SofaChip’s Chat with Michael Vartan of TNT’s New Show HawthoRNe

Michael Vartan is the kind of person (yes, I said person – not actor) who the more you learn about him, the more you find yourself liking him. I guess the term to fling out here would be ‘down to earth’, but it’s more than that. Relatable? Ridiculously likable? Humorous? Talented? Charming? Sweet? Can it be all of the above? He’s honest in the way you wish all actors would be – his no BS approach is refreshing, and he’s also very funny!

Because Vartan is so nice (and of course – wants to promote HawthoRNe), he took part in a conference call the other day. I was lucky enough to be a part of this call! We talked about personal risks, his character Dr. Tom Wakefield, Demoted, and the atmosphere on HathoRNe.

Generous with his answers, easy to laugh, and ready to talk all things HawthoRNe…What more could you want? Oh, probably to hear what HE had to say, huh? Well, read on!

“We’ve definitely developed the chemistry between those two characters…”

Jessica Rae: From reading some of your past interviews it seems like you have a strong natural sense of humor which is great, but many of your past characters have seemed really serious. (He totally laughed at this, I want to point that out!) So are you happier to play a character with a more playful side now?

Michael Vartan: Yes, absolutely. I did a – I shot a comedy last year in Detroit called Demoted that hopefully will come out one day. That was probably the most fun, just share fun I’ve ever have in the business because you just spend the whole time laughing and making each other laugh and making fun of one another and it’s a really fun atmosphere.

My character in HawthoRNe obviously is a doctor; he’s head of surgery so there is a serious side to him. But we’re, I think, just wrapping up episode 6 right now. We’ve definitely developed the chemistry between those two characters and they joke around a lot more than they do in the pilot or even in the first couple of episodes so that’s coming along and that definitely is more fun because everyone wants to have a good laugh once in a while.

“…everyone wants to have a good laugh once in a while.”

“Yes. I’m a pansy. I’m not embarrassed to say it.”

Jessica Rae: Your character on HawthoRNe doesn’t seem like the biggest risk taker, do you relate to that aspect of him?

Michael Vartan: Yes. I’m a pansy. I’m not embarrassed to say it. The thing that makes the show interesting to me is she is the ultimate risk taker. She’s willing to break all of the rules to do what she needs to do to help her patients. Whereas my character really is by the book and he hates breaking rules. So that’s why they fight all of the time and have this fun sort of love/hate relationship where they work.

But in personal life I wouldn’t say I’m a big risk taker. No. I like things to be planned out. I’m not a huge fan of surprises. I like to know where I’m going, who’s going to be there, what time we’re going to get there. I do relate to good old Tom.

Jessica Rae: Yes. Would you tell us the last risky decision you did make?

Michael Vartan: The last risky decision? Well, God, that’s a good question.

Jessica Rae: It can be embarrassing !

“Dude. I need to spice it up a little.”

Michael Vartan: Oh God, am I that boring? I’m just realizing, is your life that dull. Dude. I need to spice it up a little. I can’t remember, honestly. I’m not trying to avoid the question at all. I just can’t remember. I think any time you get a job and you accept a job in my line of work is a risk because you never know if it’s going to be successful or not. So I mean HawthoRNe certainly wasn’t a risk. I felt very comfortable coming into this because of Jada and the writing. But yes, I’m sorry I’ve got no risk for you.

You can read more from this Michael Vartan conference call with: (Note that these are not direct links to their parts of the call, just the other sites involved)

Jim Halterman at Progressive Television (Who asked an excellent question about working for cable TV vs. broadcast TV.)

Daniel Fienberg at HitFix.com

Kristyn Clarke at PopCultureMadness.com

Delaina Dixon at DelainaDixon.com (Who dug into the romance factor! Which yes, Vartan says is pretty inevitable! Christina and Doctor Wakefield will probably be an item, but not anytime soon.)

Carrie Borzillo at E Online (Who learned there’s no word on whether Vartan’s character will have any other romances beside Christina.)

Joel Amos with Sheknows.com

Now, don’t you dare forget to tune into HawthoRNe on June 16 for the series premiere on TNT! You can read my advance review of the HawthoRNe pilot right now!

>>> Have you subscribed to SofaChip yet? I don’t know why you’d wait any longer! (There’s a link right on the main page to do so.) There’s tons of super-amazing TV show-related content, so look around. And, I’m really modest so it’s amazingly hard for me to admit that!

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