Adam Baldwin

Thanks to the support of fans, a campaign involving purchase of food from Subway, the goodwill of NBC and the return of Jay Leno to late-night (freeing up five hours of prime time during the week), CHUCK not only returned for a third season, but it also received six extra episodes this season (which are currently airing Monday’s at 8:00 on NBC), bringing its total order to nineteen.

Few people seem more pleased by this development than Adam Baldwin, who plays grumpy but effective spy John Casey and we spoke with Baldwin about his work on the series, his thoughts on Stone Cold Steve Austin and LEVERAGE.

[Editor’s Note: Fans of CHUCK should watch tonight’s episode "live" according to executive producer Josh Schwartz - the ratings tonight will be a big contributing factor if the show is picked up early for Season Four]

iF How did you feel about six-episode pickup? Were you surprised?

ADAM BALDWIN: I don’t think anything surprises us any more. Six is obviously better than zero – it’s less than nine, but I think at this time, I think it’s timed out just right. Those decisions are way above my pay grade.

iF: How do you feel about Jay Leno’s return to late-night?

BALDWIN: It provides some extra “real estate,” as they say in the biz.

iF: How is it working out now that Chuck has fighting abilities, aka Chuck-fu, now?

BALDWIN: It’s good, because he is now capable of using that skill set to take on the bad guys in an effective manner consistently, although there is a shelf life to the skills wherein he’ll still need support.

iF: Speaking of support, what was that gigantic weapon Casey was using in the first episode of Season Three?

BALDWIN: It’s an M-134 mini-gun, chain gun, that is basically a Gatling design and it fires 3500 rounds per minute.

iF: Had you dealt with one of those before?

BALDWIN: I’d never fired one before, no, so it was kind of a treat. It’s fun. There’s not a lot of kick to it, but it’s loud.

iF: Presumably, that’s not real ammunition …

BALDWIN: They never let us use live fire on the back lot. I think there’s some sort of code [prohibiting it. Casey does well with] small weapons. We’ve got mini-guns.

iF: CHUCK has had some interesting guest cast members this season. How was it working with Brandon Routh and Kristen Kreuk?

BALDWIN: They’re wonderful young talents.

iF: All three of you have Superman in common. Kreuk was Lana Lang on SMALLVILLE, Routh was the Man of Steel in SUPERMAN RETURNS and you voiced Superman/Clark Kent in the animatedfeature SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY. Did you and Brandon Routh compare playing-Superman notes?

BALDWIN: Yeah. I tease him that my voice is stronger than his leotard-clad character, but that’s just between him and me. No secrets.

iF: Did Casey prefer reporting to Brandon Routh’s Daniel Shaw or to Bonita Friedericy’s General Beckman?

BALDWIN: [laughs] Casey begrudgingly reported to Shaw, but turns it over to Beckman.

iF: And how was it working with Stone Cold Steve Austin, who guest-starred earlier this season in the episode “Chuck Vs. First Class”?

BALDWIN: He’s hilarious. He came up and gave me a big bear hug. I’m taller than he is - he’s a lot stronger than I am, so it was a good match, but I have nothing but respect for a guy like that. I did a wrestling film many years ago [HADLEY’S REBELLION], back in ’87, and I have nothing but respect for these guys. They truly are amazing athletes. They may not be hitting each other as hard as it seems, but they take a lot of falls, get a lot of injuries. The movie THE WRESTLER depicts it very accurately.

iF: Have you been doing anything besides CHUCK during hiatus?

BALDWIN: There’s really been no time. We had four weeks off over the [Christmas] holiday, which I just spent traveling to my friend in Florida, we hung out, went on a boat, played a little golf, got away from everything and then I’ve just been staying at home, and playing with the kids and the dogs.

iF: Are there any other shows you’d like to do a guest appearance on? For example, is LEVERAGE something you think you’d enjoy guesting on?

BALDWIN: Oh, I love the show, it’s got a great sensibility. And it would be a nice reunion with me and Timothy Hutton. Maybe I’d get to beat him up this time. He beat me up [on screen in ORDINARY PEOPLE] when I was a seventeen-year-old punk and maybe I could return the favor. But I’ve got to get that cleared. He’d win in the end, that’s fine, but it’s pretty amusing. I did do a little reunion in a small movie with Matthew Modine [LITTLE FISH, STRANGE POND], so I’m looking forward to making these return appearances with costars past.

iF: Anything else you’d like to say at this time?

BALDWIN: God bless America and thank you for your support, fans and Subway and NBC.