(January 2009) - PCM's Kristyn recently had the opportunity to sit in on a great conference call with actor Bruce Campbell, currently starring in USA Networks' Burn Notice.

Q: How much creative input do you have with your character for the show?

B. Campbell: Well, every situation is different and Burn Notice is very structured. Matt Nix, it's his show, it's his concept, it's his idea. So when I came on board, I'm going to give smaller stuff. You know, I might ad lib some stupid joke at the end of a scene or whatever. Or I might suggest a tone of maybe treat Michael's mother more gently at some point. So it's really for me mostly smaller stuff; the captain of the ship is Matt Nix and he's also allowing us to think through scenes and if we want to throw in a line or so, he doesn't have a problem with that. But I never show up on a set going, "Man, I got to ad lib today."

Q: Did you see the success of the show coming up? Did it surprise you? Are you at all surprised about how successful it has been?

B. Campbell: I'm surprised by everything these days because you never know. My basis for accepting this script when it came across my desk was I loved the fact of what it wasn't. It wasn't a cop show, it wasn't a doctor's show, it wasn't a lawyer show. There's plenty of stuff that goes on, but this is basically the human side of spies and I went, right, I can get into that. And I really enjoyed the fact that it's a good blend of a show that does have strong main characters, and not a lot of them. It's got four main characters. And that's what the emphasis is. And oh yes, stuff blows up and every week there is a caper where you defeat the jerk of the week. But I think it's mostly you watch these characters from week to week, and that's what I enjoy. And that's what appealed to me and that's what keeps me interested in the show is it's not really about the explosions, it's about the people who are doing the explosions.

B. Campbell: Well, I think if you come into the show late, you're going to be okay because they always do enough recaps to kind of fill you in. And the lead character, Michael Westen, has very heavy voiceover, he's kind of guiding you through the show, so I think you're going to be fine. He's going to give you any kind of recap that you need to jump in. And those people that have followed everything, I think they're going to be all over it because they've been waiting for it for, whatever, four or five months now.

Q: Do you have a most memorable moment from filming the seasons?

B. Campbell: For me, I'm just convinced one day that some bystander's going to shoot me with a gun. And the reason why I say that is because my character Sam has a rifle with a scope and often he's up on high rises and overpasses taking potshots at people. And sometimes you can't see the crew connected to me, because they put me sometimes far away. And Miami has a lot of guns, and so I'm just afraid some do-gooder's going to see me up there firing away and they're going to save Miami from that criminal. And then Burn Notice will have three main characters.


Q: Are there any upcoming guest stars that we can look forward to seeing?

B. Campbell: Oh, yes. In these upcoming episodes it's pretty full on. You've got Patricia Helfer back as Carla. So she's going to be causing lots and lots of trouble. Michael Shanks is back as another one of these fellow cohort guys who you're not sure if you can trust or not. The great John Mahoney, who I worked with in the Hudsucker Proxy, John Mahoney from Cheers, he's back as someone I can't tell you about because I'd have to kill you. Former Dallas Cowboys Michael Irvin is joining us. He's Mr. Football, so it was kind of fun to do a football theme episode. Dina Meyer shows up as, well, let's just say someone who perhaps was close to Michael Westen. And of course with Fiona that's going to cause some sparks. And there will be some sparks flying in these next seven episodes, I can guarantee you.

Q: This dry humor is kind of a big part of what keeps me tuning in, so how important is it to keep that humor in the show to kind of break up some of the tension that can be present?

B. Campbell: I think it's imperative. And I think Matt Nix has always started with that dry humor right from the beginning. The voiceover that Michael Westen has is very dry. It's very urbane sometimes. It's very erotic, it's very wry, it's very witty, so I'm right there with you; I think it's imperative. Otherwise, we've all seen movies where spies take their jobs so seriously. But if you really think of it, at the end of the day spies are just people; they're just schmoes. They have the same issues as everybody else, but you wouldn't think of it. You wouldn't think that a former CIA spy would be having personal problems that would interfere with his work or whatever. You just think of them as being robots, but they're not.

Q: Do you feel that that's what helped viewers kind of relate to these characters?

B. Campbell: There's no question about it. If we were doing nothing but spy-speak all the time, I think you'd get some guys to watch and go, "Yeah, okay, cool. They're talking that cool spy stuff." But I think at the end of the day I want the soccer mom to be able to watch this show and go, "Oh, cool, they're trying to patch up their relationship with something. Or Michael's working on some old problem in the past that is now coming back to haunt him." I think that's what's getting a wider range of viewers. It really isn't just squinty-eyed spies shooting the gun sideways looking cool. That they are flawed, all of these characters are flawed, and they're all kind of doing the best they can. They're tap dancing as fast as they can.

Q: Between this role and also a lot of roles you've done in the past, and your new movie My Name is Bruce, you have a good time toying with the image of a hero. You enjoy playing characters that are flawed and self-obsessed, yet they're eventually able to put it together to save the day. Why do you find that kind of an interesting character to play?

B. Campbell: Because me personally as an actor can relate to that more so that I can, it's just easier for me to do. I'm not good at playing someone who doesn't have weird quirks, because I've never met someone who didn't. So that's why I tend to avoid a little bit of the traditional hero thing, and that's what appealed to me about this show. This show is very untraditional, yet, having said that, there are traditional story elements that things are going to be made right by these people. So I don't know, those types of characters have always appealed to me, hoping that they will appeal to the average garage mechanic who's watching the show. As an actor, I want my work to be as appealing to as many people as possible.

Q: How much do you see of yourself in Sam and how much do you see of the others in the characters they portray?

B. Campbell: Well, that's always a tough call. Actors can't escape their own physical being. You're always going to see Bruce Campbell there doing whatever. I don't drink as much as Sam does and I don't womanize as much as Sam does because I've been married for 17 years to the same woman. So, it's always fun to just let loose. Sam is a much more relaxed character than me. I live in the Pacific Northwest and by the time I show up in Miami this March, I'm going to be white and pasty and I'm going to be squinting at the sun because it's been raining and snowing here in the Pacific Northwest. So I'll go back down to Miami, I'll strip my work boots off, my jeans off and get back into that character, get back into that basically removing clothing. You know, I get my t-shirts off, I get my flannel shirts off and start getting back in flip flops and shorts. Because I literally live at the complete opposite end of the country and it's a huge adjustment every year, but it kind of cracks me up that people perceive me as this kind of, hey, beach guy with a beer in his hand and I'm kind of the opposite. I'm such a woodsy guy. I like mountains and streams and rivers and lakes!

Q: You've been on a lot of shows that have only lasted one season. How does it feel to be back on a show that has not only been picked up for a third season but is a hit?

B. Campbell: Ask yourself the same question: How would you feel? You feel good. I just learned that people like me in small doses. So whenever I'm not the star, like with Hercules & Zena, the shows run for six years, so I'm good. This show will be on the air forever because I'm not the star of it, so it worked out fine. It feels good to be part of a hit show, though, too. Honestly. The crew, any of them I think are very grateful to know these are people who work harder than any actor. They're busting themselves 14, 16 hours a day and it's nice to know that it's a hit show. Because sometimes you do that and the show's a dog and it gets cancelled.

Q: Have you ever been approached or are you ever going to direct any episodes of Burn Notice yourself?

B. Campbell: I've never really discussed it officially or had it posed to me. I've directed television in the past, but I think in this case it's really, I'm in a fun situation where Jeffrey Donovan and Gabrielle and everyone, we have a good relationship and I'm kind of a bossy director and I'm not sure if it's right for television. So I think I'm just going to step back. We have a good group of guys that's come in and out now of men and women who have directed some really good episodes. So I think I'm just going to get out of the way and be a good little actor boy.