Q&A: Eric McCormack Talks 'Perception'

The TNT drama "Perception" returns for a second season on Tuesday, June 25th. Eric McCormack stars as Daniel Pierce, a brilliant neuroscientist battling paranoid schizophrenia. Along with teaching a college class, he also assists the FBI in solving cases.

I recently spoke with Eric about his character and what viewers can expect in season two.

Q: Let me take you back to when the show was initially coming together. This is one of the shows -- and one of those roles -- that in the wrong hands could go horribly wrong. As you shot the pilot and as you approached the role, what expectations did you have as an actor and what did you want to make sure you did or didn't do with the character.

Eric McCormack: I knew how important it was to get it right. And so there was a lot of research that was done...a lot of consultation. But I love that, I love the challenge. In a weird way, it almost connects back to playing Will fifteen years ago. That there's going to be a different kind of microscope focused on this. There's going to be people looking at it to fail. With Will, I was a straight playing a gay guy and in this case, I have an affliction that has been stigmatized and certainly abused by television. Very often the bad guy is the schizophrenic.

So to have a high-functioning person living with paranoid schizophrenia...teaching a class...consulting with the FBI...you've got to make sure that all of your ducks are in a row and that you can back up everything that you do.

The best thing for me was a meeting with Elyn Sachs, who wrote a book called "The Center Cannot Hold." She is a professor of law at USC, but she is also living with paranoid schizophrenia. She had a terrible, terrible time in the seventies dealing with it. But she's now the perfect example of how someone like Pierce could be so high-functioning. She's been an amazing guide. But also, her approval has meant a lot.

Q: How long did it get you to get to the point where you felt like you knew your character. Where you felt like "this is what my character would say" and "this is how my character would act" and you're acting more on instinct and you feel comfortable with Pierce?

Eric McCormack: There's two part of it. One was that writing was great. Clearly Ken (Biller) is a talented guy, a detailed guy and a lot of it was already on the page for me. But in terms of symptoms, of behavior, that was up to me. And I thought, I can't find this in episode five. I've got to come out of the gate establishing this guy's tics and quirks. And it's got to be consistent and it's got to be well chosen.

So I felt as if I had a hold of it early on. The pilot was something I felt pretty good about. We shot it in Toronto -- my home town -- and that has been a pretty good template for the rest of the episodes. The preparation helped me feel comfortable with my acting and that's continued to be the case.

Q: When you were approaching season two, did you have some thoughts about where you like your character to go or where you hoped the show would go overall?

Eric McCormack: We really have some terrific writers and I get very excited doing a series where I don't know what's coming next. As much as I want to have a say in it, there's a part of me that liked the way it was in the old "Will and Grace" days where the script would show up the day before we were going to read it and I didn't know what it was going to be. There's something exciting about that, because that's real. Your character doesn't know what is going to happen next, just like a real person. There's something about being in the hands of good writers.

But I knew for myself, on a consistency level, one thing I wanted to make better was to show his need for routine. His need for structure. If you watch the entire second season, I'm virtually in the same sneakers, the same pants, I'm in the same coat and scarf. Often times people who are not on their meds have to have a routine, have to have things they can rely on on a daily basis. I've tried to stay very true to that, because I think it's important.

It's risky to have a situation where you have someone who is a doctor who would tell anyone else in his situation to stay on their meds. But he isn't heading his own advice. That's a risky character to be put in the center of a show where his routine is constantly being thrown off. But that's the point of the show. How does someone who continually laughs in the face of logic and of his own good sense -- how does he function in these escalating situations?

What was great this year is that there are a number of times in the upcoming season when his sanity really is questioned. It's not written as a convenient thing, "Oh, here's a schizophrenic moment." He truly does walk the edge in a number of episodes and for me, that's the most rewarding stuff to play.

Q: In season one, it was interesting to see watch the dynamic between Pierce and Lewicki. When you talked about routine, Lewicki enables him generally in a good way, he helps build that framework he needs to keep going.

Eric McCormack: Totally. And I loved the reveal of that. Initially it seemed that Lewicki was just my T.A. But midway through the season I confessed to Kate that he was in fact the nurse, he was basically the reason I survived my last stay at an institution. And we really got to see that in the last two episodes of season one. That as much as I abuse him, he is truly the reason I get by on a day-to-day basis. There are a couple of episodes this season that address that. Arjay is an amazing presence on the set. He's one of those people that make key grips get all misty. He's a loving guy who everyone hugs and to have him in that role has been like a rock.

Q: And it's not the easiest character to pull off, because you have to show that he's there for a reason, not just because it's a job or he just doesn't have anywhere else to go. He's there because he likes Daniel and he admires him, but he's not a pushover, either.

Eric McCormack: He's not a pushover. And we have a couple of episodes this season where we remind viewers that he's not just there for no reason. He's there because he's an aspiring neuroscientist student too -- as T.A.'s are. There's one instance this season where he takes over the class and does the final lecture and he does a great job. He gets to go to a conference in my stead and he gets to blossom a bit this season and it's great to see.

Q: And if he doesn't manage to get a book deal out of the experience, then he's just not trying.

Eric McCormack: (laughing) Yes, that's a season three or season four episode. He writes a book and I freak out about it...

Q: I wanted to touch on Pierce's relationship with Kate (played by Rachael Leigh Cook). It's an interesting relationship, because there is this vague, somewhat romantic attraction from her side. But it's just there. And I like that, because that happens in real life. Sometimes you meet someone, there might be a bit of an attraction there, but for whatever reason, it doesn't progress.

Eric McCormack: Yeah, it's the key to a television series is that chemistry. You know, even in "Will and Grace," people were like "Well, when are the two of you going to get together?" He's gay, what you talking about? It's a natural thing for people watching television to want. And I noticed that as I was live tweeting with a lot of people in the first season, there's a lot 'shippers, they're called. Girls who would say "But when you and Kate get together," and I think "Well, you don't REALLY want that, do you?" Because then we become THAT show. You know? We become "McMillan and Wife." I think we want to keep those boundaries because we know that whether it's a teacher/student relationship or because we're working together, that it will be unrealized.

Meanwhile, Scott Wolf is coming onto the show this season as he ex-husband and he's a great addition to the show. What he brings out in her and what he brings out in me is a lot of fun.

Overall, I'm very happy with what we did this season and I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks.