By: Mariah Thomas
Q) What was your reaction to finding out what Voit’s arc would be this season?
A) “Oh! Okay.” You know, at the end of Season 2, I was like, “What are we gonna do next season?” And they’re like, “We don’t know.” Then, when I talked to Erica [Messer] a couple months beforehand and she told me, I was like, “Oh, that’s cool.” She said, “Yeah, we’re gonna try and, like, make the audience feel bad for Voit.” And I was like, “Oh, wow, didn’t see it going there.” And the other thing I said was, “Okay, I guess I shouldn’t shave or cut my hair because I’m in a coma.” And she was like, “I mean, if you want,” and then sure enough, like a week before we filmed, I was like, “This is the worst idea I ever had. Like, I need to shave.”
Q) You shave your head as part of an episode. What was that shoot day like?
A) I mean, it was fun. You know, of course, everyone shows up to see me shave my head. I’m like, “Is this that exciting?” They’re just clippers. Then Anthony [Vietro], our DP, was the director of that episode and he and I are pretty good buddies. So, he tried to mess with me as much as possible. So like, after we did it, once he came in and grabbed my hair, and was just like, “Yeah, let’s just do it again. It’s like, “Don’t move your head – it will fall off.” And I’m like, “You’re never going to use this.” He’s like, “Trust me…I will.” So, then I’m like, re-shaving shaved hair off my head. And it was good morale for the crew, but it was kind of fun. I’ve been pitching shaving my head since the beginning of the show because I hate having hair. Finally, they were like, “We think we finally have a reason for you to shave your head.” I was like, “Yes!!”
Q) You and Aimee Garcia previously worked together on ‘Off The Map.” What was it like working together in such a different setting?
A) The same and totally different. She and I have always clicked. When I saw her name on the call sheet and knew that she was going to be the person I was doing so much stuff with, I was so excited. Because I’ve worked with her before, I knew she’s such a great scene partner and I knew I could show up and we just, like, figure out the scene. We’d find it, we’d both be there and we did. And I think the only problem was, I think our friendship got in the way. Sometimes we’ve had directors like, “Yeah, no, I know your friends in real life, but like, here you’re a patient and a doctor.” We’re like, “Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, sorry.”
Q) So, Voit plays such a pivotal role in JJ’s trauma with BAU-gate. As a result, there have been some very tense scenes with her. There’s the confrontation last season, and then when she storms into Voit’s hospital room. But that kind of shifts with the apology and the hug at the end of episode five. So how will the dynamic between them continue to change as the season goes on?
A) I think what it is is that I think the connection they have is that they’re both parents, and I think it humanizes Voit for JJ (AJ Cook) and it does the same for. I mean, Voit’s in a different place, but I think it kind of humanizes her for him and she’s mourning the loss of a husband. He’s mourning the loss of his family and as big of a monster as he is, she can recognize what he’s going through and has some sort of sympathy for him. And I think receiving that and knowing like she knows everything he’s done. She thinks he’s a monster, but she still can show him some compassion. I think it is very moving for him, and she’s really the only person to do that.
Q) What has it been like working with AJ Cook to really bring those tense scenes to life?
A) I love AJ. I love working with her. I think she’s so good. Every time she gets to do a scene that’s not like top stuff, and it’s like character stuff, I’m like, “She’s so good!” And when I get to do the scene with her again, it’s like, we’re right there. She’s such a good scene partner. And she brings stuff to it that I didn’t know was going to be there and I react to it, and we have fun. And she’s directed two or three big episodes for me. So, there’s also that trust in doing scenes with her where, because I’ve worked with her as a director, I know that she gets it and it comes through in her acting. She’s a great scene partner. I hope we get to have more together. I always get kind of siloed from the rest of the cast, so every time I do get to work with them, I’m like, “Oh my God, yay!”
Q) The dynamic between Rossi and Voit also has been such a focus in evolution, from the intense moments in Season 16 to hallucinations last season to now, this strangely parental dynamic. What was your experience working with Joe as you develop that relationship?
A) He’s the best. I mean, it’s so cool to get to work with him. Most of my stuff has been with him, I still can’t believe it. It’s so funny because it’s a procedural. It was a procedural that was on for fifteen years, but they have these amazing actors, and I think that’s why the show worked so well because it wasn’t just people staying evidence. It was people who were infusing so much into these characters and really developing them while catching bad guys every week. But, yeah, it’s fun with Joe [Mantegna]. And now it’s different because the first two seasons most of my interactions with him I was kind of antagonizing him.
Q) Just a little bit.
A) Yeah, just a little but now I’m like, sucking up to him. I’m like, “Hey Dad.” And he’s like, “Oh God, this guy.”
Q) There are so many different sides to Voit. You have the family man, the comedian, the serial killer, and now this version of him that’s like processing his past and kind of coming to terms with who he is. How have you approached developing all these different sides?
A) It starts on the page. You’re like, “Okay, that’s what I’m doing.” It’s been kind of this weirdly fortunate situation where the first season I’m kind of doing my own thing. The show has been around forever, but they’ve rebooted it and I’m just over here with my family and I’m like, “Cool, I guess this is the show we’re making.” And then I meet them and by that point, I actually know them in real life. And last season, it’s like, just kind of messing with them, like you said, and needling them and it’s fun. Now, with the character, I’m just coming at it this season like it’s all new again. He doesn’t know these people. And it’s kind of like, “Why does this person have this disdain for me? I don’t understand.” And then transitioning into understanding why, and being like, “I have the same disdain for myself and you’re mirroring it to me, and it’s just making me feel more of it.” So, I think this season the biggest thing is kind of been taking any relationship I had with them, and putting it aside and letting new ones develop, which is just rare on a TV show,
Q) Voit, prior to this season, has such a darkness centered around him. What is your process for dropping that persona once the cameras cut?
A) I’m very much messing around, joking, until they call action and then I’m doing it, and then they call “cut” and I’m back to joking. There’s definitely scenes where…I think it was in episode four where I kind of realized all this stuff, and, like, breakdown and Rossi hugs me. It’s kind of hard to just snap in and out of that. But, yeah, the darkness. I’m like, “I’ll leave that on the stage.” It makes you a little lighter at home because you’re like, “Oh, I’m not a serial killer. That’s good.”
Q) What are some of your favorite scenes, or most challenging scenes to film this season?
A) Well, the one I just referenced was definitely challenging. The finale is also really fun for me. And then, oh, episode seven was great, or is great. AJ directed it, and it’s where one of the big, cool twists comes into the season. And so it was a lot of fun, and it was different. Like I had to kind of do something different than I’m used to doing on the show.
Q) Last season, you made your directing debut with an episode of “Criminal Minds.” What was that experience like? And do you plan to direct future episodes?
A) Yeah. Oh my God. So fun. It was the best. I worked my ass off, which I love doing. I’m like a workaholic, so that gave me something to do at all times. And, yeah, I’m going back this season. I get to direct another episode, which I’m really excited about slash nervous about just because I feel like the first time was beginner’s luck and we’ll see what the second time is.
Q) What is the process for you guys choosing which episodes to direct or is that something you’re told?
A) You’re told but they kind of ask. I mean, all I said was I’d prefer to do one later in the season because it gives me a little more time to kind of like fall in the pocket and the rhythm of how the show’s working since I’m kind of new. But also me, personally, when you get towards the end of the season, it’s more of the serialized stories, which that’s more where I come from in TV, and so I just feel more comfortable telling those stories, not that I don’t think I could tell the others. It’s just I’m new, so I’m like, “Well, let’s set me up for success.”
Q) What would you like to say to the fans and supporters of the incredible, dramatic work you do?
A) Just…thank you? I mean, anytime someone comes up to me and says they like anything I did, it’s cool. Like, I remember I’m that way with Joe, you know? I know what Joe means to me. So, you meet people who something you did really affects their life, like you hear stories like, “This show got me through chemotherapy,” or “This show totally represented my experience growing up and it made me feel not alone.” And you’re just like, “Wow, cool.” That’s so amazing to be an intimate part of your life when you’re a complete stranger and you feel like I gave you something and I got to do it by playing make believe. So, it’s great, and it’s so nice. And I just try to do good stuff. So, people like it because when you do bad stuff, they’re like, “Thanks for wasting an hour and half of mine!” I’m like, “I’m so sorry.”