Author: Emma Loggins
Date: 2009-01-13

Interview:
We had the honor of sitting down with the legendary Bruce Campbell recently to talk about the upcoming season of USA Network's Burn Notice. Here's what he had to say:

How much creative input do you have with your character for the show?

B. Campbell: Well, every situation is different and Burn Notice is very structured. Matt Nix, it's his show, it's his concept, it's his idea. So when I came on board, I'm going to give smaller stuff. You know, I might ad lib some stupid joke at the end of a scene or whatever. Or I might suggest a tone of maybe treat Michael's mother more gently at some point. So it's really for me mostly smaller stuff; the captain of the ship is Matt Nix and he's also allowing us to think through scenes and if we want to throw in a line or so, he doesn't have a problem with that. But I never show up on a set going, "Man, I got to ad lib today."

Did you see the success of the show coming up? Like did it surprise you? Are you at all surprised about how successful it has been?

B. Campbell: I'm surprised by everything these days because you never know. My basis for accepting this script when it came across my desk was I loved the fact of what it wasn't. It wasn't a cop show, it wasn't a doctor's show, it wasn't a lawyer show. There's plenty of stuff that goes on, but this is basically the human side of spies and I went, right, I can get into that. And I really enjoyed the fact that it's a good blend of a show that does have strong main characters, and not a lot of them. It's got four main characters. And that's what the emphasis is. And oh yes, stuff blows up and every week there is a caper where you defeat the jerk of the week. But I think it's mostly you watch these characters from week to week, and that's what I enjoy. And that's what appealed to me and that's what keeps me interested in the show is it's not really about the explosions, it's about the people who are doing the explosions.

Do you have a most memorable moment you've had from filming the seasons?

B. Campbell: For me, I'm just convinced one day that some bystander's going to shoot me with a gun. And the reason why I say that is because my character Sam has a rifle with a scope and often he's up on high rises and overpasses taking potshots at people. And sometimes you can't see the crew connected to me, because they put me sometimes far away. And Miami has a lot of guns, and so I'm just afraid some do-gooder's going to see me up there firing away and they're going to save Miami from that criminal. And then Burn Notice will have three main characters.

Carla has been the main archenemy on Burn Notice this season. I'm expecting her, of course, to return for the second half. Is there going to be anyone else beyond her, her boss, perhaps, or another arch villain coming into the picture?

B. Campbell: I think I'm allowed to say very likely. Very likely. Everyone has a boss, so I think the season will prove no different. Because Michael's being manipulated by someone who might be manipulated by someone. You never know. I think the layers are going to get deeper this season and it will start to get to the point where something's gotta give.