Blair Underwood's "In Treatment" Buzz, "Numb3rs" Back to Work
By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
Mar 17, 2008
Blair Underwood's "In Treatment" performance as a U.S. Navy pilot in psychotherapy trying to deal with his role in the bombing of an Iraqi madrassa is already generating Emmy buzz. Underwood himself calls his part in the five-night-a-week HBO event series the most complex of his very varied career. What's helped is the wealth of knowledge he's brought to the part as the son of a career Army man.
Buzz Over Blair Underwood's Psychically Bruised Pilot Portrayals (Image: Wenn)
"My father is a unique individual who retired as a full bird colonel, a high-ranking officer. We had a disciplined lifestyle, but it was nothing at all like 'The Great Santini.' Growing up on military bases, I did see that extreme, though. Absolutely. I saw the kind of chutzpah and arrogance Alex, my character, has.
"You have to have a certain mindset to be an effective soldier. Absolutely, he did not feel (guilt) initially because he'd been conditioned, socialized and trained not to feel," notes Underwood. "One of my favorite pieces of dialogue was when Alex says, 'Guilty feelings are like a liver or a spleen. The military cuts that organ out of you.'"
He adds, "It's a fascinating study. Like Hamlet -- is he actually insane or pretending to be insane? When is he putting on a facade, and when is he showing honest cracks in the armor?"
Eight weeks into the drama that stars Gabriel Byrne as a psychiatrist, Alex has shown more than cracks; he's broken down and wept. Tomorrow night's (March 18) edition will take him further down that road.
At one point, Blair was juggling his "In Treatment" filming with his series chores on "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "Dirty Sexy Money." Now he tells us "My work is over on 'Christine,' and it was just a great experience. I love that lady," he says of Julia Louis-Dreyfus. And as for "Dirty Sexy Money," it'll be awhile before the show is up and running again -- and it won't return 'til fall.
COUP TWO: "Numb3rs" regular Dylan Bruno reports they're trying for another directing coup on the hit CBS drama. Renowned filmmakers Tony and Ridley Scott exec produce the show, and Tony directed it for the first time with this season's premiere, with special guest star Val Kilmer. The troupe went back to work this month to complete this season's final six episodes, and Bruno says, "They're trying to see if we can't convince his brother, Ridley, to come and do a show. Those guys are such amazing directors. It was amazing to work with Tony."
Bruno, who plays FBI agent Colby Granger, says in the final episodes, "They've tried to get into people's characters and their backgrounds more, so I'm interested to see what happens to my character now that we're back. As an actor that's the fun stuff to play. There's only so much running around with the gun you can do."
The father of a 7-month-old baby boy with wife, Emmeli, Bruno says up until now, he's been allowed to do all the stunts "I'm comfortable doing, and it's been a lot of fun, but I do have a baby now, so I'm having to rethink my boundaries." He adds with a laugh, "Of all the stunts I've done, the thing that makes me the sorest physically is picking my baby up and holding him. My back has been sore for about seven months now. It makes me feel a little bit of a wimp."
THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: Shaun Majumder says if you haven't become a fan of the Farrelly-brothers-produced TV show "Unhitched," you either a) have no soul or b) haven't given the show a fair chance. "The Farrelly brothers have a very specific style of comedy. Some people think it's kind of sophomoric and too childish, but for many people, that's a huge selling point and they love it. You can expect some more of that," claims Shaun, who plays Freddy on the new Fox comedy. "As we move forward in each episode, you start to learn more about each character, and you fall in love with them. There are a whole lot more water cooler moments that make your draw drop. You'll be like, 'I can't believe they just did that!'"
As far as Bobby and Peter Farrelly's involvement in the series from this point on, Shaun tells us, "They were very heavily involved in the development of the pilot and were all about the script leading up to that. They've also had input with the scripts that followed. They've kind of taken a back seat now. They just are there to make sure things are staying funny. Also, their name is all over this show so they have to make sure their stamp of humor is represented."
With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster.
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