Christopher Gorham – Covert Affairs

By: Lisa Steinberg

It’s another hot season of Covert Affairs and, as usual, star Christopher Gorham has his hands full. Not only does he currently star as blind spy Auggie Anderson, but he has also taken the helm as director for the upcoming episode “Starlings of the Slipstream.” We spoke to Gorham recently about undertaking double duty once more and seeing how he handled battling both costars and camera.

To direct the episode “Starlings of the Slipstream,” Gorham confesses that to get into the director’s mindset while acting it takes two very different skill sets. He notes that when he is behind the camera in his director’s chair he has to be more focused on the big picture. He must focus on how all the individual pieces fit together. “When you’re acting you really can’t think about any of that stuff. All you really have to focus on is what your character knows and the moment that your character is in. Be very present just in that place,” reveals Gorham. And in this episode it happens to be the very first time that his character meets fellow spy boy McQuaid (Nic Bishop). We made sure to ask about how this dynamic plays out on and off screen. “That was fun,” shares Gorham. “I was really happy that I got to be the director when Auggie and McQuaid meet. I had a lot of fun teasing Nic about how I was just not going to shot his coverage. But it was great! It was nice to see those guys in Iraq because it’s a complicated relationship. You have two men who, at this point in our story, care the most about Annie (Piper Perabo) in the world. Like those are her two rocks. Her ex-lover and her love right now. And they’re trying to navigate it and they’re trying to be grown-ups. They’re trying not to be competitive. But some of that bleeds through and you just can’t help it. So, it’s complicated, which makes it really fun to watch and fun to direct.”

Previously having directed the Covert Affairs webisodes “Sights Unseen,” Gorham shares those experiences filming were his first favorite moments of heading behind the camera. “I’m proud of this episode. I think this may be the best one I’ve done so far. I think it plays really well and has a really nice pace.” Shot over a period of three days in Barcelona, it gave Gorham a taste of directing his costars and their international crew as well.

Gorham seems to be enjoying his new position off camera as well. He imparts, “I’ve been acting for a long time and I love being able to craft my own performance and kind of tell the story from my character’s point-of-view. But the joy of directing is that you get to expand that out and now you get to influence the story telling of the entire episode. It’s not just your individual character and your individual scenes. You really get to be the guide for the audience in this experience. And that’s a real privilege and very rewarding.”

Just how does one manage to direct and star in an episode though? Gorham found it funny because he wasn’t able to talk about upcoming episodes, but he did share that it was mostly difficult because it is so time consuming. He must jump after every take to watch the playback to ensure that they are getting all of the moments that are important to him. “I can get fairly specific with shots that I want to help the story the way I want to tell it,” expresses Gorham. “I really do have to go back and check. Also, just to make sure that my performance is where I want it to be and that my physicality is where I want it to be. I don’t have to worry so much about my costars. They’re pretty great and they know what they are doing. But like technical things like does Auggie look blind in this scene and things like that I can’t tell from being in the scene. I have to go back and check because sometimes the camera angle it can play tricks on it.”

Having worked with many directors on the show, Christopher was able to get some great tips on how to handle himself behind the lens. He has done a number of television shows so he has been lucky enough to work with some really quality directors. “Mark Buckland hasn’t worked on our show, but he’s a director that’s had a big influence on me and Victor Nelli, Jr. As far as Covert Affairs directors, Stephen Kay (our executive producing director) is certainly a big influence and an amazing supporting. He’s been nothing but encouraging and helpful. I’m always grateful for his input, ” imparts Gorham. “We have had directors like Felix Alcala who has directed a lot on our show who I really steal from visually. Allen Koreker’s another one that I steal liberally from.”

Meanwhile, stepping into Auggie’s shoes, Gorham notes that the it will be a rocky road ahead this season for his character is going to be tough. With the loss of some friends this year, it will take its toll mentally on our hero and will also cost a high physical price as well. Gorham shares, “This leaves [Auggie] in a new place by the end of the season.” With the loss of so many of Auggie’s military buddies, we wondered just how he would handle it. Professes Gorham, “Auggie tends to get himself in trouble when his emotions get away from him. I think we’ve seen that multiple times over the years. At the end of this episode, he is left without the ability to control much of his fate. He is kind of at the mercy of others and is in real trouble. He, of all our characters, I think is as equipped as anyone could be to handle it. But it’s tough. He gets put in a really tough spot.” He also shared that the focus of “Starlings of the Slipstream” is more on what Annie is going through and Auggie’s journey.

Managing acting and directing seems to be an ideal situation for Gorham. Asked about his preference for over the other, he states, “I don’t really have a preference. The way that I direct you can do either thing. I tend to plan things out fairly specifically as far as shot selection, even when we’re shooting internationally. And so the run-gun style of it doesn’t effect how I direct so much. It really is more of a production question.”

Fans may be wondering if directing and acting all at the same time has turned Gorham off from wanting to attempt it again in the future. Thankfully, he assures us that he definitely wants to continue directing! “Not only is it something that I truly enjoy, I’m getting better at it every time I do it. I think directing is something that I’ll continue to do for the rest of my career hopefully.” We’re ready for our close-up, Mr. Gorham!