No bars on prison role

Given the chance of an interview with Wentworth Miller, Hot Potato Marie-Claire jumped at it … well, what sane red-blooded heterosexual woman wouldn’t?

The English-born American-raised star of one of TV’s most talked about series, Prison Break, has a respectable repertoire of film credits, including The Human Stain with Anthony Hopkins.

Here he tells us all about his character, his childhood dreams, tattoos and why he’s known as ‘Stinky’. Read on…

Question: Can you please talk more about your character, Michael Scofield?

Wentworth Miller: Michael is a structural engineer, who tries to rob a bank to be sent to the same prison where his older brother, Lincoln (played by Dominic Purcell) is locked up, and facing the death penalty.

Lincoln is framed for murdering the brother of USA’s vice-president, and is weeks away from getting executed. But Michael has a plan to rescue Lincoln, and that plan is tattooed all over his upper body and arms, as the tattoo is actually a blueprint of the prison.

Question: What is interesting about your character?

Miller: My character, Michael, is a good man, but in order to get the job done, he sometimes has to get his hands dirty.

To me, such characters are fascinating. Characters who are not entirely good nor evil are the most interesting characters to play, as they are the most human.

People in real life have flaws; they always struggle to do the right thing, but every now and then, we make mistakes. So this type of character allows me to highlight those human flaws.

Question: How did you prepare for your role?

Miller: I was cast only a week before shooting Prison Break, so I had very little time to get ready and prepare myself for the role.

But we were lucky, because we we were filming in a real prison. The prison was shut down back in 2002, but you can still have a feeling of being inside a prison.

Also, we had former inmates filming with us as extras.

So this made the whole experience very real and authentic.

Question: What is your biggest challenge right now?

Miller: Shooting a TV series is completely different to shooting a movie.

Shooting one episode, which is 45 minutes long, takes eight days, while shooting 45 minutes from a movie, takes a month and a half.

So I am on set for about five days, and I stay for 12 hours each day filming. It is very hectic, and there’s no time for socializing. But I am happy as I’m getting paid to do what I love, so I am lucky.

Question: What are the similarities between you and the character you are playing?

Miller: Well, what is similar between me and my character is that I am willing to sacrifice my life for the people I love.

The difference is that I am not into math and science, so it is absolutely impossible for me to pull of the scheme that my character had planned! The blueprint tattoo I have drawn on my body, no matter what happens, I will never be able to read it!

Question: How long does it take to draw your tattoos onto your body?

Miller: It takes about three to four hours, but I only have to do it once for each episode most of the time.

It is a very long and tedious process, but the end result is beautiful; it is a work of art.

Question: Are you into tattoos? Do you have any tattoos?

Miller: No I don’t have any tattoos; I am not into that.

Question: What were your childhood dreams?

Miller: When I was growing up, I really wanted to become an actor.

I enjoyed being on stage. But when I was at university, I got worried that I might not make it. But I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life wondering whether I could have made it or not, so I pursued acting. There are many times when I thought that I had made a wrong decision, but in the end it had paid off.

Question: What is the one piece of advice your parents had given you and you believed in it?

Miller: “Run through the tape” is what my father used to always tell me. It means that reaching the finish line is not enough, in order to succeed, you have to run past it.

Question: Where does your nickname “Stinky” come from?

Miller: Just so you know, this nickname has nothing to do with personal hygiene. I got this nickname when I was at university, because I had a bad attitude, so my friends started calling me “Stinky”, and it stuck.

l Watch Miller locked up in Prison Break, starting Sunday, October 21, at 8pm, from Sunday to Thursday on Dubai One.