ChuckTV.net The CHUCK archive
Back in December, on the second-to-last day of filming Chuck, ChuckTV.net was included among a group of reporters invited to the set to talk with the cast about the finale and look back at the previous five seasons. We’ll be releasing those interviews this week as we countdown to “Chuck vs. the Goodbye” on January 27.
Adam Baldwin and Yvonne Strahovski talked with reporters together, and the bond we’ve seen between Sarah and Casey in the last couple of seasons is clearly there off-screen as well. Yvonne was trying to keep it together as she talked about the end of Chuck, while Adam was more pragmatic but very complimentary about his co-star.
Adam thanks the fans
Adam: First of all, I want to say thank you guys for all your support through the years. You’re a big part of the family and the reason why we continue, because you got the word out and you like the show and we all just really appreciate it. So thanks for sticking it out. You know, we were a bubble show and I think it was a good team effort to get us over that bubble.
On crying (or not) while filming the final episodes
Adam: Casey doesn’t cry. Who told you that? Casey, I think Casey goes out with a bang, so I’m told. It’s emotional. For me, I’ve been through series before where there have been endings that have been premature. This one, while we would have loved another nine episodes to get through the whole season, but I think 91 episodes of a show that was on the bubble is a good, long run, so I feel satisfied with the course of the taping. I’m grateful that we were able to get this far, so I don’t feel sad. I have all these people’s phone numbers, I have their emails.
Yvonne: He’s a heartless bastard, that’s why. [laughs]
Adam: Well, if you had written me to cry, I could have cried. You know the secret to crying right, on camera?
Q: What is that?
Adam: You just think of something sad. It’s easy. On the other hand, Yvonne, you’ve been outed as one of the people who can’t stop crying.
Yvonne: I can’t stop crying. I’ve cried every day this whole month. I cried yesterday. I’ve just been crying every single day. I’m going to cry now. It’s horrible. I cried yesterday. I did my last fight scene ever.
Q: Adam’s been through this. Do you have advice for Yvonne?
Adam: She’s going on to bigger and better things. She doesn’t have anything to cry about. She’s got all the phone numbers and emails. She’ll see us around, once in a while.
Yvonne: Once in a while.
Adam: Down the road. That’s the funny thing about Hollywood. Yvonne walked off a plane into a family here and a new working atmosphere and now she’s got her feet dug into Los Angeles and she’s established and she’s going to be around for a long time. It’s really great to see nice people succeed.
Yvonne: That was very nice. Thank you. I’m going to cry.
On Chuck & Sarah’s relationship in the finale
note: this interview took place before 5.10 & 5.11 aired, so Yvonne is being careful not to spoil the Intersect/memory suppression twist
Yvonne: I have to say, in the last episode, what’s happening between Chuck and Sarah is going to weigh heavy on people’s hearts. It’s not…there’s not a lot I can say without giving it away, but there’s a definite element of sadness and stuff we have to go through to get to the final moment. And then there’s the funny stuff.
Q: But does it end on a happy note that the fans hopefully don’t have to go to therapy?
Adam: Come on, it’s a comedy.
Yvonne: It’s a nice note. It ends on a nice note. But what is happening, and you’ll see as you watch this season, all this will be revealed sooner than the final episode, but you’ll see what I mean when it happens.
On being a “hot nerd”
Adam: Someone was asking me how you feel about being the hot nerd on TV.
Yvonne: The hot nerd?
Adam: Yeah.
Yvonne: I’m a nerd, too?
Adam: You’ve given all the nerds out there something to look forward to.
Yvonne: Hot nerd. I don’t know. It’s so weird. They put me in a pair of high heels in the pilot and I didn’t know how to walk in them. Now I do; look at these things. [shows off her mile-high shoes] It’s just, I’ve always been a tomboy, so being thrown into the hot nerd category, the glam thing is really very interesting to me.
Adam: That’s one of the most endearing things about Yvonne. She really is just this rugged, tomboy-type character from Australia, who is able to embody that glam, geeky, nerdy…
Yvonne: That’s very kind of you.
Adam: She’s got this behind-the-scenes gaudiness that reminds me of Carole Burnett in her heyday, which is just lovely for a bunch of guys, because movie sets are mostly just guys, with a few ladies sprinkled in to keep us honest.
Yvonne: I’m not really a lady.
Adam: Yes you are.
Yvonne: Really?
Adam: Yes you are.
On finding out more about Sarah in “Chuck vs. the Baby”
Yvonne: I always love going into a flashback episode. So, we meet my mother in the show and that was always a big piece of the puzzle for me that I wanted to close in this series. We knew about Sarah’s dad, but I wanted to know, I’m sure everyone else wanted to know, what happened to Sarah’s mom. It’s a good story. I love going back in time and there’s some flashback stuff in there too.
Overall, I’m really happy with the journey Sarah Walker has had, from sort of the emotionally stunted spy who didn’t know how to express herself, going into somebody who was more emotional, able to express that, and then getting into more of the comedy stuff on the show as she fell into a normal relationship, as normal as you can get with a spy.
On what’s next
Yvonne: I think right now I need to take a deep breath and take a break and do something easier on the body. For me especially, with the fight scenes and everything…when you get sick, you get sick for a long time and you just have to keep working through it and you just can’t rest up. I need to give my body a break for a little bit.
Q: What’s the first thing you guys are going to do once you have your weekends back, once you have your time back? The first thing that you want to do that you haven’t been able to.
Yvonne: Sleep.
Adam: Gun range.
On Casey & Gertrude
Adam: There is some closure and I think that relationship is really starting to gel. I love working with Carrie-Anne Moss, a true professional and mother of beautiful kids. Very stable, relaxed, confident professional to work with and damn sexy too.
On working with Joshua Gomez
Adam: Gomez is hilarious to work with. He always brings the pizzazz to the scene and I’m just the quiet sniper, but one that gets to close it out, hopefully, if the writers give me a good line in the end, but I just play off of him and roll with him. We were joking earlier about putting together an ‘Of Mice and Men’ production. That would be great. “Tell me about the rabbits, George.” I don’t know if we’re going to get that up and running. A Casey Morgan spin-off, oh God. Grandpa Casey. Can you imagine season 6 with Alex and Morgan? They have a little piker running around and Casey’s got to come and be Grandpa? Then I would insist they kill me.
On kissing people who aren’t Chuck
Yvonne: I counted the other day how many people I’ve kissed; it’s not that many. It’s Bryce, Chuck, Daniel Shaw, Beefcake, and that nerd guy in that one episode [Manoosh]. I don’t know, but there’s no more than that. That’s it.
On appearing at conventions
Yvonne: Maybe. It’s possible, yeah. I’ll have to see how it goes.
Adam: Conventions are fun. I recommend them.
On souvenirs from the show
Adam: We may be gifted some things.
Yvonne: We are? Who told you that?
Adam: I said ‘may’ be gifted some things.
Yvonne: Like my Porsche?
Adam: Are you kidding? Your Porsche? It’s a Tesla now.
Yvonne: A Lotus.
Adam: A Lotus. Some of the weapons, some of the Reagan paraphernalia.
Yvonne: I would take my gun if I could, but we can’t do that.
Adam: Take the bible that’s sitting on the bookshelf.
On their favorite season 5 episodes
Yvonne: My flashback one with my mom. [“Chuck vs. the Baby”]
Adam: The one on the train. I like the one on the train. [“Chuck vs. the Bullet Train”]
Yvonne: The bullet train is good. Buzz, that’s his first direction, directing debut on that episode.
Adam: Looking forward to that.
Yvonne: Looking forward to that. He did great.
On whether we’ll find out who walked Sarah down the aisle at her wedding
Yvonne: Who walked me down the aisle? I don’t know. I’ll have to think about that.
Adam: Jeff.
The two-episode Chuck series finale airs Friday, January 27 at 8/7c on NBC.
See, I’m not the only one who wonders who walked her down the aisle. I can’t believe they didn’t show that. It’s the climatic point of any wedding.
As a bride, I can safely say it’s a big deal. Good photo op too!! Tsk, tsk, showrunners and writers for that misstep.
As a dad, it’s one of those moments that you never forget. Although I was far to keyed up with all of the details of the reception to get all emotional at the time.
I fully expected to see Jack show up at the last moment and surprise her.
I always thought it should have been Casey walking Sarah down the aisle. (I think I wrote that in a post on this website once.)
The relationship between Sarah and Casey has been one of the strengths of the show.
I had both parents walk down the aisle with me. It was 125 ft. to the altar! But I have to say, it’s a moment you don’t forget!
And yes, I loved the Sarah/Casey dynamic. I’ll miss that a lot. You know Casey would’ve been such a mush walking Sarah down the aisle!!
The wait at the other end of the aisle is pretty momentous too.
I feel like we were cheated a little by not getting to see that.
Glad the convo was light and fun for the both of them. interesting choice of words they use to describe the finale. She says “nice,” and he says “it’s a comedy.”
Mel,
I have a question for you – in these last 2 eps, do you think we’ll see more drama, more action, more romance or more comedy to this “nice” ending?
And btw, I loved Buzz’s direction for Bullet Train. Really well done.
Lianne- Thanks for pointing out that Yvonne says “nice” when asked if the ending would be “happy”. I have harped before that I do not think Yvonne was that thrilled with the ending. She certainly said it wasn’t the way she thought it would be when previously asked about her thoughts on the ending. It makes me think that for us Sarah and Chuck romantics, we will not get as much as we hope for.
Thanks for printing these in full, its much better to see how how they responded to each other and the actual questions that were asked.
I don’t get Adam’s comment about Y’s “gaudiness” like Carol Burnett – could he have meant bawdiness?
The fact that Yvonne doesn’t see herself as a “lady” and that she sees herself more as a “tomboy”, makes her even more attractive (if that is even possible).
But hey, maybe thats just me
Thanks for the memories
It is hard to accept. I cannot readily accept the fact that a show which had a place in our hearts is now gone. I will miss the cast. I am not really this emotional, but Chuck made me happy. I wish I will get to meet them in the future.