Prison Break's T-Bag relives his best bits
Back-stabbing, fence-hopping, bar-breaking: there was only one
Prison Break! Six weeks on from the iconic show's demise, we were
feeling a little nostalgic. Who doesn't miss Scofield, Burrows, Mahone and the
gang? Ready to reminisce, we gave Robert Knepper a call to talk T-Bag, his
lusting fans, being deemed a racist and that creepy
tongue-flick.
Were you happy with the way the show
ended?"We talked about so many different possibilities, but I
thought the show was a whole as a great book-end. We all agreed that purgatory
was the best end for my character. If not, there would have been a lot of people
saying, 'Oh my God - T-Bag's out!' I'm very happy with it, especially the
reference to the pocket-grabbing thing. We actually had the same costumes from
the first season, too. It was a great way to end the whole thing for
me."
What sort of a reaction did you get from fans over the
course of the series?"I remember getting letters from people in the
beginning saying, 'I hate you. I hate you so much I wanna kill you!' and then
they would say, 'I wanna hate you, but I feel for you!' Then people would tell
me I'm funny, or sexy - 'Oh my God, I wanna rip that tight white t-shirt off
your chest!'"
What was the best part about being on the
show?"The humour of T-Bag. I loved being this kind of guy who
attacked every frickin' race on the planet! When I did the first episode, it
wasn't funny - he wanted to start a riot against the blacks. I was so worried
when that episode aired - being in Chicago - that I would need security. I
thought the black population would think I was a racist and beat me up or
something! But they were the most vocal about it - they thought it was great!
Any time that T-Bag got to shock the hell out of someone, those were my
favourite moments."
Did you always know that T-Bag would survive until the
very end?"I never worried that he would be killed off - I never
thought ahead. I wanted to do the best job I could do. I jumped through all the
hoops that you do as an actor and I signed a seven-year contract. I had a friend
once who said, 'T-Bag put the prison in
Prison Break'. Once the show
hit, I had a good feeling that T-Bag was gonna be in for a long
ride."
What about T-Bag's iconic tongue-flicking - was that your
idea?"I'll tell you how that happened: it was the first part I
played where I had facial hair - the crumb catcher - and it tickled me because I
was just getting used to it. If you look at it from the beginning, it was really
just me feeling my little whiskers! And then I kind of ran with it and it
stuck."
Do you take fond memories away with you?"The
show was a labour of love - it was really hard work, but it was a love-fest from
beginning to end. It did take its toll on me in the end though, I have to admit.
It was a wonderfully exhausting show. It was four years of my life - more than
half of a child's life. People asked if I was sad when it was over, but I did
everything I could ever imagine doing with this part and more. I don't think
think there's one actor that you could talk to from the show that didn't feel
that way."
source
digitalspy.co.uk