Charles Baker – Murder In The First

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) There are quite a few that I have worked on since “Blacklist” and “Murder In The First.” I got to do Wild with Reese Witherspoon, which just got a December release date. I also got to work with Michael Pitt on “You Can’t Win.” That’s set in the 1920’s and it is a true story about a hobo named Jack Black who was kind of a career criminal. I played a newspaper editor in that. Then, I got to work with Mark Strong on Ad Inexplorata, which is a mission to Mars drama. I get to play an astronaut in that one. Last, but not least, I got to play a role in the movie Eleven Eleven that is kind of a sci-fi comedy. It’s a great story and family friendly story. It’s very surprising they let me play in it, but I acted my best and I think people are going to enjoy it.

Q) Please tell us the premise for “Murder In The First” and about your character Chris Walton.

A) He is your typical career criminal who is just kind of stuck in the system since he was a kid. In this story, he kind of finds himself entwined in the trial of the century. Of course, in the process, he becomes friends with one of the inspectors on the case played by Taye Diggs. He sort of develops this desire to turn his life around. It’s a really great character arc for me and a great story. Eric Lodal is the writer/creator and works with Steven Bochco. It’s really well done and I have gotten spoiled working on television between “Breaking Bad” and “The Blacklist.” I think “Murder In The First” is up there with those guys and it will be neat to see how people react. 

Q) What made you want to be a part of the show?

A) The first thing was Bochco. I’ve been watching his stuff since I was a kid. To have a chance to actually work with him was kind of my life goals as an actor because he is really the bomb when it comes to producing great television, especially crime dramas. This pilot script was really, really intriguing. It was written by Eric Lodal. The main thing that drew me to it was the character arc that I get to play as Chris Walton. He is not the stereotypical, as stereotypical as he may seem. As the show progresses, I get to play with that and hopefully in a lot of ways like Skinny Pete did (probably not as dramatically) when he played the piano it really changed the perception of his character. I really enjoy that kind of turning stereotypes.

Q) Was there anything you added to the role that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) I like to think that I did. I think I played him in a way that makes his arc transition seem more jarring. I dumbed him down pretty good. Hopefully, as the show progresses, that will be what throws people off. He’s not as dumb as he looks. He’s not as much of a stereotype as you might think. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Whether or not that comes across, we’ll see! I think if people watch the pilot they will want to stick with us because it’s a great story and really well done. It’s a great who-done-it. Nobody in the cast knew who actually did it until it was finally revealed to us. No matter what gets revealed, there is probably no chance that the audience is going to guess it just based on how the story progresses and the number of suspects brought in. It’s really neat and I just really enjoyed getting to be a part of it.

Q) What is it about the TNT network that makes the show a great fit for it?

A) TNT has a pretty good record for pulling out some interesting stuff. They don’t always hold on to it, but they do have a good record. I think they finally saw the value of this kind of programming after the shift that has been going on. There have been some comparisons to the “True Detective” series, but I haven’t watched it yet. I hear it is really good. It’s a lot of the same dialogue being compared. It is one crime for the entire season, a series of related crimes being investigated. There is nothing predictable about this show and that is really interesting with me.

Q) Did the chemistry between the cast come naturally or did it take some time to bond?

A) I think it came pretty naturally. My favorite story about the show was the first read through we had at the table read when I showed up everyone in the cast was so welcoming and inviting. If they didn’t know who you were, they introduced themselves and it was really neat. Of course, a lot of the cast were “Breaking Bad” fans so that helped me out a lot. We all got along great. Throughout the series, I mostly only worked with Taye Diggs, who is just a really cool human being. My background is musical theater so I’ve always been kind of in awe of his work in musical theater. To be able to sit  with him backstage and sing while he was just hanging out was really special to me. Then, I got to meet Tom Felton who if you watch the Harry Potter series you know as Draco Malfoy. He’s a big fan of “Breaking Bad” and I was a big fan of Harry Potter. So, that was just kind of cool. We sat and talked to each other for a long time when we first met. The whole cast is just incredible: Steven Webber, Richard Schiff, Kathleen Robertson, etc. It’s just a thrill to work with them.

Q) Is there anything else you would like to tease about “Murder In The First?”

A) I’m not really good at live tweeting because I get too focused on the show watching it to really be live tweeting. I will try to live tweet some of it, but I’m not going to promise anything. One thing that I will say, if you watch me because you like me just because it seems like I’m out don’t stop watching. I come back! I will be back and I have a really neat story to tell on my own in the show. I think it’s  really worth watching.