FOX 'Lie To Me,' back Sept. 28, Tim Roth interview

By April MacIntyre Sep 29, 2009, 1:25 GMT

08/06/2009 - Tim Roth - 2009 TCA Summer Tour - Fox All-Star Party - Arrivals - The Langham Resort - Pasadena, CA, USA © Carla Van Wagoner / PR Photos

FOX series “Lie to Me” is back tonight, Monday September 28 at 9 PM.

"Lie To Me"  second season premiere stars Tim Roth, Kelli Williams, Brendan Hines, Monica Raymund, with guest stars  Mekhi Phifer and Hayley McFarland.  Jennifer Beals also appears in a recurring role this season.   FOX added Shawn Ryan as the series’ new show runner.

Actor Tim Roth's character is Dr. Cal Lightman, a scientist who pioneered the field of deception detection.  A "human lie detector" who will use these powers to crack cases.

The show is based on the work of Dr. Paul Ekman. The Paul Ekman Group claim to be pioneers in research on emotions and deception - his website states his group provides training programs that help individuals and groups better understand emotions and become more effective at distinguishing truth and lies.

Monsters and Critics sat in on a conference call with Tim Roth to talk about the new season.

What can we look forward to?

T. Roth:  You’re going to find out a little bit more about the history of the characters and Lightman’s connection to them and so on.  And I think the aim really was to make each episode a quality effort … and exciting drama all on its own.

You’ll see there’s going to be an investigation of my relationship with my ex-wife.

The series is based on real research and science; do people approach you to engage in this discussion?

T. Roth       Yes, people are quite excited by the science aspect of it, but I assure them I have no idea what they’re thinking.  I try not to learn this stuff as much as possible, and I just deal with what I have to deal with on a daily basis in the script, but some of it does sink in.  And I find mostly it’s fun when I’m watching politicians on the telly.  That’s always good fun, to put it to use in that.  And I know a lot of people do play around with it, but that’s where I like to see if I can figure it out.

What has Shawn Ryan’s impact been?

T. Roth       Last season was like an experiment, really.  It’s my first experience of doing this, and I found it quite difficult at times.  And we were working on stories just to find out – trying to find our feet, really, and I think by the end of the season we did.

When Shawn came on, he came on to do episodes 11 and 12, and with that, he brought a couple of writers in, and that was when I think we really found our stride, found a way of making this work, so it was very good when he came onboard this year.

The changes are many, but the one I notice more is in the way the writing takes place and in the kind of scripts that the writers’ room are generating.  The new writers that came onboard come from all walks of life.  They’re very different and have very different ideas.  And Shawn’s the kind of lynchpin, really, brings them all together and oversees things, and it’s been an incredibly creative force.

Also Dan Sackheim and Vahan Moosekian and those guys have taken on the look and the feel of the show and the casting, so it is a different animal, but I think its heart is still with last season, at least with the end of last season and moving on from there.  But it’s been an extraordinary experience.  I’ve loved it this year, really have.  Last year was a struggle.  This year has been an absolute pleasure.

Last season, we were scrambling around a little bit, I think.  Although, we did come up with some good stuff, and it seemed to have hooked an audience.

Any episodes worth mentioning here?

T. Roth       There’s one we just completed shooting on one, which was very good, a lot of fun about a guy who shows up from my past, 22 years ago, he rolls up in my office and a lot of trouble ensues.  And that was very, very well written and cast.  We had Lenny James come over and play that and play the character in that who then generates a very interesting accent.

What personality overlaps are there between you and Lightman?

T. Roth       I can be quite a cynic.

What is it about Lightman you enjoy most?

T. Roth       I think initially it was the science and just on a technical note, there’s a certain about of exposition that you have to deal with, and I found that that was very difficult in a limited amount of time to slide that into the audience and not to hit it on the head with a hammer, so that was an aspect that was tricky.  It gets easier.  The better the writing, the easier it gets.  And this season, it’s been really very good, I think, very high standards.

I don’t necessarily agree with his methods, but I find that appealing.  It’s the sort of thing that you wouldn’t do yourself, but you get a chance to do when you play the character.

What will be markedly different in story structure this season?

T. Roth       I think you’re going to see my relationship with Jennifer Beals’ character -  it has a growth and builds.  But I think with the characters overall you’ll be seeing – there will be connections between episodes.

And the policy is, I think, at the network is standalone.  Everybody wants standalone, which is difficult.  It would be nice to see some double ones, but maybe we’ll get lucky.

Which is more onerous, TV or film?

T. Roth       TV is a ton of work.  But when it works, it’s very long hours.  It’s a high page count.  But when you’re enjoying it, when you get to the end of a day, or we get to the following morning, if you feel like you’ve accomplished something, then I’m okay with it.

I do very much feel that the season – that everyone from my assistant through to the set dressers to everyone, the V.P.’s and so on, feels that they’re involved in something that’s very creative, and I think there’s a satisfaction to be had in that.

Of course, you want your sleep, but hopefully, we’ll be around to do this for awhile.  It’s a real pleasure at the moment.  I’m happy in my job.

The discerning of lies, is there a bad application of this skill?

T. Roth       Oh, yes.  There’s a bad side of everything.  Yes, you could.  I suppose you could use it.  I’m trying to think.  Corporate, big corporations, jury tampering.

My character has been banned from every casino in Vegas.  But, no, I think that there is that, but it is used.  Eckman does use it for a very wide range of – his methods are used by a wide range of organizations.