David James Elliott on Truth Be Told, JAG, and the Keys to a Successful Marriage

David James Elliott said it plainly: "Trust and communication — those are the two biggies for me. Let's embrace the truth, except when to do so would injure t…" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

We fell in love with the uniformed officer David James Elliott on the television series JAG. Now he stars in the FOX movie Truth Be Told alongside Candace Cameron Bure. Before the movie aired, Daedrian McNaughton had a chance to talk with David about the film, his upcoming projects with Kristin Chenoweth, and the enduring appeal of family entertainment.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: We enjoyed watching you on JAG — we love men in uniform. What's different about doing JAG versus Truth Be Told for you?

DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT: Well, Candace Cameron Bure was very difficult to work with and everyone on JAG was really kind and nice. No — anyway, it's always a different character, and I didn't have on a uniform, which was a nice change. It's a completely different story, but both characters are moral people who celebrate being a good guy and doing the right thing. So I guess there are some similarities and some differences.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What attracted you to this role?

DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT: It's nice for Candace and me — we both have young children — to be part of something that they can enjoy with us. That would be my motivation, mostly. It's a charming story, and working with Candace, who's a wonderful, charming actress. The story was something that my little guy could watch and enjoy. In fact, he came out when we were filming it and loved the series of films that Walmart and Procter & Gamble have made. Some of the producers gave him copies and he sat in the trailer and watched them all — and told me without hesitation that he really loved them. That's coming from an eight-year-old.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: How was Kurt Warner on set?

DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT: Kurt was a great guy. He was in and out fairly quickly, came with his wife. He was charming — and actually, everybody was talking afterwards: "Kurt was really good." Everyone, for some reason, had expected he might be a little stiff, but not at all. Really charming, amenable guy, and played himself with aplomb. Danny Gokey was great too — very funny, nice guy. He just came in with no airs or pretense. They both delivered a great job. Amazing voice.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: How did you find a way to connect with Candace to make the relationship so warm and believable?

DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT: I'm a difficult man, so — Candace, it's a real tribute to her tenacity that I broke through. It's always a challenge when you first meet somebody, especially when you need to have that connection. If it's not there, that's a lie that's really hard to fake. But Candace is a really open person and she was easy to connect to. Aside from her physical attributes — being so beautiful and talented — she's just an open, available person. For me it was effortless. The challenge probably lay with Candace. The most difficult thing was probably trying to get through the cold. It was so cold, and I'm from Canada, and this cold scared me. It was bitter cold. But everybody — from the director to the producer Craig Anderson, Jonathan Frakes who directed it, all the other actors — they came to play. They came and put their best face on. We endured a lot of physical hardship, but everybody was a true professional. It was a great environment to work in, and that's certainly not always the case.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What does working with someone of Candace's experience bring to a production?

DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT: There are two great things about it. We had a lot of common things to deal with — fan bases, people recognizing you and approaching you on the street. It's always good to have somebody who understands the challenges of that. Also the professionalism — the fact that we've both been in front of the camera for so long. When you work with somebody who hasn't had those opportunities to work the craft consistently, you have to school them. With Candace, you don't have to wonder what they're going to do when some little glitch happens. The more you've done it, the quicker you roll from it. If somebody flubs a line, you don't blow the whole take. You just go back, roll easier with the little problems, get the day done faster, and the work is better because of it. So it's always great to work with somebody with the experience Candace has.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: How do you think the audience will relate to the characters and the themes of the film?

DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT: For the same reasons we found the piece attractive, one would hope the audience finds those themes attractive. As a parent, it's always challenging to find things the whole family can watch. Sometimes things are advertised as being for the whole family, and then you get into it and find themes and topics that are a little challenging to navigate with a young child. That puts you in a difficult place and brings up questions kids shouldn't be asking at a certain age. I find that a lot in advertising — certainly in radio programming. The fact that they advertise things for male impotence non-stop during typical family hours, and you've got your seven or eight-year-old asking, "What's Viagra, Dad?" So this was a nice theme for me, and I would hope families out there feel the same way.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: There seems to be a trend with your co-stars being on the shorter side...

DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT: Yes, I've always been down on short people and I don't know why they hire them. Quite frankly, I just finished working with somebody even smaller than Candace — 4'11". So they get smaller with every job. That was Kristin Chenoweth. From where I'm standing, I'm always looking down on people. I'm so used to it I didn't really notice the height difference. Even actresses who are 5'9" get put on boxes sometimes. People often say to me, "Oh my God, you're so much taller than I thought you were." I say, "Because that's just the way it is." My wife is close to Candace's height.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Given the film's theme of honesty — have you ever lied at an audition?

DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT: Well, yes — when you want to get the job. One of the first things they told us at theatre school: "If you can't ride a horse, don't say you can ride a horse." I think the natural instinct for most people — and I'm no different — is to tell a little white lie here and there. Maybe it's because you often feel not enough, so you expound upon things without all the truth. Your story is not quite enough, so you build it a little better to hold interest. That's certainly a challenge every day. But it's a good challenge, and I'm for the truth.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Were there any standout moments on set, any memorable scenes from filming?

DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT: We were forced to spend long periods of time with each other in a 4x4 tent huddled around a small heater. So there was no escaping one another. I think as a result, everybody walked away really missing the gang when we got home — which is one of those things that often happens. You force these wonderful, quite deeply personal conversations. You talk about things you often wouldn't with somebody you just met, and then you walk away and there's a good chance you may never see that person again.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Anything you're working on for the future?

DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT: I'm just finishing a new Darren Star pilot in which I play Ripp Cockburn, an oil billionaire, and Kristin Chenoweth is my wife. It's a comedy.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Given the film's theme, what do you think are the keys to a successful long-term marriage?

DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT: All those things are absolutely true. Communication is a big one. Trust and communication — those are the two biggies for me. Let's embrace the truth, except when to do so would injure them or others. You don't want to go, "How do I look in this? Do I look fat in this?" — you never want to tell the truth if it's going to hurt somebody, especially when it's insignificant. But trust and communication.

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