Thomas Gibson can't be pigeonholed - going from fluffy sitcom Dharma & Greg into gritty FBI series Criminal Minds. He talks about playing the dark and wounded Aaron Hotchner, and his work commute from Texas to California
SOME ACTORS, ESPECIALLY those particularly associated with one role, squeeze in as many side projects as possible, playing roles as varied as they can. Thomas Gibson would seem like a prime candidate to employ such a strategy, but he doesn’t, even though he has starred as the super-serious FBI profiler Aaron Hotchner for seven seasons on the hit CBS series Criminal Minds.
“There are other things I want to do,” Gibson says. “I love working. I actually miss the theatre a great deal, and would like to do more. There’s a little short film I want to direct, and I actually want to pursue my directing career, but I work in Los Angeles and live in Texas, and my wife and I have got a 12-year-old, a nine-year-old and a seven-year-old.
“I commute back and forth between California and Texas pretty much on a weekly basis, and have done so the entire run of Criminal Minds,” he continues. “That schedule is regular enough, at least for an actor, to have a reasonably normal life, rather than the incredible unpredictability of features and of theatre too. My family is my priority.
“If there was a project that was three weeks in Austin, right up the road, during my hiatus, that would be something else,” Gibson admits. “There have been a few things that almost... To Read More: khaleejtimes.com
He's letting Beth meet his son? Sounds like this new relationship for Hotch is moving along nicely. I hope she sticks around for awhile too. : )
ReplyDeleteI hope Beth sticks around too, I like her and she gives Hotch lighter moments.
ReplyDeleteAbout the Morgan arc, I hope it'll be interesting.
I also hope that they won't forget about Reid...I know he had 'True Genius', but is this going to be the only Reid centric episode of the whole season ? I really hope not, he doesn't get much to do since season five.
I like Beth too. She makes Hotch smile and that is enough for me. I too hope she will stick around for a long time.
ReplyDelete"For a while, the only person with whom he could let down his guard or his professional facade was Rossi" ...So I guess he forgot about season 5 and Prentiss?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, really curious why everyone is pushing Beth/Hotch so hard. They've had a few minutes of screen time and suddenly people want to make her his soulmate. O_o
And it's a shame they've decided to devote so much time to Beth when we barely see Will or Kevin.
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ReplyDeleteHotch has never really let his guard down with Prentiss.
ReplyDeleteHe has shared some personal moments and had some private talks with all of his teammates (yes, some with Prentiss but also some with Morgan and let's not forget some of his scenes with Reid, more notably during the first three seasons). But I don't think he was really letting his guards down with any of them.
He's more open with Rossi, not because he feels closer to him (I suspect he feels equally close to all of them), but because there's less "formality" between them (since the relationship boss/subordinate isn't really there even if, technically, it should).
So, I'm glad Beth is around, if she can make Hotch smiles I'm all for it.
That character has been through too much already, I think it's good for him.
If he lets Beth meet his son it means their relationship has evolved, it's a huge step and I'm glad.
^^ True, it is a huge step if she meets Jack, but is it "earned"? We don't even "know" anything about this woman, yet she's already progressed to the stage of meeting Hotch's son. And people keep praising her, for what exactly? Because she makes Hotch smile? Hotch smiles plenty around his team, and it seems like this romance is an agenda. This storyline is really being pushed for some reason.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the poster above.I know some fans on this site support the Hotch romance story, and I respect their opinions since everyone is entitled to have an opinion about their favorite show. I am entitled to my opinion too. But, in my opinion this story is not well thought out and is very out of character for Hotch. I have nothing against the actress BY, but I do not like her character at all. It is a boring and predictable storyline, and I am shocked CM writers are taking this direction for my favorite character Hotch. When does Hotch have time to date? Even Shemar Moore said Morgan does not have time to date. I feel that writers could have explored other personal storylines besides a Hotch romance this season. There is also such an overkill of Beth. We already have 3 episodes close together for her. I do not even think Hotch and Beth have good chemistry at all and want CM to return to its former glory. CM writers should stick to the profiling, team interaction, and interesting personal tidbits not boring romance storylines. Hotch's character is complex, and I did not want to see this story for Hotch. I agree with the last poster that the writers did not devote nearly as much time to Garcia/Kevin and JJ/Will than to Beth. We have enough romance with these pairings. I am disappointed about direction of the show this season and may not even watch if this story continues.
ReplyDeleteTo allstar22015 and CMFAN800:
ReplyDeleteHotch is the only one who has to judge whether or not Beth has 'earned it', as you put it.
Let's not forget that we don't see that much of their private life, between 'The Bittersweet Science' and the episode where Beth meets Jack a few months will have passed. Hotch will get to know Beth even if we don't see it.
So, if Hotch thinks Jack and Beth should meet it means that, in his opinion, Beth has 'earned it'.
Maybe they'll meet when Hotch participates in the FBI triathlon, I could see Jack and Beth being both here to cheer him on with the rest of the team. I don't think it'll be a huge scene anyway.
I'm not praising Beth at all, I'm just happy to see Hotch getting some happiness and I would like it to last.
Yes, his team makes Hotch smile too and he's close to them, they'll always be a very important and integral part of his life, I would never deny that.
But Hotch needs some kind of private life too, and as much as he loves Jack, his son can't fulfill everything in his life.
Haley might be the only person Hotch has ever been with and the void left by the divorce, and cemented by her death, has left Hotch in a very dark place for too long.
Despite the difficulties, Hotch was much happier during the first two seasons and made time for them, before everything went downhill.
He had time for a wife and a son during the first two seasons, at times he even left earlier than the rest of the team during the second season : during "Aftermath" when Gideon asked Reid, Elle and JJ why they were still here (unlike Hotch and Morgan who had left) Reid answered : "Hotch is married; Morgan's... you know... Morgan."
So I'm pretty sure Hotch can have the time for a girlfriend if he chooses to.
That's what his talk with Rossi at the end of "Reckoner" was about. Rossi was warning Hotch to not let work consume him, to not let work be the only thing Hotch had left in his life, to not let happiness slip away from him if it presented itself.
If Hotch likes Beth why should he turn her down ? Why should he make himself even more miserable ? There's no good reason for that.
I doubt Hotch would consider getting in a relationship with anyone lightly, he has probably given careful consideration to that matter.
Despite the darkness that has surrounded him at times, Hotch is, deep down, a family man with strong family values.
I think we sometimes tend to forget that.
I personally don't see any agenda here, after everything Hotch went through Erica Messer just thinks it's time for Hotch to start building a home life again. I think it fits with Hotch's character.
I'll just add that I too, respect everyone's opinion here.
I'm just stating my own point of view and hope to not anger anyone.
I totally agree with Rene. I really think it's fits with Hotch's character arc to find love again, this time, with Jack in it. Thanks for your great post.
ReplyDelete"For a while, the only person with whom he could let down his guard or his professional facade was Rossi" ...So I guess he forgot about season 5 and Prentiss?
ReplyDeleteI guess I forgot about season 5 and Prentiss too. When was it exactly that he let down his guard with Prentiss? Was it when he lied to her about not remembering anything when she asked him if he wanted to talk about being attacked by Foyet? It seemed like Hotch had more personal scenes with Morgan, JJ and Rossi in Season 5 than he did with Prentiss.
I think that if there were anything out of character about Hotch moving forward with a woman that Thomas Gibson would object. Nobody knows the character better than the man who brought him to life and he seems happy with where this has gone so far.
As for them focusing more on Beth than Will or Kevin, that's simply not true and people need to remember that the focus isn't on Beth, but on Hotch. The fact that this new relationship in his life happens to be his arc this season means that we'll get a few episodes with her in them.
The earlier complaints were "OMG, I don't want to see romance! It's not that type of show!" And now that the relationship seems to be progressing off screen as most of us who support this storyline suggested it would, the complaint is that we haven't seen enough of the relationship to warrant her being to the stage where she's "earned" the right to meet Jack? Um....really?
I'm glad they're allowing Hotch to move forward. This is such a natural progression in his on-going backstory and I hope it works out for him.
CMFAN800 said:
ReplyDelete"When does Hotch have time to date? Even Shemar Moore said Morgan does not have time to date"
We know Morgan date, but he isn't into having a relationship which is very different. As for having the time, when someone wants something they make time. Maybe before Hotch didn't feel like having a relationship so he didn't make the time for one. He obviously change his mind. Why shouldn't he? The man doesn't have to stay single until he dies!
AllStar2205 said:
"True, it is a huge step if she meets Jack, but is it "earned"? We don't even "know" anything about this woman, yet she's already progressed to the stage of meeting Hotch's son."
We may not know much about Beth but what to say Hotch doesn't know lots about her? Just because it wasn't shown on screen doesn't mean they havfe not meet a few times since we last saw Beth.
"I agree with the last poster that the writers did not devote nearly as much time to Garcia/Kevin and JJ/Will than to Beth "
Not true, We have seen Kevin in what 4 episodes so far with another one coming soon. We have seen lots of Will too.
sf81387 said :
"people need to remember that the focus isn't on Beth, but on Hotch"
True this story isn't about Beth but about Hotch and how he is slowly emmerging from the lost he suffered, first by having his wife divorce him and then for her to get murdered.
As for CM not being the type of show for Romance, not true, there were always storylines about relationships from episode one season one with Hotch and Haley. Reid had girlfriends, so did Morgan, Gideon, Garcia and JJ had boyfriend too. Only Prentiss didn't unless you want to count Ian Doyle.
I totally agree with Rene and sf81387.
ReplyDeleteHotch is a family man, so much that the first time ever we see him is with a very pregnant Haley having a fun family moment. I can see him having another long term relationship, what I think would be completely out of character is him acting as Morgan did, specially in the first seasons.
Hotch and Rossi are more than good, friendly co-workers, they are friends, period. Doesn't matter that they work together too, they were in contact while Rossi was outside of the FBI and Rossi is the only one Hotch has invited to share his private life activities.
Prentiss NEVER was invited into his private life; after Foyet's attack somebody had to drive Hotch home (painkillers and driving are a very bad combo) and probably she's the one that lives the closest and/or her mother hen nature struck again. What was unmistakable is that both, but specially Hotch, couldn't be more uncomfortable, and not because they are "lovey dovey", but because Hotch sees her as a subordinate and Prentiss sees him as her boss.
And finally, about how much they're focusing on Beth/how much time we see her... Uh? As far as we all know, she's going to be in 3 no-consecutive episodes out of 24 that comprise the whole season. How can that be seen as "too much" is beyond my comprehension.
To Criminal Minds Round Table,
ReplyDeleteI agree with almost everything you said, I think the Hotch/Beth storyline is a positive thing for Hotch.
I also don't think we'll see that much of Beth, but I hope she stays in the background (even if we don't see her it would be nice to know she's still in Hotch's life).
I like JJ/Will and Garcia/Kevin.
I know Kevin isn't a popular character, but I really like him. So, I hope he and Garcia manage to sort things out after 7x13, I don't want them to breakup.
Both JJ/Will and Kevin/Garcia represent healthy relationships that work
despite a difficult work environment. I don't know if we'll learn more about JJ/Will after what we saw during 7x07, but if we do, let it be something positive.
I also have to say that since Kevin has been introduced four years ago, we really didn't see that much of him. Same thing with Will.
But I'm not expecting Beth to appear regularly either, she's just featured a little more in the beginning probably to let the audience get used to her and to introduce the relationship.
I'm pretty sure the scenes in question will be really short and that after 7x16 she won't appear much. But like I said, even if we don't see her that much, I hope she's still a part of Hotch's life.
About Morgan, I think S. Moore said in an interview that Morgan didn't have time to date, that there was "no one between the sheets".
But that's his opinion and we know Morgan took time to date casually and to find partners, even if it was never meant to be real relationships (with the exception maybe of Tamara Barnes) or something long term.
About Reid, I wouldn't call what we saw 'girlfriends'. He had one awkward kiss with an actress who kept flirting with him and made him purposely fall in the pool for that very purpose and a phone number from a bartender that Morgan (and not Reid) noticed. Personally (and that's really just me) I thought there was more chemistry between Reid and his old friend, Ethan, than between Reid and these two girls.
But I prefer it that way and I'm glad they're focusing on his genius and his relationship with the team so far.
About Prentiss, we never saw her date but she has made several remarks about past relationships over the years. She told Morgan that when she was on a date she couldn't fool men for long since they realized quickly that was a nerd. She also talked about dating people worse than Viper. There's the whole mention of her abortion and her friend Matthew. She talked with JJ about possibly dating Mick Rawson during 'Exit Wounds'.
Very recently ("From Childhood's hour") she also talked about dating a golfer ("it's not like men don't have their things, I dated a golfer once, he had 12 putters in his closet").
There was the also Ian Doyle thing, but I don't think it counts.
But, it's true that we never saw her dating once and it could be nice if she found someone later.
Since his introduction in season 3, Kevin Lynch has appeared 11 times and much like the Beth character he had his introductory episode followed by a couple of more that season. He appeared 3 times in season 4, 3 times in season 5 and twice in season 6.
ReplyDeleteWill has appeared 7 times since his introduction.
Haley appeared 13 times over 5 seasons and it didn't take any more than that to become attached to the storyline and the character and be heartbroken when she died.
Hotch can continue to have Beth in his life without it being shown on screen. A mention here and there keeps it in the viewers minds without having to see it and as you can see, Beth isn't getting anymore screentime than any other recurring character has and like all of the other recurring characters her screen time is in direct relation to what is going on with the main character she's been brought in to relate with.
Will has probably had the most dialogue out of any of them since he was featured so heavily in his first two episodes.
To sf81387
ReplyDeleteYou won't see me disagreeing with you here, no worry. I don't think Beth will be more featured than Kevin or Will, and I like the dynamics between Hotch and Beth, so I won't mind seeing more of it, not in the slightest.
I was pointing out that Kevin isn't featured much, his scenes aren't usually long (usually). Sometimes he barely makes a 20 seconds appearance, like he did in 'Compromising Positions' (and no, I don't think Beth will be more featured than he's).
I also agree with you about Will, he had more of a storyline as a character (and not just as a love interest).
I suppose it can be explained by the fact that he wasn't really supposed to become JJ's life partner at first (not to mention the father of her child). He was supposed to be a character that would only appear for this one episode ("Jones") before AJ became pregnant.
There was a real storyline based on Will as a character on his own (with his family background included in the case), rather than a storyline simply based on Will "the potential boyfriend of JJ".
I also totally agree with you about Hotch still having Beth in his life without it being shown on screen. A mention of Beth here and there is all that's needed.
Actually that's what I'm hoping for, I know they won't be able to show Beth a lot so I hope that she's mentioned by Hotch from time to time, just to let us know that she's still a part of Hotch's life.