Burn Notice: Q&A with Jeffrey Donovan and Gabrielle Anwar

My second conference call—this time with Burn Notice stars Jeffrey Donovan and Gabrielle Anwar—was an improvement over my first. I actually got to ask a question, though this was after the AT&T automatons mispronounced my last name. And then they cut me off while I was starting to ask the follow-up question that I was promised and that everyone else on the line seemed to get. Happenstance? I think not. Nefarious conspiracy masterminded by an evil society of soulless, corporate, degenerate energy vampires determined to destroy me at all costs? I think yes. I swear to god, it would not surprise me to find that the AT&T forces on the other end of the line were stroking white cats while wearing gray tunics and laughing maniacally as they screwed me.

It was pretty surreal standing in the gray Boston drizzle talking to two stars I’ve watched and enjoyed for years. I mean I talked to Jeffrey Donovan, so brilliant in Touching Evil, and who worked for my idol Clint Eastwood on Changeling! I talked to Gabrielle Anwar, who danced the tango with Al frickin’ Pacino in Scent of a Woman! If I flunk out of Hollywood in the coming years and end up selling rum-filled coconuts to tourists in the tropics, I can always think “Hey, I once talked to two tv stars on the phone and tried not to sound like an imbecile!”

What did I ask? I asked if, after having three seasons under their belts, were they finding it easier or harder to play their characters, and were they facing any challenges now that they weren’t when the show started? Donovan said it was harder to do the stunts now that he’s getting older. That, of course, is a standard, self-effacing answer from the Star Playbook. He wasn’t serious; the guy has martial arts training up the wazoo, he’s barely over forty and he looks to be in great shape. Anwar mentioned something about worrying about not becoming boring onscreen. She’s in no danger of that, I tried to assure her.

I wish they had delved a little deeper into the question, and had they had the time, I’m sure they would have. I would think that in some ways, playing Michael Westen and Fiona Glenanne would be easier now because they know their characters and have spent a good chunk of time playing them. But I also think it would be harder to stay invested in the roles and continue to find layers to peel back and explore. I wanted to discuss less about the physical logistics of making the show and more about the psychology of creating and shaping a recurring character over an extended time period. But alas, it was not to be.

Neither was my follow-up question (did I mention that the robotic telephonic ghouls molested me?). Donovan is credited as a producer on nine Burn Notice episodes, and I wanted to ask what that job specifically entailed for him and what he got out of it. There’s a perception that when stars are credited as producers, it’s just a contract thing or a bone that the powers that be throw at them to make them feel more important. But I imagine that Donovan earns the credit and is heavily involved in putting the show together and shaping its direction.

Most of the questions asked were reasonable. People asked about plot points in upcoming episodes, and the stars dutifully explained that they weren’t at liberty to say. There was one guy who asked this fairly ridiculous, convoluted question that involved the actors using their characters’ skills at tactical analysis to analyze the characters themselves. Did that make any sense? If it didn’t, don’t worry. It didn’t make much sense to Donovan or Anwar. Donovan was a good sport and tried to produce an answer, while Anwar more or less refused to answer the question. It was pretty funny because she was honest, but from a professional standpoint, she could definitely learn a couple of things from Donovan about PR.

Someone asked who their dream guest star on the show would be. Anwar said Steve McQueen, which made her cool point quotient skyrocket in my book. Donovan explained to her that Steve was dead, and she replied that she didn’t know that the potential dream guest star had to be alive. Donovan said Angelina Jolie. Not as cool of a choice, but certainly understandable. I think he should get his Touching Evil co-star Vera Farmiga to come aboard. I’d also love to see Tom Selleck.

And speaking of Tom Selleck, Donovan at one point talked about Magnum P.I., recounting a specific episode and saying that he was a fan of the show. That made me giddy, because I have always loved Magnum P.I. and always saw Burn Notice as a descendant of it. He also talked about Moonlighting, in response to someone’s query about the nature of Michael and Fiona’s relationship on the show. The only time Moonlighting is ever really talked about now is in the context of a case study of how to ruin a tv show. The theory is that Moonlighting was doomed as soon as Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd got together (which I don’t think is true), and therefore, any show that is built on the romantic tension between two characters can never have them get together or else no one will have any reason to watch the show anymore. Trisha Huntsman wrote about this ongoing dilemma in her February 17^th article on Bones, a show completely built on the romantic chemistry of its two leads. The writers are doing everything they can to keep Booth and Brennan apart, which in my opinion is making the show stale and causing maybe more harm than if they got them together.

But Donovan made an interesting point, referring to Moonlighting as the typical tv romantic relationship, but describing Michael and Fiona’s relationship as atypical. Matt Nix said a similar thing last week. Their relationship is atypical, and therefore, more realistic. Michael and Fiona have consummated their romantic tension, they’ve loved each other, hated each other, pushed and pulled and fought and made up. They can never be together in a normal sense, but they seem to forever be drawn to each other. That makes for a much healthier dynamic and a much healthier show. Burn Notice always feels balanced. You’re not always waiting for some missing element to come into play.

The point is, is that Donovan knows his tv, and that’s refreshing. The other highlight? Someone asked if Donovan and Anwar would like to see Michael and Fiona action figures come to fruition and pointed out that plenty of other shows like Lost and Dexter have action figures. Donovan was hilariously shocked to learn that Dexter has an action figure. “He’s a serial killer! What, does he have a knife in his hand?” The guy asking the question assured him that it wasn’t a figure lining the shelves at Toys “R” Us but was for older, adult collectors. I’d make a crack here about guys over the age of twelve who collect action figures if I didn’t have eight or nine of them ceremoniously posed and displayed on top of the microwave in my apartment.

One final thing I would have liked to have asked Donovan: “Could you go beat the powers that be at USA network with a golf club until they apologize profusely for canceling Touching Evil in 2004 and get them to release the damn DVDs?”

On my next conference call, I’m going to use a fake name they can’t mispronounce like “Frank Lewis.”

For more on Burn Notice, click here.

Thursdays at 10/9c on USA

Photographs courtesy of NBC Universal, Glenn Watson, and IMDbPro.