My Monday Morning: Lee Pace

Lee Pace (0:07)

I'm Lee Pace, and this is My Monday Morning.

Lane Florsheim (0:16)

Hey, I'm Lane Florsheim, and this is a show where I talk to people who are great at what they do, about the routines and rituals that keep them going. Today, I'm talking with actor Lee Pace. You might know him from cult favorites like The Fall, or as a villain in the Marvel Universe, or even as an elven king in The Hobbit. This fall, he's starring alongside two beloved witches, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, in Practical Magic 2

For his Monday Morning, Lee told me about spotting witches in real life, tending to his garden, and of course, how he starts his week. We'll get into it right after the break.

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Lane Florsheim (2:32)

Your first credit, at least on IMDb, is Law and Order SVU. And you play a bad guy behind bars.

Lee Pace (2:40)

We call it the New York City Yearbook because all the actors in New York do Law and Order SVU at some point.

Lane Florsheim (2:47)

No, it's like the quintessential first credit, right? But I was wondering, do you remember when you got that call that you got the part, what it was like being on that set and being grilled by Benson and Stabler?

Lee Pace (3:00)

I knew nothing. I mean, I actually knew nothing.

I remember Mariska Hargitay, who's so sweet. I worked for half a day. You know, it was the first time I was really in front of a camera. I was so new to it. And she, you know, kind of crouched so that her eyeline was close to the lens. And I was like, why is she standing like that? Why is she doing that crazy thing? I realized now that it was just to kind of keep my eyes closer to the lens so I could, you know, when I was doing better. But yeah, it was overwhelming.

And yeah, I remember it. There's so many days on set that I don't remember, but I remember that one.

Lane Florsheim (3:39)

In general, what's the best part of playing a bad guy or a villain?

Lee Pace (3:44)

I mean, it's fun. It's just there's a kind of creative fun to it.

And I think the audience has a good time with a heel, right?

Lane Florsheim (3:57)

Yeah, definitely.

Lee Pace (3:58)

And the worse that I am, the more fun I think people end up having with it. So it's perverse, but I'm into it.

Lane Florsheim (4:09)

And you're about to star in Practical Magic 2, and the first time that the audience sees your character, Ian Wright, he's unconscious and unclothed under a spell. What else can you share about him?

Lee Pace (4:20)

I mean, the day I shot that, that was also the first thing that I shot on the movie. And it began with kind of laying there with my eyes closed. And I hear Sandra Bullock and the Kidmans, Nicole Kidman's voice kind of entering the room and talking. And they both have such, I mean, memorable voices, but beautiful. Like, the sound of their voices are so, you know, hypnotic. So I was laying there, just thinking, I cannot believe I'm about to have this experience.