Malcolm Goodwin – iZombie

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) Where do we pick up with “iZombie” this season?

A) We pick up nine months later. I won’t give it away, but what decision Liv (Rose McIver) made in regards to saving Evan (Nick Purcha) we learn how that transpired. Clive doesn’t believe the story that is being sold to the media about Suzuki, going down in a gun fight and shutting down this drug operation. He doesn’t believe it. He believes there is something else went down. He believes Major is involved, but he can’t prove it. He is struggling with that and his alibi is Liv. So, every now and then throughout the season they do have conversations about what really happened that night. There are breadcrumbs throughout the season that starts to lead Clive to the truth, but whether or not he’ll reach it – I don’t know. But there are some clues along the way that will leave the audience feeling like, “Oh my gosh! Is he going to figure it out?” You also get to see the effects of the cure. Blaine and Major are the first human trials of this cure. So, you get to see if there are side effects or if it is really a cure. It’s really entertaining what the writers did with those storylines.

Q) With these questions, are they just within the precinct or are they with the people who are close to him?

A) As of right now, his only leads are Major (Robert Buckley) and Blaine (David Anders). He knows there is someone named Blaine, but he doesn’t know he has already met him. He knows that the only clues he has is that Major is somehow involved because of the sneakers and Julien Dupont (Aleks Paunovic) being one of the victims in the meet-cute massacre. He feels like the bullet wound in Suzuki (Hiro Kanagawa) was self inflicted, but he can’t prove it. So, in terms of looking into it he has to do it outside of the system, outside of the people he is working with and outside of Liv. So, it’s kind of a covert operation he has to do on his own time.

Q) Who will be the new Captain that we get to meet this season and how will the dynamics in the precinct shift?

A) Someone from his past comes back and they take over that position. It’s going to be interesting to see that dynamic. Clive doesn’t have the best reputation on the force, although he is kind of rebuilding his name and is having success closing cases with the help of Liv. But someone from his past is taking that position as his Lieutenant and is making it difficult for him to pursue his lead from the meet-cute massacre. That person is the person who took him off the case and said, “I don’t want you to touch this case. Leave it alone.” Obviously, he defies that person and looks into it anyway. Clive also has a romantic interest this season and you get to learn so much about him. Every script I read I go, “Oh? Clive likes that? I didn’t know that! That’s cool. He has this talent? Okay. Maybe I should go and do some research on it.” The world they built around Clive’s personal life is pretty great and fun. It just fleshes out the character more and gives me more fun things to play with.

Q) Liv and Clive have this wonderful give and take relationship. What keeps them gelling together?

A) They are both willing to do whatever it takes in the name of justice. Liv has to stay a zombie and eat brains. She decides to use those visions in the service of these particular victims. I think it brings her some type of resolve, justification or it humanizes her more than she really is – in terms of being half dead and half alive. I think it makes her feel more alive to eat the brains because she is a zombie, but she can at least help these victims. She’s willing to do what she has to do. Clive is in the same position. Clive is willing to do whatever it takes, even if it means working with someone who has pale skin, white hair and is a psychic (zombie). He thinks, “If that’s the situation, I’ll work with it.” And if it is working than he doesn’t care what anyone thinks about it. As long as it bringing these victims’ killers to justice it is working. You also learn why he has such a strong sense of that and a lot of people don’t agree with that. When he was in Vice, he was willing to beat-up his own partner in order to not blow either of their covers to solve this bad particular case they were on. I think that also makes him feel more alive. I think that makes him feel more human, too. Although it is unspoken and they never said it to each other, I think they have that common thread.

Q) The cast is known for their funny videos to promote the upcoming season. Which has been your favorite?

A) We always try to top the last one. The one we did with Rahul [Kohli] as Wonder Woman was hilarious. When we were pitching ideas for this “iZombie” badass countdown we were like, “We are going to countdown all the female badass characters from TV.” Rahul was like, “I want to be Wonder Woman! I’m going to get the costume and everything.” He showed up to set, on his day off too, and was like, “I’m ready to shoot!” We had a Kill Bill one that was pretty crazy. Our cast really gets along. One thing that makes this experience special is that we are all friends and we all really, really get along. That’s what makes doing these videos and all the things we do on social media a good time.

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

A) Clive kind of became the straight man in the show, which I think was important to ground the cases. Everything is so fantastical with Liv being a zombie, being a psychic. Then, you have Blaine and all of these other stories that exist within a supernatural world and you have this procedural element that kind of anchors those particular cases and gives Liv a reason to take those cases seriously. In terms of bringing that and trusting that, but also watching Clive get better each episode, I always say when you see procedural elements of the show you don’t really see rookies too much. Everyone seems to know what they are doing. Everyone has years of experience, but he is learning on the job day by day. That first case in the pilot is his first collar! He had been working on the job for two months. What I love is the progression of him improving week to week and getting a handle on dealing with each suspect. I love that the producers allow me to play with that and as an actor it is fun to play that growth. Obviously, Clive is a lot more comfortable this season because he has gotten some success. I enjoyed the first season of playing the honest of what that progression is. That was probably one of my favorite parts of playing Clive last season.

Q) Any more investigation into Max Rager?

A) Oh yeah! There is a whole big Max Rager storyline. We have Steven Weber back. There is a whole huge storyline about Max Rager. Obviously, we blew the whistle on them at the end of last season and they don’t take that too lightly. We get to see how that company rebounds from this. Obviously, they know there are zombies out there and they use that to their advantage. It opens up a whole other can of worms in the pre-zombie apocalypse.

Q) Liv has dined on some interesting brains in the past. What can you tease are some delicacies for her this season?

A) The first one of the season is a grumpy, cantankerous older guy who is crass and inappropriate. He is a person who has no barometer on tact. There were some things where Rose said, “Oh my gosh! Do I really have to say that?!” So, she had to go for it and she killed it. She was like, “This is guy is so mean!” It does make for great comedy. She eats the brain of a popular guy in a fraternity and that is also hilarious! Another one she eats is a Seattle housewife. What is really crazy is this the first time we get to see her inhabit a character physically in terms of how the character dresses and takes care of themselves. Rose is a knockout! She has the long nails and the dresses. Liv got to play some dress-up, which is great. That’s also a fun and pretty action packed episode.

Q) Is there anything else you want to be sure that fans know about the season or share with them about their support?

A) We always thank the fans. We try our best to try to show grateful we are for their support. We do social media, fans see us comic conventions and live on the street. It’s so appreciative and we’re so grateful for their support. We wouldn’t  have a second season or be doing this again without that fan support. We’re really, really excited for them to see what is in store for the second season. I feel it got bigger and better. What Rob Thomas, Diane Ruggiero and the writing staff with these scripts that I just feel like it is genius. The fans can expect bigger and better. And we’re thankful for all of their support. We’ll be doing a lot more videos this season, we’re going to try to add a lot more behind the scenes stuff and we’ll be more active on social media. Stay tuned for a bunch of exclusive videos and our crazy antics between takes and off camera.