Lie To Me A quick chat with Lie to Me star Tim Roth

The British actor on life as ‘human lie detector’ Dr Cal Lightman in the hit Sky1 series, Lie to Me (screening Thursday, June 10)...

We’re used to seeing you play a lot of physical roles. The part of Cal Lightman must be very different for you
“I've always been a fan of physical acting and not so much a fan of the method and the internal stuff. A lot of what Cal does is just watch and listen and that’s tricky to pull off. It's a really interesting experiment; I'm enjoying it a lot.”

Did you have any concerns about taking on a TV role?
"It seems to me more and more film actors are being drawn into television. I come from a background where the lines between film, television and theatre are completely blurred, where there's no kind of snobbery between the two or three. For me, to do American television was something very new and quite exciting. It's exhausting, but it's very fulfilling.”

Have any of Cal Lightman’s techniques stuck?
“You can't avoid it really. When they draw attention in the scripts to certain aspects of it, you can't really avoid picking up some of it. I try not to too much. I only use it on my children.”

Did you ever think of playing Lightman as an American?
“No. Right from the outset when we were first talking about me doing this, I said I wouldn't do it with an American accent. They were quite eager for me to do one, but I realised the workload was going to be huge, and there didn't seem to be any reason why he should be American. There are a lot of people from all over the world who live in America, after all. Now I think it's somewhat of a benefit. It's a different noise within an American TV show.”

Do you worry that you may ever get bored playing the same character?
“I thought that I would, like doing a long run in a play. In fact, I'm finding it very, very interesting and nuanced and exciting to play. As the writers are unravelling the character, so am I.”

Do you think Lightman and Foster should get together?
“I'm Switzerland. One week I'm desperate for them to get together, and then the next week I'm off in another world. I think I'm like the audience in that way. I'm teased by it.”

Is Los Angeles home now?
“I’ve been here 20 years. I miss the social life at home and the shorthand that you get with people from your own country. But more and more, these are my countrymen, and so you develop that here.”

You have talked in the past about moving from acting into directing. Have you any plans to direct Lie To Me?
“I fluctuate. Watching these directors work, it's a very tough gig. I don’t know if I could deal with being in something and directing it at the same time. That's a tough job to take. I know actors who do do it, but it's tough.”