The best films are the ones that you can watch over and over and they never get stale. Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs are two of those films. They both have some very obvious elements in common. They were each directed by Quentin Tarantino, and had the highly recognizable Tim Roth in prominent roles. We all recognize Tim Roth as the restaurant robber in Pulp Fiction, and as the police rat, Mr. Orange, in Reservoir Dogs. Since being a part of these iconic films, Roth has remained quite potent in the industry and has managed to add an impressive list of movies to his resume. But these days, we can see Roth on a weekly basis on his hit show, Lie to Me.
Centered in the middle hour of primetime television, Lie to Me has been the leading drama in ratings in the nine o’clock hour. The show centers around a third party investigative team who get assignments to analyze the truth and lies by those being targeted by the police and government agencies. With a focus on microexpressions and other psychological techniques, the team, led by Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth), cracks each case with their sophisticated analysis. Roth’s presence on the show stamps the production with class and credibility. Primetime dramas are challenging, because they must maintain an audience’s attention for an hour, with fresh material every week. Many have come and gone, but with Tim Roth playing a prominent role, Lie to Me is sure to remain a steady player.
LIVE: You have quite a famous background growing up. Is it true that your father was part of the British Communist Party?
ROTH: Yeah, way back when. He was a full on, card-carrying member. My dad fought in the Second World War. Originally, he was born in the states. He was a New York boy, born in Sheep’s Head Bay to Irish parents. He was about eleven when they moved to Liverpool and they worked in the factories there. He ran away from home to the war at 17 and he joined the Air Force and fought in the war until it was over. He came out of the war like a lot of solders did, with very much the opinion that it was a war that was run by a bunch of rich guys and fought by a bunch of poor guys. He was very much a political animal, my dad. When we were kids we would go on demonstrations and stuff. We grew up with that in our household.
LIVE: I understand that your surname is actually Smith, but your father changed it.
ROTH: It was Smith and he changed it to Roth. He took a Jewish name because of what had happened during the war. That was his way of sort of putting his past behind him as well.
LIVE: Originally, did you want to be a sculptor early on in your life?
ROTH: I went to art school in London. It was my degree and I was painting and sculpting as a full time student. Then I got bitten by the acting thing and I was spending more time doing plays in pubs and youth theatres around town than I was being at art school. So they said to me, “We’ll keep your place open, but why don’t you go off and figure out if you can do this?” And then I did.
LIVE: Early on, a lot of people recognized you in Reservoir Dogs as Mr. Orange. How was the experience of working with Quentin Tarantino?
ROTH: I arrived in America having worked already for quite a long time in Britain and I made a decision to play Americans for a while. I figured that if I could get jobs, it would help in getting cast for things. And it worked. I met Quentin on a casting call the way that you normally do and we really hit it off. In an immediate fashion we became fast and close friends. He used to be in my apartment most of the time, pacing up and down. Then when I started filming with him, it was a whole different animal. It’s an incredible experience filming with him. He is very well prepared. He’s wild and has an enthusiastic energy that starts at the beginning of the day and really never ends. It’s an extraordinary experience working with him as an actor. I absolutely loved it and it was in the beginning of his career as well. I quite think that your early work shows your true personality and I think that Quentin’s early films say a lot about who he is. So, the stuff that I was involved in with him was a time when he was finding himself and it was a privilege to be a part of that.
LIVE: You were nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and actually received a British Academy Award for your role of Archibald Cunningham in the movie, Rob Roy. What was it about that performance that was so well received?
ROTH: People really responded to that character. The way I played him was so bored and he was such an odd and physically strange character. But when the wig came off you saw what was underneath the man. He’s a sociopath. He’s been given by birth a free pass to do what he wants. To be honest with you, I thought I was going to get fired off that film. I thought when the studio got a hold of it they would replace me. I had my agent looking for other work and it went the other way. I was really surprised.
LIVE: You’ve worked with such an array of directors. What was it like working with Woody Allen on Everyone Says I Love You?
ROTH: He’s a very interesting character. He’s not one for giving you a huge amount of direction. You have to stand up on your own two feet. A lot of actors find it odd. He wanted me to play an American, but he didn’t have a dialogue coach around so he just wanted me to wing it. I really like the idea of doing musicals, but I’ve got a crap voice. Here’s what Woody’s deal was, you can sing or we can replace your voice, but it’s not about singing- it’s about storytelling. And the thing about Woody is that he keeps the same crew of people around him for each film, so you see who the real Woody Allen is when he’s relating to his friends, his mates.
LIVE: Another interesting personality that you had the opportunity of getting close to was Tupac Shakur, during the filming of Gridlock’d.
ROTH: At the time, I didn’t know who he was. I was pasty face London boy and I was really unaware of that world. So when Bonnie said, “We’re thinking of casting this guy, Tupac Shakur and he’s a musician. I was like, “No, no, no” because it was the essential role of the film. Around that time, I had gotten nominated for something and Quincy Jones came up to me at one of those parties and said, “Look. This guy is good. I mean, this guy is really good. Give him a shot.” So we set up a dinner to meet and so I was sitting in the courtyard of this restaurant waiting to meet and in walks all these guys that looked like tough guys. So in walks Pac and he sits down and proceeds to layout what this character is with absolute precision. He had it down and within ten minutes I had fallen in love with this guy. We got on very well and became close friends.
LIVE: The movie, Pete Smalls is Dead is coming out in 2010. I think the last time you worked with Alexandre Rockwell was on Four Rooms.
ROTH: Alex has a sense for the absolutely bizarre. He’s a very funny man and a good guy to be around. I had just finished up the first season of Lie to Me and I went straight on and did a week with him on it. Steve Buscemi is in it along with Seymour Cassel. He’s got some very good people in there and we did it on a shoe string. I don’t know how he managed to put it together. So, hopefully, it will be on the festival circuit and we’ll get out there and support it as much as we can.
LIVE: So, congratulations on Lie to Me getting picked up for a full second season. How much of your character is actually based on Dr. Paul Ekman?
ROTH: It’s based on his science. The character I play, Dr. Cal Lightman, is developing in his own way. I think of it as just this big experiment to see if I can pull it off. A lot of film actors are moving into TV now. There’s less snobbery about it in the states than there used to be. In Britain, it happens all the time. You go from TV to stage to film, back and forth all the time. I think those barriers are getting broken down here. I hope we can keep the audience engaged. Then when it’s done, I’ll go back to film. Right now, I’m having a very good time.
LIVE: You have over fifty films under your belt. What are three films that any Tim Roth fan must see?
ROTH: I would say my early stuff, like Made in Britain, where I played a Nazi skinhead. It was directed by Alan Clarke, who has since passed away, but was one of England’s greatest directors. Then straight after that I went to work with Mike Leigh in Meantime. It is a very different type of character. Then, I would jump ahead to Vincent and Theo because that was a time when I was, as an actor, working with (Robert) Altman at my happiest. So, those are three films that you can watch and hopefully you like them. I like them. Another film would be the one that I directed, War Zone, which is more indicative of what I like about acting, cinema and composition. That tells the whole story in one fair swoop because that’s when I got to make a film of my own and not someone else’s.
LIVE: Thanks for sitting down with us. We look forward to catching up with you real soon.
ROTH: Absolutely. Thanks for the opportunity!
Centered in the middle hour of primetime television, Lie to Me has been the leading drama in ratings in the nine o’clock hour. The show centers around a third party investigative team who get assignments to analyze the truth and lies by those being targeted by the police and government agencies. With a focus on microexpressions and other psychological techniques, the team, led by Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth), cracks each case with their sophisticated analysis. Roth’s presence on the show stamps the production with class and credibility. Primetime dramas are challenging, because they must maintain an audience’s attention for an hour, with fresh material every week. Many have come and gone, but with Tim Roth playing a prominent role, Lie to Me is sure to remain a steady player.
LIVE: You have quite a famous background growing up. Is it true that your father was part of the British Communist Party?
ROTH: Yeah, way back when. He was a full on, card-carrying member. My dad fought in the Second World War. Originally, he was born in the states. He was a New York boy, born in Sheep’s Head Bay to Irish parents. He was about eleven when they moved to Liverpool and they worked in the factories there. He ran away from home to the war at 17 and he joined the Air Force and fought in the war until it was over. He came out of the war like a lot of solders did, with very much the opinion that it was a war that was run by a bunch of rich guys and fought by a bunch of poor guys. He was very much a political animal, my dad. When we were kids we would go on demonstrations and stuff. We grew up with that in our household.
LIVE: I understand that your surname is actually Smith, but your father changed it.
ROTH: It was Smith and he changed it to Roth. He took a Jewish name because of what had happened during the war. That was his way of sort of putting his past behind him as well.
LIVE: Originally, did you want to be a sculptor early on in your life?
ROTH: I went to art school in London. It was my degree and I was painting and sculpting as a full time student. Then I got bitten by the acting thing and I was spending more time doing plays in pubs and youth theatres around town than I was being at art school. So they said to me, “We’ll keep your place open, but why don’t you go off and figure out if you can do this?” And then I did.
LIVE: Early on, a lot of people recognized you in Reservoir Dogs as Mr. Orange. How was the experience of working with Quentin Tarantino?
ROTH: I arrived in America having worked already for quite a long time in Britain and I made a decision to play Americans for a while. I figured that if I could get jobs, it would help in getting cast for things. And it worked. I met Quentin on a casting call the way that you normally do and we really hit it off. In an immediate fashion we became fast and close friends. He used to be in my apartment most of the time, pacing up and down. Then when I started filming with him, it was a whole different animal. It’s an incredible experience filming with him. He is very well prepared. He’s wild and has an enthusiastic energy that starts at the beginning of the day and really never ends. It’s an extraordinary experience working with him as an actor. I absolutely loved it and it was in the beginning of his career as well. I quite think that your early work shows your true personality and I think that Quentin’s early films say a lot about who he is. So, the stuff that I was involved in with him was a time when he was finding himself and it was a privilege to be a part of that.
LIVE: You were nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and actually received a British Academy Award for your role of Archibald Cunningham in the movie, Rob Roy. What was it about that performance that was so well received?
ROTH: People really responded to that character. The way I played him was so bored and he was such an odd and physically strange character. But when the wig came off you saw what was underneath the man. He’s a sociopath. He’s been given by birth a free pass to do what he wants. To be honest with you, I thought I was going to get fired off that film. I thought when the studio got a hold of it they would replace me. I had my agent looking for other work and it went the other way. I was really surprised.
LIVE: You’ve worked with such an array of directors. What was it like working with Woody Allen on Everyone Says I Love You?
ROTH: He’s a very interesting character. He’s not one for giving you a huge amount of direction. You have to stand up on your own two feet. A lot of actors find it odd. He wanted me to play an American, but he didn’t have a dialogue coach around so he just wanted me to wing it. I really like the idea of doing musicals, but I’ve got a crap voice. Here’s what Woody’s deal was, you can sing or we can replace your voice, but it’s not about singing- it’s about storytelling. And the thing about Woody is that he keeps the same crew of people around him for each film, so you see who the real Woody Allen is when he’s relating to his friends, his mates.
LIVE: Another interesting personality that you had the opportunity of getting close to was Tupac Shakur, during the filming of Gridlock’d.
ROTH: At the time, I didn’t know who he was. I was pasty face London boy and I was really unaware of that world. So when Bonnie said, “We’re thinking of casting this guy, Tupac Shakur and he’s a musician. I was like, “No, no, no” because it was the essential role of the film. Around that time, I had gotten nominated for something and Quincy Jones came up to me at one of those parties and said, “Look. This guy is good. I mean, this guy is really good. Give him a shot.” So we set up a dinner to meet and so I was sitting in the courtyard of this restaurant waiting to meet and in walks all these guys that looked like tough guys. So in walks Pac and he sits down and proceeds to layout what this character is with absolute precision. He had it down and within ten minutes I had fallen in love with this guy. We got on very well and became close friends.
LIVE: The movie, Pete Smalls is Dead is coming out in 2010. I think the last time you worked with Alexandre Rockwell was on Four Rooms.
ROTH: Alex has a sense for the absolutely bizarre. He’s a very funny man and a good guy to be around. I had just finished up the first season of Lie to Me and I went straight on and did a week with him on it. Steve Buscemi is in it along with Seymour Cassel. He’s got some very good people in there and we did it on a shoe string. I don’t know how he managed to put it together. So, hopefully, it will be on the festival circuit and we’ll get out there and support it as much as we can.
LIVE: So, congratulations on Lie to Me getting picked up for a full second season. How much of your character is actually based on Dr. Paul Ekman?
ROTH: It’s based on his science. The character I play, Dr. Cal Lightman, is developing in his own way. I think of it as just this big experiment to see if I can pull it off. A lot of film actors are moving into TV now. There’s less snobbery about it in the states than there used to be. In Britain, it happens all the time. You go from TV to stage to film, back and forth all the time. I think those barriers are getting broken down here. I hope we can keep the audience engaged. Then when it’s done, I’ll go back to film. Right now, I’m having a very good time.
LIVE: You have over fifty films under your belt. What are three films that any Tim Roth fan must see?
ROTH: I would say my early stuff, like Made in Britain, where I played a Nazi skinhead. It was directed by Alan Clarke, who has since passed away, but was one of England’s greatest directors. Then straight after that I went to work with Mike Leigh in Meantime. It is a very different type of character. Then, I would jump ahead to Vincent and Theo because that was a time when I was, as an actor, working with (Robert) Altman at my happiest. So, those are three films that you can watch and hopefully you like them. I like them. Another film would be the one that I directed, War Zone, which is more indicative of what I like about acting, cinema and composition. That tells the whole story in one fair swoop because that’s when I got to make a film of my own and not someone else’s.
LIVE: Thanks for sitting down with us. We look forward to catching up with you real soon.
ROTH: Absolutely. Thanks for the opportunity!
Tim Goodman..........
Every television critic I know is making both end-of-year and end-of-decade lists. Although we have many different takes on what happened this year and in the last 10, there does seem to be one consistency: We each make what amounts to an improbable list. This is mine.
_________________________________________
"Fran here - I will not bother putting the whole list in ...just this bit"
________________________________________
Tim Roth, "Lie to Me," Fox. It's easy to give network programming - even the finest of it - less attention and affection in the face of so much impressive work on the cable side. But Roth's combination of smarts, aggression and compassion has not only elevated this procedural drama, but also proved he deserves the Emmy attention that has previously (and deservedly) gone to Hugh Laurie on "House."
Every television critic I know is making both end-of-year and end-of-decade lists. Although we have many different takes on what happened this year and in the last 10, there does seem to be one consistency: We each make what amounts to an improbable list. This is mine.
_________________________________________
"Fran here - I will not bother putting the whole list in ...just this bit"
________________________________________
Tim Roth, "Lie to Me," Fox. It's easy to give network programming - even the finest of it - less attention and affection in the face of so much impressive work on the cable side. But Roth's combination of smarts, aggression and compassion has not only elevated this procedural drama, but also proved he deserves the Emmy attention that has previously (and deservedly) gone to Hugh Laurie on "House."