› Kerr Smith Gets "Justice" - Aug 12, 2006 (The WB)
Kerr Smith stars as Tom in "Justice"
He was the cutie who admitted he was gay on the popular TV series "Dawson's Creek" and had a recurring part on "Charmed". Handsome, dark-haired Kerr Smith was also on the big screen in Final Destination, The Forsaken and Pressure among others. Most recently, on TV you could catch him as Bobby Wilkerson on producer Jerry Bruckheimer's "E-Ring" starring opposite hot Benjamin Bratt. This Fall, Kerr plays young lawyer Tom Nicholson in the new Bruckheimer series on Fox "Justice" in which he co-stars with Victor Garber of "Alias" fame.
We grabbed an exclusive interview with the actor recently. He was all lawyer-ish in dapper suit and tie as he revealed his concerns about the challenges of playing courtroom drama, talked about his fave movies and TV shows, his taste in music and the fact that, despite his drama roots, he'd like to someday star in a comedy. Check it out...
TeenTelevision: You were on "E-Ring" but did you make this step to "Justice" to get more away from the teen genre after the popular "Dawson's Creek"?
Kerr: Well "E-Ring" kind of pulled me out of the teen type of stuff. I can't play a teen forever. What attracted me to this role is it's something I've never done before. My character Tom is a very intense individual. I like the fact that he's kind of the moral fiber of the show. He's kind of Ron's [Victor Garber of "Alias"] alter ego which I enjoy because Victor and I have very similar personalities and we love working together.
TeenTelevision: Is it fun to be his wing man?
Kerr: It's fantastic. He's a great guy and there's a lot of jokin' around on set.
TeenTelevision: Have they encouraged you guys to come up with any plotlines yet?
Kerr: No. My knowledge of law cases and political stuff is very, very limited. I have the best resource right here [Producer/writer Jonathan Shapiro]. He's a wonderful guy and a knowledgeable fellow in terms of law.
TeenTelevision: Are you thinking of going back and forth into the movie game on hiatus from the show?
Kerr: Oh absolutely. Now, that I'm hopefully a part of the Jerry Bruckheimer family [executive producer of the show] with show number two here, maybe he'll make me a pirate...arrrrgh! [laughs] I've always wanted to get a good film career going. When I first started, this it was all about movies. But television has been wonderful to me and I enjoy it very much but, hopefully this might catapult me into some kind of film career.
TeenTelevision: Did you ever direct or do you want to?
Kerr: I directed an episode of "Dawson's Creek". I would love to be able to direct one of these but I think it will be a couple of years. It would be difficult because they would have to pull me out of the show. I wouldn't be able to do a whole lot of acting if I'm directing.
TeenTelevision: Did you have to do some research for your character?
Kerr: I know the man who Tom is based on. He's a good friend of Jon Shapiros and as soon as he gets into town we're going to sit down and have a nice lunch so I'm looking forward to that. But, any time I have a question, Jon answers.
TeenTelevision: Did he tell you anything you were doing wrong trying to play a lawyer?
Kerr: Well, the first time we were in the courtroom there were a lot of things that I wasn't aware of that you can't do, that were against the law. Like you can't walk in, in the middle of the courtroom, you've got to walk behind the prosecutor's desk. You can't touch the jury box. I wanted to get intimate during my closing one time and he's like 'you can't do it'. If I'm talking to the prosecutor, I can't look at him. That's weird for an actor because you depend on the other actor to be able to bounce things off and play off of one another and we weren't able to do that so it's an adjustment.
TeenTelevision: You're going for a very realistic feeling on the show then?
Kerr: Yeah. The tough thing about the courtroom scenes, I'm the trial lawyer, so that's where most of my dialogue is, I'm used to very intimate scenes between one or two actors and a couple of crew guys that really don't give a cr*p. When you do one of those courtroom scenes, you've got a hundred people sitting in the gallery who've got nothing better to do than listen and it's kind of like your own stage. Victor's good at that. I've never done it. So, it's very, very challenging to me. You've got to own that courtroom one hundred percent.
TeenTelevision: But, Victor's character is so acerbic that he might piss everybody off.
Kerr: [laughs] Yeah. We're doing an episode now where he does get up there and piss people off and turns the case over to me. I've got the four page cross examination this week.. which I'm really looking forward to [he rolls his eyes]. Lawyerspeak and the speed at which we do it is very, very fast and you've got to own that dialogue. It's a very difficult job.
TeenTelevision: Did you get to do anything for fun this summer?
Kerr: I'm studying to be a pilot which takes up most of my time. If I ever had the money, I'd love to be a John Travolta in a big jet with my own 707 or G-5.
TeenTelevision: What kinds of music are you listening to now?
Kerr: I listen to a lot of reggae right now, a lot of Bob Marley. I like the beat of reggae. It's nice and soothing and relaxing. I'm also listening to a lot of Jack Johnson lately. I love that guy.
TeenTelevision: Are you a clubbing kind of guy?
Kerr: Nope. I'm a married man who spends his evenings on the couch watching movies with his wife [actress Harmoni Everett]. We watched Cheaper By The Dozen 2 last night. It sucked! We watched The Hills Have Eyes the night before that and I had to turn it off after the weird guys went into the trailer. It was just too much. I couldn't handle it.
TeenTelevision: Favorite genre of film to watch?
Kerr: My favorite to watch is like a popcorn movie like "Pirates" is a great example. My top three movies are Braveheart, Shawshank Redemption and Ocean's 11. I think Pitt and Clooney have the best relationship. They really know how to bounce off each other. It's extreme. My fourth favorite movie is Hot Dog: The Movie from 1982.
TeenTelevision: That one has to be a guilty pleasure. Do you have any guilty pleasure TV shows?
Kerr: All I really watch on television is "Seinfeld" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" re-runs. I love the comedies. You've got thirty minutes, you sit down, you tivo through the commercials, you've got twenty minutes of solid laughing.
TeenTelevision: Why don't you go the comedy route on TV then?
Kerr: Because I've always been in dramas, it's very difficult to make that leap. My friend James Van Der Beek [from "Dawson's Creek"] is doing very well. He's had two comedy pilots. I would love to try it.
TeenTelevision: So you two have stayed close?
Kerr: Oh yes. James and Meredith Monroe. Her husband is actually my manager and we all live in the same neighborhood so we're very close.