Fichtner: "All of the episodes come to a satisfying ending"

William Fichtner spoke with TVGuide about the DVD release of his film, The Amateurs as well as Prison Break and the writers strike.

TVGuide.com: On this week’s Prison Break, after Mahone said, “I don’t have a horse in this race” and readied to part ways, they made an interesting choice to have Linc remember that Alex killed the brothers’ father and then to pull a gun on him — no pats on the back there. What did you think of that choice?
Fichtner: One thing is for sure, television shows live or die on writing. The joy of Prison Break has been the writers. They’re great and they forever challenged me, which makes the journey worth it. I can’t do a series over 22 shows just to get paid. I’d die. These guys have been awesome. They could have played that either way — “Thanks, we never would have gotten out without you” — but that’s what Prison Break does, better than most. Just when you think you know something, something else comes along.

TVGuide.com: That moment got interrupted by Whistler’s escape, of course, and we didn’t see Mahone again. Is he still in the mix?
Fichtner: [Silence] We’re breaking up here…. No, I’m kidding. [Laughs] We’ll see what happens. We’ll see what happens. I will tell you, there is one more show making up the first 13, and you will see Mahone.

TVGuide.com: How satisfying is the strike-shortened season’s makeshift finale [airing Monday, Feb. 18]?
Fichtner: For the most part, all of the episodes come to a satisfying ending. Like I said, I can’t compliment the writers enough. Believe me, you’re going to get a few twists and turns that are like, “Whoa, where did that come from?!”

Source: SeattlePi

Fichtner calls 'The Amateurs' his best work

As one Web site puts it, character actors are often known simply as "that guy," because their faces are more familiar than their names. Despite having appeared in more than three dozen projects, including his second season on the Fox drama Prison Break, William Fichtner still believes he's at "that guy" level.

And he's OK with that.

"That's a good place to be," Fichtner says. "Somebody asked me [this morning], 'When was your big break?' I don't think I ever had a big break. I don't think that's ever been my journey. I didn't do my first film till I was 36 years old -- not that I didn't want to; nobody would hire me."

Once he started getting small roles in movies such as 1994's Quiz Show, however, Fichtner began earning the right to be more choosy, and now he says he only pursues projects he's passionate about. He's passionate enough about his latest movie, The Amateurs, to spend his 51st birthday doing interviews promoting the film.

The Amateurs is the kind of movie that needs a boost -- a small indie comedy about a bunch of friends who band together to make a porn film as part of a get-rich-quick scheme. It says more about friendship than it does about sex, although there's plenty of sex talk in the film. The buddies are led by Andy Sargentee, a lovable loser played by Jeff Bridges. Fichtner plays Otis, a blue-collar Lothario who turns out to be more talk than action.

Fichtner says that Otis is his favorite role, and that The Amateurs is his favorite project ever. That's saying something, considering that he has appeared in such respected movies as Heat and Black Hawk Down, and that he had a juicy role as a sheriff with a dark side in the short-lived, cult-fave ABC series Invasion. Usually, when actors say stuff like this while they're promoting the movie in question, it sounds like PR-fed bull. But Fichtner comes off as sincere.

He says a lot of it has to do with how much the actors enjoyed working with one another -- the cast also includes such familiar faces as Joe Pantoliano and Ted Danson. The camaraderie began even before shooting started when Bridges invited cast and crew to spend time at the family beach house the weekend before production started.

"A lot of times when you start shooting a film, you have limited rehearsal and you show up for work, and you're [playing people] who are supposed to have been friends forever," Fichtner says. "[At the beach house], the guitars came out, and it was Kumbaya at 3 o'clock in the morning, and an awful lot of red wine. It was just great. And we rehearsed -- out in front of the beach house, somebody took a sneaker and kind of drew the lines in for the set. ... It was invaluable to spend that sort of time together."

Although the Internet Movie Database lists The Amateurs with a 2005 copyright date, Fichtner says it's been knocking around for about 3 1/2 years. The original distributor, he says, wanted to release it directly to DVD, but everyone who had bonded so well on the film fought for a theatrical release. The movie stayed locked up till First Look Pictures bought it and gave it a limited big-screen showing, which could expand if the movie does well in the few cities where it's playing.

It predates Fichtner's stint on Prison Break, the far-fetched but entertaining Dallas-filmed drama that's due to return to the Fox schedule in early 2008. On Prison Break, Fichtner plays Alexander Mahone, an obsessed, drug-addicted and at times murderous FBI agent. Mahone's pursuit of escaped-convict brothers Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows lands him in a Panamanian prison with Scofield (that the brothers have different last names is only the start of the show's bizarre convolutions). Fichtner signed on at the beginning of the 2006 season and stuck around, making it the longest he has ever stayed with a TV project.

"I said to my wife the other day that doing a series is a close to having a regular job [that I'll ever get]," says Fichtner, who spends weekdays in Dallas and weekends home in L.A. when the series is in production. "I like changing gears and doing different things, and that's always been the most fun to me. It's very different when you do a series. It's a character that goes on and on."

Fichtner originally pressed for one season, but the writers gave Mahone enough layers to keep him interested enough to stick around for another year.

And even though that Panamanian prison is a set near downtown Dallas and the actors go home at the end of the day, working on Prison Break can have grueling challenges, especially in the North Texas summers.

"We got spared a lot of heat this year," Fichtner says. "Last summer, I think there were 60 days in a row of 100-degree heat. That was stunning. I would walk from my apartment to the downtown Y, and it was like a blow-dryer."

The Amateurs is playing at the Angelika Film Centers in Dallas and Plano.

Source: Star-Telegram

Fichtner Parties With Chiropractor!

Currently in town filming Prison Break for Fox, movie star William Fichtner went out to celebrate co-birthdays this week with Highland Park Village and Las Colinas-based chiropractor to the stars Mary Collings. (In The Perfect Storm, William played crew member Sully and in Black Hawk Down he played Sanderson.)

Dr. Mary's birthday was Monday, while William turned 51 on Tuesday. They turned up Monday night at Al Biernat's with local glam couple Kimberly and Justin Whitman (son of Hollywood leading man Stuart Whitman).

Mahone!? Partying it up in Dallas!? Now that must have been worth a watch!

Source: Dallas News

Happy Birthday William!

William Fichtner aka Alexander Mahone turs 51 years old today! Happy Birthday William!

Behind The Scenes with France 24

Here is some behind the scenes footage of one of the last fully written episodes being recorded in Dallas, Texas. William Fichtner and Wentworth Miller also talk about their concerns on the writers strike. Check it out!

William Fichtner In Between Takes

Above is a great short and sweet interview with William Fichtner aka Alexander Mahone. I guess the question on everyone's minds concerning Mahone at current is 'Will he survive this season?' Watch this space. . .