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Christian Kane - evil lawyer Lindsey McDonald - Interviewed at Senior Partners, November 2003

Gotta hand it to you
  Did you enjoy filming the episode Dead End?

It's always great when you get to grab Stephanie Romanov's ass, and I got to do that, it was written in.

I had a lot of fun on that episode because me and Boreanaz got to team up, and I love working with him. He's one of my boys and so when we get to work together it's so much fun.

In that episode it's just me and David, so we feed off of each other, we really do, he'll tell you the same thing. So of course I had fun.

Two against the world
  What was your working relationship with Stephanie Romanov like?

We were the underdogs. There's a bunch of series regulars, then there's me and Stephanie.

We'd flip through scripts like, "Am I going to die? Am I going to die?" We never knew what step they were going to take, where we were going to go.

Stephanie's one of my most beautiful friends, we're really really close, and there was a time when we didn't know if we were going to die, or what was going to happen. It was kind of like me and Stephanie against the world, Lindsey and Lilah versus everybody else.

I think we actually brought that to the show, because it was me and her against everybody else in real life, so we just took that and rolled with it.

I love her to death, she's great. It's very easy to act with her.

Raising Kane
  Tell us about your band Kane.

Kane is a band I formed with my best friend Steve Carlson. We just got together and started playing guitar. He was playing some old school rock and roll, and we got together and thought, "Hey, let's take this on the road," We started playing a little club called the Formosa Caf�, a little acoustic gig, just me and Steve.

The response was unbelievable. You're very nervous when you walk up onstage, and we were both nervous because we were both starting off on this thing. We brought it on stage and there was the applause.

Everybody started clapping their hands and once that happens, you keep going for the rush. There's nothing else like it, the immediate response that you get when you play in a band is the best thing that you could ever have, it's literally a drug.

So me and Steve just kept going. We've been to Nashville, to Oklahoma, to Texas, and we get to play out here - we're playing tonight. It's unbelievable, it's literally a heatwave that comes off you, from the crowd, back on stage you can feel it, and it just pumps us up.

Steve's an unbelievable songwriter and singer, and I like to think that I can write a tune or two and we're just going to keep going.

LA Law
  Is it true you base your performance on your attorney?

I do. I have an attorney, a friend of mine, and his name is Bernard Kahil. He's in Nashville, and does all the music stuff for me and Steve.

A lot of the stuff I did on Angel was based on Bernard Kahil, they call him 'Bernie the Attorney' in Nashville.

A lot of the stuff that I did I actually kept him in mind. I sort of fed off of him. I don't know any lawyers though.

A Wolfram wish
  If Wolfram and Hart could do one thing for you, what would it be?

I'm kicking ass and taking names now, man, so I'm pretty much happy with life.

You know, if Wolfram and Hart could do something for me, I wish they'd give Angel six more seasons. It's a talented group of people, everyone on the show, and Joss is an incredibly talented writer.

So if Wolfram and Hart could do something I wish they'd concoct a little spell and let that show go on for a while, because I think everyone has fun watching it.

Roles and role models
  What's been your favourite film role?

The most stimulating film I've ever done is a film is a role where I only have one line, [called] Second Hand Lions. I got to play Robbie Duvall.

You come to Los Angeles to act, [and] you have five icons that you would love to do a film with. I knocked two of them out with this movie - Robert Duvall and Michael Caine.

I played a younger Robbie Duvall, and did all my own stunts, I got stitched up three times, and it was so much fun, and I only have one line in the movie. It's all sword fighting and stuff like that. But I get to play Robert Duvall. Nobody gets to do that!

[It was] probably the most defining moment in my life, because I've been a fan of his for so long. They said,"Listen, do you want to come on set and follow him around and get him mannerisms?" and I said, "Oh yeah," but at the same time I didn't need to do it. Because I've followed him for so long that I had it already, I just picked it up. So that was probably my favourite role to date.

Life of Riley?
  You auditioned for the role of Riley. Any regrets at not getting it?

I think this is a better role for me.

Marc Blucas is a really good friend of mine, we did [film] Summer Catch together. He was perfect for the role of Riley. Me, I think I was a little bit dark. They needed an all-American go-to guy, and I think that I was a little more dark and a little more evil, so I think that they found the right role for me.

I'm glad that Marc did that, because I think it actually kick-started his career.

Coming up
  What are you working on at the moment?

I'm doing a film with Jimmy Fallon from Saturday Night Live, and Queen Latifah. It's the funniest thing you've ever seen in your entire life. Jimmy Fallon, he's shoots from the hip, and Queen Latifah is unbelievable in this thing.

I play an FBI agent. There's no comedy in it for me, I'm the straight-up guy, but being around them, you can't even get to do a scene without laughing.

It's directed by Tim Story who did Barbershop, and it was an original Luc Besson film, called Taxi. It's a French film, and they're remaking it.

I'm having the time of my life. I'm going back for two days to film another scene on that and it's really cool. Jimmy Fallon is one of the funniest son of a guns I've ever seen.

Season Five Spoilers
  Due to his connnections with the cast and crew of Angel, Christian knows a few season five secrets. STOP NOW if you don't want to be spoiled!

Music of Angels
  Who would you pick to form an Angel supergroup?

First off, Boreanaz can't sing. He sings in the shower. Not that I would know.

Me and James have a couple of scenes together. I love acting with him.

When he comes, he brings his electric guitar, and he has this little bitty amp. So we'll sit in the trailer while we're getting ready to film something, and me and him will just jam back and forth. I would love to do something with James, he's a very talented musician and a very talented singer.

There's been a lot of people [with musical talent]. I remember Julie Benz went on and sang, and she was unbelievable. A superband, I wouldn't call it that, but we might be able to sell some CDs somewhere.

Brief return
  What brought you back to Angel?

Joss called me, and he said, "What do you think about coming back to Angel," and I said, "Where do I sign?"

When you work with someone like that - the talent that guy's got coming out of his head - you always want to be around somebody like that. He asked me and I said, "Absolutely," because it was Joss Whedon and I would always do that, and of course, Boreanaz is one of my best friends. He's part of my family. To work with David again, although we're always fighting and shooting stuff up, it's a blessing.

When Joss Whedon asks you to do something, I pretty much say you do it.

Right turn
  What do you think of the direction the show's going in?

I love the direction the show's going in. It's new, it's fresh and it's tough to do that. You get into a groove with a lot of shows, but Joss always seems to turn the tables.

That's what makes him such a dangerous writer, because you never know [what's next]. One day you're on it, the next day you're dead. But I'm on the only show where you can die, and the next thing become a series regular.

I love the new direction. I'm a badass now, I get to kick some ass so that's great for me. I no longer have a suit on and a fake hand. When you walk around in a suit all day and you've got a fake hand, you can't eat lunch because your right hand has a prosthetic thing on it, so it's very tough to eat. So I'm very fortunate to have my hand back.