In this new season of White Collar, Neal Caffery (Matt Bomer) has the biggest score of art (originally stolen by Nazis) and a new woman in his life, Sara Ellis played by Hilarie Burton, an insurance investigator who was once after Caffery and assisted the White Collar Division throughout Season 2. Burton finds her character caught between continuing her professional relationship with Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) or be loyal to con man who she now shares a passionate connection with. Burton spoke with BuzzFocus on a conference about her character and Season 3.
To start the new season, Sara is assertive and is not intimidated by his relationship with Alex or his past. She called Neal a “damn good con man,” clearly not afraid by the danger than Neal may bring her. She may even be excited by and drawn to it. But Sara continues to dig into Neal’s past and relationships like any smart woman would.
Aside from the very obvious physical attraction, could believing Neal might be on the straight and narrow explain why Sara opens herself up to a relationship with him? At the same time, how might she perceive him if she finds out he plans to steal the art and leave town with Mozzie? She has been on the right side of the law up until now and not only is the choice for Neal important for himself, but for Sara as she has big choices to make as well. That’s not to say she won’t get her fair share of kissing Neal in the meanwhile.
Burton got inside Sara’s head to respond, “How many of your friends have hooked up with people they thought they could fix or they thought they could steer in a brighter direction? That’s a kind of a female bad habit that’s universal. You meet a man and you think you can influence him. And I don’t think Sara’s any different from any normal girl who’s at home watching the show. She knows what he’s capable of. But I think she perhaps foolishly or not foolishly hopes that she would be and his new lifestyle would be incentive enough for him to behave.”
So if he does go to the dark side, how crushing, you know, how absolutely crushing. But if he doesn’t and he chooses to stay with the FBI and be a good boy, how rewarding. The consequences either way are pretty big. The season is becoming a little more dramatic. I think we’ve had certain arcs in the show that have been more comedic. But I think that there is some pretty serious stuff coming up in Season 3.”Including Sara possibly being corrupted. Prior to last week’s episode, “On Guard,” I thought about in what way could Sara have been a suspect in stealing the treasure. It was a long shot, but what I couldn’t come up with was a motive for her to risk the relatively cushy lifestyle she built for herself. Still I asked Burton not admit if she played a part or not, but if she were to do it, what would have been that motivation for Sara to do so.
“To assert herself,” Burton pondered. “You know… Sara is someone who knows all of the same tricks that Neal has but she uses them for good, not evil. Do you know what I mean? She spies on people. She recovers treasure and then turns it over instead of keeping it for herself. She certainly has all the skills to be able to pull something like that off. But it’s a conscious choice to walk the straight and narrow.
“Has she fallen so hard for Neal already that she would pull something like this off to show off? Maybe. Or maybe she tests him to see what he would do. I think she’s a really powerful woman and her emotions might get the best of her. So we’ll see whether she’s black and white or gray this season. As an actor having to play certain scenes, it’s very hard to decide how far you’re going to go with the emotional involvement or with the enjoyment of maybe doing things that aren’t necessarily legal. Because she is in a huge time of transition. And Neal is a huge factor in her decision making this year.”
The producers are also trying to make Sara more approachable, tone down the glamour in her wardrobe, and slowly break the wall that had been intentionally built up around her last season. Writers are planning to eventually show her lighter side, and open up her dialogue so she’s not so formal and black and white. All of this will come with the natural progression of the relationship she’ll build with Neal.
Sara was initially brought into the White Collar story because of her working relationship with Peter and their mutual respect for each other, so I wondered whether or not their relationship was compromised as well after the treasure was stolen. Peter is going to be who he is and that’s being suspecting of Neal and those around him.
“Peter is very, very supportive of a Sara and Neal relationship because he thinks that Sara will be a good influence on Neal,” said Burton. “I think what he doesn’t expect is the possibility that Neal could be a bad influence on Sara. Peter has known Sara for years before he and Neal teamed up together. And I think he believes he has a very good understanding of what she’s about. But, you know, Neal is someone that you can get totally swept away with. And it would be a mistake to underestimate that.”
“As much as I love having fun scenes with Tim DeKay,there might be some tougher scenes to do with him. I don’t ever want Peter to be mad at Sara because Hilarie Burton thinks Tim DeKay is so great. And I would hate for him to yell at me. But it might happen guys. It might happen.”
But it’s not all about Peter and Neal this season. Burton believes that the women on the show are not just there to service the boys in collars and the ladies of White Collar are interesting characters in and of themselves. In this season she has worked with Tiffani (Elizabeth Burke), Marsha (Diana Barrigan) and even Diahann Carroll (June). But I had to pry for more as to who, besides Bomer has she spent the most time with in front of the camera to get a clue into what her role may be in Season 3.
“Well this year I’ve been spending a lot of time with my dear friend Willie Garson, which it’s kind of a two for one deal,” Burton said. “When you’re with Neal, Mozzie’s always around. And so I get to spend a lot of time with Mozzie, which is a treat because Willie is a friend outside of work as well. And, you know, I’m his mascot. I just follow him around and laugh at him because he’s a funny dude. So I have been having a lot of fun playing with the boys. They’re a good time.”
Burton looks at herself as a tool to allow the audience to get to know the intimate side of Neal that a lot of people have been aching to see and knows she will draw the ire of fans because she’s the lucky one that gets to do it. This is the first time we’ve seen an active, ongoing romance for Neal. Since White Collar is usually so lean and the scripts are plot driven, I asked Burton how much of her scripts have been about Sara’s life away from the FBI?
Not a whole lot,” Burton replied. “There are a lot of people to service on the show–characters that have stories to tell. And one of the really wonderful things that our writers are doing this year is they’re kind of giving each character their own spotlight episode.”
“Sharif has gotten one. Marsha’s gotten one. Willie’s gotten one. There’s an Elizabeth one coming up. You know, each one of the characters we’re delving more into their back-story. And right now I feel like at least the first half of this season I’m there to kind of help other people tell their story, in particular Neal. And that’s fine for me because I really love working with this cast. And the fact that I get to work with all of them now as opposed to just a couple of them like last year has been really exciting.”
“Maybe later in the season, you know, we’ll see more of Sara’s colors, more of her past because it’ll help Neal connect with her. That’s how you develop and bond with someone. You have shared experience and then you have shared histories. You let each other in on your deep dark secrets. And Neal is certainly someone that it’ll take a minute to trust but in the end he should be someone that Sara trusts with her secrets.”
Sara may also have one last thing to worry about later this season. Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse) will guest-star and pose another threat to Sara and her relationship with Neal.
“There’s always going to be threats.” Burton said confidently. “Jeff Eastin and I were talking the other day and I was like, ‘Look. I’m used to breakups. I was the queen of breakups on the show I used to work on.’ I’m not threatened by another girl coming on because it gives me someone else to play with. And she certainly is someone who had some really wonderful shows and she’s beautiful girl. And her boyfriend Rick Fox worked on One Tree Hill with us. It’s all, you know, two degrees of separation here. She worked with Matt on Tru Calling. And so it should be fun. Anytime you bring a new variable in, it’s a really good time and it energizes everyone else to have another girl come in and maybe have a catfight, that’s not a bad day at work. That’s fun. Hopefully all you guys will enjoy it. We like spicy, right?
To start the new season, Sara is assertive and is not intimidated by his relationship with Alex or his past. She called Neal a “damn good con man,” clearly not afraid by the danger than Neal may bring her. She may even be excited by and drawn to it. But Sara continues to dig into Neal’s past and relationships like any smart woman would.
Aside from the very obvious physical attraction, could believing Neal might be on the straight and narrow explain why Sara opens herself up to a relationship with him? At the same time, how might she perceive him if she finds out he plans to steal the art and leave town with Mozzie? She has been on the right side of the law up until now and not only is the choice for Neal important for himself, but for Sara as she has big choices to make as well. That’s not to say she won’t get her fair share of kissing Neal in the meanwhile.
Burton got inside Sara’s head to respond, “How many of your friends have hooked up with people they thought they could fix or they thought they could steer in a brighter direction? That’s a kind of a female bad habit that’s universal. You meet a man and you think you can influence him. And I don’t think Sara’s any different from any normal girl who’s at home watching the show. She knows what he’s capable of. But I think she perhaps foolishly or not foolishly hopes that she would be and his new lifestyle would be incentive enough for him to behave.”
So if he does go to the dark side, how crushing, you know, how absolutely crushing. But if he doesn’t and he chooses to stay with the FBI and be a good boy, how rewarding. The consequences either way are pretty big. The season is becoming a little more dramatic. I think we’ve had certain arcs in the show that have been more comedic. But I think that there is some pretty serious stuff coming up in Season 3.”Including Sara possibly being corrupted. Prior to last week’s episode, “On Guard,” I thought about in what way could Sara have been a suspect in stealing the treasure. It was a long shot, but what I couldn’t come up with was a motive for her to risk the relatively cushy lifestyle she built for herself. Still I asked Burton not admit if she played a part or not, but if she were to do it, what would have been that motivation for Sara to do so.
“To assert herself,” Burton pondered. “You know… Sara is someone who knows all of the same tricks that Neal has but she uses them for good, not evil. Do you know what I mean? She spies on people. She recovers treasure and then turns it over instead of keeping it for herself. She certainly has all the skills to be able to pull something like that off. But it’s a conscious choice to walk the straight and narrow.
“Has she fallen so hard for Neal already that she would pull something like this off to show off? Maybe. Or maybe she tests him to see what he would do. I think she’s a really powerful woman and her emotions might get the best of her. So we’ll see whether she’s black and white or gray this season. As an actor having to play certain scenes, it’s very hard to decide how far you’re going to go with the emotional involvement or with the enjoyment of maybe doing things that aren’t necessarily legal. Because she is in a huge time of transition. And Neal is a huge factor in her decision making this year.”
The producers are also trying to make Sara more approachable, tone down the glamour in her wardrobe, and slowly break the wall that had been intentionally built up around her last season. Writers are planning to eventually show her lighter side, and open up her dialogue so she’s not so formal and black and white. All of this will come with the natural progression of the relationship she’ll build with Neal.
Sara was initially brought into the White Collar story because of her working relationship with Peter and their mutual respect for each other, so I wondered whether or not their relationship was compromised as well after the treasure was stolen. Peter is going to be who he is and that’s being suspecting of Neal and those around him.
“Peter is very, very supportive of a Sara and Neal relationship because he thinks that Sara will be a good influence on Neal,” said Burton. “I think what he doesn’t expect is the possibility that Neal could be a bad influence on Sara. Peter has known Sara for years before he and Neal teamed up together. And I think he believes he has a very good understanding of what she’s about. But, you know, Neal is someone that you can get totally swept away with. And it would be a mistake to underestimate that.”
“As much as I love having fun scenes with Tim DeKay,there might be some tougher scenes to do with him. I don’t ever want Peter to be mad at Sara because Hilarie Burton thinks Tim DeKay is so great. And I would hate for him to yell at me. But it might happen guys. It might happen.”
But it’s not all about Peter and Neal this season. Burton believes that the women on the show are not just there to service the boys in collars and the ladies of White Collar are interesting characters in and of themselves. In this season she has worked with Tiffani (Elizabeth Burke), Marsha (Diana Barrigan) and even Diahann Carroll (June). But I had to pry for more as to who, besides Bomer has she spent the most time with in front of the camera to get a clue into what her role may be in Season 3.
“Well this year I’ve been spending a lot of time with my dear friend Willie Garson, which it’s kind of a two for one deal,” Burton said. “When you’re with Neal, Mozzie’s always around. And so I get to spend a lot of time with Mozzie, which is a treat because Willie is a friend outside of work as well. And, you know, I’m his mascot. I just follow him around and laugh at him because he’s a funny dude. So I have been having a lot of fun playing with the boys. They’re a good time.”
Burton looks at herself as a tool to allow the audience to get to know the intimate side of Neal that a lot of people have been aching to see and knows she will draw the ire of fans because she’s the lucky one that gets to do it. This is the first time we’ve seen an active, ongoing romance for Neal. Since White Collar is usually so lean and the scripts are plot driven, I asked Burton how much of her scripts have been about Sara’s life away from the FBI?
Not a whole lot,” Burton replied. “There are a lot of people to service on the show–characters that have stories to tell. And one of the really wonderful things that our writers are doing this year is they’re kind of giving each character their own spotlight episode.”
“Sharif has gotten one. Marsha’s gotten one. Willie’s gotten one. There’s an Elizabeth one coming up. You know, each one of the characters we’re delving more into their back-story. And right now I feel like at least the first half of this season I’m there to kind of help other people tell their story, in particular Neal. And that’s fine for me because I really love working with this cast. And the fact that I get to work with all of them now as opposed to just a couple of them like last year has been really exciting.”
“Maybe later in the season, you know, we’ll see more of Sara’s colors, more of her past because it’ll help Neal connect with her. That’s how you develop and bond with someone. You have shared experience and then you have shared histories. You let each other in on your deep dark secrets. And Neal is certainly someone that it’ll take a minute to trust but in the end he should be someone that Sara trusts with her secrets.”
Sara may also have one last thing to worry about later this season. Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse) will guest-star and pose another threat to Sara and her relationship with Neal.
“There’s always going to be threats.” Burton said confidently. “Jeff Eastin and I were talking the other day and I was like, ‘Look. I’m used to breakups. I was the queen of breakups on the show I used to work on.’ I’m not threatened by another girl coming on because it gives me someone else to play with. And she certainly is someone who had some really wonderful shows and she’s beautiful girl. And her boyfriend Rick Fox worked on One Tree Hill with us. It’s all, you know, two degrees of separation here. She worked with Matt on Tru Calling. And so it should be fun. Anytime you bring a new variable in, it’s a really good time and it energizes everyone else to have another girl come in and maybe have a catfight, that’s not a bad day at work. That’s fun. Hopefully all you guys will enjoy it. We like spicy, right?