I love style, so, first – I asked James Spader about his hat.
James Spader, The Blacklist. Photo Credit: NBC
Today (9/30/13), James Spader took part in a conference call to promote The Blacklist. Small Screen Scoop got some of the juicy scoop…
What was he like? This is something I do, that you won’t get from other outlet’s. I’ll tell you not just what an actor or actress says, but how they seemed. As for Spader? He gave considerate, gracious answers that were peppered with little laughs. Not self-conscious, he would occasionally take a long pause as he grappled for an answer he was pleased with giving. Spader is a great fan of “credit where credit is due” and was often humble – which can be surprising for a man at his level of success.
Will we learn about Red’s past?
Spader says it will be, “eeked out slowly” over the season.
What can we expect from The Blacklist season 1, episode 2, tonight?
After the pilot, we will now see the “transition of him being a prison from working out the parameters of his deal.” And there will be “nefarious affairs.”
Will there be a The Blacklist season 2?
He talked a lot about he doesn’t know how the show will do in the long-term.
Is James as savvy with computers?
“I am completely technologically ignorant.” In fact, Spader says, “I don’t know how to type either.”
Is Red Elizabeth’s father?
Spader says he wouldn’t say, and “one earns that information by watching the show.” He also said, “It seems too easy. But maybe its’ a very circuitous route back to the simplest answer of all. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Why did James shave his head?
“It was an idea I instigated. And I think it was the right choice.” Will he regret it? “Ask me again in January.”
Jessica Rae for Small Screen Scoop: I’m going right to the fashion. How did the choice to embrace a Fedora come about?
It came about from a few different things. It came from, first of all, what Red looks like and that’s a byproduct of his life. We didn’t want him to look as if he’s from any specific style or (has a) fashion of any given year… or from any given place. He’s someone who would compile his wardrobe from around the world. People dress differently in different parts of the world, and he has been on the move for a couple or decades now, if not longer. And, he travels lightly. But he has to wear clothing that’s practical. He has to be someone to go from the jungle to a bankers office…and be able to be comfortable and appropriately dressed for both. And we wanted it to be timeless. … and lastly, because of geography – and where he is, people who travel to distance places …Hats are part of their lives. In different places on earth people wear hats on diff places… sometimes to keep head warm or keep the sun warm. i think he’s used to that and he’s adopted it. I think it was a look that came out of practicalities of his life.”
Did he talk about playing Ultron in Avengers under direction from Joss Whedon? He did!
Spader et al will be shooting it in London. He used to “devour” comics as a kid. And he has sons now who love comics. “It’s one of the great luxuries of an actor… you’re able to participate in projects that …. the world you’re entering is so foreign to you… and that foreign world forces you to work in an entirely different way…and the challenge becomes so different. And I was intrigued by that. I’ve been doing this a long time, and it seemed like it would be very fun for something I have no frame of reference for. And, there you go. The right thing came along.
He said that Joss Whedon gave him a call, and said he didn’t have anyone else in mind… so… “Here we go.”
A new episode of The Blacklist airs tonight on NBC.
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