Interview: Matthew Rhys and Luke Mcfarlane
Brothers and Sisters Matthew Rhys - Kevin Walker
Luke Macfarlane - Scotty Wandell
The divide widens
tvnz.co.nz's Kate Marshall caught up with Matthew Rhys and Luke Macfarlane from "Brothers and Sisters" about life on the show, holiday time and pork pies.
Matthew Rhys oozes charisma and charm as he sits in a suit jacket and jeans and swivels in his chair. I'm enthralled as, in the dulcet tones of his native Welsh accent, he holds forth on what it's like being a part of Brothers and Sisters' famous Walker family (as Kevin), and the conflict that comes with it.
Rhys acknowledges of his character that being fired by your brother isn't exactly ideal and if this had happened to him, he'd probably react much worse than Kevin did: "You know, I think that was sort of a fantastic opportunity for real conflict within the family. I would have shouted a lot more and broken things, but I think that's why I'm an actor."
Although he has no insight as to how things will pan out, he hopes fans will see Kevin and husband Scotty (played by Luke Macfarlane) less uptight since they got married. "Usually Scotty has to go, 'It's all right, it's all right. Good pony. Good pony. I'll make some soup.'" And as with any family conflict, each member is forced to take sides and that includes the audience. For this incredibly hot and married gay couple, the divide becomes greater. "It's placated in areas, but it still comes back in a way to that sort of initial action."
Even though conflict plays its role in the Walker family, it's the iconic Sally Field - as Nora the matriarchal mother to all - who provides the glue that holds the family, and Macfarlane says this is true both on screen with Nora and on-set with Field "I remember one specifically we were on set," he says. "There was a lot of chatter& It was a late night, and she kind of stood up and was like 'Everybody be quiet.' And everyone was quiet. So she definitely - she makes you sort of step up."
Rhys admires Field's ability to always be on cue, no matter what: "She's always the one who doesn't move from the camera, is always word perfect. In fact, usually in the big dinner scenes when they have to get everyone's perspective and they take days to shoot - a full day to shoot one scene. They'll shoot Sally last because they know she'll absolutely be the same. She won't drop a line or show any signs of fatigue, and that's a real testament to her."
As well as holding a huge amount of respect for Field, Rhys is also in awe of those who put the show together (some regularly work until 4 O'clock in the morning), particularly with the scenes that incorporate the entire family. He applauds those who are able to get everyone in the same room at the same time and deal with the staunch opinions,and Macfarlane agrees: "And then of course just the technical aspects of all those cameras, all those shots, all those angles when you have that many people in the room. I don't know how they keep track of those things."
Macfarlane says he's touched that fans will take such time and care over their letters. For them, they go to work and forget the show is out there for millions to view each week so they sometimes lose track of the impact their jobs can have on the public. Given their onscreen relationship, Rhys claims he probably receives more mail from boys and at least the feedback is heartening and very flattering. Macfarlane on the other hand gets as much mail from girls as he does from boys, so they are both equally happy.
Rhys says he has mixed feelings as he heads into filming the last few episodes of the season. "We shoot for a long period of time. I think the crew more than anyone are very relieved because we work so extremely hard, and we're very lucky because there's so many of us killed by the schedule by any stretch of the imagination. It's always nice to come to an end to have a break and then recharge and back into the fight.' Macfarlane feels its "fun too because you get to kind of think about your character and you get to sort of imagine what they're going to have in store for you next season."
So with a few weeks off to chill out and reassess their character, how are they going to spend their time? Macfarlane is going camping to the Sierra Nevadas for his hiatus and becomes animated when talking about venturing outdoors. So what about Rhys? 'I'm going to go to Argentina. First to Patagonia to do a tiny little movie for a few weeks, and then I'll go home [Wales] and eat fish and chips."
This isn't the first reference to home and Rhys' stomach. He still loves to go back to his motherland and eat pork pies and is a keen rugby supporter. He did consider joining a team in Santa Monica but decided against it on the advice of UK actor, Johnny Miller who had "got mashed a few times." So they just watch instead.
Rhys the suddenly proclaims "maybe we're doing something right." of Brothers and Sisters - now into its third season. Any one of the millions of homes who tune in to the show each week would certainly have something to say about that. It might just be a sneaky yes.
Full episodes of Brothers and Sisters will be available free online 12 hours after the show has aired on TV2. Click here to view episodes Ondemand.
