90210: Up Close and Personal with the New Bad Boy of West Bev
CW Source: So you’re the new version of Dylan. Have they asked you to grow sideburns yet?
Matt Lanter: Hah! Not yet. I don’t know if it’s coming or not. Would I do it? I’m not sure – are sideburns still in fashion?
CWS: What’s it like on set?
ML: There’s definitely craziness on the set. Dustin [Milligan] is a very sarcastic guy. Michael [Stenger] and Ryan Eggold, too. They keep things very light on set. It makes the set fun. I mesh well with sarcastic guys like that. [Editor's note: Alas, it looks like he won't have as much time to mesh with Dustin next season. Curses!]
CWS: Tell us a little bit about Liam as a character.
ML: Liam is going to be a badass for a little while – which is great, because the badasses are fun to play. Liam is obviously an adrenaline junkie, he likes doing intense, eye-opening things. I like that he was drag racing. That’s kind of cool, and it’s a good, realistic thing for a high school student to be doing.
CWS: Yeah, but if you do drag racing now, what comes next? Skydiving without a chute?
ML: I don’t know what comes after drag racing. Russian Roulette? No, we really can’t do that on television.
CWS: Why is Liam so attracted to Naomi – besides the obvious reason that she’s a babe?
ML: Naomi is part of his chasing an adrenaline rush. I think Naomi kind of thinks she’s on top of the world, and Liam likes to conquer things. He goes after the exciting stuff. So while everyone else gets intimidated by Naomi, that’s what attracts Liam.
CWS: You seem to play a lot of bad boys. What do you draw from to create these characters?
ML: I don’t know why I keep being the bad guy! I keep getting cast in these roles… Maybe I exude some sort of bad-boy thing. On Heroes I tried to rape Hayden [Panettiere]’s character, and on CSI I was cast as a player. Now Liam is kind of a bad boy. I don’t know what people are seeing in me, because I’m not like that.
CWS: So maybe you’re more like Zack Conroy from Cutting Edge 3?
ML: Yeah, he was a good guy on the inside. He did what he had to do to get what he wanted. I’m more similar to him. – but without the ice-skates. The last time I was on skates was when we were filming that movie. It’s a heck of a workout.
CWS: You also provide the voice of Anakin Skywalker in Clone Wars. Which is harder: Being the second coming of Dylan McKay, or the Man Who Would Be Darth?
ML: They’re both great characters. When you do things like this, step into these iconic characters, you just have to do your own thing and hope it will be well received. When I took the role of Anakin, I was given permission to do my own take. I wasn’t trying to be Hayden Christensen’s Anakin.
CWS: Do you prefer doing TV or film, or voiceover work?
ML: They’re two different things -- with TV and especially film, you get to go places, experience other cultures. You get the perks of being able to go to the hot parties and live the life. With voiceover, it’s a lot easier in a way. You go into the studio, you don’t have to hit your marks or go through wardrobe or makeup. You can go in wearing your pajamas… And you have the freedom to really immerse yourself in the character. You have the freedom to be behind a mic and not worry about anything else. They’re two different realms.
Check back tomorrow to see Matt talking about filming the drag racing scenes and more!