The Good Wife Preview: “Parallel Construction, Bitches” [VIDEO and PHOTOS + Mike Colter INTERVIEW] 

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

This war between Will and Alicia and Lockhart/Gardner and Florrick/Agos keeps intensifying. The law firms are at war over clients and Will and Alicia are at war, period. Will the next client up for grabs be Lemond Bishop? TV Goodness spoke exclusively to Mike Colter back in December about “Parallel Construction, Bitches.” He talked about auditioning for the role, what it’s like to work with such a talented ensemble and why television is such an exciting place to be right now.

TV GOODNESS: How did you hear about the role of Lemond Bishop and what made you want to audition for it?

Mike Colter: “I had gone in for The Good Wife a few times prior. Sometimes actors get jobs and they aren’t familiar with the show, but I was watching the show prior to getting the job. When I went in for the other jobs, they were close but they didn’t work out. I was so glad it didn’t because this role led to something that would come back and be recurring. It was a good character they ended up developing. When I went in it was just a guest spot. Basically I was this drug dealer that was doubling as a corporate guy who had real legitimate businesses but is also the largest drug dealer in Chicago. That in itself was a duality that I really liked. I liked the fact that it wasn’t what you saw at face value and he was, for the most part, a well-crafted disguise for the public. It’s something that really appealed to me as an actor. You’re already acting, but now you’re acting like someone who’s acting like someone else.”

TV GOODNESS: We’ve enjoyed it every single time your character has come back. 

Mike: “Great. I’m glad. It’s a pleasure to play the character. He’s fun.”

TV GOODNESS: When’s your next episode?

Mike: “I just finished wrapping an episode a couple days ago. I just got back from New York, so it should be airing sometime in March.”

TV GOODNESS: Are you allowed to tell us anything or is it all top-secret?

Mike: “Most of it’s always top-secret because you don’t want to give anything away prior to the episode. As you already know the law firms are at battle over some clients. Obviously [I’ve been] a client for Lockhart/Gardner in the past, but I’ve also been represented by Alicia primarily so my allegiance seems to be in a little bit of- the audience is trying to figure out where he’s going with this. Is he gonna go with Lockhart/Garnder, is he gonna go with Alicia? Alicia’s firm needs the money. Lockhart/Gardner, I don’t know if it’s they need the money so much as it is the principle for them because they just don’t want her to succeed. They’re doing a lot of things out of spite. My character’s very smart and savvy. He’s gonna do what’s best for him, so in [this] episode I’m gonna need representation. Let’s put it this way, it’s gonna be a lot of lawyers involved, not just Lockhart/Gardner, not just Florrick/Agos. There’s gonna be more lawyers involved so it’s gonna be pretty interesting.”

TV GOODNESS: How is it working with the cast?

Mike: “The cast is great. The last episode [“The Decision Tree”] when they had the Christmas/Holiday hiatus, when they brought the party to Florrick/Agos, I got a chance to meet some of the other cast members that I normally don’t get a chance to work with. In this episode I’m also meeting cast members that are in this show on a recurring basis. I had never seen them before or met them because of scheduling, so I got to meet 90% of the cast. I’m a big fan of the people who are on the show, a lot of recurring characters. For instance Jeffrey Tambor who plays Judge Kluger, he’s great. We have Wallace Shawn, who played my lawyer in the last episode, “Runnin’ With the Devil,” he was there. I got to meet Nathan Lane. Everybody in the cast is just great. I love the recurring ensemble, so the cast feels like a family and it starts from the top to the bottom. Julianna [Margulies] basically sets the stage and she’s really comfortable giving everybody a chance to shine. That’s great as an actor because they really do treat you like it’s an ensemble affair. The writing is good and we all have a great time when we’re on the set. Everybody seems to be really, genuinely happy to be on set and that’s something that’s a rarity in television. We’re working together – that doesn’t mean you have to like everybody you work with, but for the most part we really just like to talk and hang out and then get the work done.”

TV GOODNESS: How did you get into acting in the first place and what made you interested in TV specifically?

Mike: “I watched television and movies growing up. Film was a frontier that all actors wanted to go into because it seemed to be the most expansive, it seemed to be the most challenging. All those actors – usually the good ones – they were trained in theater, so it’s all about the material. Luckily, television has really caught up to the medium of film because they can do so much more now with the advent of the cable shows. When I was growing up HBO came along and changed things. It’s progressively gotten better and better. Their originals shows – you talk about Boardwalk [Empire] and Game of Thrones and I think they’ve got it down. They just have a niche. Showtime has brought themselves in and FX and AMC. Television really seems to be the frontier now. I don’t know that film does what television does for the audience anymore because you get to see someone every week, you get to develop a character, you get to go along on a journey that takes seasons. You get to watch this person, you attach yourself to the character, the story, the world and eventually it’s over but you may go back and revisit that world because it feels like something that’s a big part of you. Films, they can be intense, they can have a great impact but they’re just one and done. It’s one of those things where it’s hard to say which one your prefer. I like both, but I really do appreciate where television is going because of the development of the characters and the writing. The writing’s gotten so much better. Now you have Netflix on the frontier and House of Cards. There’s just a lot of things going on. I don’t know that television’s gonna be limited in the future the way it was before. I think it’s gonna be the new ‘it’ thing because everyone’s going to television. We’re so lucky. I was walking around the set and there’s Jessica Lange. Jessica Lange. She’s doing television. You know why? Because the material’s good and it gives her something really good to do, otherwise she wouldn’t be doing it. I mean Kevin Spacey– who’s gonna go and do material they don’t want to do? The material must be good, so obviously it’s something that brings them to television. Kevin Bacon‘s in The Following. Everybody is on television now. They go back and forth, but television is not something people avoid anymore because it’s really where the good material is.”

TV GOODNESS: We’ve loved your recent roles on Ringer, The Following, American Horror Story and The Good Wife. What’s been your favorite TV role to date and what did you love about the challenge of playing that character?

Mike: “I don’t know about favorites. It’s tough because everything I’m doing at the moment seems to be my favorite – when I’m on the set, the world. When we were doing The Following, I really enjoyed it. I think sometimes when you approach it that way you can’t really choose a favorite because you put everything you can into every character and you see where it goes. You just put and invest all of your energy into the character. When you look back on it- in the moment I think we have all these emotions. When I look back on most things I’ve done I think it turned out better than I thought it was gonna turn out and it meant more than I thought it would mean. Then it eventually leads to some other opportunities that I get to challenge myself again. So ultimately I just think it’s one of those things where whatever I’m working on, I try to really enjoy it and I really don’t have any favorites honestly. I just kind of like to keep working and appreciate every opportunity that comes in front of me.”

Edited for space and content.

“Parallel Construction, Bitches” synopsis, from CBS:

Florrick/Agos and Lockhart/Gardner fight to keep Lemond Bishop as a client when he is arrested on a drug-related charge, which possibly resulted from a leak inside Alicia’s firm. Meanwhile, the investigation into voter fraud in the gubernatorial election continues to move forward when Marilyn is approached by an agent in the Office of Public Integrity.

The Good Wife airs Sundays at 9/8c on CBS.

VIDEO

Preview:

EPs Robert and Michelle King Discuss the Current Will and Alicia Dynamic:

A Recap of Recent Events:

PHOTOS

 All photos courtesy of CBS.