DARK BLUE
Interview with OMARI HARDWICK
OMARI HARDWICK Stars as Ty Curtis in DARK BLUE
Watch DARK BLUE on Wednesday Nights at 9 PM EST on TNT
August 26, 2010
By Lena Lamoray
OMARI HARDWICK returns as Ty Curtis in the second season of DARK BLUE on TNT. Omari Hardwick has been featured in “Saved”, “The A-Team”, “CSI: Miami”, “Kick-Ass”, “Lie to Me” and a ton of other films and shows. I don’t know about you but I am really loving this season of DARK BLUE. This show has all the bases covered with an extremely good looking cast, intense drama, action, a comedic undertone and so much more. DARK BLUE is beautifully shot and features gorgeous skyline views of the city. DARK BLUE also stars Dylan McDermott, Tricia Helfer, Logan Marshall-Green and Nicki Aycox. Don’t miss this amazing JERRY BRUCKHEIMER
Interview with OMARI HARDWICK
OMARI HARDWICK Stars as Ty Curtis in DARK BLUE
Watch DARK BLUE on Wednesday Nights at 9 PM EST on TNT
August 26, 2010
By Lena Lamoray
OMARI HARDWICK returns as Ty Curtis in the second season of DARK BLUE on TNT. Omari Hardwick has been featured in “Saved”, “The A-Team”, “CSI: Miami”, “Kick-Ass”, “Lie to Me” and a ton of other films and shows. I don’t know about you but I am really loving this season of DARK BLUE. This show has all the bases covered with an extremely good looking cast, intense drama, action, a comedic undertone and so much more. DARK BLUE is beautifully shot and features gorgeous skyline views of the city. DARK BLUE also stars Dylan McDermott, Tricia Helfer, Logan Marshall-Green and Nicki Aycox. Don’t miss this amazing JERRY BRUCKHEIMER
series. Watch Omari Hardwick in DARK BLUE on TNT!
I spoke with OMARI HARDWICK about his role as Ty Curtis in DARK BLUE and I got his take on his character and what really goes on behind the scenes. What a fantastic guy and a pleasure to speak with. Watch DARK BLUE on TNT!
Lena Lamoray: Now this season, you're really exploring the darker side of your character. So what are your thoughts on Ty's seemingly downward spiral?
OMARI HARDWICK: Well like I was just saying, it's – you know it's six in one hand, and half a dozen in the other, because you know the six in the left hand has been the fact that he is sort of the (wise age). And I want to hold onto that, I don’t want to play even in the element of darkness that he's been asked to live in this year, I don’t want to play that cliché, I've never really been the actor that thinks that's the route that you should go. So I still – you coined it a “downward spiral,” and I – maybe I wouldn’t necessarily coin it that, I would call it – but I agree with you, but I would more so call it just exploring the very, very human side of himself, and I think we all wake up and have a wolf that screams inside of us. And normal society doesn’t allow most folks, probably including yourself, and myself even as an actor to be able to do what these characters can do in terms of that wolf being let out. And I don’t necessarily think that that's foreign or that abnormal you know I just think that Ty painted the picture of what society knows, which is a controlled anger, and maybe that's what made me most interesting to view, as I humbly say, was the fact that I had to have more of a controlled anger, whereas maybe the character that they hired Logan Marshall-Green to play was not as controlled, so to speak. And so I must say that it's a lot more fun to not have to be as controlled. I don’t know if I would call it such a downward spiral, but the darkness of where you see a character played by Denzel Washington and Alonzo in "Training Day" verse the controlled anger maybe that he plays in "Man on Fire" definitely ties more of the Alonzo this year. And I think it's a lot more fun than to be the one whose jaw is clenched, and trying to hold back all that he wants to really scream out to the wife and to the job you know so I think it's a lot more fun for me this year.
Lena Lamoray: Definitely. Now can you share any stories about what goes on behind the scenes of "Dark Blue"?
OMARI HARDWICK: Well I'm – as I told my TNT cohorts, and my publicist, I am speaking to all of you from an undisclosed spot in the canyons of Los Angeles, California, but in the back yard of my cast mate, Dylan McDermott. So definitely what goes on behind the scenes is us hanging out you know that is not cliché, and it's not something that on this show you find to just be something that sounds good to the interviewer. I think that there's a lot of joking, there's a lot of camaraderie, there's a lot of locker room banter that takes place off the set, at least between the guys, and even between Nicki and Tricia as well. But my week proceeds as such, I started out yesterday with lunch with Logan, I did a bike ride this morning with Dylan, and now I'm speaking to you guys. I am going out tonight to have a drink with Nicki, and then I think I'm doing next week a motorcycle ride with Tricia. So at least for me you know in real life, Omari Hardwick is a middle child. So maybe Ty or the Omari that plays Ty is the same thing when it comes to the environment off the set you know I kind of think that if it's cut and we go back to our trailers, I think it's a beautiful sight to see that we actually get along, and that we hang out, and you know we have our moments of letting the directors and the – and the writers feel our frustration with certain things that are going on on the set. But that's to be expected. But otherwise, it's a pretty light environment, because the content, of course, of what we're portraying every Wednesday is so heavy. So I would say that it's a – it's a light environment, and maybe very reflective of what actual undercover cops go through. You know I think there's a lot of banter and a lot of joking and a lot of off the job camaraderie that they have to abide by as well to be able to stay sane.
More Conference Call Interview Highlights:
Q: What it is about your role on "Dark Blue" that really continues to challenge you?
OMARI HARDWICK: Well I think – I think that you know at least for me, it's ever – it's ever changing you know it's ever – it's ever growing in terms of Ty Curtis, and he's somebody that we saw the first season, of course, pretty much – pretty much attached to the balancing beam of being the husband and being the righteous provider, and then also being you know the provider for his task, and for his group and his team, and keeping that a priority, and making sure that he was the best cop he could possibly be. But at the same time, the best husband he could be. And I think it's a natural built-in challenge for me this year, of course, because of the basic – but I guess paramount changes that were made that will ultimately unfold you know to Ty as a character in terms of that balancing beam sort of being alleviated a little bit, and he doesn’t have the same pressures of being the husband that he did last year, at least, and this year, his priority has sort of increased to just being the cop that he signed up to be you know from the beginning. And I think – I think the writers are constantly challenging me as an actor to bring to Ty whatever they ask me to bring. I think the writers are equally as challenging as the character is, but it's ever – it's ever changing, and I think Ty is.
Q: And there's an addition to the show now with Tricia Helfer, and I was wondering how you feel about bringing this new cast member into the show?
OMARI HARDWICK: I think Tricia has definitely brought a different complexion, should I say, to the – to the show you know in terms of first and foremost, I guess, what she brings to Dylan McDermott's character, and that being – that being the love interest, we saw – we saw him as more of brooding sort of enforcer last year, and this year, Carter Shaw has got his hands full of the gold pot, I guess, that makes him a lot lighter in the – in the gold pot you know as analogous to Tricia, and what she's brought. She's also brought a natural sex appeal that obviously she's a very beautiful, sexy woman. But as a character, what she's brought is the sex appeal of a woman in charge you know and Dylan's character is sort of seduced by her, not only literally, but figuratively as well you know I mean the things that we watch on TV, we're still watching. And the genre of TV that "Dark Blue" plays under, we're still watching mostly men you know from positions of power in law worlds, like Dylan played before in "The Practice" all the way to cop roles, like he's now playing on "Dark Blue." And I think it's really a fancy and kind of nice thing to see all the sudden a woman in charge of him, and thusly in charge of our entire squad. And as an actor and as a person, she's just been a joy to work with. She actually is a lot tougher maybe than she even lets on as her character, Alex, on the TV show, she rides motorcycles, and I ride as well, and Logan Marshall-Green rides. So the three of us have definitely taken to the streets and ridden our bikes. So she's been a great addition.
Q: What do you think – is it difficult playing your character sometimes sort of close to the vest because you have to sort of keep part of the characters sort of hidden from what he's really thinking going through until we see how the story plays out?
OMARI HARDWICK: Yes, I think it's a great question. Yes, I'll speak first and foremost on – or maybe sort of reiterate what I – what I stated before, and that's the fact that Ty was – you know was the character that it wasn't the same mystery so to speak that surrounded Dean, and you knew more about Ty because of the fact that he was the actual one that painted the picture of American world, and that being the house and the wife you know working on the kids, if not kids yet. And so obviously there were more things that you could pick from and relate to your own life, and I wasn’t – I don’t think – I wasn't as mysterious a character as the other characters were. But I think it still was very much a challenge for me, and one that I took a lot of pride in keeping him as mysterious as possible you know not the built-in mystery that maybe surrounds Dean Bendis' character, but Ty Curtis still needs an element of mystery, and for you not to know exactly what he's thinking, particularly professionally, because he's got a job at hand, and he's still a grown man doing that job. So you know all of his tricks cannot be let out of the bag, and I think it's definitely as an actor, when you're playing a character like that where everything's not in the front of the house, but more so in the back of the house, I think it definitely is more so a challenge for you not to sort of spit it all out, and show all of your – all of your hand when you're at the table. And I think it's what keeps "Dark Blue" exciting I think for the most part, all of the characters have an element of mystery, and until it's hatched, you don’t necessarily know what we have you know inside the egg. And so maybe it was a lot harder for Ty to be more mysterious because they gave me more of the – of the revealing character, but I think this year more than ever, he has finally found his mystery, and I think people are along for the ride of not necessarily knowing what they knew last year. Sure, great question.
Q: I think it's really interesting about your character in that you're the only one that's actually married. And part of me would like to see how the character progresses if the marriage breaks up, and goes through all that drama, and becomes a single guy. But on the other hand, you're the only one that is married, so it's kind of nice to have that contrast in the characters.
OMARI HARDWICK: Yes, I think –but you obviously carry very much the sentiment that I – that I've carried as the person playing him. So I couldn’t echo what you say any better than that. It's twofold, it's kind of a gift and a curse that the writers have given me, but it's at the same time exciting, because it is you know twofold, half in one, half a dozen in the other, so I don’t know, it's tough.
Q: Were you a fan of "Battlestar Galactica"?
OMARI HARDWICK: No, I wasn't. I’ve never been a big sci-fi fan, but I do – I'll tell you what I did like, if the sci-fi had a lot of story to it, then I was more into it. Like my brother was a Trekkie, my older brother, I was more (Buck Rogers), because it had more story to it, so … you know "Battlestar Galactica", I didn’t – and I feel bad about it, and Tricia's beat me up for it, I knew her work – I knew her work, I was very familiar with her from other projects.
Q: "Burn Notice" and other stuff fan?
OMARI HARDWICK: I can't say – I can't say I tuned in – no, I can't say I tuned into that.
Q: This season seems a little lighter, it doesn’t see as heavy?
OMARI HARDWICK: Yes, it's definitely lighter. I mean you know we don’t – we don’t necessarily know what the viewer wants until you throw out the first fate and you know we got bites back that were more about – that were more about the darkness of the show being the thing that was hard I guess to digest. And so we threw out a different bait, and I think it's lighter. And hopefully that will continue on to be something that pleases the world, I don’t know. But I'm definitely getting positive feedback, sure.
Q: It started off incredible, but I think it's gotten even better … it really hit so many formats, and it really does at so many different places. Thank God the guy's got a girlfriend and is getting laid. Was the change kind of jarring for you at the beginning, or was it kind of a smooth move into the new environment? Because there's a lot of changes obviously with all the characters.
OMARI HARDWICK: Yes, it was – I tell you what, it wasn't as much a trend – it wasn't as much a jarring – that's a – that's a good word you chose – it wasn't as much jarring for me in terms of Tricia being brought in. I think we all felt that Dylan especially, if not specifically, needed to be lightened in that he was brooding, and you know not – obviously not Dylan, but his character. And I think that that change was more something that maybe we all kind of saw coming, particularly you're working with actors that are film actors as well as – with seasoned actors as well as film actors. So you can sort of – like a musician, or a producer, you can sort of tell the next beat that's going to happen, for something like that. What was jarring for me was the changes that were made to my marriage life character wise, those were a little jarring, they definitely were jarring if I could speak for (Madra Golding), who you know played the character (Melissa). So yes, that was very jarring, and something that even (Danny Cannon), who's Executive Producer and part creator, along with (Doug Jung), even he spoke to me in private and said you know that's not something that he necessarily would have done at another – you know at a – at another time and another place he said he would have kept it the way it was. But changes were necessary, and something had to go. So that was more jarring, but a lot of the major changes, particularly the one that you speak about with Tricia, was not jarring for me.
Q: Do you film in Los Angeles?
OMARI HARDWICK: We do, we film in – it's a show that – and so to piggyback your question, it's a show that we signed up for in excitement, because it was being sold to us as something that was going to be shot in the offbeat side alleyway street of downtown Los Angeles, which you don’t find a lot in TV, first and foremost, and definitely not in TV that's shot in L.A. And some of those changes, these we were not as jarring, again, some of those changes that I can add to this season were that we are not as much in the downtown L.A. area, we now have definitely married the work in the streets of L.A. to the work on the – on the studio lot. So those are – those are definitely also a little bit of – a little bit of the changes that happen that…
Q: So what can you tell us about the new film, "I Will Follow"?
OMARI HARDWICK: I can – well I can tell you that most recently, Ava DuVernay, who is the Director, she has the – it has made it into the New York Film Festival, or Urban World, specifically, which will take place in New York, and getting a lot of buzz in the independent circle, and in terms of the film festival circuit. And it's a project that mostly speaks to the – maybe the live life to the fullest, but at the same time, living it with a lot of fear, single women that are out there, that character is played by – her name is escaping me right now, which shouldn’t, because she's a friend of mine – (Sallie Richardson), and she plays sort of that Julia Roberts character we see in this you know film that she's now in that was based on the huge selling novel. And she goes through, without giving too much away, she goes through a major loss in her life, and in the midst of that, she turns to love to try to heal her. And my character is one half of the love triangle that – or 1/3 of the love triangle that she's stuck between, between herself, me and then a character played by the very talented Blair Underwood. So it's myself, Blair Underwood, like I said, Tracie Thoms, the very talented actress who we saw on the Quentin Tarantino film recently, and it's a good independent project that I shot right at the end of "Dark Blue" and – of last season. And so I'm looking forward to it, I'm definitely going to New York to introduce the film with the rest of the cast, and we'll see. It was a first time directing job by Ava DuVernay, who had only I think before that shot a documentary.
Q: Now you've been busy with TV and movies, but you started in theatre. Can you tell us about your return to theatre?
OMARI HARDWICK: I'm really excited, I spoke too soon, it's so ironic, because I spoke too soon. About 2 weeks ago, it appeared as though I was returning on a particular play that was in its theme, and I was extremely excited about it. And then have wanted to return to the right play for a very long time, and they put a pin in me, which in – for laymen's term, they basically put me on hold. And it turns out that I am actually now not doing it. So I'm not returning as quick as I thought – as quickly as I thought I would be returning to the stage, but I am up for several theatre projects, and actually was talking to Dylan McDermott today about one of them that was put on stage years ago, and it's a piece I'm really excited about that was written by Miguel Pinero, the famous poet. And so we'll see how – you know how soon I can actually talk specifics to you about my return to stage, but it's not going to happen as quick as I thought it was. Very excited though, I mean that's my birthplace, and Logan and Dylan as well, so the three of us talk a lot of theatre jargon when we're on set, and I'm really excited to be able to get back to a place where the wood is underneath my seat for at least a 2-month period.
I spoke with OMARI HARDWICK about his role as Ty Curtis in DARK BLUE and I got his take on his character and what really goes on behind the scenes. What a fantastic guy and a pleasure to speak with. Watch DARK BLUE on TNT!
Lena Lamoray: Now this season, you're really exploring the darker side of your character. So what are your thoughts on Ty's seemingly downward spiral?
OMARI HARDWICK: Well like I was just saying, it's – you know it's six in one hand, and half a dozen in the other, because you know the six in the left hand has been the fact that he is sort of the (wise age). And I want to hold onto that, I don’t want to play even in the element of darkness that he's been asked to live in this year, I don’t want to play that cliché, I've never really been the actor that thinks that's the route that you should go. So I still – you coined it a “downward spiral,” and I – maybe I wouldn’t necessarily coin it that, I would call it – but I agree with you, but I would more so call it just exploring the very, very human side of himself, and I think we all wake up and have a wolf that screams inside of us. And normal society doesn’t allow most folks, probably including yourself, and myself even as an actor to be able to do what these characters can do in terms of that wolf being let out. And I don’t necessarily think that that's foreign or that abnormal you know I just think that Ty painted the picture of what society knows, which is a controlled anger, and maybe that's what made me most interesting to view, as I humbly say, was the fact that I had to have more of a controlled anger, whereas maybe the character that they hired Logan Marshall-Green to play was not as controlled, so to speak. And so I must say that it's a lot more fun to not have to be as controlled. I don’t know if I would call it such a downward spiral, but the darkness of where you see a character played by Denzel Washington and Alonzo in "Training Day" verse the controlled anger maybe that he plays in "Man on Fire" definitely ties more of the Alonzo this year. And I think it's a lot more fun than to be the one whose jaw is clenched, and trying to hold back all that he wants to really scream out to the wife and to the job you know so I think it's a lot more fun for me this year.
Lena Lamoray: Definitely. Now can you share any stories about what goes on behind the scenes of "Dark Blue"?
OMARI HARDWICK: Well I'm – as I told my TNT cohorts, and my publicist, I am speaking to all of you from an undisclosed spot in the canyons of Los Angeles, California, but in the back yard of my cast mate, Dylan McDermott. So definitely what goes on behind the scenes is us hanging out you know that is not cliché, and it's not something that on this show you find to just be something that sounds good to the interviewer. I think that there's a lot of joking, there's a lot of camaraderie, there's a lot of locker room banter that takes place off the set, at least between the guys, and even between Nicki and Tricia as well. But my week proceeds as such, I started out yesterday with lunch with Logan, I did a bike ride this morning with Dylan, and now I'm speaking to you guys. I am going out tonight to have a drink with Nicki, and then I think I'm doing next week a motorcycle ride with Tricia. So at least for me you know in real life, Omari Hardwick is a middle child. So maybe Ty or the Omari that plays Ty is the same thing when it comes to the environment off the set you know I kind of think that if it's cut and we go back to our trailers, I think it's a beautiful sight to see that we actually get along, and that we hang out, and you know we have our moments of letting the directors and the – and the writers feel our frustration with certain things that are going on on the set. But that's to be expected. But otherwise, it's a pretty light environment, because the content, of course, of what we're portraying every Wednesday is so heavy. So I would say that it's a – it's a light environment, and maybe very reflective of what actual undercover cops go through. You know I think there's a lot of banter and a lot of joking and a lot of off the job camaraderie that they have to abide by as well to be able to stay sane.
More Conference Call Interview Highlights:
Q: What it is about your role on "Dark Blue" that really continues to challenge you?
OMARI HARDWICK: Well I think – I think that you know at least for me, it's ever – it's ever changing you know it's ever – it's ever growing in terms of Ty Curtis, and he's somebody that we saw the first season, of course, pretty much – pretty much attached to the balancing beam of being the husband and being the righteous provider, and then also being you know the provider for his task, and for his group and his team, and keeping that a priority, and making sure that he was the best cop he could possibly be. But at the same time, the best husband he could be. And I think it's a natural built-in challenge for me this year, of course, because of the basic – but I guess paramount changes that were made that will ultimately unfold you know to Ty as a character in terms of that balancing beam sort of being alleviated a little bit, and he doesn’t have the same pressures of being the husband that he did last year, at least, and this year, his priority has sort of increased to just being the cop that he signed up to be you know from the beginning. And I think – I think the writers are constantly challenging me as an actor to bring to Ty whatever they ask me to bring. I think the writers are equally as challenging as the character is, but it's ever – it's ever changing, and I think Ty is.
Q: And there's an addition to the show now with Tricia Helfer, and I was wondering how you feel about bringing this new cast member into the show?
OMARI HARDWICK: I think Tricia has definitely brought a different complexion, should I say, to the – to the show you know in terms of first and foremost, I guess, what she brings to Dylan McDermott's character, and that being – that being the love interest, we saw – we saw him as more of brooding sort of enforcer last year, and this year, Carter Shaw has got his hands full of the gold pot, I guess, that makes him a lot lighter in the – in the gold pot you know as analogous to Tricia, and what she's brought. She's also brought a natural sex appeal that obviously she's a very beautiful, sexy woman. But as a character, what she's brought is the sex appeal of a woman in charge you know and Dylan's character is sort of seduced by her, not only literally, but figuratively as well you know I mean the things that we watch on TV, we're still watching. And the genre of TV that "Dark Blue" plays under, we're still watching mostly men you know from positions of power in law worlds, like Dylan played before in "The Practice" all the way to cop roles, like he's now playing on "Dark Blue." And I think it's really a fancy and kind of nice thing to see all the sudden a woman in charge of him, and thusly in charge of our entire squad. And as an actor and as a person, she's just been a joy to work with. She actually is a lot tougher maybe than she even lets on as her character, Alex, on the TV show, she rides motorcycles, and I ride as well, and Logan Marshall-Green rides. So the three of us have definitely taken to the streets and ridden our bikes. So she's been a great addition.
Q: What do you think – is it difficult playing your character sometimes sort of close to the vest because you have to sort of keep part of the characters sort of hidden from what he's really thinking going through until we see how the story plays out?
OMARI HARDWICK: Yes, I think it's a great question. Yes, I'll speak first and foremost on – or maybe sort of reiterate what I – what I stated before, and that's the fact that Ty was – you know was the character that it wasn't the same mystery so to speak that surrounded Dean, and you knew more about Ty because of the fact that he was the actual one that painted the picture of American world, and that being the house and the wife you know working on the kids, if not kids yet. And so obviously there were more things that you could pick from and relate to your own life, and I wasn’t – I don’t think – I wasn't as mysterious a character as the other characters were. But I think it still was very much a challenge for me, and one that I took a lot of pride in keeping him as mysterious as possible you know not the built-in mystery that maybe surrounds Dean Bendis' character, but Ty Curtis still needs an element of mystery, and for you not to know exactly what he's thinking, particularly professionally, because he's got a job at hand, and he's still a grown man doing that job. So you know all of his tricks cannot be let out of the bag, and I think it's definitely as an actor, when you're playing a character like that where everything's not in the front of the house, but more so in the back of the house, I think it definitely is more so a challenge for you not to sort of spit it all out, and show all of your – all of your hand when you're at the table. And I think it's what keeps "Dark Blue" exciting I think for the most part, all of the characters have an element of mystery, and until it's hatched, you don’t necessarily know what we have you know inside the egg. And so maybe it was a lot harder for Ty to be more mysterious because they gave me more of the – of the revealing character, but I think this year more than ever, he has finally found his mystery, and I think people are along for the ride of not necessarily knowing what they knew last year. Sure, great question.
Q: I think it's really interesting about your character in that you're the only one that's actually married. And part of me would like to see how the character progresses if the marriage breaks up, and goes through all that drama, and becomes a single guy. But on the other hand, you're the only one that is married, so it's kind of nice to have that contrast in the characters.
OMARI HARDWICK: Yes, I think –but you obviously carry very much the sentiment that I – that I've carried as the person playing him. So I couldn’t echo what you say any better than that. It's twofold, it's kind of a gift and a curse that the writers have given me, but it's at the same time exciting, because it is you know twofold, half in one, half a dozen in the other, so I don’t know, it's tough.
Q: Were you a fan of "Battlestar Galactica"?
OMARI HARDWICK: No, I wasn't. I’ve never been a big sci-fi fan, but I do – I'll tell you what I did like, if the sci-fi had a lot of story to it, then I was more into it. Like my brother was a Trekkie, my older brother, I was more (Buck Rogers), because it had more story to it, so … you know "Battlestar Galactica", I didn’t – and I feel bad about it, and Tricia's beat me up for it, I knew her work – I knew her work, I was very familiar with her from other projects.
Q: "Burn Notice" and other stuff fan?
OMARI HARDWICK: I can't say – I can't say I tuned in – no, I can't say I tuned into that.
Q: This season seems a little lighter, it doesn’t see as heavy?
OMARI HARDWICK: Yes, it's definitely lighter. I mean you know we don’t – we don’t necessarily know what the viewer wants until you throw out the first fate and you know we got bites back that were more about – that were more about the darkness of the show being the thing that was hard I guess to digest. And so we threw out a different bait, and I think it's lighter. And hopefully that will continue on to be something that pleases the world, I don’t know. But I'm definitely getting positive feedback, sure.
Q: It started off incredible, but I think it's gotten even better … it really hit so many formats, and it really does at so many different places. Thank God the guy's got a girlfriend and is getting laid. Was the change kind of jarring for you at the beginning, or was it kind of a smooth move into the new environment? Because there's a lot of changes obviously with all the characters.
OMARI HARDWICK: Yes, it was – I tell you what, it wasn't as much a trend – it wasn't as much a jarring – that's a – that's a good word you chose – it wasn't as much jarring for me in terms of Tricia being brought in. I think we all felt that Dylan especially, if not specifically, needed to be lightened in that he was brooding, and you know not – obviously not Dylan, but his character. And I think that that change was more something that maybe we all kind of saw coming, particularly you're working with actors that are film actors as well as – with seasoned actors as well as film actors. So you can sort of – like a musician, or a producer, you can sort of tell the next beat that's going to happen, for something like that. What was jarring for me was the changes that were made to my marriage life character wise, those were a little jarring, they definitely were jarring if I could speak for (Madra Golding), who you know played the character (Melissa). So yes, that was very jarring, and something that even (Danny Cannon), who's Executive Producer and part creator, along with (Doug Jung), even he spoke to me in private and said you know that's not something that he necessarily would have done at another – you know at a – at another time and another place he said he would have kept it the way it was. But changes were necessary, and something had to go. So that was more jarring, but a lot of the major changes, particularly the one that you speak about with Tricia, was not jarring for me.
Q: Do you film in Los Angeles?
OMARI HARDWICK: We do, we film in – it's a show that – and so to piggyback your question, it's a show that we signed up for in excitement, because it was being sold to us as something that was going to be shot in the offbeat side alleyway street of downtown Los Angeles, which you don’t find a lot in TV, first and foremost, and definitely not in TV that's shot in L.A. And some of those changes, these we were not as jarring, again, some of those changes that I can add to this season were that we are not as much in the downtown L.A. area, we now have definitely married the work in the streets of L.A. to the work on the – on the studio lot. So those are – those are definitely also a little bit of – a little bit of the changes that happen that…
Q: So what can you tell us about the new film, "I Will Follow"?
OMARI HARDWICK: I can – well I can tell you that most recently, Ava DuVernay, who is the Director, she has the – it has made it into the New York Film Festival, or Urban World, specifically, which will take place in New York, and getting a lot of buzz in the independent circle, and in terms of the film festival circuit. And it's a project that mostly speaks to the – maybe the live life to the fullest, but at the same time, living it with a lot of fear, single women that are out there, that character is played by – her name is escaping me right now, which shouldn’t, because she's a friend of mine – (Sallie Richardson), and she plays sort of that Julia Roberts character we see in this you know film that she's now in that was based on the huge selling novel. And she goes through, without giving too much away, she goes through a major loss in her life, and in the midst of that, she turns to love to try to heal her. And my character is one half of the love triangle that – or 1/3 of the love triangle that she's stuck between, between herself, me and then a character played by the very talented Blair Underwood. So it's myself, Blair Underwood, like I said, Tracie Thoms, the very talented actress who we saw on the Quentin Tarantino film recently, and it's a good independent project that I shot right at the end of "Dark Blue" and – of last season. And so I'm looking forward to it, I'm definitely going to New York to introduce the film with the rest of the cast, and we'll see. It was a first time directing job by Ava DuVernay, who had only I think before that shot a documentary.
Q: Now you've been busy with TV and movies, but you started in theatre. Can you tell us about your return to theatre?
OMARI HARDWICK: I'm really excited, I spoke too soon, it's so ironic, because I spoke too soon. About 2 weeks ago, it appeared as though I was returning on a particular play that was in its theme, and I was extremely excited about it. And then have wanted to return to the right play for a very long time, and they put a pin in me, which in – for laymen's term, they basically put me on hold. And it turns out that I am actually now not doing it. So I'm not returning as quick as I thought – as quickly as I thought I would be returning to the stage, but I am up for several theatre projects, and actually was talking to Dylan McDermott today about one of them that was put on stage years ago, and it's a piece I'm really excited about that was written by Miguel Pinero, the famous poet. And so we'll see how – you know how soon I can actually talk specifics to you about my return to stage, but it's not going to happen as quick as I thought it was. Very excited though, I mean that's my birthplace, and Logan and Dylan as well, so the three of us talk a lot of theatre jargon when we're on set, and I'm really excited to be able to get back to a place where the wood is underneath my seat for at least a 2-month period.