Source: Have U Heard?
Date: June 28, 2010
In his eyes…. Matthew Bomer is nothing special. To his fans – that is definitely not the case!!
Have U Heard paid a visit to the set of White Collar where I had the opportunity to meet some of the cast. One of the questions that was posed to Matt Bomer was, does any part of you wish that you were less attractive?
The very humble Matt Bomer responded by telling the panel that they all needed to come in and see him before hair and makeup. Something tells me that wouldn’t change his fans minds.
He fumbled a bit and said it was sort of an impossible question to answer. He definitely had a point – anything he answered would not come out right.
Bomer discussed his character and the fact that he has a con artist consultant on the set. For more of the interview keep reading!!
Panel: So, I have a question about Kate. And you know, Neal, we had to start out believing that Neal really loved Kate and this whole thing. But as the time went on, and now with her dead, it turns into more of like, is she a symbol, is she a mystery? Because it seems a little bit more of an obsession that a love now?
Matt Bomer: Well, what I always loved about the character is that his romantic life is where he got sloppy. It’s sort of his tragic flaw, Achilles heel. So, I truly believe, I do think Neal is a little bit obsessive-compulsive in a lot of ways. I think that’s one of the benefits and probably drawbacks of being as intelligent as he is. I think he probably over thinks a lot of things. But yeah, she was definitely an obsession, but I think in his heart he truly believed that she was the one for him. And whether it’s rational or not at a certain point, is sort of irrelevant for him. So, yeah, I think in his heart and his mind it’s love.
Panel: And we talked about this with Peter, but one of the overarching themes of last season and this coming season seems to be one of trust.
Matt Bomer: Yeah.
Panel: Neal was sort of—she told Peter that he didn’t want to run anymore. In your mind, do you think if he would have stayed with Peter, do you think that that trust relationship is going to continue to develop?
Matt Bomer: Well, it’s always been my hope for the character that he’d never just jump over to the other side of the moral spectrum. I hope he always stays in the gray area and loves it and enjoys it and he’s always testing his boundaries with Peter. But yeah, trust is really one of, if not the central theme of the show. It plays into every scene in all of the different characters, and when I’m approaching the work, whether it is with Kate, you know, at a certain point it’s like how much could I trust her last year? My trust for her came into question. My trust for Peter came into question. My trust for Mozzie came into question. So, it’s something that sort of shows its face a lot on the show in all the different relationships, and I hope it continues to be a central theme. Even with the introduction of Hilary’s character, immediately we have trust issues. So, I love it. It’s fun to play because there’s a surreptitious quality to it that as an actor is fun to play. You’ve got things to hide, and things are never—it’s like a good poker game. It’s never, you can’t ever take it at face value. There are always things going on underneath, and as an actor that’s really fun to play.
Panel: You play such a brilliant, like criminal mind, do you ever when you’re at, like in a bank or something, does Neal kind of pop out and you know, I could take this place.
Matt Bomer: Well, you know, one of the real bonuses we have this season is that I now have an advisor, a con artist who advises me on set on a lot of things. So, I am getting a little bit more confident with my pick-pocketing skills, and I can actually pick a lock now. So, watch out. But as far as breaking into a bank, I’m not going to try to go there, because the main difference between me and Neal Caffrey is my ass will get caught.
Panel: How important is it for you to actually be able to do this show in New York? Well, it takes place in New York so often anyhow.
Matt Bomer: I don’t think it could take place anywhere else. I think New York is—I’m sorry, I didn’t meant to cut off your question. Did you have anything else to say? No, I don’t think it could take place anywhere else. I think New York is really a central character in the show. And what I love about the show is, you see a lot of shows, you see a lot of programs that shoot here, and they look down on the city and at the sort of dirty, grimy corners of SVU or what—I don‘t want to name any specific shows, but anything, you know, they position New York as a very gritty place.
And what I love about our show is that it looks up on New York and you see the tops of buildings. You see the big buildings in the background and it’s a very optimistic sort of blue skies version of New York City. And we have an amazing director of photography, Russell Fines [ph]. It’s kind of a love letter to the city the way he shoots it. So, I don’t think it could take place anywhere else. I think so many things, whether it’s the way Neal dresses, I mean, my god, if we shot that in like, you know, somewhere in Middle America, people would be like, “Well, you look like a clown.” But for some reason, in New York when you’re walking down the street where everybody’s there to make a statement, it works. So, the pace, the rhythms, the kind of esthetics, it’s all really dependent on the city. So, I’m still pinching myself that we get to work here and get to have all the amazing indignant New Yorkers who curse us out when we shoot in front of their building. I love moments like that, actually. I truly do.