TV Tattler: Celebrity Interviews

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Oct. 4 -- Serialized dramas are all the rage these days; Witness the success of 'Lost,' 'Prison Break' and '24.' The producers of these hot shows hook viewers week after week with daring plot twists and deep characterization.

The producers of the new drama 'The Nine' are hoping to capitalize on this phenomenon and bring something fresh to the plate. The show follows the lives of nine people who were held hostage in a bank for 52 terrifying hours. Each new episode will reveal, via flashbacks, what happened in the bank and how it has affected the lives of each of the characters. The hostages include familiar faces Kim Raver, Tim Daly, Scott Wolf, and Chi McBride and a few fresh faces like Camille Guaty, Dana Davis and Jessica Collins.

In exclusive interviews with AOL Television editor Sean Doorly, the cast and crew of 'The Nine' chatted about the scariest moments in their lives, why people should tune in and what drew them to their roles.

Bank robberies are scary stuff. What's the scariest thing that's happened to you?
Tim Daly (Nick Cavanaugh): I was arrested for murder once -- that I did not commit, obviously. I was 16, and I was doing summer stock. I was driving a truck in Providence, R.I. and I was pulled over by a police officer who put a gun to my head and handcuffed me. The guy said, "What's in the truck?" I said, "Costumes, make-up and scenery" and the cop said, "Yeah, buddy." Meanwhile, I was practically soiling myself. I must have looked exactly like the guy driving a similar vehicle. Anyway, all these other cop cars showed up and a cooler head prevailed and took the younger guy, who pointed the gun at me, aside and chewed him out, then apologized to me.
Scott Wolf (Jeremy Kates): I got into an accident with my wife. It was a rafting accident and she got trapped under the raft and it was Arctic water, freezing water, and she needed saving. We came out of that river and we had only been dating for about six weeks, but it catapulted us forward because when I came up from the water my first thought was, "Where is Kelly?" We were dating for six weeks and a year later we were married. I know that had I failed that experience, then we would not be together. Those kinds of things happen, on big and small levels, throughout our lives.
Chi McBride (Malcolm Jones): I think the scariest thing I've ever done was getting into show business because you've got a better chance hitting a Coke bottle with a rock from 300 yards. It's a tough business. It is a tricky because you never know when it's going to start or when it's going to end. It is a constant testing of your will and a constant testing of your commitment.
John Billingsley (Egan Foote): This is a silly story. I was at a train station on the southbound platform and on the northbound platform there was a big, thuggish looking guy. He had a woman pressed against the wall and he was speaking in a very ferocious manner. I thought he was assaulting her. There were not many people on the platform and nobody else seemed to be doing anything. I thought, "What am I going to do?" This guy can beat the crap out of me, so I thought I'd act like a lunatic and distract him. I started yelling "Whoo, whoo, whoo!" I was acting like a train. They stopped, looked at me and burst out laughing. So clearly, I misread the situation. So it was both scary and mortifying at the same time.
Dana Davis (Felicia Jones): I think moving out here to Los Angeles. I'm from Iowa. We have one highway in the city I live in.
Camille Guaty (Franny Rios): When I was about five years old, my brother and I played this game to see who could go back the furthest in the ocean. We would go back until we were on our tippy toes and all of a sudden, I did not see my brother anymore. He nearly drowned and we had to call 911. I remember him going through CPR. It was scary, but he was OK.
Owain Yeoman (Lucas Dalton): Banks are traumatic places for me. I was a teller. And it's so funny because people go, "Oh so many of this cast have had awful things happen to them. I was robbed at gunpoint and I wrestled seven gunmen to the floor." I've got none of those stories. I got fired by the bank for being terribly late to work every day. The girl came up to me and said, "You don't need to come in today," and I went, "Ah, thanks very much." And she said, "Oh no, you don't need to ever come in again." I said, "Oh I was confused, but now I get it. You're firing me."
Michael O'Neill (Pete Burton): Having children was pretty scary, getting married was pretty scary, becoming an actor was pretty scary. I was also a bicycle messenger for a period of time in New York. I'm still trying to figure out what I was thinking, but it wasn't my brightest move.
Jessica Collins (Lizzie Miller): I'm not a big risk-taker, but going down the 405 at 105 mph. That's pretty scary to me.

Why nine? Why not 'The Seven' or 'The Eight'?
K.J. Steinberg (Co-executive Producer): The phrase "nine lives" came to mind when we were thinking about the theme of second chances of lives, so we went from there. Nine people gives you nine more human beings to explore and many different permutations of relationships.

How far do you have the show planned out?
K.J. Steinberg: We know a lot. We know the year. We have ideas for the coming years. I cannot say much more than that.

Why should people tune in?
Scott Wolf: Because I am trying to make a living and I'm a nice guy. (Laughs) No, seriously, it's special. The bar has been raised by some amazing shows like 'Lost' and 'Grey's Anatomy.' It is a unique story that I find immediately compelling because it could happen to any of us tomorrow. It is storytelling at its most intense, most exciting and most resonant on an identifiable human level.
Chi McBride: There are at least nine reasons -- the characters themselves. I think all the characters are well drawn and the action and the pilot from start to finish is white-knuckle suspense and it is enough to keep you in front of the TV and you will even be scared to move during the commercials.
K.J. Steinberg: It's a deep, fun and juicy character drama. Nine strangers go into a bank, experience something together and are inextricably linked for life. They are holding onto each other figuratively and literally and get to go through their second chances of life with these new and profound relationships.
Alex Graves (Executive Producer): The first five minutes of every episode are the next five minutes of the bank robbery. The first five minutes are like a movie adventure and very intense. You get to follow the impact that has had on nine people's lives. People falling in love, out of love, and having their lives turned upside down.
Camille Guaty: We are truly invested in these characters. It is not only the characters, but also the way this show is being edited and shot. You would expect this in a blockbuster movie, not from television at all.
Owain Yeoman: We seem to be now a huge fan of serialized dramas and I think if an audience has patience with a project, it will reward them. We do not tease things out too long. '24' and 'Lost' have been enormously successful, but I know there is a backlash of frustration where you feel like, "When are we going to find out about this?" The bottom line is this show is rooted in reality. It does not ask you to leap into anything else except you could have been in this bank with these ordinary people. I think it is about fundamentally normal human relationships. So many shows these days feel they have to put a twist on things. We have to set it on the moon with a dog and a flying giraffe. Who is going to relate to that? The bottom line I think is that you cannot beat quality scripts done by quality actors directed by quality directors. We have been spoiled. Knock on wood, now all we need is an audience.
Michael O'Neill: It is smart and I think it asks its audience to lean in instead of just sitting back and being fed. Sometimes a camera will tell you exactly where you should look. I don't think we do that. I think it asks many questions and every time it asks one, it creates more than it answers. But I think that's good for an audience, to be challenged by its media.

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