Jim Beaver (Bobby Singer) was featured in an interview on Winchester Radio, March 8, 2008. Below you can find the interview transcript. To listen to the interview, please click here. To download the interview, please visit Winchester Radio ‘s main page.
A sincere thank you goes out to Kenneth Smith, EyeCon 2008 Promoter, for making the interview possible and to Jim Beaver, for agreeing to be interviewed.
Note: Jim Beaver does talk about whether or not Bobby is in future episodes. Other than that, there are not any spoilers.
PixieQueen> Did you see the Christmas episode, “A Very Supernatural Christmas”, or hear about it? Dean’s amulet is explained as a gift originally meant for John, from Sam, with Bobby giving it to Sam to give to John. Do you have any thoughts on the amulet itself, how it got to Dean instead of John, and what was the conversation like between Young Sam and Uncle Bobby when he found out about the recipient switch and why?
Jim Beaver> No. I didn’t see the episode. I don’t have any idea. I mean come on now, why on Earth would I watch an episode I wasn’t in?
Clarity> You were there in spirit though in that episode.
JB> I wasn’t there in paycheck, so the story in that one, I’ve heard great things about it, but it slipped by me. I was actually away from home when that episode aired, and never got a chance to catch it. And they don’t send me the scripts for the ones I’m not in, so I haven’t read it. So I’m a lot of help right?
PQ> How did you feel about Bobby’s back-story in “Dream a Little Dream of Me”? Also, awesome acting, we always see Bobby so confident and competent, and it was disconcerting (in a good way) to see Bobby frightened and vulnerable. How did you feel playing him so differently, adding another layer to the character?
JB> Well, it was a lot of fun. Normally, on most television shows, actors get to play pretty much one part of a character, and they don’t always explore the other parts, so it was kind of fun to do something a little different, and show that Bobby’s not always right on top of everything. Of course, on the other hand, I like people to think I’m the strong silent type, so running around screaming and hiding was a little bit of an ego shock. But I had a great time with it. And I love to find out a little more about Bobby’s background, like apparently, the fans did.
PQ> How would you like to see Bobby’s storyline evolve?
JB> Well, let me see. My standard answer is I’d like to see him involved with some hot women. But something tells me that’s not going to happen. To tell you the truth, as long as they don’t kill him off, or kill him off permanently, they can evolve Bobby’s storyline pretty much however they want. To me, it’s fun to get the script and see where I’m going this next time, and I don’t really have a big agenda in terms of what I hope for the storyline, as long as I keep working for them.
PQ> You’ve written for different television series before, is there any chance we could see you writing for Supernatural?
JB> Oh, not much chance. Writing is way too much like work. It takes a lot more effort and sweat and energy then I’m willing to put out most of the time. I like to write, but I tend to write things that are very personal projects for me, and I don’t do it very often. I might toss them an idea now and then, but I don’t have any great urge to sit down and write a script. I don’t think I could do it nearly as well as the people who are doing it?
Clarity> You toss them an idea once in awhile, have they caught the idea, or can you talk about that?
JB> I mentioned an idea to Kim Manners once, but that was right before the strike and nothing came of it. I don’t really expect anything to come of it, but I’ll be glad to take credit for it if it comes up.
Katie> That sounds almost like bad timing.
PQ> You acted in the short movie, Reflections, can you tell us what made you take the role of Frank?
JB> Well, coincidentally, I just saw Reflections a few days ago for the first time. It’s a terrific little…. It would fit in very well in the Supernatural world, because it’s a bit of a supernatural thriller. And it was… I took the part because they asked me nicely, and it was a nice part. Nothing much more to it than that. That’s about what it is most of the time. If they ask me nicely, and it’s a nice part then I’m usually in. It’s a terrific little movie. It’s kind of doing the festival circuit right now, so I don’t know how much opportunity people will have to see it. But if they get a chance they’ll really enjoy it.
PQ> According to EyeCon’s official website , this is your first convention appearance. How do you feel about the whole experience?
JB> Well, I haven’t had the experience yet. I’m sort of looking forward to it. I’m a little apprehensive. It won’t be the first convention I’ve been to. I used to go to conventions with my wife who was on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. So I’ve sat next to her while she was being the focal point quite a number of times. So it’s not going to be a completely new experience to me. But it’ll be the first time anybody ever cared if I was there or not.
Clarity & Katie> We care! Everybody was really excited to hear that you were coming to EyeCon, believe me! A lot of people buy tickets because everybody wanted to see Bobby.
JB> Well, that’s very flattering. I’m excited because Florida is the only state I’ve never been to. Now I’m going to knock off Florida. I’m really looking forward to the trip.
Clarity> Are you going to be able to stay a little bit longer?
JB> I don’t think so because I start my next Supernatural episode the day after the convention. So I will go straight from Orlando to Vancouver it looks like.
Clarity> That’s a climate change. I live here, and the first weekend in April the weather should be very warm. Beautiful but warm.
JB> Well, it’s 90-something here in Southern California today. I think I’ll be used to the warm weather by the time I get there.
PQ> In recent episodes, we’ve seen the close relationship between Bobby and Dean. Bobby has Dean down for his next-of-kin for emergencies. We see Dean keeping constant vigil over Bobby before the boys are able to wake him from his sleep-coma. Do you think Dean sees Bobby almost as more of a father figure to look up to than John was?
JB> Well, it’s kind of starting to seem that way to me. I don’t know so clearly what Dean’s relationship with John was in terms of how it’s different from Bobby. But I know that he knows that Bobby isn’t going to give him the same kind of hard time that John did on occasion. And I think he knows that Bobby will be straight with all the time. I don’t know if it’s a father figure or just a great uncle figure. But I do see the relationship getting stronger and stronger, and that’s really fun to play. I’m enjoying that a lot.
PQ> Did the producers or directors approach you to play the part of Bobby, or did you just read for it?
JB> Well, it was kind of an odd situation. I went in to audition for it. I went in to read for it, but the casting director called up, the casting director, Robert Ulrich called up to Vancouver and talked to one of the executive producers, Robert Singer, and told him who was reading for the part. He gave him the names of the different actors, and Bob Singer and I go way back. When Bob heard my name he said, “Oh, forget the readings, just give it to Jim.” I felt pretty good, then I got up there and found out I was playing Bob Singer, which is kind of a hoot. So yeah, I went in to read for it, but what really got me the part was that I had worked for Bob Singer on another series 3 or 4 years ago, and we knew each other real well.
PQ> In “Mystery Spot”, in order to mess with Sam, the Trickster creates a version Bobby. How much of that version of Bobby is actually the Bobby we know? How close did the Trickster get to “the real deal”? The talk about Sam and Dean being like family to him, would the “real” Bobby say the same? What about the sacrificing himself part? Would Bobby do that, or would he rather try to stop Sam?
JB> Well, it’s kind of hard to answer those questions, because I wasn’t there. That wasn’t Bobby. I wondered about it when I first read it. I thought, “Some people are going to pick up pretty early that Bobby is acting unusual.” But I think it was pretty subtle. I don’t think the trickster got Bobby perfectly. I think he was kind of feeding Sam a notion of Bobby that he figured Sam would accept. But I think actually he may have planted a little bit of suspicion in Sam as well. Obviously he did, because I got a stake through my back. But the sacrificing part, I don’t know. That’s a good question. You may have to ask the real Bobby that.
Katie> When Bobby started talking about sacrificing himself that was when I knew it wasn’t Bobby. There’s no way he’d die for something like that.
JB> Yeah, that’s kind of where I started thinking, ok; let’s see how long Sam believes him at this point. I don’t think the trickster pulled off a perfect Bobby. But then again, I think he wanted pretty much the same thing to happen that did happen. It’s hard to figure a trickster out.
PQ> Are you looking forward to meeting the fans at EyeCon in April?
JB> Uh, Yeah! What, you think I’m going to come all the way for the show, and say no, I don’t want to meet any fans. Of course I am, of course I am. Well, that’s the whole point. I’m really looking forward to it. So far everybody that I’ve ever met in person or online, have all been really, really nice to me, and have all been very welcoming to me into the Supernatural family. Which was also true of the cast and crew. Sometimes when a show has been on for awhile and then a new character comes in, either the fans or the people who make the show are a little less than welcoming. That certainly hasn’t been the case for me, and I really appreciate all the kind words I get from the fans. So I’m really looking forward to seeing a whole bunch of them. I bet there’s going to be 10 or 20 of them there, right?
Clarity> At least! Well thank you for making Bobby such a memorable character and we’re always excited to see he’s going to be in an episode. By the way, congratulations on season 4!
JB> Yeah, I just found out about that and I’m very, very pleased.
Katie> Yeah, we were very very pleased as well, and I love watching you as Bobby. My roommate and I yell your name every time we see you pop up in the credits.
JB> Well, I’ll try not to make you guys sick of me. I have so much fun with Jared and Jensen and all the gang up there. I hope we go for 10 years. Of course Sam and Dean will have to put Bobby in a home by then, but at any rate, I get a real kick out of it, and I appreciate the fact that some of you guys do too.
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