By Christina Radish
In the mid-season finale of the NBC television series Life, the conspiracy of who was responsible for framing Detective Charlie Crews (Damian Lewis), wrongly sending him to prison for 12 years for a crime he didn’t commit, has begun to unravel in significant ways. With the now obvious involvement of his partner Dani Reese’s (Sarah Shahi) father, Crews is closer to finding answers now than he ever has been.
Co-stars Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers) and Sarah Shahi (The L Word) spoke with MediaBlvd Magazine about working on the detective drama, and what it’s like to have a successful series.
MediaBlvd Magazine> Are you guys still filming, at this point?
Damian Lewis> We’re not filming anymore. We were affected by the strike. We were able to complete 11 episodes, but the order was for 13. When the strike’s over, now that we’ve been picked up, we’ll go back and complete those. And then, we will continue to film the back nine. The hours are intense in network TV. I was warned about it, and it’s true, so it’s been a lovely little break. But, I’m equally glad that the issues are being resolved and then we can all get back to work.
MediaBlvd> You weren’t tempted to just go back to England and take a long vacation as soon as the show stopped filming?
Damian> Have you seen the weather in England this time of year? I’m putting sun cream on and walking about in my shorts.
MediaBlvd> What has having a successful series in Los Angeles meant for you and your family back in England?
Damian> Well, we’ve moved over for the duration of the job, for as long as that works. We’re all here, backwards and forwards. We’ll follow the work like gypsies.
MediaBlvd> How did it happen that they wanted a Brit to play an American detective?
Damian> I just got a phone call and I read the script. I liked it very much, so I said yes. And, I was in L.A. a couple of months later, filming the pilot. It was as simple as that. In terms of Americans playing Brits, and Brits playing Americans, the industry is a global industry now. I just think you want the people that are best for each particular role. And, I was flattered by their request for me, and that they wanted me for the role. It seems to be working out, so it’s great. And, it frees up us actors hugely to be able to play in different compliments the way we can now. I’m enjoying it hugely.
MediaBlvd> Did you base your accent for Crews on anything, or did you work with a voice coach?
Damian> I always work with a voice coach, before every new job I do. And, I actually just stay in an American accent once I’m over here, surrounded by Americans. I find that it makes it a lot easier for me to work in an American accent. I don’t have to make those transitions from British to American, in and out, during the day. I research each role I play and I had a lot of videotape to look at for this, but there was no one accent that I based it on. I knew there were some sounds I wanted to avoid that might make one sound East Coast, and there were sounds that I wanted to put in there that had just a hint of West Coast. He shouldn’t sound like a surfer dude. So, in the end, I ended up with this generic, Midwestern-sounding American accent that should be easy on everyone’s ears. It shouldn’t jar. It should be believable.
MediaBlvd> When you were looking for roles and this came along, did it fit something you were looking to do?
Sarah Shahi> Absolutely. I hunger for meaty roles that have these complexities and internal conflicts, and layer upon layer of stuff to play. It was something that I had always wanted. They would always say, “Well, she’s too pretty,” or “No one would buy her as this struggling small town waitress,” or whatever excuse it was that they could come up with. With this, it was really nice because, if anything, her looks were definitely secondary to all the other things that she has to deal with. I hope that comes across in the acting, and I’m glad that they took a chance on me. I hope they’re happy with me.Damian> Sarah is doing fantastic work in this and I hope everybody thinks that. And, the endless questions about cheerleading is really not applicable to what she’s doing now. She definitely has proved herself as a serious actress. I hope everybody agrees with that.
MediaBlvd> How are managing work with two very young children? And, with your wife a very successful actress in the UK, how are you going to manage juggling this in the future, given that Life could last for quite some time?
Damian> We’ve been asking ourselves that exact same question, and we have no answers yet. But, it’s blissful. The kids are fantastic. You don’t sleep and you clear up a lot of vomit. Who could want anything more?
MediaBlvd> Can you give any hints about how much of the conspiracy will be resolved and when?
Damian> I think what’s becoming apparent about the conspiracy is that it’s a multi-layered onion, and we will need to keep peeling away that onion, in order to get to the people driving the conspiracy. By the end of episode 11, we make a big discovery that’s very exciting. It will only take us on to a new level, after that.
MediaBlvd> How much about the conspiracy were you both told up front? Do you already know all the answers?
Damian> I don’t, and I don’t think Sarah does. She’s terrible at keeping a secret, so she definitely would have told me. The writers themselves don’t know too far in advance. I think they have general outlines, but they’re putting in the details weekly, so we’re not too far behind the writers. But, I don’t want to know everything up front. I’m enjoying discovering it. It’s like reading a novel.
Sarah> Yeah, it’s more fun to play like that. For me, it’s just not my technique to try to know everything and then play the discovery once I’m there. I really do not want to know.
MediaBlvd> How long do you think the storyline about what happened to Crews can go on?
Damian> The cleverness of the concept is that you can ink it out as long as you choose to. How high up do you want the corruption to go? Does it just stop at the LAPD? There was already an intimation, from one of the episodes, that there are four or five high ranking officials involved. You could just go to one of them in the first season, and so on, until you go after each one of them in the following four seasons. You could go to the White House. You could take it on to the moon. How multi-stranded is the web of corruption? You can take it laterally as well. And, it really can go anywhere, in the same way that 24 was a brilliantly conceived concept. They can do pretty much whatever they want with that show.
MediaBlvd> Sarah, can you tell us a little bit more about your background? Are you married? Have you lived in LA for a long time? And, is it true that you’re the great-great granddaughter of an Iranian Shah?
Sarah> Yes, it’s true. My father is Persian and, on my dad’s side, he was the ruler of the Qajar Dynasty in, I believe, the 18th century. It was the last ruling dynasty of Iran, and I don’t have any gold coins or any plaques or crowns to show for my title. It’s just a fun bit of family history. My life in LA is wonderful. I have a very simple life. I have a fiancé. I have a dog. For the most part, it’s very nice. We live in a house with a white picket fence, and I like to go to coffee shops and read books.
MediaBlvd> How difficult was it to establish yourself as a serious actress, coming from a cheerleading background? Do you feel that a show like Life has finally put that aside?
Sarah> It has been nice. When I first moved out to LA, the only thing I had to offer, in a town full of competition, was that I had been a football cheerleader. But, that was merely a stepping stone for me to get somewhere else. It was something that I fought. And, doing something as racy as The L Word didn’t help. So, it’s been nice that I’ve been able to parlay my skills and take some serious roles. It was wonderful when I got this opportunity because it’s definitely been unexpected.
MediaBlvd> Would you say The L Word helped or hurt you, in your role in Hollywood?
Sarah> It did both. At the time, I was definitely a struggling actress and living month-to-month, so it helped put some money in my pocket and gave me the luxury of being a bit pickier with my roles. It was my first big serious regular role and it definitely put an impression in people’s minds, which I know can be hard to avoid with a show like The L Word. But, all in all, I’m grateful for it and I would do the same thing again.
MediaBlvd> It’s refreshing to see a television show in which the co-workers are not having sex with each other. Do you think your characters just aren’t each other’s type, or do you think that because they’re dealing with so many personal things that it just hasn’t come up?
Sarah> I think any time you get your two lead characters together, there’s really nowhere to go from there. So, hopefully it’s something that, if it happens, it will be drawn out for an incredibly long time, and be tantalizing.
MediaBlvd> Sarah, do you think that Dani realizes that Crews has been set up all along? Or, do you think she really is still not sure whose side to take?
Sarah> She got into a heap of trouble before everything began. And so, for her, the more distant she can remain from trouble, the better off she feels. As far as the stuff with her father, I think she has some awareness of what’s going on. But, for the most part, she chooses not to get involved with it, maybe for her own safety.
MediaBlvd> There are some real complications now, with your character’s father being involved in what happened to Crews. Were you surprised by that development, or did you know how intimately your character’s father was going to be involved in the whole thing?
Sarah> I didn’t know. I didn’t have an idea. I knew that, ultimately, Reese does have a choice to make, but I wasn’t really sure what that choice would be. And, every week, as the scripts came out, more information was being divulged to us, and we were just as excited as the audience members, sitting at home watching it, for the first time. I didn’t have any clue when we started, but it’s been quite nice. And, I hope, if anything, the shit hits the fan even more.
MediaBlvd> Damian, do you eat a lot of fruit, now that you’re doing this show?
Damian> I’m a fruit pusher. You can find me in downtown L.A. just dealing fruit on a corner. I eat a lot of fruit in the summer. I just do. So, it’s a happy coincidence that Rand wrote this quirky character, eating a lot of fruit. In fact, I was coming back from catering one day with a big bowl of fruit and some guy stopped me and went, “Are you insane? Don’t you eat enough fruit as it is?” I just like to eat fruit when it’s hot, and it’s always hot in L.A., even through January, February and March, so I guess I’ll be okay.
Sarah> I don’t have a fruit thing.
MediaBlvd> Sarah, did you have to do much weapons training for this?
Sarah> I did. When I got the role, I went to a gun range and became familiar with some guns. I’m from Texas, so it’s just a wonder that I wasn’t familiar with them before this. But, I can say that now I am a proud carrier of my own Glock and a shotgun. It wasn’t anything that the show had me do, but just for myself, before we even shot the pilot, for about three months or so, I would go to the gun range and just shoot different weapons, so that I could learn about them. And, we do have an advisor on set that’s there to answer questions.
MediaBlvd> So, you bought your own gun?
Sarah> I did. My fiancé and I would go to the gun range together. It’s something that we enjoy doing. And, I have to say, I’m a pretty good aim. If they ever let me really shoot on the show, I think I would hit the target.
MediaBlvd> What is the life goal, as you understand it, of Reese and Crews, respectively? Obviously, Crews wants to solve the conspiracy, pursue his end path and eat fruit. But, beyond that, what does he want out of his life? And, what does Reese want out of her life?
Damian> Crews has been re-calibrated by his experience in prison. But, before he went there, I think he was a regular Joe. He was at the Academy. It was always his fantasy to be a cop in the LAPD, and maybe become a Detective, Lieutenant and Captain, and have his house in the Valley and his two kids, and his dog, and collect his pension. He had a nice life mapped out for himself, which was the kind of life that people want, but a bomb was put underneath that idea when he was falsely accused and sent to prison. Now, he’s just trying to achieve some stillness and peace, and just be happy, and stay in the moment. It’s a question of the day-to-day for him, and the small pieces of happiness that he can get. He savors things, like a piece of fruit, much more than the average person who might have become complacent or smug about their life. Charlie Crews is living every moment, intensely.
Sarah> I think one of the things with Dani is that she has some maturing to do. I feel like that process is just beginning, and her being partnered with Charlie is a good thing because, in the end, she will learn some things from him. But, especially for right now, she just wants to be in the moment. In regard to her drug addiction and her alcohol past, that’s something that still haunts her and that she still struggles with it. And, she doesn’t have a very good relationship with her father. She’s distant from her family. At this point in time, her primary concern is to stay sober, to do a great job and just be Charlie’s partner. Her primary goal is to be confident in her sobriety and be a great cop. And, maybe one day, she would like to make amends with her family.
MediaBlvd> Now that you have several months experience doing a detective drama, do either of you have any theories regarding why crime stories, cop shows and legal dramas are so popular?
Sarah> I think because there’s a mystery there, and there’s a crime to solve. It’s about putting the pieces of a puzzle together. With Law & Order, and other shows in the past, that’s been the draw. You get to solve the crime along with the actors, and new pieces of information gets revealed.
MediaBlvd> After working rigorous hours on this really serious, intense show, when you get home, do you ever want to just relax in front of the TV with something not so serious?
Sarah> You mean like a bottle of vodka? No. Damian has kids, so it’s slightly different for him. But, for me, when I get home from work, it’s so exhausting that I’m just out of my mind. Literally, all I can do is jump in the shower and then hit the sack. And then, I wake up eight hours later and do the grind again. I try to unwind. I think of a nice, unwinding evening at home with a bottle of wine and my significant other, where you share time with each other, but somehow it just doesn’t happen like that.
Damian> I’m pretty similar to that, I’m afraid. I do a lot of tip-toeing around, when my two young children are asleep. I’m getting through watching the first season of The Wire, which I never saw and I love. I’m also watching Mad Men. And then, I TiVo pretty much anything on Turner Classic Movies.
MediaBlvd> How did they tell you that the show had been picked up? Was it just some bland phone call, or did they call the whole crew together and tell you all at once?
Sarah> I was at an appointment. I went back to my car and checked my voice mail, and our executive producers, Rand Ravich and Far Shariat, had left a message, where they were both screaming at the top of their lungs, saying, “Unfortunately, we’ve received some bad news. You’re going to have to continue working with us.” It was wonderful. It was lovely.
MediaBlvd> What’s it like to find out that you’re on a show that gets picked up for more episodes, but you can’t film those episodes right now?
Sarah> It’s incredibly exciting and it’s wonderful, and my whole family is excited. It’s nice to know that I have a job during the strike. At the same time, because the hours have been so grueling in the past, and we’ve been hitting it hard for so long, it does feel nice to have a couple months off just to rejuvenate and reconnect with the real world, and try to feel normal again. And then, hopefully, by the time we’re tired of that and ready to go back to work, the writer’s strike will end and we’ll get what we want at that end, too.
MediaBlvd> Damian, can you talk about the movies you have coming out next year?
Damian> I have Chromophobia, which came out this month, in the UK. It’s a Martha Fiennes film. Martha Fiennes is the sister of Ralph Fiennes, and Ralph Fiennes is in the movie. Kristin Scott Thomas is also in it, along with Penelope Cruz, Ben Chaplin, Ian Holm, Rhys Ifans and myself. I kept very lovely company for two months. And, it centers around myself and Kristin Scott Thomas, as a married couple that have really become estranged from one another, as well as the important things in life. It’s set in contemporary London. It’s a film that deals with the contemporary moral maze. The Baker is a film that I produced within Picture Farm Limited, which is a production company that I’m a partner in. My brother, Gareth, wrote and directed it. It’s his first film. It just won an award at the Tremblant Film Festival in Canada, and I think it will be released in March, in London. It’ll just have a small, independent release. That’s a comedy about a hit man who runs away from the mob and becomes a baker in a small village in Wales, and I played a baker in that. And then, The Escapist is another film that was made by our production company. It’s the first feature film for Rupert Wyatt, who wrote and directed it. It’s a fantastic little film about a prison escape, and it’s got a good twist in it. Sundance has just accepted it for the Festival in January, which is very exciting. And, it’s got Brian Cox, Joe Fiennes, Steven Mackintosh, Dominic Cooper and myself. I have a small cameo in it.
