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`Warehouse 13` cast. Pictured, from left, are Saul Rubinek as Artie Nielsen, Joanne Kelly as Myka Bering, Eddie McClintock as Pete Lattimer and Allison Scagliotti as Claudia Donovan (photo by Justin Stephens/Syfy)
"Warehouse 13" cast. Pictured, from left, are Saul Rubinek as Artie Nielsen, Joanne Kelly as Myka Bering, Eddie McClintock as Pete Lattimer and Allison Scagliotti as Claudia Donovan (photo by Justin Stephens/Syfy)

'Warehouse 13' stars share unusual on-screen chemistry

by jmaloni

Behind the Screens with Joshua Maloni

Mon, Jul 5th 2010 04:00 pm
"Bones" creator Hart Hanson once joked that, if he had his way, he'd permanently keep characters Temperance Brennan and Seeley Booth from becoming romantically involved. ... Or at least until after he put his kids through college.

That's because Hanson knows the moment those two characters get together, "Bones" is likely to "jump the shark" or, at the very least, lose a significant number of viewers. Fans watching -- and waiting -- week after week to see a Brennan and Booth coupling will have less reason to tune in once that romantic tension bubble is burst.

The "will-they-or-won't-they" storyline has become increasingly popular in the past 10 years thanks to shows such as "Friends," "The X-Files," "Ed," "Moonlight," "Castle" and, well, just about every drama on Fox.

While the suspense can be marvelous, it also tends to become tedious. In fact, if you're like this writer, and you watch several programs with a "will-they-or-won't-they" element, said watching and waiting can become downright exasperating.

Fortunately, one of television's newest pairings, that of "Warehouse 13" Secret Service agents Pete Lattimer and Myka Bering, offers a duo that works wonderfully independent of the "will-they-or-won't-they" plotline.

Now, that's not to say that actors Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly have a familial vibe going on. Instead, the relationship between their characters is so easygoing and relaxed that it really doesn't matter if they ever "hook up" or not.

On the eve of the "Warehouse 13" season two premiere (Tuesday, July 6; 9 p.m. on Syfy), when BTS caught up with McClintock and Kelly to ask about Pete and Myka's refreshing dynamic, it was easy to see why their characters mesh so well on screen.

BTS: Hey Eddie, hey Joanne, thanks for your time today.

Eddie McClintock: Josh Maloni, how are you?

BTS: Very good, very good. I'm looking forward to season two. I'm a big fan of your show.

McClintock: Thanks man, thank you very much.

Joanne Kelly: Thanks, Josh.

BTS: You know, there are so many shows right now that have a "will-they-or-won't-they" between the female and the male leads. And, in a lot of cases it really does get frustrating.

But I really enjoy the dynamic between Pete and Myka. I feel like it's good now. If the two characters were to get together, that would be fine, too. But it doesn't necessarily have to go there. Can you both tell me a little bit about your on-screen chemistry?

McClintock: Well Joanne and I figured we'd just get it over with the first week, so we got together a couple of times and she -- unfortunately she kind of fell for me and I had to tell her to back off. So since then she's kind of, you know, she's not quite as hands-on, let's say, as she used to be.

Kelly: Shut up. You see how long I let that go for? Are you impressed?

McClintock: You know, the other -- this is kind of mine and Joanne's relationship in a nutshell. She and I were being pulled by a car -- a camera truck and we were -- I was supposed to be driving, she's sitting next to me, it's a beautiful day, and we're being driven. And I just looked at her and I said, "Do you ever get tired of the fact that I can never take anything serious?" And she goes, "Sometimes I want to stab you in the eye with a pencil." And she goes, "But if you were any other way, you know, it just -- it wouldn't be the same."

And so, you know, I mean, look, I have a personality that, you know, it works for me, sometimes, and maybe not all the time but, you know, Joanne is a good sport and she puts up with my Tom foolery let's say. And, you know, we truly are like a brother and sister (in real life). Like we don't always like each other.

I mean, you know, we spend 15 hours a day, five days a week (together). I mean, most families don't spend that amount of time with each other, so -- and we're in a very stressful situation. You know, it's like there's always someone standing there with their watch, pointing at their watch, going, "Let's go, let's go, let's go." You know, "Why did you mess up that line; why don't you know your lines; we've got to move; why do you -- haven't you slept?"

I mean, so there's a lot of opportunity for us to just not really care to like one another but, you know, we love each other and I have a great deal of respect for Joanne and her work and I think that it reflects in the work that we have on screen. I think that's maybe why it works so well.

Kelly: Yeah, you know, I think that a lot of actors can be very competitive with each other on screen, and Eddie and I never competed. And I think that's one of the reasons what people call chemistry is that we actually trust and like one another.

We never compete in things, we let each other do their own thing and that -- I think we've -- it's just our -- the fact that we're just so different. I think our personalities allow that to happen and, you know, again, he puts up with me because I'm not the, you know, the light of...

McClintock: The what?

Kelly: Why, are you curious?

McClintock: Yeah a little.

Kelly: You know, I'm not the happiest chick in the world. Sometimes at 4:30 in the morning I can get a little testy and Eddie is the one, you know, tells me -- he makes me laugh. So that's all I was going to say -- or not.

McClintock: I always love when I look over to Joanne and she has that look on her face like do not look at me, do not touch me. So it causes me to like jump around -- like it makes me want to jump around even more. Even if I'm kind of tired, I'm like ooh, all right, this is a good opportunity for me to poke sticks at Joanne. So it's good, man, it seems to work so far.

BTS: Do either of you have a preference? Do either of you want to see Pete and Myka get together? Does it make a difference to either one of you if they just stay partners or if they get together and have a relationship?

McClintock: Well I've been saying that in season 15 Pete and Myka start bumping their wheelchairs into one another in kind of a mating ritual, but that won't be for a long time.

I mean, I like the fact that they have enough respect for the boundaries of their job and enough respect for one another not to cross the line. I think it makes Pete a more honorable guy. I think it makes -- it lets Pete earn his other, you know, little idiosyncrasies and I think that it gives the character depth, you know.

I mean, look, they're two relatively attractive people that by all rights should want each other. But, again, I think they have a respect and a love for each other that they don't really go there.

Kelly: I think any human relationship, any interesting human relationship between two people, is complex and it truly takes time to develop -- anything that's worth its salt. And for us to explore the romantic part of it without first exploring the complexities of these two people, you know, the partnership that they're creating and the friendship that they're creating, I think would just short change everyone."

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