Jeremy Sisto – FBI

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) How was your character Assistant Special Agent Jubal Valentine originally described to you?

A) It was something like the kind of person that whether he’s talking to someone above or below him…Something about him disarming everyone and treating everyone the same and having just an ability to get the best out of people. Something along those lines. And it was also coupled with the fact that it was based generally on an agent that I got to hang out with – an ASA (the same position I have). When I would go out with him and the other agents, he really had that capacity – that ability to make everyone feel really comfortable and empowered. No matter who he was talking to, whether it be his superiors or inferiors, there was none of that in the actual conversation. The hierarchy of any agency-based position is very clear, and everyone is constantly aware of it. It’s similar to military life where you do have to follow your superior’s intentions. It was that, but also this idea of how are we going to dramatize this mechanism in a procedural drama. There is the opportunity here for a plot driven show to have a really solid based in reality of a group of really smart people that are connected throughout the country and throughout the world with so many different agents and people. And how are we going to keep that alive and make that a really necessary component to the show – a component that is new and I feel that is always the challenge we have and it’s a fun challenge. It makes it fun to go to work and keep that going.

Q) What keeps challenging you about your portrayal?

A) It’s one of those things where a lot of the scenes we’re doing feels very similar. They are all connected very different kind of plots and intensities and immediacies. And we’re also trying to kind of show how this group of people all working together in this sort of seamless way and that is what the FBI is. It’s supposed to give that feeling. It’s not always an easy thing to write for and dramatize in these detective shows because you want a kind of simplicity in the possible plot twists that could be available. You don’t want to confuse it too much. I know it’s something that the writers put a lot of time into to try to find the right balance and then they throw it to us to get that energy and keep it going and keep all the background actors – not just the supporting people in the shot, but all of those people in the office place are all working on the same case. So, to tie it all together and make it feel like a living breathing entity is an ongoing challenge. Sometimes we nail it better than others, which is why it is a good challenge. If it is an easy thing to do we could nail it every time. It’s exciting.

Q) Were you surprised by how many people picked up on his pencil on social media?

A) [laughs] No, it’s fun. It’s something I chose to do and thought it was kind of cute or whatever, just like this little thing. I kind of forgot that in the world of Dick Wolf and those kinds of procedurals the little bits…It wasn’t manufactured like, “I’m going to grab this pencil. It’s going to be this cool thing they have.” I didn’t think anyone would notice. It was just something for me, as an actor, to have to conduct my stuff and make it feel active. I forgot, not being on a Dick Wolf show or a procedural for a while, how they really grab on to things like that. It becomes part of the legend of the show – part of the world.

Q) Was there anything else you added to the character that wasn’t in his breakdown?

A) There wasn’t necessarily a plan for him to have an earpiece. He has that earpiece. It’s funny, after I did this show…You know how you Google, “is…” If you insert “Jeremy Sisto” and then the Google search will assume next to the top searches. It’s usually “Jeremy Sisto married” or “Is Jeremy Sisto gay?” Whatever the top three things are. My top one became “Is Jeremy Sisto deaf?” [laughs] That was because A) I scream a lot. I’m shouting a lot over the room and that’s something I have to calibrate to find the right levels so it’s not too annoying. B) I chose to wear this earpiece. It kind of looks like a hearing aid so I thought maybe people think that’s a hearing aid as well. So, I did add the earpiece. And just kind of having the phone on my belt. I just wanted to feel like that kind of guy who always has things ready to fire off – this very propped up kind of character. And how he communicates. I feel like a lot of times it doesn’t make it into the show (that they edit it out) when I will not have a line or I disappear for a couple lines I try to give myself some action like I’m going to talk to another agent or representative in the room – doing other business to make this feel live and like there are other things going on aside from the main sort of stuff we’re talking about. That’s something I’m always trying to put in. That finds its way in sometimes. Different iterations. That sense of humor that I try to add. Just basically the flow of it that I try to find. The energy of it is something hat I try to bring to it.

Q) What continues to draw you to working with Dick Wolf?

A) He’s great at what he does. He’s great at creating shows that have a long life. I always wanted the Sam Waterson role – the role that stayed inside and did his stuff inside a set. This is that version of the show. I’m not in the street running down criminals. I’ve got my own world that’s very different than a lawyer. I felt it would be a really fun role. As a fan and someone curious to see how successful franchise are created, I was excited to kind of be around from the beginning of one of his ventures. Fortunately, it’s one that has been successful. So, I’ve gotten to see at a really good vantage point observing how a franchise like this is created.

Q) You often take on dramatic roles, but we loved you on comedy “Suburgatory.” How do you select the projects you take on?

A) I wish it was all up to me. It’s what projects come around. I have been on some of the more creative or producing side of things where I facilitate a project to go forward. But for the most part, my career is based on what is coming around, what is interested in me and my availability. That was after “Law and Order” and it was definitely not something I foresaw. For a long time after Clueless especially, I wanted to take more dramatic things. I don’t’ know why. It was more what I wanted to put my energy into for whatever reason. But “Suburgatory” turned out to be one of my favorite projects. It was so much fun to do. I was really bummed when it went away. It was just such a great, great cast and so much fn. The creator was great, and it was just a whacked sense of humor. And I got to be in a good mood all the time. It is very similar to “FBI.” I don’t come to work with some heaviness that sometimes you have to come to when you’re doing kind of like more dramatic work. I really enjoyed it. My kids were young, and it was a really special time. We all became great friends, and it was so much fun to work with. Great improv artists. They were constantly cracking me up. I would love to find myself back on a comedy someday. That would be amazing.

Q) We’re also seeing you in this short film Wichita. How much backstory were you given about your Josh’s knowledge of Sara’s behavior?

A) Very little. But since it’s been making the festival rounds they have been working on a feature and the characters are being flushed out. That’s been cool because as a short I didn’t have to think about it too deeply. Just breakup. It was a really nice departure from my day job. I remember a lot of breakups. Breakups are the thing we can all relate to and it had a really nice twist. The way they communicated and their conversation sort of struck me as odd and then as the writer and director are developing this script, I’m realizing, “Oh, this was a relationship had a communication that was very odd and unique.” So, now I understand why they were talking to each other like that, even before any of the realization of what was going on occurred. I also did an indie called Last Night in Rozzie that is making the film festival route. I don’t get a lot of opportunity in my hiatus to do much, especially because I have kids. I am not interested in having to be away from them too long. So, it was nice to be able to dip my toes in my old stomping ground. In the 90’s, that’s how we cut our chops – doing these little no money projects that then had a real life at film festivals. So, it’s nice to kind of have an echo of that in my life again.

Q) As you mentioned, this couple does have an interesting rapport. Was she made at him for not going to specific places in Wichita that had significance to them as a couple or were just known tourist sites?

A) That was their rapport. I’m kind of laughing with her when she’s doing this and she’s saying, “Well, why didn’t you do this?” And I’m like, “Are you mad at me?” What I realize now, despite what is going on now that’s kind of how they communicate with these skits. Have you ever been around a couple that do bits together? They are kind of half kidding and both playing characters with each other. It’s kind of the way some people communicate and it’s very different. It’s not a traditional way of communicating, but that’s how I look at that. When I was reading it, I was like, “Well, why wouldn’t he be more suspicious?” Obviously, he knows what is going on but why is that such a familiar response? When she’s getting mad at me for not visiting the thing, I’m kind of laughing with her because that is part of our dynamic – pretending to get mad at each other for silly things. It’s how we amuse each other. That’s what comes out in the feature in a way. It’s one of those relationships where you go, “Wow. That is a unique rapport.”

Q) He does seem at peace with his decision and she seems quite shocked. She had to know that cheating wasn’t a healthy move in their relationship.

A) Yeah, I don’t know. We definitely wanted it to be clear that it was over. That was definitely one way to get closure right on the spot. Get a little bit of vengeance. Again, it didn’t feel super…In the way it kind of occurred, it didn’t feel vengeful even though in some ways that could have been perceived. I made you go through all of that because I wanted you to suffer. It didn’t feel like that. It felt like there was a warmth to it. The writer had written three or four different options for the last lines. I can’t remember what they were, but one of them was, “Maybe you found true love.” Another one was kind of more jokey. We decided to say all of them and it just came off in a way that was not angry or hateful. It was just kind of acceptance of the sadness of it all. It was almost a creative way to breakup with someone – not for vengeance, but because that was the nature of their dynamic.

Q) The movie is getting rave reviews. What does that means to you?

A) Oh, well, I’m happy. I met the director, Sergine Dumais, at a play that I did that was an annual play. I thought she seemed like she had a lot of ambition and a lot of good stuff going on. So, I told her I wanted to support her in whatever way I could. She’s doing it the right way and she’s putting it out there a lot. She’s getting a lot of great feedback. So, I’m really happy for her. And I’m excited that they are working on this script. I told her, “I’ll do it, but I want to do a feature with you.” [laughs] I, honestly, didn’t remember that short films have an audience, which are these film festivals. It’s been cool. I just received an award that she sent me, which is fun. I’m just happy she’s making her way in. It’s not easy to claw your way into a career in this business. So, I’m excited to dig into that. And I really feel like there is a unique movie on the other side of this. Every time we do readings of new pages every couple of weeks, every time the pages are in I’m like, “This is weird! If you were to tell me what it is about…I don’t know.” But every time I read the scenes I’m like, “This is great!” It’s really funny and unique. Hopefully, it will turn into a fun, creative project.

Q) What can you tease is to come on this new season of “FBI?”

A) there were really cool performances in last episode from the parents whose kid got kidnapped and the father is hiding something. It was a difficult conviction that Maggie (Missy Peregrym) has to make and hope that it turns out right. I think at the heart of this show is a reminder that these people are putting themselves put there so much and it takes a really specific type of person to go out on the line at that level and be like, “If I’m wrong, this couple loses their kid. But I’m going to trust myself.” Every week is different levels of…Right now, the episode we just finished brings to the table the question of Homeland Security and when they are allowing themselves to listen in and read in on peoples’ private messages and what are the laws that protect citizens from that and where that line is when peoples’ lives are at stake. That’s always a big underlying subject. Obviously, they don’t have any intentions of peeking in to peoples’ private lives for their own interests. But in the interest of solving these cases and preventing damages or loss of life, they are interested in using whatever tools are available to them. There is some systemic racist sort of components or perhaps tendencies in the policies being questioned. The show is interesting because it always brings up topical issues, but it has a way at not arriving at some political statement itself. Because it’s not a political show and it’s not trying to take one stand or the other. It’s trying to reflect what is there and the difficulty of these questions. There was an episode we are about to film where an informant is a Muslim kid and what he did is not that bad, but they are making him kind of spy on his family and other Middle Eastern people that OA (Zeeko Zaki) doesn’t feel is right. OA has to contend with his own feelings of who he is and the person he is outside of the force and his job. That’s an issue that comes up that is pretty important and interesting. And our new agent Tiffany (Katherine Renee Turner) has to do the same with racist issues within the system in the episode we just finished. So, we’re always dealing with some big deal kind of concept, but never letting them interfere with the fun of the show, which is at it’s heart a good old fashioned who-done-it and solving cases.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of you and the work you do?

A) Oh man! I mean, I would like to say thank you. [laughs] Listen, it’s a weird thing. I’ve never been asked that before. I definitely feel grateful for maintaining a career as an actor for so long. I don’t take full responsibility for it. There is so much luck and a lot of that comes in the form support from people who want to see me. So, for everyone who has done that, even if it’s just turning on your TV and staying on the channel that I’m on – I’m grateful.