James Morrison revealed perhaps the biggest surprise of 24. In an innocent discussion of his character, Bill Buchanan's name, Morrison got blue. I simply complimented him on how the name has lots of consonants and roles off the tongue.
Interview: James Morrison Debriefs 24
"Bill's middle name is actually more interesting than his real name," Morrison began. "I don't know if you know it. Brass Balls. I forget where that came from."
A real surprise came at the beginning of this season when we found out that Buchanan had married Karen Hayes. That was no shock to Morrison. "I wasn't all that surprised actually but I loved it. I've always felt that after what we went through, the two characters, the conflict we had, the power struggle that happened at CTU, for them to actually come around to each other and find that there's a spark of an attraction there speaks to their character pretty strongly, so I was happy to see that they were able to pull that off. And Jayne and I know each other. We worked together before so it was nice to have that happen."
With Hayes on her way to LA after her forced resignation from the White House, expect their relationship to heat up in person. "I was just talking to someone about how in our fourth episode, they've already set off a nuke, how could you top that? But we manage to be able to do that. It's pretty amazing."
In the more immediate future, Buchanan's relationship with Jack will likely get complicated. "I've got some nice stuff coming up with Jack. Even though we're allies, it's really hard for anyone no matter who you are to have a completely passive relationship with Jack so that's the nature of his character. It's nice to be able to have those scenes."
Bill is the authority in the CTU office, and he got a little action when the place was bombed and gassed. But Morrison is hoping Bill sees some field work. "I sort of would, yeah. I think it would be interesting to see what happens if he actually got out there and had to go toe to toe with some bad guys. That would be fun."
Of course, like every character on 24, Buchanan is fair game for the terrorists. If it has to end, Morrison would take it like a man. "The only reason I even think about that at all is because I love the people I work with so much. They've become a family and we know it's going to happen. The minute you come in, you know it's going to happen. But the longer you stay with them, the closer you grow so that's the only real thing that concerns me. I'm going to miss these people a great deal when it's over."
We hope he sticks around at least until the 24 movie, whenever that gets made. "I can't even think about that," he admitted.
Add to Heffee!
