Patrick Wilson Sees Dead People (In His New Show Anyway)

Patrick Wilson

Patrick Wilson sees dead people.

Okay, Wilson himself doesn't actually see the deceased. But Michael Holt, his character in the new CBS drama A Gifted Man does. However, before you start thinking Wilson is poised to be the next Patricia Arquette running around solving crimes with the help of the dead each week, you should know it's only one specific person his character sees — his recently deceased ex-wife.

Why is Michael suddenly seeing his dead ex? No doubt the show will spell that over the first season, but judging from the first episode she's hanging around both to get Michael to tie up her loose ends, and to get him to loosen up as well.

Wilson recently appeared on a panel for A Gifted Man at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour where AfterElton had a chance to get a little one on one time with the actor. The man who some might only know from those Gap ads with Claire Danes first came to many folks' attention when he (briefly) took it all off for Broadway's adaptation of The Full Monty.

But it was with his role as the closeted Mormon Joe Pitt in HBO's adaptation of Angels in America that Wilson really rose to prominence earning both Golden Globe and Emmy nominations. He's subsequently gone on to do a wide array of projects ranging from the big budget, high profile projects like the Watchmen and The A-Team, to horror movies like Insidious, as well as small independent movies like the gay-themed The Ledge.

Even though HBO's adaptation of Angels took place less than ten years ago, a lot has changed since then when it comes to actors playing gay roles; namely playing gay is much less controversial these days. Given that Wilson's career was just taking off when he took on the role of Joe Pitt, did the actor have any concerns about taking on the role?

"No, I really didn't," he told AfterElton.com. "I knew it was going to be ... it was a great role, whether I did it in my living room or on HBO. I never... I don't know if it's growing up with accepting parents or doing musical theater for a long time. I'm a pretty private guy, but I never minded any of the questioning. My tag line used to be when people wondered if I was gay, 'Well, you know what? For eight hours I hope you thought, I was gay, Republican, Mormon, and a lawyer. I'm none of those things. But that's fine. You don't need to know those things.'"

While Wilson's character in The Ledge, was just as devoutly religious as was his character in Angels, he was anything but gay. In fact, that character was appallingly homophobic, with his homophobia and religion driving him to undertake a horrific act that led to the movie's climax. Given that Wilson is very pro-gay, did he have anything in common with that character?

"Well, you know in a weird way, his religious faith of believing in something, no matter what the cost," he said. "I didn't grow up in that kind of family at all. But I did grow up in the South in a Christian family, and while we weren't fundamentalists, I latched on to .... we used to read the Bible. It's one thing to read the Bible, it's another thing to go back and read the Old Testament and really try to believe all that. So I just sort of ran with that with The Ledge. I don't really worry about the consequences of whether people like him or dislike him. You ultimately just want the audience to care and I think you at least get the by explaining why they act the way the do. Even if its terrible."

In jumping to network television, Wilson is taking on a character who is very different from either of the aforementioned characters. Michael Holt is a supremely gifted, if aloof and arrogant surgeon living in New York City. And while he clearly has a God-complex, it's doubtful he has much use for god. Asked about playing such an arrogant character, Wilson said, "When I'm creating a character, I look at how I play certain scenes. I don't look at how he appears, if that makes sense. I don't go for 'Does he appear arrogant? Does he appear strong?'

"You have to play moment to moment, when he's strong and when he's weak. For me on the page, those opposites were so dynamic. Being in control of all the medical stuff and how to do it. But as soon as anything relating to his emotional life came into play, he was rocked. He didn't understand it. This is a guy that is completely guarded. And I can relate to that. I'm completely private person. So with any character, I sort of find one kernel for that character I can lock into."

Jennifer Ehle and Patrick Wilson in A Gifted Man

Earlier in the day, Wilson had chatted with a large group of reporters about his new show. Asked about his decision to do the grind of a weekly TV series, Wilson said, "It’s always come down to I’m an actor who wants to do good parts, great parts and I’ve been very fortunate for a long time to get meaty rolls. And sometimes some were more meatier than others and this was a role that just felt very complicated and a challenge.

"As far as the grind and stuff like that, truthfully things that usually frighten me, I usually go after to be honest with you. [laughs] I don’t know what that means, but at the end of the day to have this great role and to know they wanted to move it to New York ... it was too good to pass up.

Asked what might account for his dead wife suddenly appearing to him, Wilson said, "Well I think there has to be some void in his life. It’s funny, I live in New York and it’s the pinnacle of a lot of careers and a lot of what appealed to me, outside of the spirituality of this, you look at people at the top of their game, their absolute top of their games and when surgeons, I’m not the first to say this... A lot of surgeons definitely have a God complex. And there is a reason for that.

"So I look at it like, what does that cost? If you’re pushing everyone out of the way to get at the top and run the show, at what cost is that? Just to your soul? Whether it’s a marriage falling apart or being distant from my family, all those things that are so much apart of my life it’s really curious to me where that fits into his life."

Asked about his character's relationship with his ex-wife, whom he has not seen for many years before her ghost suddenly appears, Wilson said, "Well one thing we’re trying to establish is they are exes. You know, so why did their marriage fall apart? Were they too young? Why did they not see eye to eye? You get the feeling that he wanted something much bigger and grander and she didn’t so we’re figuring that out.

"I keep having to remind us and remind myself that this is not the movie Ghost where her soul mate dies and is present. This is someone that was in his past."

A Gifted Man debuts Friday Sept 23 at 8 PM on CBS