Christian Slater: Breaking In @ChristianSlater4

Breaking In premieres Wednesday, April 6, on FOX with Christian Slater.

With an impressive career that spans the genres of film, television and stage, Christian Slater has established himself as one of the most talented actors of his generation. Slater most recently appeared in the television dramas “The Forgotten” and “My Own Worst Enemy,” and his additional credits include appearances on “My Name Is Earl,” “The West Wing” and “Alias.”

His film credits include starring opposite Anthony Hopkins in “Slipstream,” “He Was a Quiet Man” with William H. Macy and Elisha Cuthbert and “Bobby,” which revolves around the assassination of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, written and directed by Emilio Estevez.

I recently caught up with Slater to discuss the new series.

COPYING. FILING. HACKING. JUST A TYPICAL DAY AT THE OFFICE ON THE SERIES PREMIERE OF “BREAKING IN”

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, ON FOX

Contra Security, a high-tech security firm that takes extreme – and often questionable – measures to sell its protection services is corporate America’s answer to “The A-Team,” giving clients a sense of security by first ripping it away. In the opener, Contra’s man of mystery owner, Oz, blackmails his newest recruit, computer hacker Cameron, to join his team. Cameron quickly learns that cracking into state-of-the-art security systems is a lot easier than dealing with his co-workers, including the alluring Melanie, prank-pulling Cash and competitive Josh in the “Pilot” series premiere episode of BREAKING IN airing Wednesday, April 6 (9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (BIN-101) (TV-TBA)

Cast: Christian Slater as Oz; Bret Harrison as Cameron; Odette Annable as Melanie; Alphonso McAuley as Cash

Guest Cast: Michael Rosenbaum as Dutch; Trevor Moore as Josh; Jennifer Irwin as Creepy Carol


Breaking In premieres its first of seven spring episodes Wednesday, April 6th, 9:30/8:30 Central, following American Idol.

Who is  Christian Slater?

Christian Slater: I’ve pretty much gone from a “bad boy” to a “dad boy.”  Somebody came up with that one yesterday and I really liked it.  “Dad boy” is definitely more a fitting moniker for me.  I mean I’m going to LEGOLAND on Thursday to check out the new Star Wars exhibit they have there.  I’m not going just myself, of course, I’m taking my son.

Tell me about Breaking In.

Christian Slater: When I first got the script, the character of Oz hadn’t been really clearly identified.  So when I sat down with Doug Robinson and Seth Gordon and Adam Goldenberg, we just started talking and came up with ideas and I figured,  I’ve got nothing to lose here so why don’t I just throw out some options and some things that I would like to particularly do in a show and see what these guys think.  They ended up popping everything I kind of suggested into the script and I read it and I was like, “Oh boy, okay, well this is pretty exciting.  If we can actually pull off getting the Captain Kirk chair in the show that would be wondrous!” Seth Gordon is certainly a wonderful director.  I loved his movie, The King of Kong.  I thought it was a great documentary and he certainly gets story and building characters.  I found him to be an absolutely wonderful director.  It’s always adventurous and exciting working with new people, figuring out how they work and how they like to do things, so it’s a process. I think we’ve really fallen into a nice groove.  I mean honestly, the last four episodes that we’ve done have been a pleasure.  The directors who have come in have been great.  We had Fred Savage come in and direct.  I did a movie with him when I was 17 and I think he was about 12, so it’s just kind of amazing to see people grow up and take on these new roles.  I don’t know if the pilot necessarily shows exactly how he got started.  He is at a particular moment of need.  I like the fact that he has the ability to kind of find these little diamonds in the rough, you know these people with these great skills that aren’t really using them to their full and utmost potential.  He picks these people, like Cameron’s character who’s a brilliant computer hacker and really gives him the opportunity to kind of flourish and have fun and sort of point his skills in a particular direction where they could have gone down a darker path.  Now he’s getting the opportunity to break the law, legally.

Was that Captain Kirk chair your idea?

Christian Slater: Yes, well a buddy of mine had gotten me the chair—did I say Goldenberg or Goldberg?  I don’t know what I was thinking before—but a buddy of mine had gotten me that chair for a birthday present about a year ago so it was really just sitting in my house and I really liked it and I just thought this chair, I think, would represent, in a way, who this Oz character is.  He is definitely the captain of this particular ship.  It does have a throne-like quality and it also has a little bit of a throwback-type quality as well.  I’m a fairly eccentric character myself and the fact that these guys were so open to hiring people and including a lot of their own personal eccentricities into the characters was thrilling.

Is that really Captain Kirk’s chair?

Christian Slater: Yes, well what’s nice is that as a way to do some research for this particular show, me and the gang all broke into the Smithsonian and stole the real one.  Yes, so the one that they have at the Smithsonian is a replica now. We did a little replacement surgery there.  It was very good.

What attracted you to this role?

Christian Slater: Doug Robinson told me that he’d seen me do a few comedy things.  I did a bit on Curb Your Enthusiasm and I did something on The Office and I was pretty much playing myself, I was playing a version of myself in those particular shows.  This was an opportunity to create a character from the ground up and really make somebody come to life in a comedy-esque type fashion.  It was something new, it was something different.  It was something that certainly feels more geared towards my strengths and things that I really do enjoy doing. I definitely prefer doing comedy.  I think comedy is vital in our world.  I think it’s very, very important and we need as many excuses to laugh and be jolly at this particular time.  I do like the fact that my character Oz is an eight-moves ahead kind of guy.  He pretty much knows what the outcomes are going to be right from the get-go, which I really appreciated and I like.  I think it’s nice to have characters like that on TV.  It makes people feel safe and comfortable.  Even though it’s a made up character it still makes people feel safe that there’s somebody out there like that, potentially.  I like that he’s in charge.  I like that he likes to have fun, that he doesn’t really take things all that seriously and he’s just kind of a guy—a very mysterious guy, and there’s definitely a lot more going on beneath the surface than he’s revealing. I love characters with edge.  I love characters that are a little bit more dangerous, a little bit unpredictable.  I think they’re just fun to play.  They’re definitely more interesting than just your standard, run-of-the-mill action-y type hero.  I love just being these guys that are a little offbeat and a little twisted, and just a little dangerous. I think he is definitely a guy who, at times, has to rule with a bit of an iron fist because he is dealing with a large group of misfits that he’s assembled, but my personal feeling is that he’s definitely got a heart of gold.  I think he loves everyone that he’s chosen to surround himself with.

Do you think that you’re getting the roles you deserve?

Christian Slater: I mean my ego of course wants to say, “Yeah, I’m the greatest actor who ever lived.  I’m absolutely brilliant and I should be doing everything that’s out there.”  But I’m going to use this show, hopefully, as an opportunity to exercise every kind of fantasy that I can get away with on national television.

What continues to be appealing to you about working on television?

Christian Slater: I like the consistency of it.  I like the pace of it.  With the first two experiences I had, I really did respond well to the schedule.  It’s a very, very fast moving train.  I don’t like sitting around.  I really like to get in there and do the job and get it done and feel good about it at the end of the day, and that pretty much seems to be the vibe on all the sets that I’ve gotten to be a part of.

What do you think of your time slot, immediately following American Idol?

Christian Slater: We are all very thrilled and certainly happy with the support from FOX.  I’ve been thinking about it a little bit, I kind of feel a little bit like Goldilocks.  I mean I tried out the one bed, it didn’t fit.  I tried out the other bed, it didn’t fit.  This bed here at FOX feels just right.

Is there a particular project you like working on more than others?

Christian Slater: I think so.  Usually when I’m doing radio interviews, it always reminds me of Pump Up the Volume.  I loved that character.  I had a great time.  It certainly was in the earlier portion of my career.  I loved the director and I loved Samantha Mathis, and I just felt that the story was just very good and very rich and very emotional.


Do you find your career as an actor rewarding?

Christian Slater: I think the opportunities to experience so many different things.  To get the opportunity to, quite honestly, travel; see things.  At times, I get the opportunities to go on USO tours where if I wasn’t in the position that I’m in I wouldn’t have those chances to get to go to Bahrain or Djibouti, or get to visit the Walter Reed Medical Center.  So having those kinds of experiences are quite remarkable and certainly perspective-changing.

Was acting something you’ve always wanted to do?

Christian Slater: I did not really get too many opportunities to think of other professions.  My mother talked to me about being a lawyer or a doctor, that sort of thing, but at the same time, she was a casting director so I was surrounded by actors.  I would sit in her casting sessions when she couldn’t get a babysitter and I’d have to sit there and watch actors do auditions over and over again and my father was an actor, so pretty much show business was something that was just kind of ingrained into me at a very, very early age.

Is Breaking In the most extreme, zaniest thing you’ve done?

Christian Slater: I think so, certainly on screen or in this particular venue.  When I started my career I definitely did movies like Heathers, which was certainly a black comedy and very, very twisted in a lot of ways.  So, in a certain respect this is a little bit of a nod and a wink to, I think, some of the earlier things that I started off doing.

Are you a techie?

Christian Slater: I do love the tech stuff.  I enjoy the iPad.  I’ve got the iPhone.  I’ve got a Mini Mac hooked up to my TV.  I’ve got the Xbox.  I’ve got the PlayStation.  I’ve got the Wii.  I mean, I’m insanely techie and I love to play all that stuff with my kids.


What do you like now about your roles in films?

Christian Slater: I’m now the boss, which is very interesting.  For me, to kind of—have been around long enough to get the opportunity to be the guy who can actually appropriately sit in the captain’s chair is quite shocking, but I guess that’s just what happens when you keep breathing.

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