Matt Bomer & Tim DeKay go for laughs & criminals on White Collar Special

The leading men of the witty, stylish and smart new crime-fighting TV dramedy White Collar, Matt Bomer (Chuck) and Tim DeKay (Carnivále), discuss what it's like portraying the most unique, clever & hilarious pair of crime solvers on television today.

Shot entirely on location in and around New York City, the new action/comedy White Collar evolves around a rather unique crime-fighting team. Matt Bomer (Chuck, Traveler) stars as charming criminal mastermind Neal Caffrey and Tim DeKay (Tell Me You Love Me, Carnivàle) portrays his one-time nemesis, G-Man extraordinaire Peter Burke (Tim DeKay). The story begins to unfold after Neal escapes from a maximum-security prison to find his long-lost love, but is nabbed by Peter (the only agent to ever arrest him) once again. Rather than returning to jail for this daring getaway, Neal suggests an alternate plan — providing his expertise to assist the Feds in putting away infamous and elusive criminals in return for his freedom. Having been arrested by Agent Burke once before, Neal escape from a maximum-security prison to look for his long-lost love, only to be caught by Burke again. However, rather than returning to jail for his daring getaway, Neal suggests an alternate plan to Burke. To avoid doing another four-year prison stretch, he will provide his criminal expertise to assist the Feds in putting away infamous and elusive criminals in return for his freedom. Tiffani Thiessen (What About Brian, Saved By The Bell) plays Peter’s wife, Elizabeth, an intelligent, high-status event planner with a certain intuition of her own. Sex In The City alum Willie Garson is Mozzie, a friend of Caffrey's with a strong distrust of the Feds and an unyielding belief in conspiracy. Natalie Morales (The Middleman) plays junior FBI agent Lauren Cruz, a female Fed who can certainly hold her own with her superiors and the master thieves she’s investigating. And, the legendary Diahann Carroll (Grey’s Anatomy, Dynasty) portrays Neal’s landlord and his new, close confidante who believes in second chances. During a short break while filming a new episode of White Collar, Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay hopped on the phone for a quick conference call to talk about the reasons why they wanted to star in the hilarious, action-packed crime-solving series, what drew them to their roles, what it’s like having a show on the USA Network and Matt reveals if he'll be popping up on any episodes of Chuck this season.

USA Network

Matt Bomer & Tim DeKay on White Collar

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Matt, what made you want to be a part of White Collar? Matt Bomer: “I think I wanted to be a part of this show because when I read the role I thought the writing was incredibly intelligent, and I thought (writer) Jeff Eastin had a really excellent handle on all the characters. His characters were really well drawn out. They were very three-dimensional. They were intelligent but they also had shadowier aspects of their characters. I like the mix of really intelligent procedural with really character driven scenes.” What did you like about your character of Neal? MB: “What I responded to about Neal was the fact that he wasn’t just the smooth slick con artist. He was also very kind of childish in a really fun way. He was always testing his boundaries with Peter (Tim DeKay) and seeing what he could get away with. And ultimately, he was a romantic at heart. I also liked everything that motivated his collaboration with the FBI. It was all motivated by his love for Kate, and I thought that would be fun to play.” Tim, did you find there was instant chemistry when you began working with your cast members or did it take a bit of time to develop? Tim Dekay: “Instant chemistry. There was instant chemistry. Matt had been cast before I had, and I went and did a chemistry read with him and I thought, ‘Oh, I think this might be mine to lose.’ So that was great. And then when Tiffani (Thiessen) came in, it was wonderful. I was cast before Tiffani was. So then I got to read with a number of different women for the role, but as soon as she walked in I thought, ‘Oh, I think that she could be my pretend wife, which doesn’t suck.’ (laughs) So yes I found myself in a lucky position.” Tim, you and Tiffani certainly do have a really nice chemistry onscreen. Does she get involved with any of Peter and Neal's cases and does she take part in any of the action as the series goes along? TD: “She does. I mean, I think Elizabeth is somewhat Peter’s consigliere. She helps him look at problems that he has in his work through different lenses. She does help every so often, and she’s wonderful. The role of Elizabeth is wonderful and certainly Tiffani is wonderful. Yes, you’ll see more of her.” MB: “She’s you’re immanence mauve.” TD: “Whoa, she is.” MB: “Yes, because Peter always said mauve before she came in.” Matt, what do you find challenging about playing Neal? MB: “The most challenging thing for me is really the speed at which the process of shooting a TV series in seven days moves and really trying to make sure you flush out all the aspects of your character that you can and all of the story points in every episode. But I think the most challenging thing, in terms of just the character, was really figuring out what was underneath the front of the cool, slick grace under pressure demeanor that Neal has and what motivated him to want the better things in life.” What can TV viewers expect from Peter and Neal’s relationship on the show? TD: “They get married in episode number… (laughs) No. What? What comes up? Just more of that. And it’s interesting as actors, that’s what Matt and I keep asking the writers. Just give us more of the two of us in a stake out scene or something like that — where we’re kind of stuck in four walls together. I think there’s more of that. What’s interesting is the way these two solve a puzzle. I think they each respect that they can tell that the other one is very good at solving a problem — be it a crime, a caper or a puzzle. They don’t necessarily look at it from the same way but they both realize that they each love the hunt.” MB: “One of the things we fight for in every episode, and Jeff does a great job of writing it, is the fact that we really respect each other’s intelligence. It’s not like Tim is the bumbling FBI agent and I’m the genius con artist. We’re both hopefully the smartest guys in the room and our certain qualities that other — that, you know, Peter has that Neal doesn’t complement his style of problem-solving. So, ultimately, they form kind of a good team that way. And that’s something we really try to flesh out in every episode.” TD: “I think throughout it all — and it was certainly there in the pilot — down at the bottom of this, these two guys really like each other.” MB: “Yes.” TD: “Sometimes Neal drives Peter crazy because he does things that don’t necessarily go with the law. But there’s a heart that underlies all this that I think that I’m glad that you saw.” Matt, is Neal seeking out his girlfriend, Kate, kind of a thread that’s going to go through the whole first season or is it just a few episodes? How is that going to work, can you talk about it? MB: “All I can say is that it plays out over the course of the first season.” Anything else you can talk about? MB: “That was a little vague, wasn’t it? (laughs) Well, I can say one of the things that really attracted me to the role was that he wasn’t just this smooth slick con artist out for money. Ultimately, what motivates really the entire performance and the pilot and what continues to motivate Neal through the season is he’s collaborating with the FBI in order to try to find the love of his life — which is Kate. Over the course of the first season, he gets little glimpses and takes steps closer and closer to her and starts to slowly unravel the mystery of where she is and what’s happening to her and starts to find out if there’s hope of them getting together again.” Tim, personality-wise, what kind of things do you share with your character Peter? Is he anything like you or are the two of you completely opposite? TD: “What do we share that’s similar? That’s a good question. I think we’re both ex-jocks. Also, my home life’s pretty good. I’ve got to say I’ve got a great wife. The biggest thing, here’s the biggest thing that he and I share is that we both love to solve a case. It’s a blast to solve a case. But I do that, too. It reminds me of when I was a kid watching, I don’t know, like old with Basil Rathbone. I’m dating myself. (laughs) These were reruns, I didn’t see the originals. Also, Sherlock Holmes. I just loved trying to solve the case before the show did or before the book solved it for me, yes.” Matt, what about you? Do you share anything or are you and Neal completely opposite? MB: “Well, there’s certain things we share and there are certain things that are diametrically opposite. I would say we share the fact that we’re both romantics at heart. I think what motivates Neal, certainly throughout the first season, is his love and his search for the love of his life. I think we’re both competitive and interested. And I certainly have moments in my life where I like to test boundaries with people. I think Neal specializes in that. I think where we’re diametrically opposite is if I ever try to pull anything off or, you know, lie to anybody or be untrue about something, I always get busted. I can’t get away with anything. So it’s fun for me to vicariously get to play out a certain level of success in those types of endeavors.” TD: “But Matt, you’ve also been wanted by the FBI for at least...” MB: “That’s true. And I have a 200 IQ.” (laughs) Many of the best shows on television right now are on cable. Are you guys happy to be on the USA Network? MB: “I’m over the moon about it, I mean for the simple fact it’s a network that loves character-driven shows. Just to start with that, the motto of the network is ‘Characters Welcome,’ which for an actor is kind of a dream come true. And they’re really on a roll. I think, you know, I’m not surprisingly anybody when I say that Bonnie Hammer (USA executive) obviously really knows what she’s doing. And they’ve been so supportive of us. It’s not like they do fifteen pilots a year, so they really have taken the time to nurture us and get behind us. That always feels good as an actor as well. And, you know, I think that cable, and the thirteen-episode arc, is a really great place to be as an actor.” Do you agree, Tim? TD: “I do whole-heartedly. Yes, it goes to that same thing of ‘Characters Welcome’ or actors. So it’s always great to be on a network that says, you know, ‘Characters, come here.’ (laughs) That’s a big part of it and it’s fun to do that. I also think there is something in doing the, I’ll say, under twenty (episodes) season. I think writers might also say it’s beneficial to them. I’m not quite sure, but yes, it’s wonderful working for USA.” When it comes to making thirteen episodes versus twenty or twenty-two, viewers obviously want to see more of you and your characters. Although it’s less work, as an actor, would you rather do more or less shows? MB: “For me, personally, it’s not necessarily a preference, just a matter of how good you could make the material. I think television, especially, is really a writer’s medium. So if you can focus on a really tight thirteen as opposed to a really spread out twenty-two, great. If you can do a tight twenty-two, that’s fantastic, too. But I think when you have less episodes to do the same arc, I think you, as a writer, you’re probably given a lot more leeway and you’re given a lot more to play with in every episode. So as an actor to get that in the writing and to see it come through in the writing is a little bit more rewarding in my experience so far.” Matt, is there any chance you might make a reappearance as Bryce Larkin on Chuck, this upcoming season? MB: “I would love to make a reappearance on Chuck. I have no idea how that is going to work out scheduling-wise. It’s something I’ve been in a dialogue with about, with the creators. But if everything were to align properly, nothing would make me happier than to show up on a couple of episodes of Chuck.” Do you know if your (short-lived) conspiracy drama series Traveler will ever out on DVD, Matt, because there have rumors that it might? MB: If it is coming out on DVD I don’t know anything about it. But that would be amazing though. I would love that. We all worked so hard on that show so it’d be really nice for it to have a life. What would the two of you like television viewers to take away from a show like White Collar? TD: “I would like them to take away a desire to see more. People are always asking me, ‘What’s the show about? What can you say about the show?’ I think it’s fun. I think it’s smart, and I like that it’s solving a caper almost more than a crime. There’s a snap to it all. And, there’s hardly any violence. You never see a murder, I don’t think. You might see the victim after the murder but there’s even a little glamour to that. I think it’s a fun hour.” Matt? MB: “What’s fun and unique about this show for me is that it’s a really intelligent, tight procedural but character is really brought to the forefront. And the relationships are really fun and active and alive and changing. I hope people tune in, especially, to watch the dynamic of Neal and Peter’s relationship. I hope they just see them as two guys that they want to spend an hour with, because they know they’re going to get to solve a really fun case and have a lot of fun doing it.”

USA Network

Alexandra Daddario with Matt & Tim on White Collar

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White Collar premieres on the USA Network on Friday, October 23rd at 10:00/9:00p.m. (EST/CST). New episodes every Friday at 10:00/9:00p.m. (EST/CST) with encore presentations. Check local listings.