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reeddiamondBy Rachel Thomas, About.com Guide
Interviewing actors from all of these amazing television shows is definitely one of the biggest perks of this job, but when I get to interview actors like Reed Diamond, I become one of the luckiest people in TV Land. Reed is, without a doubt, one of the sweetest and funniest actors around.
Early on in his career, Reed considered entering the L.A. Police Academy, but the acting world was calling and instead of becoming a cop in real life, he took on role after role and has successfully become a cop in reel life. Playing a cop may not be new to Reed, but being a cop and the brother of a time traveler is fresh, original territory that allows him to step outside of the box and have a little fun in his role as Jack Vasser on NBC's hit show Journeyman.
Q: You were about to enter the L.A. Police Academy, what made you change your mind?
Reed: "I was already an actor when I moved out here, but I felt like I needed to do something with my life. I always wanted to be a cop and I had some friends that were on the LAPD and I would go on ride-alongs with them. I went and visited the academy with one of my friends who was a cop. I wasn't meant to be anything but an actor, but I found out when I met all of these cops is they all wanted to be actors. So, I thought, ok, here's what I'm going to do -- I'm going to play a cop truthfully, I'm going to honor them. A year from then, I got Homicide and that was the perfect show to honor them. I've always admired cops and been fascinated by what they do."
Q: You only appeared in three episodes of The Shield, yet your character has been a major presence throughout the series....
Reed: "I did the pilot and I've returned for some flashbacks. I did that pre-pilot, so I got to be myself before I was off'ed. That was a really happy accident because Clark Johnson, the guy who played my partner on Homicide, directed the pilot, so he called me up and asked if I wanted to do this. The Shield is a beautifully written show; it was a great opportunity at the time and was the perfect job for me. I didn't know if I wanted to do another series, but when I met all those guys and saw how good the show was and how nice everyone was, I thought d*mn, I wish I didn't die in the pilot!
When I did Homicide, it was a very chaotic atmosphere, with lots of inner drama and when I went on The Shield set, everyone was so nice and so sweet, I thought there was no way this was going to be a success because there has to be some conflict. I was so happy because it couldn't happen to nicer guys that the show was so successful because they're just the sweetest."
Q: Do you think as The Shield goes into its series finale, Vic Mackey will finally pay the price for murdering your character?
Reed: "I would imagine. I feel very lucky because of almost everything I've done, probably the thing I'm most recognized for is The Shield. Shield fans just love that show and that character has played such a large role on that show, it has always been amazing. My hat was off to Shawn Ryan and all those guys in the pilot for having their lead character kill another cop. Every time I tune in, it's just consistently such a great show."
Q: Gretchen Egolf (Katie Vasser) told me that Jack does finally learn Dan's time traveling secret, what can you tell me about the big reveal on Journeyman?
Reed: "I don't want to give too much away....there was a little fake-out last week where I start to come around to his way of thinking and of course he (Dan) changes some events in the past and erases all that transpired between the two of us. In the next episode, there will be some hard, refutable evidence that will blow my little mind! One of the strongest parts of this great show is that Kevin Falls and all the writers so carefully thought everything out. Every question has an answer and questions get resolved or answered quickly as opposed to stringing it out to a point where you just lose interest. Things move very quickly. I'm glad I only spend 9 or 10 episodes doubting him; it opens up this whole other world. We've been so blessed to have intelligent writers with such excellent pedigrees. It's a time traveling show for people who don't believe in time travel."
Q: What can you tell us about the last batch of episodes on Journeyman?
Reed: "We haven't taken our foot off the gas, so things just keep coming at us really, really quickly. A lot goes down in the next few episodes. Without giving too much away, if you're a fan of the show, these are awesome, satisfying episodes. If you haven't seen it, this is a really good time to get onboard because things are moving very quickly. The next episode after the two-parter is the Christmas episode and the time travel story is awesome, with lots of neat, messy family stuff."
Q: What are your thoughts on the writers' strike?
Reed: "Politically, their grievances are all legitimate. I don't think there will be DVDs and commercial television in the way we know. Our computers and televisions are going to be one thing, so people need to figure out how they're going to be paid for that world. On a personal level, you can't pick the times you live in and for us, we're a really close group and there's a lot of love and affection, so it's just sad that we can't all be together. I think for a new show, it's unfortunate timing, but that's just the way life goes."
Q: Do you think once negotiations resume this strike will be resolved quickly?
Reed: "I hope so, I think it's best for everyone that it does. It's good that shows are in production, so crews get paid and there's content for people to watch. I think studios need shows and the writers need to be writing. I hope it's resolved quickly, I think it will be. I don't think it benefits anyone to keep the strike going."
Q: I've read that your mother is an astrologer; did she ever do your chart?
Reed: "Oh yeah! When your mom is an astrologer, you can get your chart done upon request and you can never make any decisions when Mercury is in retrograde."
Q: Did your chart show that this was the path you were supposed to take?
Reed: "I imagine so. This is all I've ever done and my parents have been very supportive of me being an actor. My mother had come to New York to be an actor, so it wasn't a shameful profession in my family. They weren't too worried about me."
Q: Roswell had Tabasco Sauce, Jericho had nuts -- what do you think fans would send if they wanted to save Journeyman?
Reed: "For time traveling, they'd send watches. That might be a little expensive, I don't want to put them out, so maybe calendars or pages from day planners."
Q: Is there anything you'd like to say to the fans?
Reed: "I love our fans! It's amazing how many people I've encountered who are fans. I don't know how to articulate this perfectly, but they know more about the show than I do and I'm so impressed by how much people love the show. I'm inspired; I pay attention to everything the fans say. I gather information about my character from the fans. I love our fans, we all love them and I promise we're committed to making the best show on television for them."
source
Interviewing actors from all of these amazing television shows is definitely one of the biggest perks of this job, but when I get to interview actors like Reed Diamond, I become one of the luckiest people in TV Land. Reed is, without a doubt, one of the sweetest and funniest actors around.
Early on in his career, Reed considered entering the L.A. Police Academy, but the acting world was calling and instead of becoming a cop in real life, he took on role after role and has successfully become a cop in reel life. Playing a cop may not be new to Reed, but being a cop and the brother of a time traveler is fresh, original territory that allows him to step outside of the box and have a little fun in his role as Jack Vasser on NBC's hit show Journeyman.
Q: You were about to enter the L.A. Police Academy, what made you change your mind?
Reed: "I was already an actor when I moved out here, but I felt like I needed to do something with my life. I always wanted to be a cop and I had some friends that were on the LAPD and I would go on ride-alongs with them. I went and visited the academy with one of my friends who was a cop. I wasn't meant to be anything but an actor, but I found out when I met all of these cops is they all wanted to be actors. So, I thought, ok, here's what I'm going to do -- I'm going to play a cop truthfully, I'm going to honor them. A year from then, I got Homicide and that was the perfect show to honor them. I've always admired cops and been fascinated by what they do."
Q: You only appeared in three episodes of The Shield, yet your character has been a major presence throughout the series....
Reed: "I did the pilot and I've returned for some flashbacks. I did that pre-pilot, so I got to be myself before I was off'ed. That was a really happy accident because Clark Johnson, the guy who played my partner on Homicide, directed the pilot, so he called me up and asked if I wanted to do this. The Shield is a beautifully written show; it was a great opportunity at the time and was the perfect job for me. I didn't know if I wanted to do another series, but when I met all those guys and saw how good the show was and how nice everyone was, I thought d*mn, I wish I didn't die in the pilot!
When I did Homicide, it was a very chaotic atmosphere, with lots of inner drama and when I went on The Shield set, everyone was so nice and so sweet, I thought there was no way this was going to be a success because there has to be some conflict. I was so happy because it couldn't happen to nicer guys that the show was so successful because they're just the sweetest."
Q: Do you think as The Shield goes into its series finale, Vic Mackey will finally pay the price for murdering your character?
Reed: "I would imagine. I feel very lucky because of almost everything I've done, probably the thing I'm most recognized for is The Shield. Shield fans just love that show and that character has played such a large role on that show, it has always been amazing. My hat was off to Shawn Ryan and all those guys in the pilot for having their lead character kill another cop. Every time I tune in, it's just consistently such a great show."
Q: Gretchen Egolf (Katie Vasser) told me that Jack does finally learn Dan's time traveling secret, what can you tell me about the big reveal on Journeyman?
Reed: "I don't want to give too much away....there was a little fake-out last week where I start to come around to his way of thinking and of course he (Dan) changes some events in the past and erases all that transpired between the two of us. In the next episode, there will be some hard, refutable evidence that will blow my little mind! One of the strongest parts of this great show is that Kevin Falls and all the writers so carefully thought everything out. Every question has an answer and questions get resolved or answered quickly as opposed to stringing it out to a point where you just lose interest. Things move very quickly. I'm glad I only spend 9 or 10 episodes doubting him; it opens up this whole other world. We've been so blessed to have intelligent writers with such excellent pedigrees. It's a time traveling show for people who don't believe in time travel."
Q: What can you tell us about the last batch of episodes on Journeyman?
Reed: "We haven't taken our foot off the gas, so things just keep coming at us really, really quickly. A lot goes down in the next few episodes. Without giving too much away, if you're a fan of the show, these are awesome, satisfying episodes. If you haven't seen it, this is a really good time to get onboard because things are moving very quickly. The next episode after the two-parter is the Christmas episode and the time travel story is awesome, with lots of neat, messy family stuff."
Q: What are your thoughts on the writers' strike?
Reed: "Politically, their grievances are all legitimate. I don't think there will be DVDs and commercial television in the way we know. Our computers and televisions are going to be one thing, so people need to figure out how they're going to be paid for that world. On a personal level, you can't pick the times you live in and for us, we're a really close group and there's a lot of love and affection, so it's just sad that we can't all be together. I think for a new show, it's unfortunate timing, but that's just the way life goes."
Q: Do you think once negotiations resume this strike will be resolved quickly?
Reed: "I hope so, I think it's best for everyone that it does. It's good that shows are in production, so crews get paid and there's content for people to watch. I think studios need shows and the writers need to be writing. I hope it's resolved quickly, I think it will be. I don't think it benefits anyone to keep the strike going."
Q: I've read that your mother is an astrologer; did she ever do your chart?
Reed: "Oh yeah! When your mom is an astrologer, you can get your chart done upon request and you can never make any decisions when Mercury is in retrograde."
Q: Did your chart show that this was the path you were supposed to take?
Reed: "I imagine so. This is all I've ever done and my parents have been very supportive of me being an actor. My mother had come to New York to be an actor, so it wasn't a shameful profession in my family. They weren't too worried about me."
Q: Roswell had Tabasco Sauce, Jericho had nuts -- what do you think fans would send if they wanted to save Journeyman?
Reed: "For time traveling, they'd send watches. That might be a little expensive, I don't want to put them out, so maybe calendars or pages from day planners."
Q: Is there anything you'd like to say to the fans?
Reed: "I love our fans! It's amazing how many people I've encountered who are fans. I don't know how to articulate this perfectly, but they know more about the show than I do and I'm so impressed by how much people love the show. I'm inspired; I pay attention to everything the fans say. I gather information about my character from the fans. I love our fans, we all love them and I promise we're committed to making the best show on television for them."
source
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