By Jorge Solis (j.solis@mstarsnews.com) | Nov 05, 2014 03:00 PM EST
The countdown is ticking away as USA Network is set to premiere the highly anticipated final season 6 of White Collar. Before audiences say farewell to their buddy/crime caper series, actor Willie Garson talks with MStars News about delivering Mozzie’s swan song, and saying his own goodbye to co-stars Tim DeKay and Matt Bomer.
For the past five seasons, the stylish procedural/buddy drama centered on the dynamic relationship between the cunning FBI agent Peter Burke (DeKay) and the smooth con artist Neal Caffrey (Bomer). Though Neal works alongside Peter solving cases side-by-side, Mozzie is always there with the international con man pulling off a grand heist. In the final episodes, will Neal find rehabilitation with Peter? Or, will he end up incarcerated with Mozzie as they attempt one last con?
Before audiences watch Thursday’s season 6 premiere on USA, November 6 at 9pm, MStars participated in a roundtable interview with Garson as he discussed the final episodes, the character growth of Mozzie over the years, and what the series means to him.
On the final episodes:
Willie Garson: You know, what excites me the most is that we got it, that we got one actually because it was a little in jeopardy just to due to economics. And it was really important to us and thankfully, USA gave us these six episodes to finish up the story as much of it as we could.
So we’re really excited because our fans are so into the show, which we’re very thankful for and we really want to give them some kind of closure. We really took that opportunity seriously and worked very hard on these last six. So I’m excited for people to see it!
On what interested him about playing Mozzie:
WG: In the pilot, Mozzie was going to be this kind of underground, dark behind-the-curtain figure. And what happened was, the producers, creator Jeff Eastin, and the other writers had to figure out a way because the character worked so well. They had to make him more involved with the show.
So that was a huge decision. It changed the show in a lot of ways because it affected all the other characters. Mozzie was now going to be known to the FBI and part of the FBI’s process, which is if you think about it; it’s absolutely insane!
However, it worked for the show because of how well Tim DeKay especially played it. That evolution took place really on camera. How much can Neal be involved with the FBI and keep his old life going, which means Mozzie?
On the relationship between between Neal and Mozzie:
WG: I believe that the characters are cut from the same cloth. In a lot of ways, we’re con men and what’s great about the show is that even when Neal and Peter, when they’re matched, character has been deeply involved in an FBI situation. The show never forgets that he is an international con man.
Check out One Last Con here:
On saying farewell to Mozzie and the rest of the cast
WG: It was sad and horrifying for all of us. It came too quickly. There was a lot of tears. This the last time we’re doing this. We have been pretty open about that none of us are rewriting history.It just was a situation where art and economics just did not mesh on the same page. And we are ending too early and we’re all aware of that. USA found a way to thankfully, make room for thesefinal six, to give us a chance to tie up a lot of loose-ends. We did the best that we could.
But it all came too soon. We honestly felt we were going to have a full sixth season, and a full seventh season, and then be done. So we’re about 20 episodes short.That said, we were thankful that they gave us the six, and we’re thrilled for people to see them because we worked – I don’t want to say extra hard because we worked hard in all the episodes – but these were very carefully designed to build to a quick climax in the final episode.
On What He’ll Miss The Most:
WG: I’m going to miss the camaraderie and also the collaborative nature of it. We felt like…we almost felt like we were in high school. That first time when you’re acting in high school plays and you’re all in it together making it as good as it can be together. And that somehow transferred into a big time TV show and it was just delightful. I’m really going to miss that camaraderie. Seeing Matt and Tim everyday is a big deal for me. So we try to now, even though we’re not working together.
On the Series Finale:
WG: I think it’s a really hard thing to end a show that satisfies everyone. I think ours will be pretty successful and for not the reason that you think it is. I think it’s because we were in a hurry.We didn’t have a ridiculously long amount of time to prepare for it. So because of that, much like I tell my son when he’s playing tennis, the longer he waits to take that shot, the worst the shot is going to be.
And that’s a lot how I feel about ending shows. It came too quickly and we were not prepared for the show to end. We just went to work and quickly summed it up. I think it came out in a really elegant way. I was surprised at how lovely the final episode actually is; we did our best.
The final season of White Collar begins November 6 at 9pm on USA.
