Interview: Oscar Winner Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman on TNT’s New ‘Leverage’ Series

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“My character bristles at [the concept of being a thief] because he’s working with people he investigated, arrested or tracked. [Gina Bellman’s character] even shoots me with a pistol,” Hutton said. “Is it fun being a thief? My character feels: ‘There’s me and then there’s you guys. We’re doing this for the greater good, but don’t lump me in with you.’ As the season goes on, though, he more and more overtly enjoys part of what they do.”

While every episode is predictably just another con job, Bellman said in the HollywoodChicago.com interview that the series holds audience interest through the diversity of each journey and the relationships between “The A-Team”-like criminals.

Actress Gina Bellman is photographed in Chicago on Dec. 2, 2008 in this exclusive HollywoodChicago.com
portrait for the TV series “Leverage,” which premiered on TNT on Dec. 7, 2008.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

“While the show is a self-contained story in every episode, it is about the relationships of these characters and their journey. For the four of us – the criminals – we’ve always walked alone. We’re are very skilled at our expert fields. We all have different reasons for being a thief,” Bellman said.

She added: “My character is very aesthetic. She’s into the paintings and sculptures. Beth Riesgraf’s character is an orphan. She’s looking for financial security and a high. But what becomes evident over the series is they’ve never belonged. They’ve always been outsiders. They’ve never been in a group or depended on anyone. For us, it’s a period of taming and coming together.”

Gina Bellman (left) and Beth Riesgraf in TNT’s “Leverage”. Photo credit: TNT

Bellman continued: “As for Tim’s character, he’s been the straight guy with responsibilities and a strong moral code. Then he gets to explore all the bells and whistles we’ve been enjoying for the past 10 years. Over the series, you’ll see a lot of character development. We’re pretty satisfied with that by the end of the series.”

Bellman’s character is introduced in the first “Leverage” episode, which is called “The Nigerian Job,” as a dichotomy who’s a character within a character. One’s a terrible actress – a live-theatre version who “isn’t really on her stage” – and another is one of the best in the world, according to Hutton’s character, when she’s in criminal mode.

“It’s fun for me because I come from a comedic background. I get to marry all the comedic stuff I’m comfortable with to more challenging stuff for me, which is the relationship and drama stuff,” Bellman said. “But it is very intimidating being a bad actress in front of contemporaries. You have to go out on that diving board, jump off and leave your ego at the door.”

Bellman added: “Our producer and creator believe all these characters are a force to be reckoned with on their own, but as a team, they could provide a service – if it really existed today – people would be queuing up for.”

As for how Hutton captured his Hollywood leverage and got to where he’s at today, he describes his acting inception from the ninth grade as one that hadn’t crossed his mind any time prior.