TV Jots

Shayes is portrayed by Tate Donovan, a film and television veteran who has appeared in everything from Family Ties in the mid-1980s to Ally McBeal in the dramedy’s 1997 heyday to the recent feature flick Nancy Drew. In addition to discussing his skill playing traditional Irish music on the fiddle (he used to be in a band) and extolling the virtues of running grueling marathons through the neighborhoods of New York (he loves participating in them and recommends that everyone try to run at least one), Donovan offered revealing behind-the-scenes information and candid opinions in a recent conversation with several entertainment Web sites that included tv|jots.

If you haven’t had the chance to experience the perplexing legal machinations in one of basic cable’s many new hits this summer, or you simply want to give them another look-see, FX is offering everyone a special marathon of Damages this Labor Day from 3–8pm EST. The five-hour session will include every intense installment that has aired thus far. And to potentially view those episodes in a whole different light, first read the following details unearthed during Donovan’s interview earlier this week.

How has starring in a high-profile series with super popular Glenn Close rubbed off on you? Has it affected your life and/or career in unexpected ways?

Tate Donovan: Working with Glenn Close is a fantastic experience. You have to bring your A-game when you work with Ms. Close. She’s really well prepared. It’s actually really a joy, because she asks the director and the producers the best questions. Every time, she’s sort of like, “Well, hold on a second. Why is this?” She was asking about the plot, because it’s very confusing to everybody, exactly what’s going on in the case, since we’re not really lawyers.

She’s very inspiring in terms of just the questions she asks, and you’re always going, “Geez, I wish I had asked that question,” like “Why does Frobisher do da, da, da, da, da?” Yes, she’s wonderful, a total inspiration.

How did you prepare for this role of Tom?

Tate Donovan: I have an uncle who is a corporate lawyer, so I spent the day in his law firm. Actually I brought Rose with me, too, Rose Byrne. We both spent the day up there. There was a young female lawyer that she spent the day with, and I spent the day with my uncle.

I also went down to the courts in New York City, and I went to see some corporate trials. It was actually pretty funny, because I started talking to the lawyers. Anyone can just walk into any courtroom in America, which I had no idea. I started talking to lawyers and they were like, “Listen, pal; this is the most boring stuff in the world. Why don’t you go to a good murder trial down the street?”

So I went to Center Street, which is where the huge courthouse is for New York City, and I followed the most intense murder trial. I couldn’t believe it. Every day I had off, I would jet over to the trial and I watched these lawyers. It was a sensational murder trial. It was brutal. Actually, I was there when they convicted him. It was amazing. So that’s how I prepared. That and I learned the lines.

What is your favorite thing about Tom?

Tate Donovan: What’s my favorite thing about Tom?

Yes.

Tate Donovan: My favorite thing about Tom is that he’s a little bit of a goofball, especially around his daughter and his wife. He’s a family guy. Being liked is important to him, so he’s a little bit warmer of a human being than, say, Patty, but he’s also complicated. He’s also very ambitious.

To tell you the truth, it’s funny; to talk about my character, I feel like I’m discovering it just like you guys are. I feel as though sometimes the audience should be telling me what Tom is, because I’m just sort of going there and doing my best and learning my lines and having fun and trying to not look like a total idiot. That’s my favorite thing about Tom is he’s trying not to look like a total idiot.

Can you give your fans an idea, people who aren’t savvy to being on a set and in production, what a typical shoot day is like for you, how it starts, how early it starts? Just in a nutshell, what the process is and how arduous it is, whether you’re on location or in an interior set? Just give them an idea or a flavor of a work day for you.

Tate Donovan: I hate to say it, but it’s not too arduous; you know what I’m saying? As much as actors like to complain about how hard they work, on the set, it’s the easiest job there. Basically I tend to ride my bike to work as much as possible. Sometimes the day will start around 6am or maybe 7. You go, you show up, and hopefully you’ve learned your lines the night before. You go into makeup and hair, and they sprinkle a little makeup and touch your head. Then you rehearse the scene with the other actors. The director is like, “Hey, listen; I want you to stand here,” or “Can you enter here? ” You go, “Okay. That’s a good idea,” or not.

You rehearse a couple of times, and then you walk away and they light it and put the cameras in place. Then you just sort of shoot it from all these different angles, and different things come up.

Working with Glenn Close, she’s such a consummate, great actress, and she’s a lot of fun. Especially Rose Byrne is a lot of fun, too. She’s Australian. I don’t know if everybody knows this, but she’s putting on an American accent. She’s a blast. She’s really funny to work with. I’m pretty lucky. I work with some really fun tasks. It’s not a lot of hard work. I know that we all like to say how brutally hard, but having been on the other side of the camera and directing an episode, let me tell you something; actors have it made.

The writing, the characters are so nuanced in Damages. There is no clear-cut bad or good, just all sorts of shades of gray and in between. Your character, Tom, is for the most part, an on-the-level guy, but are you hopeful that the character will veer into the dark side more or stay more above the fray and above all the machinations that Patty has up her sleeve?

Tate Donovan: What’s kind of exciting about Tom is that he, like all of us, we’re just trying to do the best we can and we’re trying to succeed and trying to do well. I think he lacks that killer instinct. Patty has it in state. She’s a genius. She knows exactly how to go in for the kill. Tom, I think he wants people to like him more. Patty doesn’t care; she just wants to win.

Somebody who wants everyone to like him generally gets into trouble, so I imagine Tom, like everyone else, like every other character, he has his moments of selfishness and his moments of greed. It’s funny; a lot of people are like, “I can’t believe, you’re the worst kind of evil. Your character is the worst, because he’s a nice guy and he’s evil.” I don’t particularly see him as evil. I see him as just a guy who is trying to survive in a pretty cut-throat environment.

Tom is kind of Patty’s right-hand man. And we saw him basically stay with her, even though she wouldn’t fight for him [in the August 21 episode “A Regular Earl Anthony”]. I was just wondering, is the character just more happy in her shadow or does he kind of see them as making an unbeatable team when they’re together? What do you think about that?

Tate Donovan: I think it’s a combination of both. I think it’s difficult for a man to be number two. I think when Patty turned to him and said, “Hey, you’re never going to be number one; you’re a great number two. You’re a number two; that’s it,” even though it really hurt his feelings, I think he knew it was the truth. There’s a level of respect that he has for Patty, and he’s just in awe of her, like a certain sort of almost love and devotion he has towards her. I guess there’s a certain power in that as well.

When we shot the pilot, I said, “Tom is sort of like Patty’s wife.” The producers were like, “Yes, you’re absolutely right, totally.” That’s kind of how I play it. There’s a certain power in being behind the person who has the power. Do you know what I mean, the obvious power? I think Tom sort of shines more brightly when he’s not in that first chair. Does that make any sense?

Yes, it definitely does. What’s next for the Tom Shayes character? Is there anything you can reveal to fans of Damages right now?

Tate Donovan: The only thing that I know is that I get more involved in the murder case. I’m sort of brought back into the firm in the last episode that was shown, and I start working on the Frobisher case. Then there is the murder mystery that’s about five months ahead of that with Ellen Parsons. I start dealing with Ellen Parsons in jail and trying to figure out what’s going on with her and that whole murder thing. I get involved with that as well.

Honestly, I’m not being secretive. I literally have no idea what happens with Tom. It’s kind of funny.

The show is on a parallel time line, right, like six months before and then the present day?

Tate Donovan: Yes.

How will that pan out towards the end of the season? Are you guys going to keep going with that, if it goes into a second season, or will the story change; will it go somewhere else?

Tate Donovan: It starts out six months apart, and the final episode will be real time. In other words, it will be the same time, because we sort of answer all the questions that are posed six months in advance. Do you know what I mean? In other words, the murder mystery that happens with Rose and David Conner will be solved by the end of this season. Next season will be a new case. It won’t be Frobisher.

So that case will be resolved, and I think the murder will be resolved; although, to tell you the truth, I am about two weeks ahead of the audience. They don’t tell us a thing, which is kind of liberating actually as an actor. It’s kind of fun to not have to really worry about the plot or anything.

I know you appeared on stage and have done film as well as television. I believe you even directed on The O.C.. I was wondering if you could tell me just what aspect of the business is the most interesting to you, and do you see yourself continuing to basically do it all? How do you see your career going?

Tate Donovan: I’d definitely love to do more directing. I found directing to be unbelievably exciting. In the second season, if we get picked up, I’m going to direct an episode of Damages, which is really exciting. I love doing plays. For actors, it’s the most fun and the most exciting to do a play. Film and television is a great way, definitely, especially when you’re on a show like this that’s really smart and fun; the cast is really great. I’m sort of pinching myself that I get to do such a great job, and it’s shot in New York City, which is where I’m from and my family is here. I’m a lucky guy; you know what I’m saying?

Tags: Damages, FX, interviews, Tate Donovan, television, tv