Were you working on it while you were finishing up ’24′ or was this something that came after?
Yeah, I was working on it a lot and all of a sudden I’m just thinking I’d like to take a vacation. I wanted to transition off ’24′ but I didn’t want to jump on another show, I wanted it to be the right thing, and it’s hard to know what that is. But for me, I’ve always performed so it was an easy choice for me to jump right into that.

How tough was that to do when you have to do the normal stuff you do for ’24,’ learning lines, getting it shot, was there enough time?
Oh, it was intense, I mean definitely the live show went on hold sometimes, so we did it when we could. But working on the show towards the end of ’24,’ it was a really emotional time.

Because you didn’t know whether that would be the last time around for the series at that point?
Well we kind of knew, we all suspected it throughout the year, but we weren’t told until really late in the game. And creatively, it’s sad. The hardest part for me was leaving all the people. It’s scary too because that was an amazing job and one of the hugest milestones in my life.

Have you heard anything about the ’24′ movie, is it in the works?
I keep telling people that if they hear anything about it to let me know, because I’ve heard nothing.

Are you hoping that Chloe is part of the movie, if there is one?
Of course. I would be really sad if I went to go see the ’24′ movie and Chloe wasn’t in there.

Yeah, I guess that’s an obvious answer to that.
Yeah it would be a bummer (laughs).

When ’24′ started, the role of Chloe was a pretty small one at the time, what were your expectations of the role going into it? Did you ever see it expanding into what it expanded into by the time the show was over?
Absolutely not. I think as an actor, you go out for everything and anything and at that time I hadn’t had, barely any, drama auditions, my thing was always comedy. I hung out with comedians, I auditioned for sitcoms, and so to even have the audition was unusual for me.

The best thing about it was that Joel Surnow, the creator, had seen me in a Paul Thomas Anderson movie and liked me in that. He has one of my favorite ways to cast his show and have a vision, that he has a strong enough idea, of “I like that quality about you and I’m going to write a part for you.” And I didn’t even think it would happen but I thought, “What an amazing experience. I’m not going to necessarily count on this happening knowing the format of the show.”

And then when I first started, I thought it was going to be four shows, then six shows, I thought it was going to be over after five or six shows. Once they started writing me being loyal towards Jack and helping him, it got really interesting at that point and really fun, and then the rest is history. It’s been my second home, and a really great experience and character, what an amazing show to be a part of.

What was it about the role of Chloe that led the writers to make her that big of an ally to Jack? And did they use any of your personality and insert it into Chloe?
Absolutely, I think it was a 50-50 collaboration. I would come in wondering what they were going to write for me and they were good at writing things that they knew I could pull off. And I became this person that could get away with this odd behavior, this odd aggressive behavior and I think it was just an organic… what’s the word… when you go from these heart-thumping sequence to get a little break sometimes.

That’s not to say that I didn’t have some very dramatic moments, the whole show was very intense. Our acting job would be to start at intense and work in those levels of intensity but I had a really good time in that world, kind of still being that girl at the office who’s sort of blunt and annoying but who also happens to be a computer genius who’s maybe stopping a nuclear bomb, so all these factors kind of fed into this behavior that was really fun to play.

Was there anything that you wanted Chloe to do that you didn’t get to do?
I think to me, the ending was kind of bittersweet. I’m certainly so grateful that we got the run that we got, but towards the end the thing that was bittersweet was that my character really started evolving and I’m glad that that didn’t happen to me sooner, because I think she would always remain that annoying Chloe person, or however you want to put it, but the fact that towards the end I got all that responsibility after everybody already very familiar with my character, which was really exciting. I would’ve liked to have seen that go on a little bit longer.

And her loyalty to Jack was kind of in question through a lot of the finale.
And that was exciting. And that was the only point where in all the time that I was in the show where I really had a talk with Howard Gordon, we sat down and just discussed making sure that transition was believable because I think the head of CTU gets a lot of exposition lines and that automatically, all these pieces have to go into a show like ’24′ in order to make sense and I wanted to make sure it made sense for the character to be doing that because that was such a weird position for her to be in and I wanted to make sure it had a chance to play out properly. Because some of that character stuff sometimes goes by the wayside because of the plot.

If the writers approached you and said we’d like to spin-off Chloe into her own show, you would accept?
I’m more interested in doing a different character, that’s the type of actor I am. I definitely have the factor that… a quality that I”m going to bring to all my characters and I think that there’s a whole world to be explored within that.

And for me that’s going to be comedy, and as far as anything Chloe-like, it would have to be, that’s obviously… it would have to be the right team and the right show, I wouldn’t do it to spin-off that character, it would have to be a really special circumstance with people that I knew and trusted with a really groundbreaking interesting idea, like a show like ’24′ which comes along once in a blue moon

Read the full interview at TV Squad which talks more about being a parent and her stage show “‘Mary Lynn Spreads Her Legs” which runs through August at the Steve Allen Theater in Los Angeles.

THR: So Jack lives. I know you’ve got the movie planned, but how much did you seriously consider killing him in the finale?

Gordon: We certainly considered it. We considered killing him earlier (in the season) as an off-rhythm thing. But every time we went there and penciled it out, it didn’t feel satisfying. It felt frustrating or it felt affected or something.

Read the rest at LiveFeed/THR

Gordon also spoke with Entertainment Weekly. He is asked about many things including the fan reaction to Dana Walsh and the death of Renee Walker. Gordon was also asked about the lack of returning characters – where was Tony Almeida, Aaron Pierce, Mandy, and Alan Wilson?

How come you didn’t bring back Tony Almeida this season?
We tempted fate once with him, for sure. I seem to have gotten away with it, so we consider ourselves lucky and ahead of the game.

What about Alan Wilson, who masterminded the Sentox nerve gas conspiracy last year?
I think you got a sense that Renee broke him and broke the back of the conspiracy at a tremendous personal and professional price.

Did you ever consider bringing back Mandy, the professional assassin from seasons 1, 2 and 4?
Mandy always came up a bunch of times, but unfortunately, it felt like a sensational move. We chose not to go down that path.

Aaron Pierce?
We always considered bringing back Aaron Pierce. The story never presented itself. Other than Kiefer, he is the only one who has been in every season. Unfortunately, we couldn’t give him a perfect run.

Read the rest at EW.com

Here’s a lengthy audio interview (30 minutes, 26 seconds) from NPR with 24 showrunner and executive producer Howard Gordon. This is a really great listen if you have the time – he explains a lot of the writing decisions made this year.

Source: Counting Down The Final Minutes Of ’24′: NPR

What were your favorite season finales?
Certainly the first one, just because it set a precedent for us for the rest of the show. I can’t remember the season, but there was one where Jack Bauer gets in the truck, the day is over, and he’s on his way home. Jack comes unglued. And it was the one moment where we got to show that all of the stress, all of the pressure, and all of the terrible things that happened in that 24-hour period do have an amazing, profound effect on this guy.

Your favorite villain?
Nina Myers [Sarah Clarke] was fantastic as a villain because we had gone through half of the first season thinking we were going to be partners. And then the writers turned that around on us! That was certainly an education for me as an actor. I think Nina was the first character I ever saw a T-shirt about. She had betrayed Jack so badly and they had an intimate relationship before that! I always loved that character.

What about tonight’s series ender?
What’s interesting is how it almost goes back to year one, where it’s not about saving the planet. It’s not about a nuclear bomb. It’s not about any of these things. It becomes about two characters. It was much more moving than I had ever anticipated, and for the people that I know who have seen it, I think they felt the same way.

Check out the full interview below.

Source: EW.com

Great listen, lots of cool stories by Kiefer.

Source: NPR

Here it is, the last 24 talk show appearance ever *sniffle* – fortunately it’s a great one, 13 minutes long and with a cool 24 series recap video.

TwitVid Link: Kiefer Sutherland on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Includes a rather big 24 series finale spoiler clip from 0:09 to 0:36 – so skip past that if you don’t wanna see it.

TwitVid Link: Mary Lynn Rajskub on Chelsea Lately 5/20 video interview

Source: NBC.com

MARY LYNN RAJSKUB “Chloe O’Brian”
• On delivering the last line for 24 and sadness ensued
• On leaving 24 and it being a huge life-changer
• On “Chloe” changing in the final episodes
• On enjoying the last moments with the crew of 24

YouTube Link: Mary Lynn Rajskub 24 Series Finale video interview

KIEFER SUTHERLAND “Jack Bauer”
• On a real sense of accomplishment completing 24
• On saying goodbye to the 24 crew after 9 years
• On having the right people to make a great show
• On leaving 24 in good quality and saying goodbye
• On saying thank you to all the 24 fans for being loyal
• On an emotional ending for Jack and Chloe

YouTube Link: Kiefer Sutherland 24 Series Finale interview

Not much 24 discussion but Mary Lynn Rajskub interviews are always awkwardly funny

TwitVid Link: Mary Lynn Rajskub on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno 5/19

Find out which two characters the last scene is between and which one delivers the final line of the series (it’s not Kiefer).

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?
A) I just wrapped the finale of “24.” We were shooting a little longer than we expected. I am also working at the Marc Taper Forum on a really great play called “Bengal Tiger” and we run through the 30th of May. Then, I’ll be heading up the Frameline Festival where my film Elena Undone opens. Shortly after that, the film I worked on last year will be released called Unthinkable.

Q) What can you tell us about the final season of “24″ and about your character Dalia Hassan?
A) I love this season! I love it so much. The character of Dalia has really grown so dramatically over the course of the season. She has gone from bitter wife to worried mother to martyr’s wife to widow. Now, I am a world leader. That’s what’s been going on all in one day. I watch the show and I watched the show before being on it. I think it is just a great show, but is just unbelievable this season. They have taken the show up a couple notches this season. The next few episodes coming up are just terrific.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the show?
A) I didn’t know it was going to be the final season of “24″ when I started working on it. What really made me want to be a part of it was that I loved the show. I think it is one of the absolute best shows on television ever. At the time when it first came out, it was really ground breaking and to be a part a show that sets a standard for television is a wonderful opportunity. Besides that, I always look at the character first and the biggest real draw was Dalia Hassan. This is a character I wanted to play all my life and I didn’t realize I would get the opportunity to play her so early in my career. I thought it would be later. She’s such an elegant and strong woman. It’s a real joy to research her and create her with the writers. I always saw her as this way in my head and then the character came my way in the shape of Dalia Hassan. I was really eager to jump on it.

Q) What about the role did you find challenging?
A) She’s so different than the person I am in real life. All of the challenges make it interesting, just on physicality alone. It’s so specific. There are ways in real life that I sit that Dalia would never sit. All of those things made it challenging, but also interesting. Every script that I got and every episode I would look for the scenes and would say, “Oh my gosh! How am I going to say this?” Because of the emotional ups and downs in the course of the season, I’ve always tried to remember that it was just happening an hour ago. When you watch the show, you wait from week to week so it kind of seems like a long duration of time. Really, their lives happen in a day and there is so much that goes on. Those things are challenges, but also exciting. The more that I would research her the more interesting she would become. Finding that research also became a challenge because the first time became a standard I would want to meet.

Q) Was there instant cast chemistry when you began working together or did it take some time for everyone to gel?
A) It’s kind of a surprise, but there was instant chemistry. I think the show is so wonderful and everyone who works on it from the writers to the producers to the crew to all the actors. You have all these Broadway trained actors on the show. They are not people who fell off the turnip truck. These are studied and experienced folks. I think everybody who works on the show recognizes not just the importance of the show, but also the wonderful writing. You don’t come across wonderful scripts every day, but when you do then you know it. The writers are such fans of the show and I think that in turn makes it so easy for you to do your job. You just show up and everybody is doing their part. So, you just have to do your part. It’s so much easier when you don’t have to worry about anybody else. You don’t at all on “24″ because everyone is on top of their game. I think that’s why perhaps our chemistry was so instant. Kiefer shows up on the set and he’s “Jack,” the guy. He doesn’t have to be so caring, but he certainly is. He shakes everybody’s hand and calls them by name. I think that in turn creates a happy environment.

Q) What was your most memorable moment from filming “24?”
A) You’ll just have to wait and see coming up my most memorable moment. There are so many memorable moments, but I would say it was my last day of shooting. Some people had already gone, but the scene work was wonderful. It was the culmination of what we have been working towards, in regards to my character. It was kind of the culmination of what had been going on within her emotionally, all day long. To see all of that come to fruition and to be able to work on that was wonderful. Everybody was on set that day with all of the producers and it is kind of a family over there since they have been working together for ten years now. I didn’t want to leave because it was bittersweet. It was a sweet wonderful moment combined with it being my last day.

Q) Why do you think people have continued to tune in to watch the show?
A) It’s just as I was saying earlier about it being a groundbreaking show with the style of it. When it first came on it was so different because it was so new that it definitely interested people. People don’t just stick around for novelty though. The show is backed by incredible actors and amazingly talented writers. The way they keep you so intensely riveted at the end of each episode…Just reading it when I would get it, at the end of the script I would not be able to wait. It’s the way they keep the suspense heightened. I have friends that are really fans of the show and some of them will wait until the end of the season and buy the DVD collection because they can’t wait. I think this season they did a really cool thing in that they aired a couple of the episodes back-to-back. It kind of helped fans who couldn’t wait.

Q) Where can people go online to learn more about you?
A) I have a Twitter page, which is @Zadegan. I also have an Internet Movie Database page. I do have a Facebook page. I was trying to stay off the grid for a little bit, but it was too much fun.

Source: StarryMag

Annie Wersching chats with Sky One about Renee Walker’s death and why she felt like she died three 24 deaths.

YouTube Link: Annie Wersching Sky interview May 2010

EW: Did you expect to be on the show all season?
Cherry Jones: It was funny. The week before the Emmys I was told they weren’t going to be able to use me in the back half. The arc had gone in another direction. Then two days before the Emmys they called and said `We are going to need you for the whole back half.’ When we started getting into it, [executive producer] Howard Gordon kept coming to me and giving me ideas that maybe my character was going to be taking a turn. Each script I got, I’d look at it and go, ‘Really? REALLY?’ Every day I’d go to work and say to myself, `It’s for the little children. It’s for the little children.’

You mean the little children she is saving by signing the peace agreement?
The peace she has become completely blindsided by. It doesn’t matter who tries to blow up New York or who is responsible for Hassan or whatever, we are going to make this work! Obviously she has lost her marbles.

At the beginning of the season, you sure spent a lot of time on the phone in the U.N.
A lot of phone calls! I thought that was going to be my fate and then at the very end, I lose my marbles. It was challenging but of course, its always more fun for an actor to trip over to the dark side. Example A: Gregory Itzin as Charles Logan. Guy Skinner, the handheld camera guy who does all of those insane close-ups, came up to me and said, `Is this kind of hard for you?’

Would you talk about it with Howard Gordon? Maybe argue that her actions were way out-of-character?
By the end of the season, these guys are just this side of brain dead. They have been trying so hard. They don’t have an arc. Most TV shows would have an arc and they would figure out how to nudge everybody in the direction they wanted to go in. These guys look at the performances, look at who they’ve got and try to follow things they think will be the most shocking. The fact that my character has suddenly taken this turn was never anticipated by anyone, but they have to figure out a way to justify it. They and I have managed to do that. I’ve got to hand it to them, they live right on the edge. They don’t take the easy road.

Are you satisfied by how it ends for you?
Given how they needed to use me, I am. They give me a personal if not a professional redemption.

Is there an opening for you to do the 24 movie?
I can’t imagine that would be the case.

Up until the last month or so, have fans come up to you and said they wished you were the president?
Yes, to which I would reply, `Oh no, you must be grateful and joyful that we’ve got the President we have.’ I would tell them to wash their mouths out with soap to utter such a thought.

What scene did you have the most fun doing this year?
I adore working with Bob Gunton (Ethan) and Greg. I was so happy to be with those two men, scene after scene. There was this one scene where I’ve got Ethan on one shoulder and Beelzebub on the other. It’s an actors dream. I didn’t have to do any of the lines, I just had to listen.
I thought the producers were setting up the possibility of a romance between Allison and Ethan!
I never thought that when we were doing it but my friends back home in Tennesee would say, `In the trailer you all were holding hands.’ He had a wedding band on! That’s the thing, even the actors don’t really know about their characters. I used to say to Bob, ‘Are you married, widowed, what’s going on?’ And he’d say `I don’t know!’ On 24, there is no past and no future, only the present. You are carving out the character as you go. It’s like sculpting. You don’t know from one script to the next where the chisel is going to fall. You have to go with it and make it work. Because the stakes are always so high, you can get away with so much more than something that isn’t so high drama-rama.

Source: Entertainment Weekly