Clad in the blue-on-blue prison garb of his character, Michael Scofield, Wentworth Miller walks to a soundstage at Chicago’s Studio City when he’s buttonholed by a truck driver. Mistaken for a fellow laborer — the trucker needs help unloading a delivery — Miller calmly steers the wheelman in the right direction, then has a good laugh.
You might wonder what rock the teamster’s been living under, but Miller’s good humor seems entirely appropriate. As it nears its mid-season cliff-hanger on Nov. 28, Prison Break has solidified into the kind of hit that can ask fans to stay loyal for a possible six-month stretch. (Its Monday-at-9 slot reverts to Fox’s 24 in January, and Prison Break might not return with new episodes until May.)
What appeared at first as a bizarre but relatively straightforward premise — Miller’s Scofield stages a bank robbery so he’ll be put in prison, where he can bust out his wrongly convicted brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) — has been revealed as a mere point of entry into a deliriously labyrinthine plot. In addition to its Oz-style Big House action (toe severing, eye gouging, gut stabbing), Prison Break incorporates a shadowy government conspiracy, a detective story and multiple family dramas. "The more you open up this thing, the more intricate it becomes," says costar Peter Stormare (Fargo), who plays incarcerated and embattled mob boss John Abruzzi. "It’s magnificent."
As Break makes its way through November sweeps, the conspiracy net tightens and tempers rise among the would-be escapees. "This show is only as good as the tension between its characters," Miller says. "You have x number of guys all trying to break out, none of whom trust each other, except for perhaps Lincoln and Michael. Seeds of doubt and suspicion are sown, and animosities spring up that threaten to unravel the plan." Michael will even catch flak from his previously trusting cell mate, Fernando Sucre (Amaury Nolasco), who’ll suspect he’s being used by his blueprint-tattooed buddy.
Michael entered Fox River Penitentiary as a soft-spoken structural engineer, but his cool facade will start to collapse as the pressures of prison life take their toll. A recent episode saw him take a crowbar to a fellow escape-plotter and revealed that he’s been under psychiatric care on the outside. "It’s more of an uncovering than an evolving," Miller says. Still, he adds that "people have died as a direct result of his plan, and that has to weigh heavily on his soul. His hands are dirty, and I think he’s coming to realize that they will remain so." Does Michael have it in him to kill? "That’s a good question," Miller purrs enigmatically. "One we may see answered."
Find the rest of this Prison Break article in this week's issue of TV Guide, on newsstands Thursday.
Prison Break: What Happens Next?
by Matt Webb Mitovich
Sixteen long, long weeks ago is when this TV season officially started getting weird. Prison Break, a critical and ratings smash for Fox, aired its "fall season finale" on Nov. 28, leaving not just fans but Michael, Sucre, T-Bag et al in an utterly criminal limbo as their painstakingly crafted escape plan hit a big shiny dead end. The good news? Prison Break is back with new episodes starting tonight at 8 pm/ET. Executive producer Matt Olmstead generously shared with TVGuide.com a sneak peek at what's to come in the first season's back nine episodes.
TVGuide.com: Is everyone there at Prison Break as glad as the rest of us to finally have new episodes on air? Matt Olmstead: Absolutely. Obviously we've been working nonstop in production and writing, so as far as that, there hasn't been a break, but we're absolutely looking forward to our show coming back. We feel very strongly about the episodes that are forthcoming.
TVGuide.com: You also must be psyched to have no less than 24 as a lead-out. It promises to be quite a night of television. Olmstead: It really fell into place. For a while there, we didn't know when we were going to come back, but the show's success and the strength came together to make Fox an offer they couldn't refuse, essentially.
TVGuide.com: When last we tuned in, Michael & Co. were literally stopped in their tracks by a shiny new steam-pipe fitting. Does Michael have a Plan B tattooed somewhere on his inner thigh? Olmstead: Damn straight! He has a Plan B that is a much less-desired plan because it's incredibly risky.
He hoped he would never have to resort to it, but circumstances dictate that he must.
TVGuide.com: And if Plan B fails? Plan C? Olmstead: There is no Plan C. It's Plan B or 6 feet under.
TVGuide.com: Will Officer Bellick, Warden Pope or anyone else learn of the escape attempt any time soon? Olmstead: Not anytime soon, but
perhaps there is a traitor in our midst....
TVGuide.com: Are you talking about Tweener?
Olmstead: Oh, I don't know. It could rhyme with that, perhaps. [Laughs] We try to always keep our characters on our toes, so just when you think it's somebody, it turns out to be somebody else, whether it's with regard to this or something else. But at a certain point someone in authority gets wind of the escape, which accelerates the [Plan B] escape. Everything has to move up, which is another rug pulled from under these guys. If the first 13 episodes were about a methodical execution of a very intricately planned escape — albeit one met with some hiccups and setbacks — the back nine, concerning Plan B, is just madness. Everything gets thrown at them.
TVGuide.com: The promos that have been airing show Lincoln all strapped into the electric chair. How is it that we aren't about to smell fried hair? Olmstead: [Laughs] We might. You never know!
TVGuide.com: Or... Olmstead: Or... people on the outside, like Veronica and Nick, are doing their level best to try to get a stay [of execution] or at least buy some time.
TVGuide.com: The April 3 episode, "Brother's Keeper," features flashbacks to many characters' lives before prison. What sorts of things will we be learning? Olmstead: Each flashback is basically about the tipping points for every character — not just for the cons — that either sent them to prison or were major turning points in their lives. I have to tell you, it's my favorite episode. It was written by Zack Estrin and directed by Greg Yaitanes, and it's unbelievable. The beauty of the episode, which fell to 15 [in the order], is that you have invested in these characters over the course of the first 14 episodes: When you do see them on the outside years prior and when you see what happened to them back then, it's explosive.
TVGuide.com: If you had to single out one flashback as being the most shocking...? Olmstead: The story of Sara, the doctor, is unexpected. There's nothing that we've indicated prior to this that would lead anyone to believe what she went through. Also, T-Bag's story line is very unexpected.
TVGuide.com: How many more episodes until we learn of Abruzzi's fate? I mean, dude was gushing mad amounts of blood after T-Bag cut him. Olmstead: Rumors have been flying around, but we give a pretty definitive answer of what happened to him fairly shortly.
TVGuide.com: Vice President Caroline Reynolds' [played by Patricia Wettig] master plan seems a bit extreme. I know people can be ambitious, but is there some added wrinkle to the conspiracy that we haven't seen yet? Olmstead: She's
half of a puppet to this company, these people that are pulling her strings, half of the master of her own destiny. At a certain point she gets on the ropes, and she has to either make a power move or "get thrown under the bus." That's where her big decision comes. What she needs to do to survive requires some real nefarious stuff.
TVGuide.com: It sounds like Patricia Wettig landing a fall pilot might not necessarily be a wrench in the works for you. Olmstead: As far as actors doing pilots and stuff, we just have to work around it. But there's a lot ahead for her.
TVGuide.com: Assuming the boys break out, how might you continue what's been started between Michael and Sara? Once he's out, it's not like he can swing by to ask her to Starbucks. Olmstead: Absolutely not. But by the same token, it will be an extension of their relationship right now, which is "frustrated." These are two people who would be in the sack by now if they were working together at a law firm. But because of the limitations and constraints of where and who they are... they have to try a little harder, and that makes the times that they are together that much richer. If Michael does get out, their contact and connection would essentially continue the same dynamic it had in prison.
TVGuide.com: Again, assuming they break out, will the guys each go their separate way, or will the situation be such that they need to stick together? Olmstead: If they do [break out], it can't be like Woody Allen's Take the Money and Run with seven guys in a chain gang running down the road. But remember, dangling out there is Westmoreland/D.B. Cooper's money, and if that does exist, it certainly would be enticing to everybody who wants a piece of that pie. There are things like that they would want and need to work on collectively, as well as the things we've established that they want and would pursue individually. So as opposed to this seven-headed monster running around, it would be about their lives connecting and disconnecting.
TVGuide.com: Is there a pivotal character whom we have yet to meet? Olmstead: No, I think that we just dig a lot deeper into our existing characters and throw even more intense conflicts and setbacks at them to see how they react. We consider ourselves quite fortunate to have the actors that we do. Believe me, it is very easy to write for these guys.
TVGuide.com: No Season 2 pickup yet, right? Olmstead: No, but certainly we like our chances. Fox is waiting until we repremiere to see how we do.
TVGuide.com: How much of Season 2 do you have mapped out already? Olmstead: We're done writing Season 1 and will be done with production by the time people read this, and we're now in the room working on sketching out Season 2. We have basically our "tent poles" mapped out, and now we're getting into the specifics.
TVGuide.com: Before we go, how about one last tease? Olmstead: I would just go back to Sara. She has a real dark secret in her past that comes to light and definitely informs her character, informs her relationship with her dad and with the governor, and plays out heavily in the back nine of this season.
TV Guide's cover story this week is Wentworth Miller's answers to the questions sent in by fans. Of course, the following aren't all the answers! Pick up a copy of TV Guide . . .
Wentworth Unlocked!
The Prison Break hunk answers all your questions. And yes, he's single.
Far from his white-knuckled predicament inside the walls of Fox River State Penitentiary, Prison Break's hero Wentworth Miller, 33, kicks back in a Greenwich Village photo studio. Maybe the relaxed setting explains why he waxed so wise, warm and reflective as he fielded a slew of your questions fresh off TVGuide.com. Or maybe he's just a really, really nice guy.
Will we ever get to see Michael and Dr. Sara get together romantically? — Daisy, St. Louis I'll say that before the brothers break out, Michael and Sara take their relationship to the next level.
How did you get the scar on your upper lip? — Maurine, Derwood, Md. I can't remember a specific incident. I must have fallen on my face as a kid running up and down the streets of Brooklyn. I'm going to have to ask Mom about that one.
What is the significance of the black cord pendant necklace you wear?— Kelly, Douglas, Ga. It's a simple solid silver piece at the end of that cord necklace. I found it at a flea market. It doesn't do anything, it doesn't hold anything. It just is, which I thought was a statement in and of itself. It spoke to me.
How do you pass the time when they're applying Michael's full-body tattoo? — Shiran, Los Angeles I listen to my iPod. I watch old movies on a little TV/DVD set, like His Girl Friday or the original The Hills Have Eyes. The makeup team and I work our way through various TV series. The last was Family Guy. I made it through all six seasons of Oz in three months.
What happened to the Taj Mahal that Michael was helping Warden Pope build? — Bernice, Boca Raton, Fla. It's nearing completion, and in fact plays a critical part in the penultimate episode. There is a showdown between Michael and the Pope, and Michael must decide whether to betray someone who's been incredibly kind to him.
When asked about your race, what do you tell people? — Soycheng, Vancouver, Wash. I say I'm of mixed race, and if they ask for specifics, I rattle off the details: My mother is Russian, French, Syrian, Lebanese and Dutch; my father is African-American, Jamaican, English, German and part Cherokee.
How difficult was it dealing with racism growing up and now when trying to find roles in Hollywood? — Stephanie, Milton, Massachusetts I'll find myself standing in the company of someone who will make an offhand comment about someone else who is clearly "this" or "that," knowing that they haven't realized that I may also be "this" or "that." They feel free to make that sort of comment in front of me, and then I'm faced with the choice of "Do I stop the party and start lecturing, or do I keep quiet and internalize this insult to someone who looks like they could be my family?" It's a difficult choice, and I'd like to say that I always do the right thing, but the fact is it can be exhausting trying to educate someone. Confronting people can be difficult. As for how race has played into my experience in the business, it's really difficult to say. Obviously I'm not in the room when they're talking about my audition tape, so I don't know what goes into that process. I will say I've been fairly pleased by the reaction to my casting in Prison Break, which is basically no reaction at all. I'm playing a white character. There are those who would argue that actors of a certain background should not play certain parts, and those who would argue that those limitations should be challenged. I'm not interested in weighing in on that. I just want to work.
Any interest in comedy? — Camille, Brooklyn Absolutely. Romantic comedy, dark comedy, maybe even slapstick.
What's on your iPod? — Patty, Los Angeles A lot of classical — Tchaikovsky is a favorite — and some old-school Ella Fitzgerald, Simon and Garfunkel, '80s-era Michael Jackson, Radiohead, Angie Stone. I like Eminem. Grunge. When I was in high school in the '80s, when I could have been listening to Poison and that kind of thing, my parents had very strict rules, and I wasn't allowed to listen to music that had lyrics while I was doing my homework. So it was classical music or nothing. I think I missed out on a lot of stuff that my peers were into....
