The Light from the TV Shows: A Chat with Bruce Boxleitner

Bruce Boxleitner has been making a living as an actor since the early ’70s, but there are many who consider the ’80s as the era when he really hit his stride, thanks to him having starred as the title character in “TRON” and following up that success with four seasons as Lee Stetson on CBS’s “Scarecrow and Mrs. King.” Then, of course, there’s his work during the ’90s as John Sheridan on “Babylon 5,” and…well, basically, what we’re saying is that Bruce Boxleitner’s fanbase is multi-generational.

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Currently, Boxleitner is a regular on the Hallmark Channel original series “Cedar Cove,” but he also continues to keep busy on other projects, including a new holiday film called “Silver Bells,” which makes its small-screen debut on UP TV on Dec. 1. Bullz-Eye had a chance to talk to Boxleitner about both of these projects, along with several other items from his back catalog, but there were actually two conversations: one in person, one on the phone. The first one took place during this summer’s Television Critics Association press tour, and the second…well, I’ll explain about that one when we get to it.

For now, though, here’s our chat from the TCA tour…

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The Light from the TV Shows: A Chat with Tamala Jones (‘Castle’)

When “Castle” first premiered on ABC in March 2009, there was a running joke amongst TV critics about whether or not it would prove to be yet another addition to Nathan Fillion’s growing list of one-and-done series, but now that we’re into the sixth season of novelist Richard Castle’s crimesolving collaboration with the NYPD, it’s hard to believe anyone ever thought it wouldn’t last. Recently, Bullz-Eye was presented with the opportunity to chat with Tamala Jones, better known to viewers as medical examiner Lanie Parish, so we naturally took advantage of it, asking about her experiences on the series, finding out how she got into acting in the first place, and, yes, even getting a few teases about what we can expect to see in upcoming episodes.

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Bullz-Eye: I’m glad we were finally able to make this happen, since you got called to the set early on the day we were originally supposed to talk.

Tamala Jones: Yes! It’s been crazy! But it’s for a good reason: that Lanie-centric episode that everybody’s been asking for, that happened last week.

BE: That is a good reason to be busy.

TJ: Yeah! [Laughs.]

BE: I guess the big question, then, is what took so long.

TJ: What took so long…um… [Starts to laugh.] I don’t know. You know, I honestly… Andrew (W. Marlowe) is like a mad scientist, and there’s a method to his madness. He’s been talking about doing the Lanie-centric episode, and I think what he was trying to do – which I really appreciate – was to find something beyond just the Esposito and Lanie relationship that also kind of included it, too. And he executed that very well.

BE: So it lived up to the long wait, then?

TJ: Yes! [Laughs.] It definitely did!

BE: Well, now that you’ve started out by teasing everyone with what’s on the horizon, let’s jump back to the beginning: how did you find your way onto “Castle” in the first place? Was it a standard audition, or did they reach out to you specifically?

TJ: It was a standard audition. We actually… My team actually reached out to the casting lady, Donna Rosenstein. It was right after the writer’s strike, there was nothing going on, and if you weren’t already previously on a show, you were out looking for one. And she was casting for “Castle,” and I was, like, “Just ask her if I can come in,” because the role was not written for an African-American actress. And she checked, and they said, “Yes, we’ll see her.” It was literally three lines – Lanie was a guest star, possibly recurring – and as soon as I walked out of there, 15 minutes later they were, like, “You got it!” I was screaming, jumping up and down. You’d’ve thought I’d won the lottery. [Laughs.]

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So we shot the pilot in New York, and once the pilot got picked up…well, of course, I was out testing for other pilots, and once we heard it got picked up, we let ABC know, “Well, she’s got a test today. Is she still going to be recurring? Because we have to let them know.” And they were, like, “Tell her not to go in for the test. We’re going to make her a series regular here.” And I was just… [Shrieks.] “Really? Well, that was the easiest series-regular job I’ve ever gotten!” [Laughs.] So there’s where the story begins!

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The Light from the TV Shows: A Chat with Billy Campbell (“Killing Lincoln”)

Billy Campbell got his initial break in Hollywood when he pulled a recurring role on “Dynasty” in 1984, started to escape from the small screen somewhat in 1991 by playing the title in Disney’s highly underrated “The Rocketeer,” and has since bounced back and forth between TV and film, most recently spending two seasons on AMC’s “The Killing.” This Sunday, however, Campbell can be seen in another “Killing,” when he steps back through the mists of time to play American’s 16th President in the National Geographic original movie, “Killing Lincoln,” based on the book by Bill O’Reilly.

During the Winter 2013 TCA Press Tour, Campbell took some time – more than his publicist was expectingly, frankly, not that we were complaining – to chat with Bullz-Eye about his surprise over being pitched the role of Lincoln, his strong views over Disney’s mishandling of “The Rocketeer,” his even stronger statements to the bloggers who bitched about the Season 1 finale of “The Killing,” and how he was only one audition away from getting the role of Commander William T. Riker on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

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Bullz-Eye: To begin at the beginning, how did you find your way into “Killing Lincoln” in the first place? Did you audition for the gig, or did they actually come looking for you?

Billy Campbell: I didn’t audition. They… [Hesitates.] What did they do? [Laughs.] They approached me months before this happened, and I…well, they didn’t approach me. My manager called me and said, “I got this weird sort of feeler: would you be interested in playing Lincoln?” And I burst into laughter, and I thought, “Ridiculous! I’m not Lincoln!” Nevertheless, we sent them a photo which I thought was Lincoln-esque—or a photo that I thought was the least non-Lincoln-esque—that I could find, and I forgot all about it. And then months later I got a call from my agent saying, “You’ve been offered Lincoln.” And I was…amused. But I accepted. And that was it.

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