[IMG:L]Romantic tension continues this season on Bones, despite a cliff hanger that left Dr. Temperance ‘Bones’ Brennan [Emily Deschanel] and her partner, Special Agent Seeley Booth [David Boreanaz], standing at the altar. The duo won’t be walking down the aisle any time soon, but Deschanel confesses the two will end up in therapy together, so there is “no need to buy gifts just yet.”
With a new season underway and Season 2 now on DVD, Hollywood.com caught up with Deschanel to talk about life at the Institute.
Hollywood.com: Do you think the characters will eventually give in to their urges, or is better for them to just flirt?
Emily Deschanel: I think they should at some point. I think it gets really dangerous, though, to do it on the show. I think the writers and producers are very much aware of that and the dangers of putting characters together and what that can mean for the show. You know, it’s possible it could kill the thing that holds the show together: the chemistry, and sexual tension between the two characters … At the same time, I don’t think they want to leave the characters in the same holding pattern they’ve been in for awhile. I think that they’re all trying to put the characters in a different situation.
HW: A lot of the other characters are getting into different situations, like Angela [Michaela Conlin] and Hodgins [T.J. Thyne] running off together and Zack [Eric Millegan] going to Iraq. Are there any changes coming for the Institute?
ED: Angela and Hodgins go looking for the man that she married a few years ago, which is the whole reason why they had to leave their wedding. She got married to a man in Fiji and so they go looking for this guy. Zack comes back from Iraq, but we’re not sure for how long and he was discharged early and so that is an interesting thing that we’ll be exploring. Tamara [Taylor]’s character, Cam, is no longer seeing Booth, but they kind of develop a friendship this season and she asks him a favor, to pretend to be her boyfriend for her dad’s birthday and there’s a little situation with Cam’s sister and Booth that you’ll see. And Booth and Brennan go to therapy, couples therapy, because the FBI is concerned that they’re not able to work together because of tension after Booth arrested Brennan’s father.
HW: Do you think in a strange way that having Bones’ father arrested will somewhat help their relationship?
ED: It certainly makes them address issues and it makes them say things head on, which I think is always a good thing. It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced to face issues and emotions, feelings, that they have.
HW: Are you more of a science and data type person like Brennan, or a people person like Booth?
ED: That’s a very good question. In school, math and science were my favorite subjects, but I probably–in my true self–am more of a people person. At the same time, I don’t think that’s how I recharge. I guess they say you can find out if you’re an extravert or an introvert by how you recharge yourself and I guess I’m more of an introvert in that way because I like to be by myself to recharge, but I’m definitely a people person. I love socializing and being around people and having good conversations. I like to read. I don’t have that much time outside of my job, but I have been fixing up my house.
[IMG:R]HW: How much input do you have in the writing and how much do you stray from the actual script?
ED: We have input in the writing to a certain degree, but there is definitely an open dialogue between the writers and producers and the actors. David and I will always kind of try and find things to add to a scene, little lists or different things, but they’re usually kind of add-ons rather than content, you know, lines. But they definitely weigh our opinions when writing scenes. If we have issues with dialogue or plot, we’re always encouraged and welcome to voice those opinions and for the most part, they’re addressed.
HW: You get several takes to do a scene on a film set. How long do you spend on scenes for the show?
ED: Not that long. You know, there are days when we shoot eight, nine pages in a day and that’s a lot to get through. We get a couple of takes, I’d say. We can’t spend all day trying to get the performance exactly right and you just have to move on and accept the medium you’re working in and, you know, there’s a beauty in working under constraints and limitations. I think a lot of great things can come out of that.
HW: Does the dark subject matter of the show ever get to you after a while?
ED: It can be hard working every day with every day being about death–and not just death, but painful murders. That can definitely take its toll on you and it has. I think at the same time, like my character has learned to, I don’t want to say desensitize herself; I mean, she had, but I don’t want to say that I’ve desensitized myself, but I’ve become accustomed to the subject of death and specifically murders and violent death. A lot of people are not used to having death in their lives and I think that’s not incredibly natural either. So it definitely can take its toll. At the same time, I think it’s important to face your own mortality, which I do almost every day by doing the show–to realize that your life is short and to take the opportunities that you need to take and be fearless.
HW: Your father, Caleb Deschanel, directed an episode last season. Was it comforting to have him on set–or intimidating?
ED: All of the above! The first day working with my father was nerve wracking. I was terrified that I would embarrass him–or he would embarrass me. It was probably one of the more tortuous days of my life. After the first day was under our belt, it was a great opportunity and I’ll always look back on that experience fondly. It’s very nice to work with my father as a peer in a lot of ways. He asked me advice on certain things about the show, and I’d ask him–and sometimes I’d listen to his direction and sometimes I wouldn’t.
HW: Your parents and your sister are also actors and involved in the arts. Do you think that artistic temperaments can be passed down through generations?
ED: I guess it goes back to nature versus nurture. I grew up in a family; my mother [Mary Jo Deschanel] is an actor, my father is a cinematographer. I grew up visiting sets with my father and mother so I was able to view the creative process from a very young age. My father had us watching old silent movies from when we were very young, and watching just old classics all the time so we gained a love specifically for the art of cinema. It’s hard to say … Certainly, I was given an appreciation for that, but I think that was because I was exposed to things at a young age. I don’t think I have much talent in cinematography so I don’t know that I inherited that, but I think that my eyes were open to film and telling a story in that format and acting and all of the jobs that go into making a film.
HW: You’re working with Ryan O’Neal, who was a big star probably when you were first learning about cinema. What’s he like to work with?
ED: I really love working with Ryan. He’s a great actor, he’s very giving and he’s so funny. He really is one of the funniest people–and he has great stories. You know, absolutely he was a huge movie star and really a talented actor and I’ve always thought that. It’s been wonderful to have this opportunity to work with him and spend time with him. He just charms the whole set, everyone.
[IMG:L]HW: Who is the funniest person on set?
ED: David Boreanaz is pretty funny. He’s probably the one that cracks everybody up the most on set. He can be very serious as well, but when he’s silly, he’s pretty silly. He’s always doing silly voices and just goofing around in general. He did get out a whoopee cushion one year and has a fart machine–a remote controlled one from far away.
HW: Were you ever a victim of the fart machine?
ED: Oh, all the time. It was pretty funny from far away, you put it somewhere else and then people hear it and look around. It’s very low brow humor, but it gets me every time.
Bones airs Tuesday nights on Fox.
