[IMG:L]When John Hensley first heard his hit show Nip/Tuck was moving to the City of Angels, he thought his character Matt was going to get a fresh start. After a downward spiral including a hit and run accident, a relationship with a transsexual 20 years his senior, and marrying his father’s ex-girlfriend, the show’s creator proposed sending Matt to medical school!
“I remember Ryan [Murphy] telling me that Matt leaves Kimber, comes to L.A., and starts med school,” Hensley reminisces. “I didn’t think that was necessarily going to happen, but I thought something in that shade would happen.”
Hensley couldn’t be happier that instead, Matt arrived in L.A. addicted to meth–with his wife and baby in tow.
“I had been anticipating. I thought, ‘Oh, well if he goes to med school, what is it just going to be a cutaway to him on the books?'” he explains. “I was really happy that it changed. Who knows, maybe by the end of the season that’s exactly what will happen to him. I honestly don’t know … maybe that’s still in the cards.”
Hollywood.com stopped by Hensley’s trailer on the set of Nip/Tuck recently to chat about the upcoming season.
Hollywood.com: How did the move from Miami to L.A. really re-energize the show?
John Hensley: You know it’s funny because, when I heard last season that Ryan was moving the show to L.A., I actually thought, “That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.” I didn’t really get it. I thought, “Well, why are we doing this?” Then he explained … the concept of making all of these characters very small fish in a large pond. But as soon as he said that, I think one reason why that stuck so much in everybody’s head, is that it just made sense. I thought that there could be a real potential and new opportunities for all of the characters. I don’t know if one lead to the other, in the minds of the writers, but for whatever reason the overall tone of the show this year has been much more comedic, which I’ve so enjoyed. I have to say in all honesty, to sort of stack it up, I think I’ve had more fun on set this season than I ever have on this show. It is a really nice thing to be able to say that now, five seasons into the show. If you had told me I would say something like that last year, I would have said there’s absolutely not a chance.
HW: Why was L.A. so ripe for this type of satire?
JH: Well, I would think that answer would be obvious. I just think that it’s a new environment. I’ve heard Ryan himself say that other than Miami, it would have to be either Brazil or Los Angeles. I think it’s a hell of a lot easier to set a show, in Los Angeles. I actually find Los Angeles, in the daily sense, a quite normal place to live. It is certainly contingent upon how normal the person living there might be. I don’t think you have to look far in any city to see people looking for the right answer in the wrong place. That’s what a major undercurrent of this show is. I think L.A. is a ripe environment to explore that idea.
HW: Were you concerned Matt was going to be left behind and that you would be written out of the show?
JH: I went and asked [Ryan], “Why is the show going to L.A.?” He told me why Matt was coming. So I had been told that I was coming. I try to approach this job like any other. I’ve done a few television series as a regular and this is the first one that’s gone past the second season, much less seen a fifth season. It’s really not hard for me to feel like the cake tastes pretty good.
[IMG:R]HW: How did you prepare to play a meth addict?
JH: I didn’t have to look too far [laughs]! am kidding. I am not entirely unfamiliar with that world, at least from my younger days. Given what I’ve said before, the words aren’t mine. You do your best to facilitate the story that they want to tell. There had been times in the history of this show, where I’ve discovered that my take and my own life experience of a particular scenario, doesn’t always match up with what they had in mind. Therefore, it’s my job to build the bridge to what they want. Hopefully I portray a semi-honest human being. So in regards to the meth, I didn’t want to get too married to my truth about that situation. I didn’t trust that it would match up with their truth of that situation. I kind of came in with just an open head, just general ideas, that almost anybody could agree on, of behaviors that somebody who is on meth might have. I didn’t really attach myself to how I would play it. What I found so beautiful about that whole thing was that I came in anticipating serious direction. What I got was damn near total freedom, which was fantastic. Certainly there is coaxing and directing involved, but generally the reins have been loosened for me a little bit this season. I think that’s one reason I’ve also had so much fun. I think it’s really contributed to the fun factor this year.
HW: Why do you think Nip/Tuck balances outrageous drama with personal moments so well?
JH: The image that comes to mind when I think of Nip/Tuck, is I literally picture a nail just getting driven through wood. You know what I mean? Just getting absolutely bashed through a two by four. The show has never once made any apologies for the stories that they’ve chosen to tell. That’s something that I’ve always been able to get behind. Even though I may read a script and kind of go, ‘What? What’s this?’ I’ve always been able to fall back on the fact that there has never been an apology offered by the people that create the stories.
HW: Who are some of the guest stars you will be interacting with this season?
JH: We have such amazing guest stars on this show and thus far I’ve worked with hardly any of them. It’s been mainly just crossing paths. Oliver Platt and Bradley Cooper, I just think it’s such a score to have both of those guys on the show. That’s a real compliment to this show because they are both fantastic actors, and so funny. The fact that they would want to come and mess around in our house is a pretty cool thing. Of course there are people like Rosie O’Donnell and Lauren Hutton, all of these people. It’s really wonderful that they are attracted to this thing. But no, I don’t really work with any of them, at least not thus far…I always thought it would be cool if somehow Dawn Budge and Matt crossed paths, and if she became like a mentor to him. Sort of like a “Cut through the bullshit and here you go kid” kind of person in his life. I always thought that would be a really cool thing. I would so love that because I would love to work with Rosie.
HW: Will Matt attempt to work things out with Kimber–or move on?
JH: Let’s face it. Matt and Kimber’s relationship wasn’t really based on sincere love. I certainly don’t see a bright horizon for Matt and Kimber. I don’t really see them as two people who are going to walk off into the sunset together. If there is one thing consistent about Matt’s character, it’s that he always gets involved with the wrong women. He is a young guy who identifies himself with whatever current romantic relationship he has. He is a piece of clay in that way. He sort of becomes whatever the woman wants him to be, or whatever he thinks she needs him to be. That’s always been his open wound, or big flaw as a character, which I kind of dig because I can get that, as a guy. He is definitely in for a few more wild rides with various women who bring different elements of chaos into his life. He sort of continues down that road a bit.
[IMG:R]HW: Do Sean and Christian try to guide Matt through this season like they have in the past?
JH: Lets face it, every single character in this story is severely dysfunctional and damn near insane. The only one that you could look to, in my opinion, who I believe that the story and the heart is ultimately shown through, is Sean. Sean is the heart. He really is, as a character, the voice of the show. If you think about it everything really is shown through his eyes. He is really the only one, in my opinion, that operates and truly does the best that he can. He actually loves. Sean has his own set of serious trouble, and then taking in Matt with the drugs, Kimber and babies, and living life in the destructive way that he does? Sean is very conflicted and strained about offering Matt any kind of help. At the end of the day, what could a character like Christian have to offer Matt? What could a character like Julia have to offer Matt? What could Kimber offer Matt? What can Matt offer himself, or any of them, other than a bad example? It’s a pretty dysfunctional group of people. They’re not too keen on giving him advice, and whenever they do, it only takes a half sane person to see how ridiculous the advice is. I am shocked that these people still breathe.
HW: Being on a show about plastic surgery and being here in Hollywood, do you feel pressure, as an actor, to fit that image?
JH: I don’t know, probably not so much. I find it disheartening to see people buying into the lie. That’s not to say that the day won’t come where I might very well do that same thing. I heard a guy say once, “If people could only see themselves through the eyes of others, they would see how beautiful they are.” That can be a battle for anyone. If I felt that pressure, I would like to believe that I wouldn’t succumb to that, because it’s bullshit…I don’t really give a shit about what I see on the cover of these trash rags in these grocery stores. To me that is not reflective of what I responded to as a young kid. To me that is not reflective of my wants to this day, as a 30-year-old man. I would like to believe that, for the moment, I will try not to get too caught up in that. Do I have my insecurities? Hell yes, just like anybody else. I can obsess over the most ridiculous things, just like anybody else. I’ve got my bag of goodies, I’ve got flaws coming out of every pore, but that’s part of who I am. A bit of the process of life is learning to live with those things, and accept yourself, regardless. Maybe try to become a better person, either because of, or in spite of those things.
Nip/Tuck airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on FX
