More Burn Notice Interviews
Jul 9, 2008 Burn Notice, Co-Stars, Interview
By Ian Spelling for UGO
Burn Notice is one of those super-cool shows with a modest, but loyal fan base. The USA Network series will kick off its second season on July 10, and everyone involved hopes that, based on its critics’ darling status, USA’s amped-up promotional campaign and on good, old-fashioned fan-to-fan word of mouth, Burn Notice will attract a wider audience in year two. For those unfamiliar with the slickly shot show, it stars hottie (or so my wife insists) Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen, a discredited cover-ops agent who’s forced to cool his heels in Miami, his hometown, trapped there with no money, no job, no link to his handler, and always under surveillance.
So, while trying figure out who screwed him over - or more accurately stated, burned him - and why, the ever-resourceful Westen keeps busy as a spy for hire and a private investigator. Among those in Westen’s circle are his ex-girlfriend Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar), once an IRA operative; longtime pal Sam (Bruce Campbell), a sleazy, fun-loving womanizer and former operative; and Madeline (Sharon Gless), Westen’s chain-smoking, tough-love, hypochondriac momma. The amiable Donovan and the quip-happy Campbell recently took to the phone for a conference call. UGO was on the line and joined in the fun. Here’s some of what went down:
UGO: Jeffrey, Michael is extremely good with like electronics and making something out of pretty much nothing. Was MacGyver an inspiration for your character?
JEFFREY DONOVAN: Well, you’d have to ask (creator/exec producer) Matt Nix, actually. He’s the one who came up with the idea of a guy who was MacGyver-esque, but you actually believed he could do those things. So everything that we do in the show, you actually can make at home. Matt keeps a couple of ingredients out of the bombs just so no one, you know, blows up little Timmy.
UGO: Bruce, Sam is pretty good with the ladies, particularly the older sugar mamas. Is your role helping you at all with the ladies? Are you at least more fans who are older women?
BRUCE CAMPBELL: No, I’m not getting anything here in Miami. My wife is a very good ally in that respect. I don’t need to go method here. So everything is all under control here in Miami. I’m just standing back, in awe of Mr. Donovan.
UGO: Jeffrey, everyone wants you and Fiona to hook up…
DONOVAN: (He chuckles loudly.) That’s a crazy relationship that’s going to have its ups and downs. And it’s going to go left, right and all around, and it’ll be exciting. Some of the episodes I actually don’t read until I get on the day, just so I can see what crazy thing she’s going to do to me that day.
UGO: Bruce, you’re very aware of your cult following status. Are you at all worried that if this show gets too popular you’ll accidentally become a huge star?
CAMPBELL: Yes, I’m terrified. And as a matter of fact, I have put plans in place to sabotage the show.
UGO: How are you guys adjusting to the life in Miami?
CAMPBELL: Mr. Donovan?
DONOVAN: I’m wearing a lot more Speedos.
CAMPBELL: And I’m sweating more. That’s my change. That’s what I’ve changed. I stopped shivering in Oregon and starting sweating in Miami.
UGO: Bruce, any cool movie cameos coming up?
CAMPBELL: No, but I have an actual movie called My Name is Bruce coming out this fall.
UGO: Which you directed…
CAMPBELL: Yes, I’m even in it, too, in more than a cameo.
UGO: How do you like directing yourself?
CAMPBELL: Well it was very difficult directing myself because I got in raging arguments with myself all day long. As you know, I’m very difficult. So that’s really the biggest trouble. Next time I’m going to do the sequel without Bruce.
UGO: Jeffrey, when we left off last season, Michael was driving into the back of a truck. He was speaking to, we’re assuming the character that Tricia Helfer is going to be playing. So, where do we go from here and what’s next for Michael?
DONOVAN: Well, obviously, I don’t want to give anything away so that you’ll tune in for the premiere July 10 — Thursday night, 10:00 p.m. … That was good, wasn’t it? But you are actually going to meet Miss Helfer in the flesh (as the mysterious Carla). She’s behind a lot of things that held Michael back and you realize she’s actually controlling his life. And so…
CAMPBELL: She’s very, very evil.
DONOVAN: Yeah, she’s very evil and sexy at the same time.
CAMPBELL: That’s evexy. Jeffrey
DONOVAN: Yes, yes.
UGO: The writing on Burn Notice is really fresh and original, but a lot of very inventive shows lately have debuted strong and struggled in their second seasons. How happy are you so far with the season-two scripts and is there any pressure to avoid a sophomore slump?
DONOVAN: Love the second season scripts. I think they’re even better than the first season and I think the first season was pretty darn good in and of itself. You know, the ratings are not up to me. They’re up to the general public and if they go up and down, we’re still going to do the same thing we did last year, which was make the show we’d watch. And if people follow, great. If they don’t, well we’re going to be … we’ll still be proud of what we did.
CAMPBELL: Ain’t going to be no slumpin’. Ain’t going to be no sophomore slump, my friend. People are still finding the show and I’ve had the weirdest batch of emails from people from very odd demographics who are following the show. The DVD is coming out. USA knows that it’s a hit now, so they’re going to promote it more. We’re all behind it. So I don’t know. I think there’s… (and) we’re doing 16 episodes instead of 10 or 11. So, you know, there’s every reason to believe in my opinion, in my ignorant opinion, that we’re going to do even better this year
Leave a Reply