Show tonight, final two hours...

TV Guide interview with Carlos (Tony) Bernard

This Monday from 8 to 10 pm/ET, Fox's 24 wraps up its latest wild day with Jack compelled to set free his fallen friend, Tony, lest daughter Kim get killed. In this TVGuide.com Q&A, Carlos Bernard previews the surprise-filled season-ender, takes some issue with Tony's "bad guy" status, and also shares his take on Kiefer Sutherland's recent scrape with the law, saying the whole situation "smells bad."

TVGuide.com: At the start of the season, did they map out for you the whole "Tony's bad/No, he's good/No, really, he's bad" arc? So you could prepare as an actor?

Carlos Bernard: Going into the season, we knew we wanted to make him "the antagonist" — I can't really get on board with the "bad guy" thing — and one of the things explained in the finale tonight is what he's up to. That being said, they have a loose idea of what the season's going to look like, but once you start writing it goes in different directions and takes on a life of its own. We went where we always thought of it going, just taking a different path than we originally though.

TVGuide.com: Of course every actor likes having a job, but did Tony's arc track for you?

Bernard: Yeah. They had come to me to come back in Season 6, and that [storyline] idea just didn't make a lot of sense. It was a little bit manipulative of the audience. But when they came to me about this season, it felt very organic. Tony's stuck in a place of a lot of anger, resentment and distrust.

TVGuide.com: Are we going to get a final showdown between Jack and Tony?

Bernard: The thing that's going to be really satisfying for fans is that we definitely get a face-off between the characters. We just screened [the finale] for, like, 1,200 people, and they went bananas. It's probably my favorite finale in the seven years.

TVGuide.com: This season has been particularly strong. Is that something the cast came to appreciate as you started filming it?

Bernard: We really did, we felt that right off the bat. The show is most effective when it's told on a very personal level, as opposed to giant events.

TVGuide.com: Right — Season 1 was almost quaint in how it was in essence about Jack, his wife and daughter.

Bernard: Exactly. It really reminded me of Season 1 in that way. You know, we're probably the only show that benefitted from the writers' strike because it gave us a lot of time to go back and redo things. We halted production a couple times to go back and rewrite scripts, at points where the show was heading in the wrong direction. There was one specific point where we shut down and I tell you, it made the season. It's expensive to stop production, but they had the guts to bite the bullet and fix it.

TVGuide.com: Is it safe to say Tony won't be coming with us to New York City next season?

Bernard: [Laughs] Well, I can't tell you that. But I think it will be cool for the show to be shooting in New York. It will be great for it.

TVGuide.com: Watching Kiefer convulse during Jack's seizure scenes gave me chills. As his scene partner, what's it like standing there, laying witness to that?

Bernard: He's pretty fantastic, and so great to work with. When we have scenes together, we know it's going to be a great day. We really push each other to new levels.

TVGuide.com: Brooke Shields is saying that she can't fathom the frenzy surrounding her, Kiefer and this head-butting case. [Sutherland was charged with misdemeanor assault after he was accused of head-butting fashion designer Jack McCollough, following an argument at a New York City night club.] How is Kiefer himself reacting to the media circus?

Bernard: He's doing really well, considering. It's out there how I feel about it — he's a good friend of mine, and I've got to say I'm amazed by how patient and courteous he is with people coming up to him. I've never seen anything but that. I've never even seen him have a cross word with anybody. He filled me in on what happened [that night], and the situation just smells bad to me. I'm going to be completely honest with you — I think [McCollough]'s looking for publicity, and he got more than he was hoping for.

Kiefer Sutherland Promises the Most Dramatic 24 Finale Ever

Jack Bauer's mortality comes into serious question in tonight's two-hour season finale of 24.

Truth be told, Kiefer Sutherland is signed on for next season, but the question is, in what capacity? As executive producer Jon Cassar teased of Jack Bauer's impending death, "It's going to get pretty close; it will go down to that last scene." We've seen the finale for ourselves and can assure you that he's not magically healed by season's end.

Kiefer takes a minute to talk about the dramatic turn his character has taken this season, and how he personally deals with the pesky media when it comes to things like head-butting another man or going to jail.

How does it feel to be playing a man who is dying? How will it develop more in the final two episodes?
It's time. He's dying. Normally the endings of our show have been plot-driven, so it's about stopping the bomb, or it's about stopping whatever crisis. The crisis has been dealt with; these last two episodes are for him coming to terms with his own life. As we started out entering into the debate, which I think 24 got pulled into about torture, he is now forced to confront himself about some of the things he's done. Some of them he can justify and some of them he really can't. This is why [with] the last two episodes, I was so excited about playing them and why I'm so excited for people to finally see them. It's a real character shift for Jack Bauer, but it's also a much more dramatic ending than anything we've ever tried before.

Your best friend has betrayed you, and your daughter is in peril. Are things more personal this season?
No, because in season one he lost his wife and his daughter was in danger at that point. Every year has its own circumstance that is incredibly personal for Jack Bauer, but I think one of the nice things about this season and being able to play this character over seven years is that that takes a toll on this character. If you take a look at Jack Bauer from season one, and you take a look at Jack Bauer from season seven, they're not the same guy. You've seen how all of this has chipped away at him and torn him apart, and it really does come to pass in these last two episodes. I'm already trying to digest the emotional impact of this season and how I'm going to replay this character, because he's going to be different.

How does Jack feel about his daughter now as opposed to the first season?
He's carried guilt. He's carried the burden and guilt about how he thinks he let her down and the responsibility he feels for his own wife's death for all seven seasons. It was not a noble thing for him to ask her to leave; it was a cowardly thing. It would've been hard for him to accept dying if he thought that there was something that could be resurrected between the two of them. It was not a bold thing to do. He basically couldn't go through with it if she was there.

How does it feel dealing with the media when things blow out of proportion?
In all fairness, I've seen that with my dad. I was really lucky because my dad was quite famous, and I think I was lucky enough when I started that I knew what was coming. It was a choice that I made. I really love to work, and I can't tell you how lucky I've been to be able to do that—how grateful I am for everything that is provided for me. You know what's coming down the pike and you accept it. You just need to focus on the work, family and your friends and get on with your life.

We've seen a lot of emotional depth this season that we haven't seen in a while. Did it make it more satisfying to play the role?
For us, I think this season did get more dramatic than it was just simply plot-driven and action-oriented. I think we've always been very aware of trying to create a balance of both of those aspects. Certainly from an actor's perspective, when it gets a little more into the drama world, that's a lot more fun to play, and that's more exciting and more challenging. Yes, this season has been a blast. Again I think one of the great experiences of 24 for me was doing the seven seasons. I ,as an actor, grew as the character grew. I've learned more doing this series than any single experience that I've had as an actor.

Did you expect this series to last seven seasons?
I didn't expect it to last one. I've been doing this long enough that for me to try and figure out why or what an audience is going to gravitate to or hold on to, it's impossible. I think you have to just do the best work you can and if it's the right timing it will be found.

What can you tell us about season eight?
We're shooting it in New York. I can tell you that it's grounded in a political shift that's taking place in the world, and I actually think it's probably the most realistic thing we've ever done. It's going to be centered in one of the most realistic circumstances. Some of our stuff, to be fair, is kind of far-fetched. This one is actually quite possible, so that's going to be very interesting on that level.

The season finale of 24 airs tonight on Fox at 8.

Wow. I don't know what to think.

So maybe Kiefer wasn't joking about that whole in a coma for half a season thing.

Would they be so cruel...

I love this show, I love Jack, I love the farfetched plots. It's all so good:)

Freddie Prinze Jr. joins '24'
Actor to play agent in Fox drama

By Nellie Andreeva

May 27, 2009, 11:09 PM ET

Freddie Prinze Jr. (Getty Images photo)

Freddie Prinze Jr. as Jack Bauer Jr.?

Sources said Prinze is joining the cast of Fox's "24" as a regular, playing Davis Cole, a recently returned Marine who runs CTU Field Ops and wants to follow in Jack Bauer's (Kiefer Sutherland) footsteps.

On the real-time drama, whose upcoming eighth season started production Wednesday, Prinze joins fellow new cast additions Anil Kapoor, who plays a Middle East leader; Chris Diamantopoulos, as the president's new chief of staff; and John Boyd as a CTU systems analyst. All of them are regulars, while Jennifer Westfeldt has come aboard as a recurring, playing a a journalist.

Also cast as a recurring on the 20th TV/Imagine series is Nazneen Contractor as Kapoor's daughter.

Prinze, repped by ICM and Brillstein, recently co-starred on the ABC comedy pilot "No Heroics."

Link

Two trailers were leaked online today for Season 8. They are subtitled in french but english audio. It looks gooood!


http://ctu-24.fr/1326-les-trailers-de-la-saison-8-en-vostfr.html

Ohhhhh .... those trailers look so good! I'm all revved up for a new season.