Interview: Catching Up With Eric Winter

When Eric Winter (left, photo by Gabriel Goldberg) decided to leave “Days of Our Lives” back in 2006 (after playing Rex DiMera since 2002), neither he nor I could have guessed where his career would take him in the four years since. Eric has been working nonstop in film and television since his daytime television experience, and when I got the chance to catch up with him recently, he filled me in on his days since “Days.”

Daytime Dial: Last we spoke, CBS had just canceled the Hugh Jackman-produced nighttime drama “Viva Laughlin,” which I absolutely loved and was so sad to see go. But after that, you got an even bigger break when you were cast on “Brothers and Sisters.” Tell me about working on that show.

Eric Winter: That show was a lot of fun to work on. They were very welcoming. It was a great atmosphere there. And with that many heavy-hitters, you never know what you’re gonna get. And it was just really pleasant.

DD: What did you like best about the show and your character, Jason McCallister?

EW: I think with my character, it was a cool thing to explore. Here’s a guy who is openly gay but he’s a minister and fights for things he believes in. It was an interesting dynamic that his brother is a very conservative Republican (Robert McCallister, played by Rob Lowe) who’s running for office. There were a lot of good social, economic and cultural differences that were expressed through there.

DD: More important, is Rob Lowe just as dreamy in person as he is on TV?

EW: (Laughter) He’s a good-looking guy. Obviously, for me, I wouldn’t say dreamy, but he’s a very handsome guy. And just really, really cool. But yes, you probably would find him dreamy.

DD: After that, you were in “Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay,” which is quite different from your role on “B and S.”

EW: I thought that this sequel — and not just because I was in it — was so damn funny, because it just pushes the envelope with so many things. It racially offended everybody. It was sexist … it was everything. They just got in everyone’s face, and it was so funny and so well written and well directed. That was just a blast. Very hard-core but funny.

DD: After that you were in “Moonlight,” which still has an incredible cult following. How was that show to work on?

EW: That was a fun show too. I would have loved to have the chance to do a lot of the vampire-type stuff and mess around with all the effects, but we never got to dive into that part of my character. That was something they were talking about doing the next season, and then the show got canceled. So, we never really know what would have happened to my character and ultimately what his motivation was. They were finding their groove. Again, another show (like “Viva Laughlin”) that was ahead of its time.

DD: Yes, it seems nowadays that networks aren’t giving shows that much of a chance to really develop, grow and build their audience …

EW: It might not have been a nice hit for the CBS audience, but the ones who loved it loved it, and I think CBS was ahead of its time on two shows in the same year — and that was “Viva Laughlin” and “Moonlight.”

DD: After “Moonlight” you scored a plum part in the feature film “The Ugly Truth.” You must have been thrilled to land that part.

EW: Absolutely. That was just a huge opportunity that (director) Robert Luketic and Lakeshore gave me. And it was really awesome, and I had such a blast working with those guys. And my relationship with Katie (Heigl) and Gerry (Butler) was a ton of fun. We just laughed a lot. It was another fun environment to be in. It was a huge opportunity. It was kind of a fun, vulgar romantic comedy — it changes up from the normal romantic-comedy pace that you’re used to.

DD: What can you tell me about your new role on CBS' "The Mentalist" of Agent Craig O’Laughlin, and what fans can expect from his appearance?

EW: Well, I’m kind of learning myself to keep a lot of stuff under wraps. But what I do feel is there has to be something else there. I don’t think I’m just an FBI guy that came on and happened to find (Grace) Van Pelt attractive. I honestly don’t know. But I know that my character is an ex-football player who is in the FBI. I go back in a couple of weeks to shoot other episodes. And I have a few more episodes lined up for next year. My goal is to keep this character all business. He’s hot stuff, but he’s not a jerk. He’s not a jerk, in my mind, with Van Pelt. And he’s not doing anything wrong. She and Rigsby were broken up, so it’s sort of fair territory. It’s just a really funny, awkward situation.

DD: Were you worried coming in, because even though Van Pelt and Rigsby were broken up, there are bound to be fans who are upset?

EW: Yeah, you’re always going to get that. But hopefully with the way I treat her and the way I portray my character, people will see he’s not a bad guy. Maybe they will like him, too, and see he’s doing some good things for her. I want it to be a true triangle. But it’s a really tricky situation to be in.

DD: As an actor, I would think it would be fun to play an FBI agent — you get to be the man in charge, you learn how to handle firearms, how to take down suspects, etc.

EW: Oh yeah, it’s the best. It’s my first time playing something like this, and it’s been a lot of fun. It’s really fricking cool to learn the ins and outs — what the FBI does and the CBI does, and how they handle situations. We have on-set experts who walk us through stuff and help us keep it real. It’s been a very fun thing for me to explore.

DD: You said that you’re working on a couple of more episodes — should we start a campaign to make you a permanent cast member?

EW: Yes! You’ve got to start campaigning. From what I understand, they plan on doing a slow burn. Whatever happens between the two of us (O’Laughlin and Van Pelt) is definitely going to play its course. But there’s a lot to do with my character aside from that relationship. I’m not in the writing room, so I don’t know. But I know they have it well worked out, and they’ve been great with me so far.

DD: What’s the thing you like best about working on a weekly episodic show?

EW: Simon (Baker) works his butt off. He’s very, very busy on that show. But I think that with me it’s a lot of fun because I get to explore the character, but I have some time off so I can be looking for some other things as well, films and so forth. It’s a very fun, comfortable environment, and I have a great character to play, which keeps me very interested and motivated with that project. It’s comfortable and exciting at the same time.

Interview (Brothers and Sisters): Patricia Wettig and The 19th Wife

Patricia Wettig first caught our eye as Nancy Weston on “thirtysomething,” the nighttime drama that broke ground on every front, paving the way for many series to follow in its footsteps. The “Brothers and Sisters” star is currently starring in the Lifetime original movie “The 19th Wife,” which premieres tonight, Sept. 13 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Patricia plays BeckyLyn, the 19th wife of Mormon Sawyer Scott, who is accused of murdering her husband.

Daytime Dial: The role of BeckyLyn is different from any role I’ve ever seen you do. What was it about her — how did you connect with her — to made you want this role?

Patricia Wettig: I know! It is so different. It’s that fervor … that religion thing. My great-grandmother was married to a Methodist minister. And when I was growing up, she was the person I was closest to of anyone in the whole world. And she had a certain sternness about her and a certain way of doing things. But with me, she was always so loving and so kind and so soft. And nobody else responded to her like that. I don’t know what that was. And she died when I was 9 years old, and it was just such a huge loss to me. But I think it’s a little bit about her — that way about being so absolute in your faith. At least I hope I portrayed it that way. I haven’t seen the movie yet myself. Like the way she connects to her son, that underneath it all is this loving, touching place.

DD: That’s definitely what I was thinking of when you told me that with you she was very sweet and tender. I pictured BeckyLyn’s interaction with her son the moment you mentioned that, so it definitely comes off that way.

PW: Oh good! And Matt (Czuchry) was wonderful to work with. We just sort of had this instant chemistry, and that is such a blessing for an actor, I have to say. I thought that that was a really central thing for this part. And you never know who you’re going to be cast with. It was really lovely to work with him, I have to say.

DD: The way these people are thinking and living, it’s pretty way out there for most Americans. How did you relate?

PW: I guess I had to take it off of something in my own life. You have to personalize it in some ways because it is certainly not the way I live my own life and it’s not my religion. But I think I had to personalize it in the way that, what are the things that I have unshakable faith in? What are the things I would not put into jeopardy?

DD: I have to commend the writers of it and your performance of her, because she could have very easily been an unlikable character, but she wasn’t. During the jail visits, as we get to know your character, we get to see the pureness in her. You can’t not like her.

PW: Oh good. Yes, I do think it’s almost an innocence. Like a purity is how it was coming off to me on the page when I was reading it. It’s like she never really grew up and thought and formed her own thinking. And I think it’s really true for a lot of women in that sect; it’s almost like a brainwashing, like a blind faith. And other people say, well, that’s what faith is. It’s almost like being innocent and young and not looking at all the other possibilities.

DD: This is definitely going to be an eye-opener for some people as they watch this. We know what we read in the news, about Warren Jeffs, and we get the glamorized version with HBO’s “Big Love.”

PW: I like “Big Love” too, but that’s sort of the “fun” version of plural marriage. Look how handsome he is, and all of the three of the wives are so pretty. They do get into stuff, but still it all looks rather pretty to me. I don’t think it is pretty a lot of the time. When we talk about a 60-year-old man marrying a 15-year-old girl, that’s not pretty. That’s not OK with me. I’m sorry, but that’s not all right with me!