White Collar: Webcast with Matt Bomer & Tim DeKay

On Wednesday (3/3), Matt Bomer (Neal Caffrey) and Tim DeKay (Peter Burke) did a live webcast on White Collar’s website answering fans’ questions. Matt and Tim were awesome, down-to-earth and seem like genuinely nice guys. Their chemistry is as good off screen as on screen. They were very animated, hilarious, and sang a lot. Here are some of their answers to the fans’ questions…

Who would they pick to be guest stars on White Collar?

Tim: Mark Harmon. He said he would love to see an NCIS crossover.

Matt: Parker Posey as a “fun, sexy bad girl” or Saffron Burrows.

More singing from Matt Bomer?

Matt: Outside the show there definitely will be more singing. (See video of Matt talking about a new Broadway workshop)

Tim: Said he had just talked to Jeff Eastin and there will be an episode where Neal and June sing together at a dinner party at June’s house.

Neal is really into art and historical artifacts. What is Matt’s favorite time period?

Matt: The 1920s in the U.S. “Right before the Depression, anything goes. Really a cool, fun time.”

Do you do your own stunts?

Matt: Does whatever they let him do. Although they wouldn’t let him jump out the window in “Free Fall.”

Favorite & least favorite parts of the job?

Both Matt and Tim said that their favorite part of the job was working with each other. They also agreed that their least favorite part was that they wish they had more takes and time because they film very quickly.

How long did it take to master the classic hat trick?

Matt: “Took awhile.” Jeff Eastin actually came up with the idea of the hat trick. Matt didn’t get his actual hat/fedora until the night before the pilot and stayed up pretty late working on the trick.

Matt, do you get to keep any of Neal’s clothes?

Matt: “Can borrow not keep.” He usually wears jeans and t-shirts but “borrows” Neal’s clothes for functions and events.

Which cast member would be the best con artist?

Matt: Willie (Garson, who plays Mozzie).

Tim: Agrees with Willie but also thinks Matt sometimes.

Which is your favorite episode and why?

Matt: “Front Man” but the pilot will always be special because it was so much fun and that is when they established their relationships.

Tim: “The Portrait” but likes many moments from each episode.

Do you think of Neal as a criminal?

Matt: Matt quickly comes to the defense of his character and says he sees Neal as a “social engineer who capitalizes on the weakness of others when necessary” and he only commits “white collar crimes so it is people who can afford to lose some.”

What do you like most about your characters?

Tim: “Likes that Peter has a sense of humor. He knows when people are getting a kick out of him and he is kind of witty.”

Matt: Likes that Neal has a “duality” to him and that he really has an “Achilles heel with his romantic life.”

Do you think Peter sees Neal as a wayward son figure?

Tim: “Yeah I do.” Sometimes Tim sees Neal and Peter as “father/son, an old married couple, older brother/younger brother and professional equals even though they are on the opposite side of the law.”

Neal dresses like a vintage rat pack. Which “rat packer” does your character identify with and why?

Matt: Probably different ones at different times. But “in general, Frank (Sinatra),” he’d like to think of himself as the “leader of his own little rat pack.”

Here are two final fun facts: Tim calls Matt “Matty” and Matt named Neal’s tracking anklet “candy.”

Other USA Network shows like Burn Notice and Psych have nicknames for their fans. Matt and Tim announced that White Collar fans will now be known as “Collars.” If you didn’t get to watch the webcast, it would be worth checking out! And of course don’t forget, the season one finale of White Collar is next Tuesday (3/9) at 10 pm EST!

For more on White Collar, click here.

Tuesdays at 10/9c on USA Network

Photographs courtesy of USA, David Giesbrecht, and Nigel Parry.