Dylan McDermott, the sexy star of The Practice, is making waves as a tough cop on season 2 of TNT's series Dark Blue with new co-star, Tricia Helfer. The actor was surprised to be tapped by producer Jerry Bruckheimer (CSI: New York, Without a Trace) for the job. “Well, Jerry thought of me initially for the role, so I thank him dearly for that," McDermott told Uinterview. "You know, I had known Jerry over the years, and it was his idea to bring me in for the show.”
McDermott's early life was marked by adversity. His mother was shot dead when he was only five, and as a teenager began taking trips to visit his father in New York City’s Greenwich Village. In New York, he decided to model himself after his favorite actors. His father’s third wife, the playwright Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues), encouraged him to become an actor. She legally adopted him when he was 15, having since divorced his father. When she had suffered a miscarriage, McDermott took on the name Dylan — the name that was meant for Ensler’s unborn child.
Starring alongside him is Helfer, who plays the love interest for McDermott’s character, Carter, the actor has found a worthy foil. “I think that she's going to challenge [Carter] in ways that I don't think he was actually prepared for,” he told Uinterview. “He’s been — in season one, he was sort of closed down and not willing, and we find him in season two in a garden, which is really a metaphor for him that he is attempting to change, and he is attempting grow, and she is a big part of that.”

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Q: What is Jerry Bruckheimer's involvement in the day-to-day running of the show? And do you have any experiences working with him that you could describe? - Uinterview User

Well, Jerry thought of me initially for the role, so I thank him dearly for that. You know, I had known Jerry over the years and it was his idea to bring me in for the show. Jerry is obviously a very busy man, and he's got 1000 projects going at once. I'm always surprised how interested he is. He watches the dailies. He reads the scripts, and he's completely involved in the show. So that's why he is the mega success that he is, because he really pays attention still when he doesn't really have to. So, I'm really impressed by his work ethic and that he really thought of me for this. So, I'm forever grateful for that.

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Q: What's the difference between working on network television and cable? - Uinterview User

It has changed so radically. I think with the rise of cable, network is clearly floundering because the characters on cable are far more fascinating than they are on network. And network television is trying to figure it out, but network television really relies on story rather than character, and I think that cable relies on character. I think that's the biggest difference. You don't have to have a huge number on cable to stay on. I think Damages had like 600,000 people watching it, and it was a great show. So, I think character is key and character is king on cable and on network it's really more about franchise and story. You know on cable, we're only doing ten episodes a year. On The Practice, we used to do like 22, 24 episodes, which would take up ten months of the year, where as doing ten episodes is like three, four months at the most. So I get to do other things and it frees me up. And I like that aspect because you know when you're doing 22, 24 episodes, it is grueling. You are there for 16 hours a day, sometimes for ten months of the year, and it really, you know, takes a big toll on you.

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Q: What's your experience been working with co-star Tricia Helfer? - Uinterview User

This is exactly what I thought this show should have - a love interest for [my character] Carter. I think it's just much more dynamic to have him in a relationship. I think Tricia is a beautiful woman, and she's really talented, and she can stand toe to toe with Carter, which is not an easy thing because he is brooding at times. He is difficult and you need someone who can come in and go toe to toe with him. So I think that she's going to challenge him in ways that I don't think he was actually prepared for. He's been - in season one, he was sort of closed down and not willing, and we find him in season two in a garden, which is really a metaphor for him that he is attempting to change, and he is attempting grow, and she is a big part of that. You know she is going to open him up in ways that I think that something had died in him long ago. He had given up on himself somewhere, and I think that she brings all of that back to life.