Christian Slater gets devilish in 'My Own Worst Enemy'

October 14 12:05:01 PM, Chicago Tribune

Originally posted: October 13, 2008
Christian Slater plays devil and angel in first TV series

Posted at 9:45 a.m. Monday, Oct. 13

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Who is Christian Slater playing now—Henry or Edward? NBC PHOTO

In the new series “My Own Worst Enemy,” super spy Edward Albright gleefully kills foreign operatives while super dad Henry Spivey kisses his wife before heading to The Office.

Both personalities, it turns out, inhabit the same body—that of actor Christian Slater.

Slater takes on his first starring TV role—make that roles—at 9 p.m. Monday on NBC, and he’s thrilled to be playing an angel and a devil.

“I thought taking the Jekyll and Hyde type of premise … and blowing it out in such an extreme way was something that was very identifiable,” said Slater, who has seen his own devilish moments made public over the years.

Besides his tabloid-ready exploits, Slater is mostly known for starring in such cult films as “Heathers,” “True Romance” and his self-proclaimed favorite, “Pump Up the Volume.” He wasn’t looking for a TV series, he said, but when the producers contacted him about “My Own Worst Enemy,” he couldn’t resist.

“It was just one of those opportunities I think I would’ve been crazy not to agree to [do],” Slater told a group of reporters during a recent conference call. “[The producers] told me that each week they were going to try and put a movie on TV and … the things we’ve been able to do have been extraordinary.”

Slater, who once guest-starred as an intelligence operative on another TV spy show, “Alias,” said he’s always been a fan of the spy genre.

“I love Sean Connery. I grew up watching all of his films as [James] Bond,” he said. “I love Daniel Craig and think he’s a great Bond.”

The other plus doing series TV, especially playing two characters, Slater said, is that there’s very little down time on set like there is in filmmaking.

“I can honestly say I haven’t spent a lot of time hanging out, sitting still,” he said. “It’s been like jumping on board of a very fast-moving train and just hanging on and keeping up, and enjoying the ride.”

Don’t miss the rest of the Christian Slater interview here and below.

Watch Christian Slater at 6 p.m. Monday on Bravo's "Inside the Actor's Studio." Here's a sneak peek video:

Mike O'Malley (from left), Saffron Burrows and Alfre Woodard co-star with Christian Slater in “My Own Worst Enemy.” NBC PHOTO

Q: Is there ever a point where Henry and Edward jump together?

Christian Slater: I think in the first episode it was pretty specific, who I was playing on what particular day. But as we’ve moved on, we’ve gotten to do a lot of fun things and the other personality starts coming on in the midst of being in the middle of a fight or something like that—having a hand-to-hand fist combat with a guy on a train and starting to feel the other character coming out who doesn’t really know anything about fighting. That’s been challenging and fun.

Q: Are the two so embedded in you by now that you can easily jump from one to the other or is that still a hard thing to do?

CS: Well, as we peel the layers of this onion and continue to delve deeper and deeper into these characters I think I’m going to continually be discovering new things. And the writers—it feels like they’re just unleashed and coming up with a lot of interesting and creative scenarios and situations to put both of these characters into. So for me it’s a continual process of discovery.

Q: What would you say to the “Heroes” and “Chuck” audiences to convince them to stick around and check out your show?

CS: This show has so many phenomenal twists and turns. I think we’ll continue to keep audiences guessing.

We have … some really great actors [such as]James Cromwell and Alfre Woodard, and Saffron Burrows, and Madchen Amick. They’re all just very, very interesting ... And I hope people enjoy it as much as I’m enjoying making it.

Q: You’ve had such a long career. Are there one or two projects that stick out to you that you’re especially proud of?

CS: I go way back probably to a film I did called “Pump up the Volume” that I enjoyed a great deal and I loved playing that character. And he kind of had a bit of a dual, split personality thing going on as well. And so I think with this particular show it’s reminiscent in some ways of that.

Q: Are there different keys to playing Henry and to playing Edward for you? Is there something different you’re tapping into to get those two to be separate?

CS: There are subtle differences and I think certainly some specific emotional differences between the characters. As we’ve gone along we’ve discovered a lot of ways, in a very subtle fashion, to make some clear distinctions between the two characters.

But I think Henry is certainly a character who is much more in touch with his heart and certainly a much more compassionate character. Edward is without a doubt at the opposite end of that spectrum.

And we come to discover Henry is in a way specifically created—not that I want to give anything away really why he was specifically created—but as we delve deeper into the story you will see what the purpose and reasoning for Henry’s existence is.

Q: As someone who started in several cult films that have stood the test of time, do you feel like a TV show can have that same sort of impact?

CS: I think so. Certain shows have been quite historic. A lot of the shows that I grew up with—“Star Trek” is certainly a show that had staying power. Without a doubt shows, if they’re done well with integrity and have interesting characters that people can relate to, certainly have the ability to stand the test of time. And if people are putting their heart and souls into them, it comes across.

Q: What’s the connection between this and “Pump up the Volume” with a split personality character?

CS: Well in “Pump up the Volume,” I think I played pretty specifically a very shy high school kid who by night was this guy who had this other personality that only felt comfortable being in the privacy of his own room. So I like the duality of that. I like sort of the Clark Kent/Superman aspects of that particular film.

Q: How much creative input do you have into Edward and Henry?

CS: If I have a question about a particular moment or a particular scene, or feel like a particular action would be more Edwardian or Henry-esque—the directors and [producer] John Eisendrath have been very, very happy to hear the suggestion. And often at times have incorporated it into the script.

Q: Is your home life with Madchen Amick (right, with Slater as Henry) as your wife going to get pulled into more of the spy world?

CS: Working with her, I tell you, it’s one of the greatest experiences of my life. She is just—I love her. I mean the chemistry that I feel with her is just very special. And I certainly look forward to whatever the writers do have in mind.

And Madchen is just full of life and I think really represents a great deal of the heart and soul of the story, and what keeps Henry and Edward grounded.

Q: Do you do anything physically different when you’re playing the two characters?

CS: There’s nothing specifically that I try to do with the look. I think it’s more in my emotional state. Hopefully it’s more in my eyes. I can tell you that Edward prefers to have his suit jacket buttoned and Henry is open.

Q: Are you doing a lot of the stunt work and have you been training with weapons?

CS: Yeah, yeah, they’ve been great about getting me involved. … I’ve got a great stunt double who’s fantastic. But for me I enjoy getting involved in the fights. I love doing it. I took Kendo Karate for two and a half years and I just started to go back again because I would like to get my black belt. I’m two belts away from getting my black belt. So I’d like to continue to do that and incorporate as much of what I know into the movements that Edward is capable of doing.

Q: Have you done weapons training?

CS: Yeah, we’ve been working with the guns. We haven’t done so many things with like weapons or swords, although I did have a good fight the other day with a pair of handcuffs that went well.

Q: What’s been your biggest challenge handling two characters that are so diverse?

CS: It has been an interesting process I think for everybody discovering how to make the characters transition and how to make them switch. And, you know, I’ve done and continue to do my part in trying to make it as clear and distinctive, and relatable as possible. So it’s a challenge. It’s a challenge to be coming into a scene one way and exiting another, and seeing the differences in how I carry myself and how I behave, and how I identify with things emotionally.


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