New interview with Lee Pace for eCartelera: "Time is the only thing that can change relationships"
As Halt and Catch Fire S4 starts tomorrow on AMC Spain, Lee Pace gave an interview to eCartelera, published Aug 30th. aided by Google and one of our admins with Spanish skills, we tried our hand at translating it. It’s another generous and insightful interview like we’ve come to expect from Lee, hope you enjoy!
Lee Pace (‘Halt and Catch Fire’): “Time is the only thing that can change relationships”
Pedro J. García Miércoles
'Halt and Catch Fire’ returns to give its final goodbye, and as always, does so whilst looking into the future. The final season of the series created by Christopher Cantwell and Christopher C. Rogers opens Thursday, August 31 at AMC Spain. So far, 'Halt and Catch Fire’ has shown us the ins and outs of the computer industry throughout the 80s, and for this latest batch of episodes (ten in total), the series jumps forward by placing us straight in the 90s, to show us their characters living in the first days of the Internet, and how technological evolution forces them to “reset” their lives and relationships.
On the occasion of the premiere, we had the privilege of interviewing Lee Pace, an actor known among other things for his participation in blockbusters such as 'The Hobbit’ or 'Guardians of the Galaxy’, and for his role in one of the most beloved of cult series, 'Pushing Daisies’. Pace, who gives life to Joe MacMillan in the AMC drama, was so kind as to answer our questions and tell us how it has been to interpret this complex character over four seasons, as well as what awaits us in the last chapters of the series. And don’t worry, of course we asked if he would also like to see a revival of 'Pushing Daisies’. Without further delay, we leave you with the interview.
eCartelera: In the last season of 'Halt and Catch Fire’, the story skips several years into the future. As an actor, is it difficult to adapt to a new context from time to time?
Lee Pace: No, in fact it seems to me a very interesting circumstance. Time is the only thing that can change relationships. You can see this clearly in the relationship between Joe and Cameron (Mackenzie Davis). There is nothing that could happen or that could be said to repair the damage between them, only time can do it. The passage of time is what they needed to mature a bit and connect the way they do at this point in their lives.
eCartelera: Your character has always been dark and mysterious, a code difficult to decipher. Will we meet the real Joe MacMillan in this final season?
Lee Pace: Joe is a hard code to decipher, and I think he’s still trying to figure it out. He is still trying to understand who he is and what he wants. Although he now understands it better than when we first met him. The most surprising thing about Joe this season is his relationship with technology. He wants to have Gordon (Scoot McNairy) and Cameron in his life, he prefers this personal connection with them to everything else, and that’s totally opposite the Joe we saw in season one, who was determined to build that computer without any care for the people in his life. He is now a person who values the connection, who values others, and it’s incredible, because he has spent a lot of time alone, especially after Ryan’s death (Manish Dayal), which plunged him into a deep depression. That’s the most surprising thing about Joe this season, and the reason I find it so interesting to interpret him. After all that has happened to him I thought he succeeded in learning his lesson and discovering that nothing matters more than the people you share your life with.
eCartelera: You’ve come a little ahead of my next question. Joe is visibly happier this season. What is more interesting for you, playing the dark Joe or the more optimistic and proactive Joe?
Lee Pace: Each has its place. Joe is still mysterious. Even when he is content, he cannot help being a danger to others. Joe MacMillan’s story has become the story of failure, and not what he expected, nor what I expected when I began to play the character. Joe was someone who wanted to win at all costs, who triumphed in what he did, regardless of the price. It’s been ten years since we saw him for the first time in the pilot, and I find it very interesting to see what he has done right, and what went wrong. Regardless of how much he tried, and sacrificed, everything has gone wrong. That is something odd and unusual.
eCartelera: At the beginning of the final season, Joe and Cameron spend a whole episode talking on the phone. Was it difficult to connect on such a deep level with her without physically sharing the scene? How was it captured on camera?
Lee Pace: In fact, we shot those scenes in two adjacent sets connected with a telephone line, so there was a camera recording each one at all times. It was a great way to work. Mackenzie and I were talking on the phone for real, while each stayed in their own space, not knowing what the other was doing. I did not see her movements. That was the idea behind the conversation, connecting to such an intimate level, being in separate places. There is a privacy component, and that allows them to be honest like they have never been able to while in the same room. The call starts because Joe is playing the video game she has created. Cameron is the definitive video game player and Joe goes out of his way to keep her on the other end of the line playing the game that she created, which I found very interesting.
eCartelera: Joe and Gordon work in a basement while Donna (Kerry Bishé) and Cameron succeed in “the outside world.” What do you think about the emphasis on women’s empowerment throughout the four seasons of Halt and Catch Fire?
Lee Pace: I think it’s great. That is precisely the story that reflects the time we are covering. But I am so involved in the intricate details that make up these characters, that I don’t see it that way. Donna and Cameron are beautiful women, very intelligent and interesting, but I don’t think of them as women, but as people who I work with. I’ve never seen that as a major component that defines what those characters are. But I understand that other people see it that way.
eCartelera: Now that 'Halt and Catch Fire’ is approaching its end, how would you like the audience to remember the series?
Lee Pace: The show has become a very intimate and personal experience for me. I know these characters so well, I have lived their failures, their triumphs, their amorous disappointments…The audience reactions to the characters at the end of the season will be different, because the show has always been contradictory. There are no right answers, just the right idea at the wrong time. I would like the audience to have their own impression of the series, to draw their own conclusions from what we did with it.
eCartelera: Have you learned a lot about computer science working on this show?
Lee Pace: When we started, I knew a little, but the show has given me the opportunity to learn a lot about computers. It is one of the advantages of working on something like this, studying a new subject. In the five years that I have worked on this show I have learned a lot, and I am very grateful for it.
ECartelera: What would you tell viewers who haven’t watched 'Halt and Catch Fire’, to encourage them?
Lee Pace: I don’t know, I think the show is not for everyone. But of course I would love as many people as possible to watch it. I like to watch it, the people I know like it. To the others I would say that it’s a good show, an intimate and honest experience. We recreate a world in which everything moves very fast, technology advances fast and this creates a very strong stimulus. It’s a privilege to be able to observe this moment of the past, before everything became as complicated as it is now.
eCartelera: You have participated in cinematic sagas like 'The Hobbit’, 'Twilight’ and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Is there any other major franchise you would like to work in?
Lee Pace: I’m very grateful for the roles I have achieved so far. I have met great friends and I have forged great relationships for life. I keep working (laughs), and I’ll be happy to continue to do so in the future.
eCartelera: We live in the age of revivals and 'Pushing Daisies’ is one of the shows that most viewers want to see return. Would you be willing?
Lee Pace: Absolutely. I would love to return to work on 'Pushing Daisies’ if we were lucky enough to return. Interpreting that character was one of the most fun experiences of my life. Working with Anna Friel, Kristin Chenoweth, Chi McBride and Bryan Fuller was an incredible experience and I would go back without a second thought.
