I was very nervous for this call. First of all, it's not
every day that you get to talk to one of your favorite actors, let alone
an Oscar winner! But also, Leverage is a great show that I never miss.
So I was very nervous and had trouble thinking of good questions to ask,
and I barely was able to even get them out in a coherent manner!
Fortunately, they were both very nice people, and lots of other
reporeters asked some great questions.
TURNER ENTERTAINMENT
Moderator: Erin Naman
December 1, 2010
12:00 pm CT
Operator: Welcome to the Turner Entertainment conference call. Today’s
conference is being recorded.
At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Ms. Erin Naman.
Please go ahead, ma’am.
Erin Naman: Thank you for joining our Leverage conference call today
with Timothy Hutton and Beth Riesgraf.
Leverage returns to TNT with a special Christmas-themed episode on
Sunday, December 12 at 9:00 pm Eastern and Pacific. And the two-part
season 3 Finale airs on Sunday, December 19 at 9:00 and 10:00 pm Eastern
and Pacific.
A transcript of this call will be available within 24 hours.
I will now turn the call back to our moderator to give instructions on
how to queue your questions.
Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. The question-and-answer session will be conducted
electronically. If you would like ask a question, please do so by
pressing the star key followed by the digit 1 on your touch-tone
telephone. If you’re using a speakerphone, please make sure your mute
function is turned off to allow your signal to reach our equipment. Once
again, that is star 1 on your touch-tone telephone to ask a question.
We’ll take our first question from Jamie with Starry Constellation
Magazine.
Jamie Steinberg: Hi. It’s a pleasure to speak with both of you.
Beth Riesgraf: Hi.
Timothy Hutton: Hi there.
Jamie Steinberg: Hi. Thanks you so much for your time.
Beth Riesgraf: Yeah, thanks for joining us.
Jamie Steinberg: Electronically.
Beth Riesgraf: Yeah.
Jamie Steinberg: I was wondering, what keeps challenging you about your
role?
Beth Riesgraf: I suppose a few different things. Physically, there’s
some challenges, you know, depending what types of stunts are called for
each episode and those types of things. But, I guess I would say the -
whatever the writers end up coming up with and - I don’t know (what this
is). Wow, okay. For the most part, I think keeping it - keeping the
growth of the character, you know, going at a steady pace and sort of
working with what they give us. And I don’t know, coming up with new
ways.
I mean, we’re going into a fourth season, so it’s - it still feels
pretty fresh. So I suppose it - like a challenge may be in the way that,
you know, you want to keep it exciting and fun and all of that stuff.
But, I think so far everything’s been laid out pretty well and I think
it’s been pretty fun so far.
So does that answer your question?
Jamie Steinberg: Yes.
Beth Riesgraf: There you go.
Jamie Steinberg: Tim, why do you think people continue to tune in watch
Leverage?
Timothy Hutton: Because of, I think, Beth’s growth in the character. No.
Beth Riesgraf: Shut-up. Okay, it was my first question. Cut me some
slack. I was just - didn’t warm up. I’m trying to wake up still.
Timothy Hutton: I think the show is fun to watch to kind of participate
in for the viewer, you know, week-to-week, and go along on the ride to,
you know, these five characters go on. And, you know, I think that, you
know, the writing has been really terrific throughout and the character
development, there’s been a nice mix of, you know, drama and comedy. You
know, the stakes have been very high at times for all of the characters
in the shows and the situation I think they’re put in.
And, you know, just over the first, you know, three seasons and
continuing with these three shows that are airing in December -- coming
up here -- you know, I think audiences are getting to know different
sides of each of the characters, and there’s some nice surprises coming
up. And I think that’s what keeps people interested in. Just when you
thought you know, you know, or you knew what - who or what a character
was, there some unexpected turns, especially in the three episodes
coming up in the principle characters.
Jamie Steinberg: Okay. Thank you guys so much again.
Beth Riesgraf: Oh, yeah. Thank you.
Timothy Hutton: Absolutely.
Operator: Our next question comes from Brittany with DigitalAirwaves.net.
Brittany Frederick: Hey, guys. First of all, it’s great to talk you
again.
Beth Riesgraf: Hey...
Timothy Hutton: Hey, how are you doing?
Beth Riesgraf: ...you too. How are you doing?
Brittany Frederick: I suppose I should say an extra hi to Beth since we
were just Tweeting like ten minutes ago.
Beth Riesgraf: Yeah. Hey.
Brittany Frederick: The first thing I wanted to ask you guys is a lot of
shows’ holiday episodes can come off as corny or forced because they’re
trying way too hard. What would you say makes Leverage’s holiday episode
different from what we’re used to from most shows?
Timothy Hutton: Well, I think - I mean, for me one of the things that,
you know, avoids that nicely is that - I mean, here you have the
Leverage team infiltrating this mall for kind of the sole purpose of
saving Santa’s reputation, and it makes for kind of a great show.
Things that are, you know, kind of sacred to - in people’s minds about,
you know, what the season is about and everything get kind of trampled
on and the team comes in to sort of restore that, and it ends up, you
know, they do it as kind of another case without any kind of sentiment.
And it ends up being kind of a nice twist where they get pulled in to
the kind of holiday spirit in a way they didn’t expect.
So it’s one of my favorite shows, the holiday one coming up.
Beth Riesgraf: ((Inaudible))...
Brittany Frederick: Now, how did you guys like working with a season
long sub-plot, because you’ve been doing the Damian Moreau thing all
season. How has that worked out for you?
Beth Riesgraf: Wait. Sorry, what was the first part of it?
Brittany Frederick: Is it - how did you guys enjoy working with the
season long sub-plot that you’ve had through the season?
Beth Riesgraf: Oh.
Timothy Hutton: Well, I mean it’s been great because we didn’t of course
have that in the first season or the second season to sort of have this
kind of ongoing nemesis and Damian Moreau.
You know, again as I was talking about earlier about keeping the stakes
high, the team having to kind of be on their toes, and every single
character that you meet along the way on the - in the third season and
the finale ends up having some kind of, you know, pointed relevance as
to, you know, what the teams needs to do to get to Damian Moreau and
that their mission isn’t going to be complete.
So it gave us all kind of something. It was this - the - each episode of
season 3 had its own kind of specific goal, but there’s this larger goal
that was always with twists and turns that were - that was always kind
of put in our way and it gets - finally gets realized and comes to this
amazing kind of place in the final two episodes where there’s the
confrontation with Damian Moreau and the Web that he’s cast across
everything and everywhere.
Beth Riesgraf: Yeah, I would agree with that.
Timothy Hutton: Oh, great.
Beth Riesgraf: I’m going to go ahead and let you take over, Tim, because
you’re doing great. No, I would say that...
Timothy Hutton: Oh, dear.
Beth Riesgraf: ...ditto. (No, I agree).
Brittany Frederick: I’m going to print that just like that too.
Timothy Hutton: Ditto.
Beth Riesgraf: What he said.
Operator: Our next question comes from David with Hearst Newspapers.
David Martindale: Hi. Thank you. I saw the two-hour - or the two-episode
season finale this week; enjoyed it. You all make...
Beth Riesgraf: Good.
David Martindale: ...a great show and you’re both really quite wonderful
in it.
Timothy Hutton: Thank you.
Beth Riesgraf: Well, thanks.
David Martindale: Tim, I’ve done three stories on you since the show
premiered, so I hope you don’t mind I’m going to ask Beth a question,
and she can’t just say ditto.
Beth, after a few years now of playing a thief, of picking pockets, and
whatnot, and I’m sure that you’ve gotten guidance from experts. Well,
how adept have you gotten at that? I mean, for real?
Beth Riesgraf: For real, you know, I can get away with some little
things here and there, but I’m definitely not a highly skilled thief at
this point. I mean, most of my time is spent, you know, working out the
beats of the scenes we’re doing. On my off time I try to practice, you
know, the things I’ve been shown. Like you said, I’ve had some help from
Apollo Robbins who has sent me a lot of videos and he’s a very busy man,
but he’s always there when I have questions.
And, you know, I try to stay involved with it as much as I can, but for
the most part it’s what’s written in, you know, the time that we shoot
is - we don’t have a ton of time in between episodes. Actually, we go,
you know, one right after the next. So I focus on any tricks or any sort
of, I guess, moves -- excuse me -- moves I have to do for the show, and
then that’s ((inaudible))...
David Martindale: So this is sort of like a party trick, but not a
second career, but it could be for you, right?
Beth Riesgraf: Yeah. I mean, I wouldn’t say I’m going to, yeah, be a
master thief at any point in real life.
Timothy Hutton: Well, let’s be honest. You know, she’s stolen quite a
few scenes if that counts.
Beth Riesgraf: (Wha-wha).
David Martindale: Okay.
Timothy Hutton: ((Inaudible)).
David Martindale: In practically every episode, Parker is dangling from
some high place or scaling the side of a building, or doing a daredevil
jump. You know, like how much of the physical acting do you get to do?
How much do you want to do? How much are you allowed to do?
Beth Riesgraf: I think sometimes - that’s a very good question.
Sometimes I do things I probably shouldn’t. No, I’m kidding. I don’t
know. You know, if it’s written and it’s something I can do safely and
there’s time for me to do it, I do, you know, obviously I’ll do it. But,
sometimes because we’re shooting so fast, you know, they’ll have to have
a stunt double do something that maybe I could do, you know, but she
does it. But then, there’s definitely stuff I cannot do at all, so of
course she fills in.
But, you know, there is a fun - some fun stuff I got to do in the finale
and some other things I got to do that I hadn’t done before. And it’s
fun for me, but I think, you know, at the end of the day I’m not a
stunt...
David Martindale: Right.
Beth Riesgraf: ...woman, stunt girl, so I need to, you know, be
realistic about my limitations. And they’re good about helping me, you
know, like know what’s safe for me to do and what’s not.
David Martindale: Fair enough. What’s like the most outrageous position
you’ve found yourself in? Maybe you’re - it boggles your mind to think
that you were in it?
Beth Riesgraf: I would say running on top of a moving train is one of
them, and then the other one would be the - is still the pilot. That -
when I hung upside down in Chicago on a 40-floor story building. I mean,
the roof was under me because we cheated it, but it was still like when
the wind would kick out, I was like, “Wow, this is really still very
scary,” so that kind of blows my mind when I think about it. I guess in
the moment I just - I didn’t really have time to think about it, but now
I’m like, “Wow, that was pretty intense.”
David Martindale: Well, okay. Well, thanks much both of you.
Beth Riesgraf: Yeah. Thanks.
Timothy Hutton: Thanks.
David Martindale: Bye now.
Timothy Hutton: Bye.
Operator: Our next question comes from Mike with TV America.
Mike Hughes: Hey, Beth, kind of the same deal as David said. I haven’t
had a chance to talk to you before, so I want to focus a couple of
questions at you here.
Beth Riesgraf: Okay.
Mike Hughes: In kind of continuing this, I mean you really are
believable in some of that kind of cat burglar gymnastic stuff you do
there. Do you have any kind of background as a dancer or acrobat or
anything like that?
Beth Riesgraf: My background is in dance. No, I’m kidding. No, I was
really uncoordinated actually as a child when it came to dance, but I
did play a lot of sports and I do some breakdancing from time-to-time.
No, I really don’t.
Mike Hughes: You did - you were at least an athlete? What kind of sports
did you do?
Beth Riesgraf: I played - yeah, I played tennis, I played softball, I
played, you know, I - we had horses growing up. I was really active as a
kid. I mean, I was outdoors constantly, so I think, you know, growing up
in Minnesota I had a lot of freedom to sort of run around and we had go
carts and four wheelers, and all that stuff.
So I think, you know, I have that in me, that sort of - I get - I like
that adrenalin sort of rush stuff. But at the same time, I, you know, I
did a little bit of dance and stuff, but mostly sports.
Mike Hughes: Okay. I’ve got ask that because one listing had you growing
up in Las Vegas, which clearly is not Minnesota. That’s a long ways
away.
Beth Riesgraf: Oh, yeah. Well, you know what, I did move when I was 13
to Las Vegas.
Mike Hughes: Okay. So tell me what part? Where in (there sort of) did
you grow up, and what do your folks do for a living that caused them to
move from Minnesota to Vegas?
Beth Riesgraf: Oh, sure. Yeah, we’ll I’m a family of - there’s six girls
in my family, and so my parents are in construction. They do fixtures
and installations in Targets and things like that and so, they’re
business was growing so much on the West Coast that, you know, four of
my sisters were already grown up and in college and living their lives.
And they decided to move us out, so (Mary) and I, my other sister, we
moved out to Las Vegas and did junior high and high school there.
Mike Hughes: Okay, so just one other thing on that. I mean, you’re a kid
from Minnesota, and I’ve lived Minnesota. I know that’s very, very
ordinary life...
Beth Riesgraf: Okay.
Mike Hughes: ...((inaudible)), just starting your teenage years and
there’s all this show business around you. How did that influence you
and did some ways did that help nudge you towards this show business
career?
Beth Riesgraf: Well, remember that background in dance I talked about?
Timothy Hutton: (Wow, yes).
Beth Riesgraf: Hello? No, I don’t know. To be honest with you, I think
my sisters did a little bit of theater. You know, and growing up I went
to the Minneapolis Children’s Theater quite a bit with my grandma, and I
always sort of loved the idea of plays and storytelling and imagination
and all of that.
So I think it really did start in Minnesota, and then going to Las
Vegas, I don’t know, we didn’t live by the Strip, so we were sort of,
you know, not around that side of it very much. So - and we - even when
I was, I suppose I had a different view on all of that stuff living
there as a resident and whatever.
But, I think it mostly started from, you know, like when I would go
watch the theater with my grandma, to be honest with you. Las Vegas was
- I did a lot of sports and stuff, but I didn’t go to a lot of shows
there.
Mike Hughes: Okay. Okay, cool. Thanks.
Beth Riesgraf: Yeah. Sure.
Operator: Our next question comes from Earl with Wireless & Digital
Journal.
Earl Dittman: Hi, guys. How are you all?
Beth Riesgraf: Hi.
Timothy Hutton: Hey.
Earl Dittman: Timothy, can you believe that you’re coming up on a season
4?
Timothy Hutton: No, I - yeah, I mean...
Earl Dittman: Isn’t that amazing?
Beth Riesgraf: Can you believe it?
Earl Dittman: I know...
Timothy Hutton: It is.
Earl Dittman: ...it’s incredible.
Timothy Hutton: It is. Yeah.
Earl Dittman: And the reason I ask that is is because you’ve been on
other shows that have also been just as well-written. Well, not even as
well-written, but have been good, and they didn’t make it very long. Do
you think that if this show had been on a network, a big, you know, one
of the big three’s that it would have made it this far?
Timothy Hutton: Yeah.
Earl Dittman: You think so?
Timothy Hutton: Well, I mean I do, but you know, who knows? I mean, it’s
- honestly I think that the show has really benefited from being on TNT.
And because TNT has really been so supportive of the show, and you know
it’s been a great home for the show. So it’s hard to say, but you know
we’re just all incredibly happy that it’s still going.
I mean, we love doing the show and, you know, just as excited reading
the scripts, and it doesn’t feel like we’re going into the fourth year.
It feels like we just - you know...
Earl Dittman: Just started.
Timothy Hutton: ...we just started. Yeah...
Beth Riesgraf: Yeah.
Timothy Hutton: ...it really does. Yeah.
Earl Dittman: And really - and it feels so fresh. All of you - both of
you seem - everybody seems fresh. I mean, it’s just wonderful how it
continues to be a fun show.
Beth Riesgraf: Yes.
Earl Dittman: And Beth, I mean, did you - you obviously must feel the
same way. I mean, this is like a - it’s like - you must like going to
work every day.
Beth Riesgraf: I do.
Timothy Hutton: We do.
Beth Riesgraf: Yeah.
Timothy Hutton: Yeah.
Beth Riesgraf: Definitely.
Timothy Hutton: And we really - we like working together. I mean, that
started - the chemistry that I think the, you know, the - that comes
across with the five of us, it started in Chicago when we were doing the
pilot. We just kind of in the first moment all enjoyed being around each
other and working with each other, so, you know, and that’s just
continued.
I mean, we find ourselves now in the fourth year working together and on
weekends when most people would want to, you know, be away from one
another, we’re all having dinner together and making plans and, you
know, going bowling and doing this and doing that, and our kids are
playing together.
So it’s - well, Beth and I are the only ones who (hang around).
Beth Riesgraf: (Like), yeah, our kids - yeah, we basically are afraid to
- no. We - yeah, I think that’s very true actually. And I think one
thing too that was I thinking about the other day, because I was like,
“Man, it already seems like, you know, it’s coming - the time to shoot
again is right around the corner.”
But, I don’t - I think none of us take it too seriously. Like, we don’t
take ourselves too seriously, and you know, the tone of the show allows
for us to be goofy and have fun, and the directors that come on board
are always, you know, in that spirit of play, so to speak. It’s like
they all kind of get the tone and to work as hard as we do and for - to
work the hours that we do, I think if anyone of us, you know, didn’t
have the approach that we had, it would be tough, but...
Timothy Hutton: Yeah. Yeah.
Beth Riesgraf: ...since we all, you know, have fun with it, it makes so
much easier.
Earl Dittman: Well, Timothy, before I let go, the reason I mention that
is is that from my point of view or for our side, TNT has really done an
incredible job because I’ve seen how other networks treat shows and, you
know, big shows that fall after two or three episodes. And it seems like
TNT has really made this one of their, you know, pet projects and have
really treated it, you know, really good to make it the hit it is.
Timothy Hutton: Well, I, you know, I think that’s true, but I think
they, you know, I think TNT does just a great job on all of their shows.
They’re very passionate about what they’ve programmed and, you know,
with our show they’ve managed to keep, you know, keep the show. Whenever
there’s, you know, kind of promotion about it or an advertisement or,
you know, a trailer or whatever, a commercial about the upcoming
episodes, you know, it’s just - it’s a new approach each time. It’s a
fresh approach.
So it’s a combination of that, the scripts, all of our enjoyment in
working together, you know, that really makes it all kind of go. And
we’re really excited about these three shows that are coming up, you
know, the holiday show and then the - where the team infiltrates the
mall, that one, and then the two-part season finale. And of course, we
can’t wait to get back to Portland and start up season 4 because there’s
a lot of things that are going to happen in season 4.
Earl Dittman: Oh, we can’t wait. Well, that’s a great Christmas gift to
your fans, believe me. We - they’re going to love it. And thank you
guys, you all have a Merry Christmas too...
Beth Riesgraf: Yeah, you too.
Earl Dittman: ...and a Happy New Year. And anything special you all are
doing?
Beth Riesgraf: I guess I’m going to be with family.
Earl Dittman: Okay.
Timothy Hutton: Yeah, I’m going to be with family, be with my sons, and
you know be home and, you know, hopefully it’ll snow because we’re
thinking about skiing or something like that.
Earl Dittman: Have fun. Thanks guys.
Beth Riesgraf: Thanks.
Earl Dittman: Thanks for a great year.
Beth Riesgraf: You too. See you.
Timothy Hutton: Thanks.
Earl Dittman: Bye-bye.
Operator: Our next question comes from Suzanne with The TV Megasite.
Suzanne Lanoue: Hi, nice to speak to you guys.
Beth Riesgraf: Hey.
Timothy Hutton: Hey.
Suzanne Lanoue: Let’s see. Let me start with Beth. Beth, I love how your
character is kind of a - well, all the characters on the show are kind
of dysfunctional, shall we say. But, your character is sort of - seems
to be unaware of her beauty and yet she’s sort of a nerd girl always
this - or socially nerdy, anyway.
How do you figure out how to play that when you have the - sort of all
these emotional things going on and social ineptness, and everything?
Beth Riesgraf: I - wait, sorry. What was that last part with these
social what?
Suzanne Lanoue: With the social ineptness and the emotional things going
on...
Beth Riesgraf: Oh...
Suzanne Lanoue: ...and the vulnerability and all that stuff that you
manage to show very easily, at least it looks that way, anyway.
Beth Riesgraf: Oh, well, yeah. You know what, I guess I don’t - I think
for me the - that I - actually I don’t think about that stuff. I think
about, I guess being that character, you know, in those moments when
you’re working, for me it’s best not to think about trying to create any
sort of effect with that kind of stuff, but just play the truth in the
moment and sort of how she would feel about situations.
And, you know, I don’t think Parker’s a vain girl and she doesn’t, you
know, she doesn’t think about her appearance in the way maybe some other
girls would or whatever. But, I think her mind is like a computer so she
sort of processes things differently than many other people would. And
the nature of what she does and her viewpoints on life, and those types
of things, you know, shapes the way she talks and thinks and stuff.
So yeah, I always try to sort of I guess not think about playing an
emotion or whatever, but really just sort of having that intention and
whatever we’re all kind of going for in the scene, and thinking about
just, you know, her reality in the way that she does thing differently
maybe than other people, so...
Suzanne Lanoue: Okay. Actually, the character reminds me a lot of the
heroine of the Stieg Larsson books. Have you read those or seen the
movies where they draw...
Beth Riesgraf: No.
Suzanne Lanoue: ...dragon tattoos?
Timothy Hutton: Yeah, that’s a good - that’s - yeah.
Beth Riesgraf: (I haven’t seen that).
Suzanne Lanoue: They’re very similar in a lot of ways, kind of socially
retarded.
Beth Riesgraf: Oh, really?
Suzanne Lanoue: But, beautiful but doesn’t know it and all that kind of
- and her mind’s like a computer and she’s a math genius, and all this
kind of stuff.
Beth Riesgraf: Right. Yeah, I mean I think that also it’s like her life
experiences have shaped sort of, you know, where she’s at now. And some
of those barriers, I mean, surely with this season have started to come
down a little bit because of the growth, you know, being part of the
team, and everything she’s experiencing with them and stuff.
So I think it’s - for me it’s really fun because I get to sort of, you
know, step into these new chapters with her as she’s growing and -
depending on what the season brings and all of that, so yeah, but it’s a
lot of fun.
Suzanne Lanoue: All right. Thank you and...
Beth Riesgraf: Yeah.
Suzanne Lanoue: ...Timothy, first I wanted to tell you, and I hope this
doesn’t creep you out or anything, but when I was about 12 I had a huge
crush on your dad because I loved the Ellery Queen TV series.
Timothy Hutton: Oh, wow. Oh, that’s great.
Beth Riesgraf: Awww.
Suzanne Lanoue: Yeah, well. Anyway, I was going to ask you, it seemed
like your character, when the show first started, was more or less
normal. I mean, he had gone through all the problems with his family and
everything, but he sort of, in a way, gotten more dysfunctional as he’s
hung out with this team and tried to deal with his problems with
alcohol.
What do you think he’ll be able to do? I know you can’t give much away
in the way of story, but do you think he’ll be able to overcome more of
his problems?
Timothy Hutton: Well, you know, I think that with Nate, you know, the
writers have, you know, kind of decided that, you know what, the way
he’s - his starting point, which was pretty bad, you know, when - in the
pilot when you first come across this guy, Nate Ford.
And you know, over the years the writers have come up with these
interesting ways to not just keep him, you know, having this one kind of
cycle of problems, but to have other things happen to him. People coming
out of the woodwork that he, you know, was hoping, you know, he wouldn’t
see or have to deal with, you know, along the lines of Sterling, his old
nemesis when he was an insurance agent and then...
Suzanne Lanoue: Right.
Timothy Hutton: ...you know, his - an episode this year where his father
shows - suddenly he shows up and (McQuaries) place, and things like
that. So beyond the drinking and the grief of losing his son and his
marriage falling apart and all those very real things to him, you know,
there are other areas that, you know, since he’s chosen to go on this
path with these other characters, you know, it’s - some other things
start to happen.
And you know, he’s definitely got a lot of issues and we haven’t seen
the end of problems and, you know, with Nate Ford. I think it’s, you
know, I think there’s going to be more to come.
Suzanne Lanoue: Great. Well, I love the actor that plays his father. I
mean, I hope he comes back sometime.
Timothy Hutton: Oh, yeah, Tom Skerritt, yeah.
Suzanne Lanoue: Yeah. Well, thank you very much both of you, and have a
happy holiday.
Beth Riesgraf: Yeah.
Timothy Hutton: Thanks.
Beth Riesgraf: Happy holidays.
Timothy Hutton: Happy holidays.
Operator: Our next question comes from Lena with LenaLamoray.com
Lena Lamoray: Hi, Timothy and Beth.
Beth Riesgraf: Hi.
Timothy Hutton: Hey.
Lena Lamoray: Pleasure to speak with you. Now, in Leverage you both get
to play so many characters, and Beth, I loved your ((inaudible))
(impersonation), so...
Beth Riesgraf: Oh, thanks.
Lena Lamoray: ...it was fun. So which identity has been your favorite to
assume and why?
Beth Riesgraf: Oh, sorry. Can you repeat that?
Lena Lamoray: Which identities has been your favorite to assume and why?
Beth Riesgraf: Oh, for sure I would say that character for me, the (pjork),
(pjark), as we called it. Yeah, I loved - that was so fun for me. I
loved that. I loved the costume, getting to step into that kind of wacky
world and Parker snapping in and out of that character. I had lot of fun
with that episode.
Lena Lamoray: How about you, Timothy?
Timothy Hutton: Well, there, you know, there have been different ones.
I, you know, any time that we read a script and the Leverage team has to
infiltrate a place or, you know, assume identities or become con artists
ourselves to take down the really bad con artists, it’s always fun to do
that. And so I think for Nate, it’s kind of a real release because he
wasn’t of that world. He investigated that world, but he wasn’t of that
world.
And I think that - so he has his own kind of version of these different
people that we get to play when we decide to put together a con. And
sometimes he gets - just goes a little bit too far and it’s fun playing
that when Nate’s playing a, you know, another character. I mean, there
was one we did with Bill Engvall where sort of Nate, you know, becomes
kind of a, you know, a car shark salesman guy. And anytime, you know,
Nate assumes that kind of role it’s - I think it’s always sort of a
release and he gets a bit scary and the rest of the team has to kind of
pull him back a little bit.
Lena Lamoray: Great. Now, what can you tell us about Nathan and Parker
that we don’t know, and how they compare to you in real life?
Timothy Hutton: Go ahead, Beth.
Beth Riesgraf: Okay. How Parker compares to me in real life? Well, I
didn’t realize we were separate people. I’m only kidding. I don’t know.
You know, I think that - gosh, I guess I - there’s - on a clear leap,
you know, I hope I’m much saner in certain moments, but I - no, I don’t
know. That’s a tough question actually.
Thanks for directing that to me first, Tim. I like the, you know, the
fact that I get to do the stunts. As an actor it’s really fun to kind of
change things up. I love that side of it and think, you know, I’m
similar, I guess, to her in those moments.
I love the physicality of the character and all that stuff, and being
able to do, you know, jumping off of stuff and crawling through the
vents and all that stuff is always fun. So I suppose the adrenalin
junkie in me is nowhere near what it is in her, but I - it’s a
similarity.
And what you don’t know about Parker? Well, I don’t know what we can say
yet. There’s a nice little - I like the Christmas episode for Parker.
There’s some very sweet stuff that happens in that and I think that, you
know, people will find the soft spot there when they see that episode.
There’s a nice little few moments she has there, so I’m not going to
spoil it. But, it’s in that episode there’s something nice that happens.
Lena Lamoray: And Timothy?
Timothy Hutton: Oh, geez.
Beth Riesgraf: Yeah, I feel like that was a horrible answer, but I
((inaudible))...
Timothy Hutton: No, that was a great answer.
Beth Riesgraf: It’s hard.
Timothy Hutton: Well, unfortunately I don’t share any of the
circumstances or conditions of Nate Ford, you know, so it makes it - I
mean I remember when we started Leverage and we were all in Chicago. And
I read the script for the pilot and I thought, “Boy, this is just a real
interesting place to begin a character,” that the writers had come up
with here, and you know, how to go about playing someone who has kind of
hit rock bottom.
And it just were - it kind of presented itself as not a narrow
opportunity, but quite a wide open net of possibilities of where this
character could go and sort of, you know, climb out of it, fall again,
climb out of it, fall again. And that was just, you know, I think it’s
just an interesting place to be with the character.
And, you know, other issues of not being able to get close to people,
kind of shut off, and then, you know, Parker and Eliot and Hardison and
Sophie, you know, really become kind of his family, and everybody
becomes everyone’s family with the five of us. And, you know, I think
that’s something that has really brought the characters together in this
kind of an undercurrent that keeps the show kind of compelling no matter
what it is that we’re going through case-by-case.
Lena Lamoray: Now, what about Nathan that we don’t know?
Timothy Hutton: Oh, well, I mean I think that, you know, a lot is
revealed in the two-part finale, as well as the Christmas show that Beth
was just talking about. And then, there’s going to be something - it’s
kind of a nice surprise at the very end. And of course - and then in the
season 4 I think there’s going to be a continuation of what we’ve
already seen where, you know, with what you’re asking as far as, you
know, what we don’t know about Nate.
You know, I think a lot of people come out of the woodwork looking for
Nate wanting to settle the score, both in terms of people that we’ve met
as the series has gone on, and then new people, you know, along the
lines of his father showing up. So there’s just quite bit about Nate
Ford and his past that, you know, we don’t know about and I think the
writers are going to bring forward, and it’s going to be really fun for
me to kind of see what that is.
Lena Lamoray: I can’t wait to see it. Thank you so much, guys.
Timothy Hutton: Thank you.
Beth Riesgraf: Yeah, have a good holiday.
Lena Lamoray: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question comes from Kristi with the Oregonian
Newspaper.
Kristi Turnquist: Hi.
Beth Riesgraf: Hey.
Timothy Hutton: Hey.
Kristi Turnquist: Hi, guys. So I was going to ask if you were going to
be returning to Portland for season 4, and it sounds like that is indeed
happening.
Timothy Hutton: Yes. I think so.
Beth Riesgraf: Yes.
Kristi Turnquist: And when can we expect to see you guys around town
shooting again?
Timothy Hutton: I think around March, beginning of March-ish.
Kristi Turnquist: Yeah and...
Timothy Hutton: Yeah.
Kristi Turnquist: ...you’ve talked a little bit about some of the things
we can expect in season 4. What else can you tell me about sort of maybe
some more secrets that will be revealed about both your characters in
that season?
Timothy Hutton: Well, you know, I don’t, you know, we really don’t - at
this particular stage, we don’t know, and I think to some extent the
writers are kind of, you know, going over what happened in season 1,
season 2, season 3, and where can we, you know, lead these characters,
and what can we do to, you know, keep going in interesting directions.
So we don’t really know what’s going to happen. That’s part of the fun
of it. And, you know, Beth and I and the others anticipating, you know,
what their, you know, what John Rogers and Dean Devlin are kind of
cooking up in their laboratory, you know?
Beth Riesgraf: Yes.
Kristi Turnquist: So obviously the, you know, this season has been
leading up to the encounter with your big bad Damian Moreau...
Timothy Hutton: Yeah.
Kristi Turnquist: ...what else can you tell us about the season finale?
What are we going to be - what are some of the things we might be
learning about the characters and about their relationships to
((inaudible))?
Timothy Hutton: What are you suggesting? Well, you know, I would love to
answer that in a very direct way, but we’ve been asked not to speak
about what happens in the final kind of moment there of the season
finale. But, you know, there’s something that happens. It’s more of a
visual than anything else that is going to be, you know, there’s going
to be a need for follow-up, let’s just say, in season 4, so that’s going
to be something.
There’s - one of the characters of the five of us, it is revealed has a
few secrets and a few things that - a few associations, we might say,
that are rather disturbing.
Kristi Turnquist: I think I know who that might be.
Timothy Hutton: Yeah. And, you know, the adult Parker who sometimes
becomes, you know, four years old in just a split second, wonderfully
makes an appearance in the holiday episode, and - yeah, so those are
just a few things.
But, I, you know, season 4 is really, I think it’s safe and same - to
say that season 4 is really when we begin that there’s going to be a lot
of - a lot more understanding of, you know, how the show kind of
sometimes goes into flashback mode and we learn in a little snippet like
what Hardison was like, what Sophie was like, Eliot, Parker, Nathan. And
I think there’s going to be, you know, more of that and we’re going to
kind of learn about these peoples’ back story and in a fun way while
they’re on a con.
Kristi Turnquist: Okay. And also, Tim, you directed the music video for
Christian Kane’s first single off his album here in Portland, didn’t
you?
Timothy Hutton: Yeah. Yes, we did. We directed it and we did it in
Portland at...
Kristi Turnquist: At Dante’s?
Timothy Hutton: ...at Dante’s, yes. Yeah.
Kristi Turnquist: And the video, were you inspired by Goodfellas,
because it’s got that long sort of continuous take at the beginning.
Timothy Hutton: Oh, that’s really nice that you noticed, yeah. That -
well, I mean, you know, I - it’s really fun to kind of, in a music video
especially, come up with, you know, an interesting first shot. And when
I did a video for The Cars, the first shot was this kind of long, starts
on the - a close up of a pool table pocket with a ball falling in, and
then kind of goes up and moves across the pool table and goes in a does
a 360 around the person singing.
And then a Don Henley video, the opening shot was one long shot that
started in a balcony and then all the way down - you know? Anyway, but
going on and on about videos, but it’s just been something that I like -
I’ve liked to do in the beginning of a video. And Christian and I talked
about it and, you know, the idea of one shot really carrying the video
until he joins the music on stage, and it just seemed like kind of neat
idea.
And, you know, I think we pulled it off pretty well given, you know, we
just had six hours to film the whole thing...
Kristi Turnquist: Oh, my.
Timothy Hutton: ...the whole video.
Kristi Turnquist: Really?
Timothy Hutton: Yeah.
Kristi Turnquist: Wow. Yeah, and did...
Beth Riesgraf: You did a fantastic job.
Kristi Turnquist: Yeah. Yeah, it looked terrific. Yeah.
Timothy Hutton: Thanks.
Kristi Turnquist: Yeah.
Beth Riesgraf: ((Inaudible)).
Kristi Turnquist: And so I know that you can’t give too much away, but,
Beth, are there just anymore hints about some more secrets that we may
learn about Parker, because she keeps sort of unfolding like an onion?
Beth Riesgraf: Yeah, that’s one of my favorite parts about playing
Parker. Yeah, I suppose I, you know, each season she sort of grows a bit
and lets her walls down just another inch or two. And I think that, you
know, in the Christmas episode you will, like Tim said, see some - a few
sweet moments with her and her sort of child-like enthusiasm and the way
- what that does with the team.
And, you know, I can’t really say too much more, but - than that, but
you know, there’s some pretty great twists and turns in the finale with
everything, so I think people will be excited by it.
Kristi Turnquist: Yeah. All right. Well, thanks you guys. We look
forward to seeing you back in Portland.
Beth Riesgraf: Thanks.
Timothy Hutton: Well, we look forward. Thank you.
Operator: Our next question comes from Troy with TheDeadbolt.com
Beth Riesgraf: Hey.
Timothy Hutton: Beth, are you on your cell phone?
Beth Riesgraf: No, that - I think that - I’m on my landline. I think it
might be the connection.
Timothy Hutton: Oh, no, no, it sounds great. You should just - you
should check your cell phone when you get a chance.
Beth Riesgraf: Oh.
Troy Rogers: Hello? So hey. Hi.
Beth Riesgraf: Hi.
Troy Rogers: Hi, Beth. Hi, Timmy - Timothy.
Timothy Hutton: Hey.
Beth Riesgraf: How’s it going? Hey, Timmy.
Troy Rogers: Beth, I wanted to know since Parker’s socially awkward, how
does she handle the holidays?
Beth Riesgraf: She loves the holidays. I think, you know, depending on
which holiday it is ((inaudible)). But, no I think, yeah, she - that’s
one of the great things, I think, about Parker is that at any moment she
kind of kicks into sort of little girl, like she gets really excited
about things, and in holiday episode you get to see that side of her.
And, you know, just like when she zones in a heist or on a plan to break
into a safe or whatever, her mind is like very one-track, like that’s
all she focuses on. And so, I think that with Christmas and her
enthusiasm about Santa Clause and all that stuff there’s some pretty
great stuff in that episode.
Troy Rogers: Nice. And same for you, Timothy, how does Nate handle the
holidays after everything’s he’s been through, especially the death of
his son?
Timothy Hutton: Oh, he’s, you know, I think he’s miserable when it comes
to the, you know, the Christmas season and everything. I mean, you know,
for that reason, of course because of the loss of his son and, you know,
the break of his marriage with Maggie. And just in general the whole
idea of, you know, people celebrating and, you know, joy and all this
sort of stuff just makes him absolutely miserable, and he wants to just
be alone.
And I think that the episode starts in kind of a nice one of my favorite
ways. I always love it when Beth and I have scenes together. There’s
just - it just becomes kind of fun and it’s so easy to make her laugh in
the middle of a scene, and you know...
Beth Riesgraf: What are you talking about?
Timothy Hutton: And so, we all - whenever we’re with Beth in a scene and
stuff, you know, and the camera is on her, one, you know, it can be any
little thing and - can get her going.
Anyway, the episode starts off with this really nice moment with Parker
and Nate where, you know, Parker is just so into it being Christmas and
the holidays and everything, and Nate is just not. He wants to be left
alone and Parker is just bugging him, you know, with the Christmas
spirit and everything. It was one of my favorite things that I read,
this little scene that we get to do in the beginning of it.
But yeah, I think, you know, in those situations Nate would rather just,
you know, be somewhere and - somewhere else but around a lot of people.
Troy Rogers: Excellent. I enjoyed the title of episode 2 by the way.
Timothy Hutton: Oh, yeah, yeah.
Troy Rogers: Thanks you guys.
Timothy Hutton: Thanks.
Beth Riesgraf: Okay, thanks.
Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude our
question-and-answer session. Ms. Naman, I would like to turn the
conference back over to you for any additional or closing remarks.
Erin Naman: Thanks for joining everyone. Just a reminder that Leverage
returns to TNT with our Christmas-themed episode on Sunday, December 12
at 9:00 pm Eastern and Pacific, and our two-part season finale on
Sunday, December 19 at 9:00 and 10:00 pm Eastern and Pacific.
Thanks. Have a great day.
Operator: This does conclude...
Timothy Hutton: Thanks, Erin.
Operator: ...today’s conference. Thank you for your participation.
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