Christian Kane

The first season of executive producer Dean Devlin’s dramatic thriller Leverage, about a crew of high-tech crooks that attempt to steal from wealthy criminals and corrupt businessmen, was a highly-rated hit for TNT. This summer, the gang is back with more elaborate scams designed to exact revenge against those who use power and wealth to victimize people.

On the series, Christian Kane plays Eliot Spencer, a man with a bevy of martial arts skills at his command, as well as extensive, first-hand experience with some of the underworld’s most notorious figures. Along with being an actor, the Texas native is also an accomplished singer/songwriter who admits to loving his action-filled role.

In this exclusive interview, the 35-year-old who is still remembered for his role as Wolfram & Hart lawyer Lindsey McDonald on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, talks about trying to find a balance between his acting and music careers, while he’s enjoying himself on Leverage.

IESB: What initially interested you in acting? Did you just always want to be a performer?

Christian: My daddy was in the oil business, so I moved around a lot. So, I went to five different elementary schools. In that sense, it’s tough to make new friends. Every school I went to, I was the kid that was out. So, the movies became my best friends. I remember my mom dropping me off at the theater, or I’d watch them on TV. When it’s hard to make friends because you move around so much, you find yourself in a fantasy world. I would lose myself in movies, even at a young age, and they became my best friends. So, in a sense, I’m working with my best friend right now.

IESB: How did you originally get involved with Leverage? Did TNT ask to see you, since you’d already worked for them before?

Christian: I was actually in Nashville, doing an album. I had left Hollywood for awhile, and John Rogers had called. We had almost worked together on something before. When John Rogers made the call and said that Dean Devlin was involved with it, I got on a plane and went back and read for it, but John initially had me in mind when he wrote this role. When you have John Rogers and Dean Devlin involved with something, you want to do it, as an actor, so I’m very fortunate that they chose me.

IESB: What can you say about Season 2 and what viewers can expect from your character, Eliot Spencer?

Christian: In Season 1, Eliot definitely didn’t want to work with a team. He was always a solo artist. And, this year, these people have started functioning as a family. It’s very hard for Eliot and it’s really hard for Parker (Beth Riesgraf), but these two characters now need somebody around. It’s like a singer. If I sit here in my apartment and I play guitar and sing, it really doesn’t matter because no one’s listening. But, if somebody listens and they clap, then that’s awesome. So, I think these people need someone to go, "Hey, look what I did," and have them go, "Oh, good job!" It’s more of a family vibe this year. These people found out, through Season 1, that life’s really not that great without somebody around to watch what you’re doing.

IESB: This series seems like the ideal job, where you get to do action, comedy and drama. How much of that was there from the beginning, and how much has been developing as you’ve played the character?

Christian: I think it’s been a surprise. I don’t think Dean Devlin went out to shoot a comedy. But, when you have a writer like John Rogers, who is a stand-up comedian and a physicist, it’s very smart comedy. They guy’s so smart, it’s ridiculous. So, they wrote it in, underlying, but they just didn’t know that all of us could play it. When we read it, we started going, "Hey, this is a good beat, and this is a good beat," and Leverage has become much more funny. It’s still a drama, make no mistake about it. It’s on TNT. But, there’s so many funny beats. It’s just more real life. You watch some of the shows on TV now, and it’s great and you’re entertained, but it’s not believable. I think the reason why we have so many fans and why the people have gotten behind this is because we really have added real life to this show. These are real people. It’s not just guys who go into a con and we win every time, ‘cause we don’t. But, it’s literally characters that people can relate to. If I was going to be a superhero, this is who I’d be.

IESB: You guys have a really great rapport and interaction on the show. Was that just immediate for all of you?

Christian: It was so immediate, it was ridiculous. It was so immediate that we had to stop and sit back and go, "Hey, we’ve gotta remember that we don’t like each other." We got really comfortable on screen, right off the bat, even while we were shooting the pilot. We had to remember that our characters don’t like each other because we really love each other. The whole cast is so tight, it’s ridiculous. With all the television series I’ve worked on and all the films I’ve worked on, I’ve never seen a cast that’s this tight before, and we had to remember that the first season because we’re not supposed to trust each other. We’re all thieves. But, this season, coming in, it’s more of a family of criminals and it’s so much better because we get to play off of each other. There’s a hug, every once in awhile. It’s more accepting.

IESB: What’s been the most fun thing about making this show, and what’s been the most challenging aspect of it?

Christian: The challenging aspect is definitely the fight scenes. I do a fight once a week, so it takes a toll on your body. I’ve been to the hospital twice this year, and I just got 17 stitches removed from my forehead, from a stunt that went wrong. I do all my own stunts and all my own fights. There’s never anybody that steps in for me. That’s an unwritten deal I have with John Rogers and Dean Devlin. In that sense, they get a good television show. They get no cut-away scenes, where they have to have a stunt double flying, or anything like that. But, also, it creates a risk. I’ve got a big scar on my forehead now from a stunt we did wrong, but it’s part of the character. The most challenging thing for me is to not only do the fights and not get hurt, and not send anybody to the hospital or go to the hospital myself, but also keep the fights fresh and come up with new moves. I’ve been training with Matt Linden, who’s actually a UFC veteran, and I come up with new moves for every fight.

The fun thing about it is that we all get to play superheroes. We get to play stuff that really, honestly doesn’t go on in real life, but at the same time, it could. It’s very fun to do that. It’s very fun, every show, to get to put on a cape. Even though it’s black, we get to put on a cape.

IESB: Because you essentially get to play new characters with every con that you do, is there anything you’d like to see on the show, that you haven’t gotten to play yet?

Christian: The great thing about this show is that you’re playing a character, but you also get to create other characters. That’s what’s so fun about this job. There’s so many hats that we wear. We’re playing another person on the show, but in the show, we get to go from that character to playing another character.

IESB: Do you get any input about what you get to do on the show?

Christian: We create a lot of the stuff going on, especially Tim. Tim’s always really playing somebody else, and he’s come up with some really brilliant characters. He’s always got a different voice. Gina Bellman is the queen of voices. She’s from England and she just does so well with that stuff. Elliot just hits people. But, it’s fun to play something totally against Elliot. We just did a fashion episode, and I’m this guy Julian. It’s fun to play exactly opposite from your character. It’s fun to watch, too. We go over the top because, even if you fail, you don’t fail as an actor, you fail as your character, playing the actor. If I do a really bad job in a con, you blame Elliot. We have such a big safety net, it’s ridiculous.

IESB: Do you hope to have more of your music featured on the show, in the future?

Christian: I am going to have some music featured. God bless my fans for sticking around this long, with what I went through with Sony, but just had a new single come out, called "Let Me Go." Bob Ezrin produced it, who did The Wall, all the Kiss albums and Jane’s Addiction. I’m his first country project. I’m very excited about that, and I’m very excited that the fans have stuck around so long and still want to hear my music. It’s just awesome, and it’s really a good song.

IESB: Why is it so important for you to juggle your acting with your music? Do you feel like you’ve found a good balance?

Christian: It creates a lot of problems, to be honest with you. They are two different monsters, but in this day and age, it’s creating a lot of problems. But, at the same time, what a great problem to have. It’s tough for me to get out there and promote the music when I’m doing a television show or promoting a television show. Thank God for the fans that I have, who have stuck with me for so long. They’re the greatest in the world. They’re crazy and psychotic, and they’re all Angel fans, but they’re the best in the world and I wouldn’t change a fucking thing because I love these people. They’ve stuck with me through thick and thin. When I come out with some music that I believe I’m able legally able to give to them, that I feel that I’ve put my heard into, they’re going to get it first and they’re still going to be there. As an actor and, more importantly, as a musician, you can’t ask for more than that.

IESB: Did you have any idea at all, when you did the first episode of Angel, that those fans would still be with you and still be so supportive?

Christian: Yeah, I did. There was no doubt in my mind. My best friend is David Boreanaz. When you play Angel, you can pretty much wrap it up. You’re going to be Angel for the rest of your life. I feel sorry for James Van Der Beek. He’s going to be Dawson forever. And, David is in the same boat. I told David, "You better come up with something quick, dude, because it’s going to be over for you. You’re Angel." And, the fans would not have it. He went to Bones and they followed him, and now he’s on a successful show and you no longer look at David Boreanaz as Angel. You look at him as a successful and well-deserved actor. So, I knew it because I have the same fans as David. I knew that they would carry over. I do a lot of conventions in England and I put my time in. I love meeting these people, I love shaking their hands, I love giving them hugs because I really don’t exist without them. I’m not going to downplay it by saying, "Oh, I’m so happy that they came over. I really didn’t know if they would." Bullshit, man. These fans are diehard and hardcore, and I knew they’d be there for me because that’s the people that they are.

IESB: Have you finished any projects recently that haven’t come out yet?

Christian: I had Hide come out, which is a really good film. It just came out on DVD on June 30th. That’s with Rachel Miner. It’s kind of like Natural Born Killers. It’s a little disturbing. I wouldn’t recommend it for the kids. But, it’s a really good film and I’m really proud of what I did in that.

IESB: Are there any types of roles or specific genres that you’re still hoping to do, that you haven’t had the chance to do yet?

Christian: With this character, I play so many different roles that I’m doing it all. It’s really nice because I get to play so many different people. My genre is action. I love that. So, it’s really, really nice. I would like to do a dramatic piece, to see if I have any acting skills. Other than that, I’m having the time of my life. You never know what’s around the corner. I have no idea what the world is going to give me. So, what I’m doing right now is concentrating 100% on playing Elliot Spencer on Leverage.

What he said about David. I am a HUGE David fan. I followed him from Angel to Bones, but I don’t keep up with Bones anymore.

The thing about David is, that I didn’t just watch his show, Angel, I watched his movies too. And with all of his movies that I saw, I didn’t see ’Angel’. I never did. I saw the character he was consuming.

And David doesn’t typecast himself. It’s evident in all of the different roles he tries out. The jerk, the guy who wants to end the world, a normal guy in a money situation, a man who is blackmailed by teenagers to sleep with him. He never takes on the same of a role, and it has helped him. I don’t see Angel when I don’t watch Angel. And it was nice that Boreanaz was happy with us Angel fans, and glad that we came over.

I wish Boreanaz would take on more film roles because I think that challenges him in the acting world.