An Interview with Dominic Purcell (Lincoln, Prison Break)

August, 2007

One of the biggest perks of this job is having the opportunity to speak with some of television's biggest stars. You may be surprised to know that just about every actor I’ve interviewed has been incredibly nice, intelligent and very open to allowing us a glimpse into his or her lives. They’re normal people who happen to make a living by portraying these intriguing characters who keep us glued to the tube every week.

I was lucky enough to speak with the very sweet and funny Prison Break star Dominic Purcell, who portrays Lincoln Burrows in the intense drama. His character may constantly be on the run, but Dominic is as grounded as they come.

Q: When you read the initial script for Prison Break, did you think the show was going to be a huge success?

Dominic: "I suspected it was going to be a success, I suspected that people would like it and watch it. I certainly didn't expect it to do what it's doing internationally. Internationally, the show is a phenomenon; it's one of the biggest shows in the world. When you have 135 million Chinese people downloading the show every Wednesday night, you know you're on to something. In the Asian territory, they can't get enough of family, brotherhood, loyalty and honor. Wentworth and I and the Prison Break guys are huge down that way. In America, our home, it's a huge, solid hit."

Q: I've heard that some members of the cast have had some hilarious fan encounters, have you had any interesting experiences?

Dominic: "Mine aren't really hilarious so much, I think mine are more like, 'Whoa, what's wrong with you, you're shaking, you're convulsing' and that's kind of as weird as it gets for me."

Q: What can you tell us about season three?

Dominic: "Season three is better than seasons one and two. When you guys see it, you'll agree with me. The writers came up with an amazing premise and we're back to what we do best. We're dealing with a Panamanian prison, which doesn't have any structure or law within its walls. It's all free trade and the prisoners are let loose to do their own thing. You've got Scofield dealing with all that, dealing with Columbian drug lords and Panamanian psychotics. Mahone is losing his mind because he doesn't have any pills left and he starts seeing things. Bellick is walking around in a diaper and T-Bag is staying low to try and survive. It makes for amazing, entertaining TV."

Q: Does Lincoln finally get some love?

Dominic: "Yeah, Lincoln's getting laid this year! We're dealing with two beautiful women this year, so it's going to be interesting."

Q: How does the cast get along off the set?

Dominic: "Very well. We all have a great deal of respect for one another. The cast is all men, we're not 22-year-old boys who are still trying to prove their worth. We know what we're about as people, we know where we're going, what we want and we're professionals."

Q: How do you all keep a straight face during scenes with T-Bag?

Dominic: "What I find hard is that I have a difficult time justifying why Lincoln wouldn't kill him. Get rid of this worthless piece of Sh**, do the world a favor. As an actor, I have a real hard time working with T-Bag because I have to find justifiable reasons not to strangle him. Aside from all that, Knepper and myself are good friends. I love watching Knepper work; he's what you would call a method guy, very character oriented. Watching him get into character is amusing in itself."

Q: What are your favorite episodes from the second season of Prison Break?

Dominic: "The first episode ( "Manhunt") to me was very powerful. I think the murder of Veronica was a very powerful moment for me too. The whole season was full of dramatic things, but I thought an interesting dynamic between the characters was the one between Lincoln and Kellerman. Considering Kellerman was the one who set the whole thing up and Lincoln had to not kill him, I thought was an interesting, intriguing dynamic."

Q: Anything to say to the fans about the upcoming season?

Dominic: "You're not going to be disappointed, season three is better than season one and two!"