Thursday, March 19, 2009

**UPDATED interview transcript**

The following is only Wentworth's answers to the interviewers' questions. I couldn't hear them very well so I didn't bother. You can gather what he was asked based upon his answers so no worries!Didn't see the videos yet? Well, what's wrong with you? Check 'em out here! By the way, don't you absolutely love the look on his face as he waits for the Chinese speaking reporters to ask the question then he turns to look at the interpreter? Priceless! He's so precious ツ

I'd like to change it up a little bit. I've been playing Michael Scofield on Prison Break for four years now, which is a long time. I have plans to do a tiny independent film that's just about a husband & wife. It's a relationship movie. No prisons! No government conspiracies! No stunts! I think that will be a nice change from what I've been up to.

(Laughs) I'd like to think that I'm a pretty good driver! I'm certainly a responsible driver. Working on the show has actually given me a deeper appreciation for law & order, the rules, obeying traffic regulations. And it's something that I've gotten to participate in, as far as stunts on the show for the last four years because there have been car chases and car crashes and that's been kinda' fun because it's always in the most safest possible environment that I'm allowed to participate in these climactic adventure chases!


The only thing that particularly appreciate is the chance to travel, to meet fans halfway across the world, to talk to people who've made room for me & my work in their lives. To know that I'm a part of a show that has touched & moved & inspired people all around the world is a tremendously gratifying feeling. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity so I look at my relationship with Shanghai GM as an opportunity to meet the fans who have made me who I am today and who are responsible for my success & for everything that I have. {If you notice here, he didn't directly answer her question about being satisfied with his pay for doing this car endorsement. Don't you love a man with tact like that? What was he supposed to say? "Well, yeah, it's enough money." or "Hell, no! They should be paying me more!" LOL too funny, but I love his diplomatic response!}

The last time I was here, I was in Shanghai & we were taking a boat trip up & down the river, I was meeting fans & signing a few autographs and a young woman gave me a book & she wanted me to sign it. I look down & realized that the title was very familiar but I couldn't place it for a second and then I realized it was my senior thesis from Princeton. It was a paper that I wrote during my senior year. She'd actually bought a copy online and had taken the time to read it, which must have been incredibly dry and boring but I thought it was very sweet and a hallmark of her appreciation for me and my work.

I think it's about customer satisfaction. It's about pleasing the client. It's something that I think about all the time, not only in my relationship to GM, for example, but also as far as Prison Break, as far as producing a show that satisfies on a weekly basis. The fans are why we do what we do. We put a tremendous emphasis on quality and commitment to craftsmanship. As far as my various commercial relationships, I look to align myself with individuals and corporations who stand for the same kind of thing.

Dangerous actions? Like stunts, do you mean? Well, yes. We have stunts every week. There's always a gun fight or a car crash or someone jumping off a building. Like we were talking about earlier, I'm a very responsible driver in my day to day life but on set, at work, within this very safe environment, I'm able to kinda' cut loose a bit, to drive in a way or behave in a way I never would in real life because that would be irresponsible. But when you're telling a story that's an action-adventure with a little bit of a comic book element, those kinds of stunts, those kinds of set pieces are what we do every week. It's what the fans expect.

Last time I was here, my only regret was that I wasn't able to stay longer. I've always wanted to come to China. I have a tremendous amount of respect for its rich heritage & culture & traditions. I know I could spend a lifetime here and really just scratch the surface of everything that China has to offer. So when the opportunity came to return so soon, I had to say yes.

What's unique is this season, instead of the usual 22 episodes, we're actually shooting 24 and the last two episodes are a kind of stand alone two hour event. It's a chance to deepen the show's mythology {HA! I was right! He did say "mythology" LOL!}. And since this is our fourth and final season, it's an opportunity to really give the fans a satisfying conclusion to a story they've invested in for four years now. It's our chance to tie up loose ends and to do honor to the story, characters and the universe {LOL @ "universe"?} that we've spent so much time and effort in creating.

I beg your pardon? Well, after wrapping up Prison Break, and actually my last day of work was this past Friday {March 13}, I was looking forward to coming to China. Of course I'll be back here in April for the car show for Chevy Night. In between those trips, I've got my independent film {He said "my independent film". Hmm... I wonder if this is something he's written/directed/produced or is he just showing ownership for his work in the film - guess we'll see.} and then I've been thinking about maybe doing a play, perhaps off Broadway or maybe even the West End in London. This is the first time, in a long time, that I've been able to kinda' relax and take a breath and pick and choose projects as opposed to having a project picked for me. Prison Break, in a lot of ways, was like being at school. Ten months out of every twelve, it dominated my life and that's where I put all of my time and energy. Now I'm free to kinda of pick and choose where I want to put my time & energy.

I usually think about going back to work! (Laughs) I am a workaholic. I always have been. When I'm not on set, which is very rarely. Shooting a TV series, we're often working 5 days a week, 12 hours a day. I'm studying my lines for the next time I'll be on set. I'm reading scripts for other projects. I'm thinking about Michael Scofield. Now, of course, I'll be able to put all that to bed for awhile and move on to other projects. And hopefully I'll be able to spend my free time on something that doesn't involve work. It would be nice to maybe take up writing or take a few art classes, perhaps do some more traveling.

I beg your pardon? My only regret is that I haven't actually gotten behind the wheel yet. They picked me up in the airport in the Chevy Cruze and I was immediately impressed by how sporty it was. It's very modern, hip. It's got some great lines. The interior is very luxurious and sitting in the back seat, I was really impressed by how much room there was. Usually there isn't a lot of room in the back seat but I thought this was the perfect car for a young person out on the town so they can bring their friends with them. I was very impressed by how well it handled on the highway. It's a very cool car. I'm very happy to be representing it.

I think there are definite plans for me to return in the second half of April for what they are calling Chevy Night. And I believe there's also a car show that's happening at that time.

I wish that were true. I wish that were true. I'm waiting for the opportunity. I would love to work in China. I think the film industry has a lot to offer in terms of talent. But at this point, it's a matter of waiting for the phone to ring. Hopefully it will.

I was trying to think of his name earlier. The gentleman who's responsible for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. {The reporters tell him the director's name: Zhang Yimou.} Exactly, exactly. I'm a big fan. I would love the opportunity.

Living arrangements & the food here. The food is spectacular. I was told before I came to not expect the food in China to not resemble, at all, what we call Chinese food in the United States. And that was good advice. That said, I've had amazing Peking duck. I know Shanghai's famous for it's dumplings, which I've already had & will certainly have again before I leave. I've been treated very generously by my host and very warmly by the fans.

I know meow {LOL!! I'm sure that's NOT what he said but it sure as heck sounds like it LOL! Then he said, I think "hello" in Chinese. Yingee, if you can help me out here & let us know what he actually said, that would be great!}. It's a good start.

(Laughs) That's a delicate question. You know I will take any opportunity to come to China and spend time here. So the fact that GM graciously offered to establish this relationship was something that I didn't think about saying no to for a second. It was something that I knew in my heart was the right kind of relationship & the right kind of experience for someone like myself. I think that an actor in the business today, cannot focus simply on the domestic market. No longer in the U.S. are we simply making TV shows or feature films for the U.S. We're thinking about foreign markets. We're thinking about our fans overseas. It's important to establish yourself, if you can, in those different arenas. My relationship with Prison Break has given me tremendous international exposure. My relationship with Shanghai GM has done the same. That means for me, not only the chance to travel and to talk to the fans and represent a certain product that I'm proud to represent, but it also means that I have increased access to projects and the actors that I'd like to have access to. {Looks like they snuck that money question in there again & again, his answer is flawless!}

3 comments:

Yingee said...

Hi, Laila,

The reporter asked Went, did he learn any chinese language during these china trips. And Went answered, "ni hao" (Hello) & "xie xie" (Thank you), and he said that is a good start.
Ha ha ha... he is so cutie!

Yingee said...

And one more thing I want to say, Went's pronunciation in Mandarin/ Putonghua is better than me, o... no... don't laugh at me...

Laila said...

LOL thank you so much, Yingee! I knew he said something close to "meow" LOL! I actually thought he said "neow" but of course I wasn't gonna say that & spell it that way b/c it looked dead wrong BUT in my defense, I knew he said "hello" in there somewhere! Thanks so much for the translations - you've been great!

Laila ツ