Post by Erika on Aug 31, 2008 21:26:50 GMT -5
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Q&A: Mark-Paul Gosselaar
The 'Saved by the Bell' alum grows up and goes to law school
By Amir Kenan
Metromix
August 21, 2008
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(Credit: Jordan Strauss/WireImage.com/)
He's played an enforcer of the law on "NYPD Blue," a troublemaker on "Saved by the Bell" and now a passionate public defender on TNT's new legal drama, "Raising the Bar." We spoke with Mark-Paul Gosselaar about his new role, whether he really dated the cheerleader in high school—and his new, flowing mane.
You’ve played characters on all sides of the law. Is there a role that you feel most connected to?
I think the closest I’ve felt to a character is probably my character on "NYPD Blue." It’s every boyhood fantasy to play a cop or a firefighter. If I were a cop, I’d probably want to be like John Clark so I was fulfilling an idea of how I would play a cop. The furthest away from anything personally was Zack on "Saved by the Bell." I was an outsider in high school. I was the one who hung out with the stoners and had no real friends and was in art class!
So you weren't dating the cheerleader?
Are you kidding me? I didn’t even know that part of school. I didn’t even know who the head cheerleader or head football player was. I stayed completely clear of all that. Yeah, that was a complete departure of what I am in real life. That was a character that I wanted to be in school, and getting to be able to play that on that show was a complete fantasy for me. There was not even a part of that that was realistic in any way.
Jerry doesn't look like any character you’ve played before. He’s a bit haggard and unshaven, with unkempt hair.
Because he’s a relentless, passionate, fearless public defender, there's a bit of a low quality of him, a bit of an attitude towards the system. It sort if fits with his look of not conforming to the system in a way. He knows that walking into a courtroom and presenting himself in front of a judge and the way that his presenting is going to cause an effect. I think that in a way it might hurt his clients. But he makes up for that with his passionate defense for them and his caring. In terms of when I walked in and had a meeting with Steven about this character, I had long hair at the time. It was the summer, it had been two years after "NYPD Blue"... so when I saw him it was pretty damn long and he asked David Feige who was the co-creator of the show if this would work for a public defender, and they agreed it would. It sorts of works for the character.
Any reactions to your new long hair so far?
Yeah, my wife hates it! Every time I see Steven Bochco he says, “I’m gonna cut that nuts off!”
There should be an episode where you just shave it all off...
Well, there’s been thoughts of that. We like to play practical jokes on each other on the show. And one of the smart ones is they were gonna do is maybe write an episode where someone shaves my head in my sleep or something. But it’s polarizing, my hair as well as my character. He’s a very polarizing individual. I mean, you either gonna like Jerry or you’re not. And that’s sort of how his hair and his wardrobe and everything about Jerry is presented.
Are there any law movies or shows that you drew inspiration from?
You know somebody actually told me, “Man, you gotta lot of 'Matlock' going on.” And I was like, “Great!” But there’s really nothing on television that I’ve gotten inspiration from. My inspiration was David Feige. His book “Indefensible” really inspired me to play this character. You know, I’m hoping there hasn’t been a character like Jerry on television before.
There’s no shortage of court dramas on the small screen. How would you say the show is different from the other ones out there right now?
Yeah, there’s a lot of law dramas out there. But none of them really show you the system for what it is. And people will say, “Well, are there going to be some sort of high profile cases with murderers and serial rapists that we see on television all the time?” And the short answer is yes and no. I mean they’re gonna be out there all the time. But the majority of the cases are these petty misdemeanors. That’s the majority of the system. And that’s what separates us from these other law shows. It’s about the stories, you know? We’re not ripping headlines out.
How did fellow "Bell" alum Natalia Cugliuti get involved with the show?
She interviewed, she went through the process. I was in there for that same process. I got to read with her. She deserved the part. She was great. We’ve never been on screen together. I knew her because of "Saved by the Bell: The New Class."
You’ve had a very long career on TV so far. Anything you can pass along to struggling actors out there?
It’s just patience. I’ve made a lot of mistakes but I’ve made some good choices. But it’s just patience and riding it out and having good representation taking those roles and taking chances and also just being prepared to not work for, and holding out for the right thing.
Would you ever consider doing a reality competition like "Dancing with the Stars"?
I completely would do a "Dancing with the Stars" show! I’ve always had a very specific, direct goal: I want to be an actor, maybe eventually direct if the opportunity arises. So everything I do is a progressive step to becoming a better actor and to stay acting. If I want to be a host or be in another capacity in this business, there are other opportunities I could take, whether it’s a reality show, I would take. But I have a very specific goal of what I want to do and what’s helped me in the many years that I’ve been in this business and hopefully I’ll be in many more.
"Raising the Bar" premieres Monday, September 1, at 10pm/9c on TNT.
Q&A: Mark-Paul Gosselaar
The 'Saved by the Bell' alum grows up and goes to law school
By Amir Kenan
Metromix
August 21, 2008
0 comments|Add Your Own
Print View
Share
Add To Favorites
Add to playlist
(Credit: Jordan Strauss/WireImage.com/)
He's played an enforcer of the law on "NYPD Blue," a troublemaker on "Saved by the Bell" and now a passionate public defender on TNT's new legal drama, "Raising the Bar." We spoke with Mark-Paul Gosselaar about his new role, whether he really dated the cheerleader in high school—and his new, flowing mane.
You’ve played characters on all sides of the law. Is there a role that you feel most connected to?
I think the closest I’ve felt to a character is probably my character on "NYPD Blue." It’s every boyhood fantasy to play a cop or a firefighter. If I were a cop, I’d probably want to be like John Clark so I was fulfilling an idea of how I would play a cop. The furthest away from anything personally was Zack on "Saved by the Bell." I was an outsider in high school. I was the one who hung out with the stoners and had no real friends and was in art class!
So you weren't dating the cheerleader?
Are you kidding me? I didn’t even know that part of school. I didn’t even know who the head cheerleader or head football player was. I stayed completely clear of all that. Yeah, that was a complete departure of what I am in real life. That was a character that I wanted to be in school, and getting to be able to play that on that show was a complete fantasy for me. There was not even a part of that that was realistic in any way.
Jerry doesn't look like any character you’ve played before. He’s a bit haggard and unshaven, with unkempt hair.
Because he’s a relentless, passionate, fearless public defender, there's a bit of a low quality of him, a bit of an attitude towards the system. It sort if fits with his look of not conforming to the system in a way. He knows that walking into a courtroom and presenting himself in front of a judge and the way that his presenting is going to cause an effect. I think that in a way it might hurt his clients. But he makes up for that with his passionate defense for them and his caring. In terms of when I walked in and had a meeting with Steven about this character, I had long hair at the time. It was the summer, it had been two years after "NYPD Blue"... so when I saw him it was pretty damn long and he asked David Feige who was the co-creator of the show if this would work for a public defender, and they agreed it would. It sorts of works for the character.
Any reactions to your new long hair so far?
Yeah, my wife hates it! Every time I see Steven Bochco he says, “I’m gonna cut that nuts off!”
There should be an episode where you just shave it all off...
Well, there’s been thoughts of that. We like to play practical jokes on each other on the show. And one of the smart ones is they were gonna do is maybe write an episode where someone shaves my head in my sleep or something. But it’s polarizing, my hair as well as my character. He’s a very polarizing individual. I mean, you either gonna like Jerry or you’re not. And that’s sort of how his hair and his wardrobe and everything about Jerry is presented.
Are there any law movies or shows that you drew inspiration from?
You know somebody actually told me, “Man, you gotta lot of 'Matlock' going on.” And I was like, “Great!” But there’s really nothing on television that I’ve gotten inspiration from. My inspiration was David Feige. His book “Indefensible” really inspired me to play this character. You know, I’m hoping there hasn’t been a character like Jerry on television before.
There’s no shortage of court dramas on the small screen. How would you say the show is different from the other ones out there right now?
Yeah, there’s a lot of law dramas out there. But none of them really show you the system for what it is. And people will say, “Well, are there going to be some sort of high profile cases with murderers and serial rapists that we see on television all the time?” And the short answer is yes and no. I mean they’re gonna be out there all the time. But the majority of the cases are these petty misdemeanors. That’s the majority of the system. And that’s what separates us from these other law shows. It’s about the stories, you know? We’re not ripping headlines out.
How did fellow "Bell" alum Natalia Cugliuti get involved with the show?
She interviewed, she went through the process. I was in there for that same process. I got to read with her. She deserved the part. She was great. We’ve never been on screen together. I knew her because of "Saved by the Bell: The New Class."
You’ve had a very long career on TV so far. Anything you can pass along to struggling actors out there?
It’s just patience. I’ve made a lot of mistakes but I’ve made some good choices. But it’s just patience and riding it out and having good representation taking those roles and taking chances and also just being prepared to not work for, and holding out for the right thing.
Would you ever consider doing a reality competition like "Dancing with the Stars"?
I completely would do a "Dancing with the Stars" show! I’ve always had a very specific, direct goal: I want to be an actor, maybe eventually direct if the opportunity arises. So everything I do is a progressive step to becoming a better actor and to stay acting. If I want to be a host or be in another capacity in this business, there are other opportunities I could take, whether it’s a reality show, I would take. But I have a very specific goal of what I want to do and what’s helped me in the many years that I’ve been in this business and hopefully I’ll be in many more.
"Raising the Bar" premieres Monday, September 1, at 10pm/9c on TNT.
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