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November 15, 2004
Busfield Keeps Busy Behind the Scenes
By Jay Bobbin
Zap2it.com
Timothy Busfield could do more jobs on "Without a Trace" ... but he already has enough, thank you very much.
Best-known for his Emmy-winning portrayal of perpetual screw-up Elliott on the seminal 1980s series "thirtysomething," Busfield has done lots of behind-the-scenes work since. He's doing it in one place this TV year, as a co-executive producer of the hit CBS Thursday crime drama "Without a Trace." And that's not all: Busfield also directed the episode airing Thursday, Nov. 18, and he's also a recurring guest star as the divorce attorney for FBI missing-persons investigator Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia).
"At first, it was the producing end only," the amiable Busfield recalls of being hired for the show. "Hank [Steinberg, the series' creator and another producer on it] started writing the first episode, as he was carving it out, he started thinking of me ... which inevitably happens on a lot of shows. A writer or director will suddenly look up and say, 'Wait a minute. Why not him?' It worked out really well here."
Then came the opportunity for Busfield to develop a continuing character on "Without a Trace" as well.
"This man was in a car accident, or at least that's the reason we came up with" for the fact that his alter ego uses a wheelchair, Busfield explains. "In reality, the day before I started work on the show, I tripped and broke my right leg in four places while carrying a beanbag chair down some stairs. I also tore all the ligaments in my right foot, so I was unable to move, really. Since I had to work the next day, we decided the guy would either be on crutches or in a wheelchair, so we went with the wheelchair."
Busfield says he's fine now. "I'm not limpin' around. I was very fortunate that the breaks lined up enough that I didn't need surgery, but it was bad enough that I couldn't put any weight on the leg. I was actually using the wheelchair for about four or five weeks, so we just decided to keep it. I've gotten to play a lot of characters, but never one in this condition. Maybe I'll even act better like this, though I don't know that's possible."
The upcoming "Without a Trace" episode directed by Busfield is a sequel to a story from last season, with Tony Goldwyn ("Ghost") reprising his role -- or, more precisely, roles -- as twin brothers suspected of being involved in another murder after a woman vanishes from a shelter for the homeless. "I really didn't know the show that well before my first meeting with Hank on it," Busfield admits. "I saw an episode just before that, and I thought, 'Wow. This is pretty doggone good.' Hank sent me a few more tapes, then it became a ritual for me to watch every episode with my wife. By the time I came on board, I was infatuated with the writing, the camera work, and the incredible performances by this great cast."
With a TV career dating back to his stint as the son of "Trapper John, M.D.," Busfield isn't the only actor who has gone into series producing this season. Tim Matheson ("The West Wing," "National Lampoon's Animal House") is serving that function on another CBS show, "Cold Case," also under the domain of "Without a Trace" executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Previously, Busfield also was a producer of "Ed," the now-defunct NBC series on which he made several appearances as the title character's hapless brother.
"I think a lot of it is probably that I know why I'm there," he reasons, "having been a part of 'thirtysomething' and having been a part of 'The West Wing' (as reporter Danny Concannon), shows that worked their way through 'hit' status to the point of questioning how you keep up the quality. Primarily, I'm here to free up Hank so he can focus on the writing and to be in charge of how the show is filmed and performed."
Since "Without a Trace" and NBC's "The West Wing" are both made by Warner Bros. Television, it's not impossible for Busfield to turn up again on the White House drama, where he's usually teamed with fellow Emmy winner Allison Janney (as press secretary C.J. Cregg). "Hey, Danny buried stories about assassinations for C.J.," muses Busfield, whose brother-in-law, Joshua Malina, is also on "The West Wing." "He'd have done anything if she'd slept with him just once. It's all in the writing, except maybe for that element between an actor and another actor. I hate to use the word 'chemistry' because it gets so overused, and everyone tries to target what it is. When Allison and I worked together and we'd see each other, we'd just start to laugh. It was like, 'Let's play' every single time."
For "thirtysomething" fans longing for DVD sets of the show, rest assured the actors are, too. Busfield that reports the cast of the drama -- about a group of spouses and friends in their 30s -- "reunited for dinner recently. "Everybody showed up, and we had a spectacular time. We are all still incredibly close. With Kenny (Ken Olin, who played Michael) co-producing 'Alias' while I was on 'Ed,' we'd compare notes. Now Peter Horton (alias Gary) is involved in making (the midseason ABC show) 'Gray's Anatomy,' It's kind of odd, and kind of neat, that we're all producer-directors now."
Posted by Jo at November 15, 2004 06:51 PM