I dip the tea bag in the hot water and return to my laptop screen. Crossing the field in front of me is Wentworth Miller. I am at the set of Prison Break at Joliet Prison, Chicago.
The prison was built in 1858 to house criminals and POWs during the American Civil War. It was closed down in 2002. When Fox TV production crew set its foot at the location in 2005, the prison became alive on screen as Fox River State Penitentiary.
"Hey, pretty!" The familiar salutation in Alabama accent breaks my reminiscence of the Prison Break scenes.
An athletic guy clad in a tight white T-shirt slithers towards me. The pockets of his pant are out. I get up to greet him.
"Where's your lover, Teddy?"He thrusts his face close to mine and stares menacingly at me like he is going to slit my throat with a hidden blade.
"So you wanna be my lover, pretty?"
I stare blankly into his piercing eyes which appear to be sizing me up.
"Did I frighten you?" He retreates to his position and breaks into a smile.
His animalism fades into oblivion as he nudges my shoulder like a caring big brother.
"So you are Anthony from Bananation. It must be a long flight from Singapore, huh?"
He is quick to break me away from my embarrassment. That is how briliant an actor, Robert Knepper is. He can be bad and good in a snap of the fingers. I take a sip of my green tea to calm my adrenalin.
"What's that in your paper cup?" he asks an obvious question but I know he means well.
"Tea bag?" I am kind of losing my sense of humor.
"That's me, pretty!" He plays with his pant's pockets which T-Bag's milquetoast lover holds onto while following him around.
OMG. This guy is reverting to his screen character, Theodore Bagwell a.k.a T-Bag, and I am not letting him.
"Tell us do you sympathise with T-Bag, the paedophile you played in Prison Break?"
"People who watch the show have been very attune to understanding the life of T-Bag. That is, he’s not a one-dimensional character. He’s not just the bad guy. Let’s not kid ourselves, though, he is a bad guy. He can be pure evil, but he’s not crazy. He’s had a lot of problems in his childhood, not the least of which is what Bellick [played by Wade Williams] brought up to everyone’s attention in the episode when we rioted against the guards. He said in front of everybody, "Your Daddy did his mongoloid sister and out came Teddy nine months later.” Not only is that horrific to bring up in front of other people, but it’s horrific to live with your whole life knowing that your dad is such a screw- up. I never want to dismiss this guy and convince the viewing public that he’s an angel. There is no way! What’s fascinating about him is that he’s that train wreck that you love to watch that is about to happen and he is somebody you know. He’s a real person! There is not a person alive that does not have many different sides to them. That’s called being a human being (which is what I realized about getting older.)
Robert is not alone in his empathy for T-Bag; his fans wrote this to him: "When I first started watching the show, I hated you. Now, I still hate you, but I feel for you somehow.”
Upon hearing the mention of that letter, Robert cracks a smile.
"That’s exactly where the writers went with it and I went with it."
It is not surprising that Robert values his performance in Prison Break. After 21 years in his acting career, this is his biggest break so far with more people recognising him on the street. To the Singaporean viewers at large, he remains the dangerous prisoner, T-Bag. A minority may recall seeing him in the 80's famous late night show, The Twilight Zone. (Inset left) as Alonzo in the 1987 show. Don't you think that he resembles Orlando Bloom in this photo? If Prison Break was produced then, Wentworth Miller might lose his role as Michael Scotfield to him during the audition. Speaking of the devil, Wentworth Miller just strolls pass the field. Again."What is a day like at the set of Prison Break?"
"There is a lot of joking around and trying to break out of prison. There is one beautiful thing about it was the entire day while I was in Chicago this past year...my wife and I had a dilemma on our hands because we wanted to keep our child here in LA in preschool (so that's why they didn't come to Chicago.) Someone I talked to suggested I keep some kind of ritual for him, which would be something I should do routinely. I came up with this idea of coming up with a cartoon drawing every day. So, in one moment, I am slitting an actor's throat, another I'm slitting black actors with a razor blade, another moment I am getting up behind a young innocent boy and figuring out how I am going to seduce him or another moment I am thinking about having to sleep with the transsexual guy, but meanwhile anytime I have a break I am sketching out a sweet little cartoon for my boy (he is 5 years old.) It was kind of a fun routine to have. There is nothing like driving home and thinking about calling your little boy because it helps you knock out those feelings of T-Bag and it's very therapeutic."
"Would you chose to play more bad or good guy?"
I expect Robert to ponder for a while on this question but he is as fast as T-Bag slitting John Aburzzi's throat in the show.
"I don't choose a part because it's a "bad" or "good" guy. Sometimes I turn down bad guy parts out of boredom from doing the same type of role, sometimes because I'll have a momentary fear of being typecast....then a juicy part like T- Bag in PRISON BREAK comes along and I have to jump at it. (I always try with him to be charming and primal, at the same time...) these kind of characters tend to make choices in their lives that are more interesting to play and watch, than those of the typical "good guys."
"Is there a particular ..."
My question is curtailed by a sudden strong wind which topples my paper cup and wets my Crumpler bag. "Damn it!"
Robert's hair remains in place but mine was quite mess up. I continue my interview without bothering where my fringes fall. I am not the star.
"Sorry about that. I was asking is there a particular role that you would love to play?"
"I'd love to play a mentally or physically challenged guy who is not a victim....also a comedic role like Buster Keaton used to do so well: funny without trying."
From a distance, someone yells 'Robert!' and he turns around to see a guy beckoning him to come over. It is the director he says. "I got to go"
"Just a quick last question. It is true that you like to cook and what are your favorite dishes?"
"I love taking all the recipes of my mother's dishes.. Ohio rural, country style...getting rid of all the artificial or frozen crap, and substituting the real thing....meat and potatoes or casseroles that are healthy and taste like they're from France, Italy, or Spain."
"Thank you so much for your time, Robert. It's a pleasure to meet you."
He acknowledges with a grin and gives me a brotherly hug before he slithers back to the set. OMG! T-Bag is back!
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