Teen Television
October 1, 2007
by Lynn Barker
He's, tall dark and super cute but he says that, as a child, he "looked like a monkey." Not any more! Now, handsome Lee Pace stars on TV in the new ABC fantasy dramady "Pushing Daisies" as Ned, a pie maker with a mysterious ability to make the dead come alive! This gift isn't all on the plus side. If he touches a living thing for a second time, death will be permanent. Oh yeah, and if the reanimated lives for more than a minute, somebody else, nearby will die!
So, what does a guy with this "gift" do with it? Ned becomes a private investigator, asking dead folks who killed them! Of course, when the love of his life Charlotte "Chuck" Charles is murdered, he just has to touch her...for the last time! Now, she's among the living but no random hook ups or even kisses for this couple or she re-enters the land of the dead! Talk about a bummer! We have a feeling they'll find a way.
This quirky, romantic forensic fairytale has moved Lee from his New York digs to L.A. and he says he's lovin' it. The actor, who was in The Good Shepherd and who you can also catch next year in Possession with Sarah Michelle Gellar, was dressed all dapper in suit and tie when we chatted with him recently in Beverly Hills. When a crowd of reporters made it hard to navigate down some stairs, Lee took my arm to help me. We're a sucker for gentlemen...whether they can raise the dead or not!
What do you think about all the favorable buzz the show has been getting?
Oh, it's fantastic that people like the show and I'm really grateful that people like it so far. I hope they like it as much when they tune in Oct. 3rd.
If you really had this power, who would you touch to bring back?
Wow. My grandmother because I loved her very much.
Were you looking for a series and this fell in your lap or what?
Actually, I wasn't looking for a series. I've done some really cool movies the past few years but I heard that Bryan Fuller was doing a series and I had a great time with him on "Wonderfalls" and I was curious about what he was doing. I read the pilot and liked the character so much and I heard that Barry [Sonnenfeld] was directing it and I liked him so much I was like 'this is a really good show' and it's better than a lot of movies I've read the past couple of years too. I love the idea of developing a character this rich over, potentially, a few years. I really love TV. I think some movie actors kind of treat it as this last chance, last stop but I think it's really interesting. I'm excited about working every day. I think it's really cool that that many millions of people can watch a show every week and get invested in the work you are doing. I think it's message is really good and strong so I feel good about being a part of that.
We hear the writers are coming up with some strange ways for Ned and Charlotte to touch without really touching.
We've been joking around about that for a long time and I've heard a couple of things in the upcoming episodes that are really funny, there's a sweet, romantic use of that whole idea.
Like you'll have to wear bear costumes and kiss through plastic wrap and that kind of thing?
I don't know if we'll get that kinky. [laughs]
What about the show really intrigues you?
I'm really excited about the procedural [detective] elements to the show. It wasn't the thing that initially attracted me to it. I thought the love story would be really fun. But, with the minds that work on this show, I think that procedural element is going to be really awesome. The episodes that I've read so far, every one takes you into this really cool, kind of bizarre, splashy world. They are all totally different, all exciting. There's a neat adventure to it. The first episode is about Ned getting excited about the adventure, getting out of The Pie Hole [where he works], excited about breaking free and starting to live his life.
When you were a kid or teen, what kind of fantasy films or books did you enjoy?
I read comic books when I was a kid and watched cartoons like crazy. I was a really weird kid so anything weird.
Will there be any more on the show featuring Ned as a child, going back to his childhood?
Every episode is going to begin with little Ned and that kid is great. he really looks like me. I think he makes my performance better, actually. [As a kid] I looked horrible. I had big ears and funny teeth. I looked like a little monkey. There is this picture of me in swim team, awww, it's bad. I got swimmer's ear. I guess I don't have big ears anymore but I looked like a monkey with my hair always sticking up.
You were born in Texas and lived as a child in the Middle East so how did you get into acting?
I got to a point where it was the only thing I knew how to do and I was in high school [in Texas] and I auditioned for Julliard and got in. I did a couple of monologues and had a meeting with them. I don't know how they picked me. They said, 'you now have to go back to high school and get your diploma' so I did.
Ned's a baker. Can you actually bake?
I had to learn how to bake for this so I can't really. It's much trickier than you would think. It's hard.
What's your favorite pie?
Bryan's been getting us pies from this great place in L.A. The pies are like this thick [indicates a few inches]. I'd get cherry or berry pie. A lot of the ones on set are plastic so I'm not too tempted by those.
Were you reminded of Tim Burton films when you saw this? I was.
Yeah but I know Bryan well enough to know where it came from in his mind; the kind of morbid aspects of it as well as the sweeter parts of it. It's a hard thing to describe. People are like 'what's your show about?' 'Uh...' It never does it justice if you try to give a log line on it. I would always say a mix between Edward Scissorhands and Amelie. It's got that feel. It's whimsical but there's a pathos to it.
Away from work, what are your hobbies and passions?
I ride my bike a lot. I just moved from New York. I miss New York but I'm loving L.A. I think it's easy to have a good healthy lifestyle out here. I've been here a month. I read a lot, novels mostly. I would ride my bike all over New York which I kind of miss but I'm really close to the studio and I might be able to ride my bike to work but there's that huge hill going down Barham so I figure I might break my neck. I'm excited about having a real, grownup life here, having a good job to go to every day cuz auditioning sucks. It's no fun.
There are a lot of really experienced actors on the show. Are you looking forward to working with them?
Oh yeah. Me and Anna [Friel who plays "Chuck"] have become really friendly so we've hung out quite a bit. We've also hung out in London a lot. You get to be friends with people you work with. It's like an office. It's a good group. It's not a bunch of [first-timers], it's people who've been working and acting for quite a while.
Are there any of your movies in the can that we'll see soon?
Actually just came from London where I was shooting this movie Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, a focus features film.
It sounds like this show.
[laughs] I didn't think about that. It's Frances McDomand, Amy Adams and me. It's a '30's comedy set in London and I play a piano player to Amy Adams nightclub singer.
Did you really play piano?
I didn't but I learned to. I sing a little bit in that. I'm trying to keep the singing thing quiet because I'm terrified that Barry will hear me talking about it He's the one I'm worried about.
Ah, and he'll make you sing! What movie that you've done did you like best?
I really loved The Good Shephard. It was a terrific experience to work with Robert DeNiro, Matt Damon; an incredible cast. And I did Possession with Sarah Michelle Gellar. It's a psychological thriller [coming out next year].
Are you her love interest?
[big grin] Yeah and we can touch in that one! It was fun to shoot.
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