bring some of those influences to Chuck?
Josh> The show is set in Silver Lake, so that has a certain sound to it. Already, in just the first couple of episodes, we’ve got new tracks from the New Pornographers, The National and Spoon. There are lots of great albums, that are coming out right now, that we’re really benefiting from. We’re also trying to use music that, if you were to strip away the lyrics, could almost play as spy theme music, whether that’s Hot Chip or LCD Sound System or Gnarls Barkley. There are lots of opportunities for music. We’re having a lot of fun with it. The show really lends itself, naturally, to all kinds of different music.
MediaBlvd> Over the years a lot of shows have taken a lot of elements of The OC and tried to incorporate them into what they were doing. What do you take from that show that you can apply to Chuck or Gossip Girl?
Josh> I’m really lucky that I got to take a lot of the crew from The OC. I feel really good about that. Being able to work with people who I know and trust is a huge gift. Creatively, it’s really just about trying to build these things, in terms of trying to be smart about building them for as long a run as possible, and also always trying to keep that blend of different elements. That’s what keeps it interesting for the writers and actors, and the audience.
MediaBlvd> How are you finding time to sleep while you’re working on both shows?
Josh> It’s really fun. I’m really lucky that I have a great group of writers on Chuck, starting with Chris Fedak, who is co-creator of the show with me, and who is awesome. And, I’m working with Stephanie Savage on Gossip Girl. So, there’s just great teams, all the way around, and it makes my life a lot easier. |
