One Tree Hill and 666 Park Avenue star Robert Buckley is the understanding former fiancee of Liv Moore (Rose McIver) in The CW’s iZombie, where he plays a character called “Major Lilywhite” – and if you think that name sounds silly, there’s an explanation for that.
A new episode of iZombie airs tonight at 9PM on The CW (you can see some preview images here). A few weeks ago, we spoke with Mr. Buckley about Major to find out a bit about what makes the character tick. Enjoy:
KSITETV’s CRAIG BYRNE: Major has got to be one of the most understanding characters on television, considering what happened with him and Liv. Can you talk about that?
ROBERT BUCKLEY: I think he has about the most incredibly understanding, kindest, like ideal response one could ever hope for. If I just suddenly dumped a girlfriend, let alone a fiancee of eight years, I would only pray they would respond as nicely as kindly as Major. We don’t know what he went through in those first six months, but we see he’s still very sweetly holding out hope. He’s not bitter for the lack of explanation…. I want to say it’s a mature, well-adjusted response, but I don’t even know if that’s correct. I’m relatively mature and well-adjusted and I’d be pissed.
Can you talk about how Major reacted when Liv came onto him in Episode 2?
That response, I think, was incredibly appropriate. After six months of being iced out, she shows up at his place, and is she absolutely can’t keep her hands off him… she’s kissing him, and saying “I can’t stand not being next to you”… that’s just cruel psychological warfare, because here’s a guy who has made no bones about it… he clearly has been in love with her. Nothing has changed, and then he got shut down, not even getting a good reason why it was over… he was left hanging on… and then, to have her suddenly pretend like nothing has happened… that’s just – that’s mean, that’s selfish, and confusing, and so I think it’s very appropriate that for that moment, he’s just like “what in the hell are you doing?” You know.
How does that change their relationship, after that?
I think two appropriate words would be “distant” and “cold.”
Can you talk about Major’s cool new roommate?
[He’s] the coolest.
What is his interaction like with Ravi?
It’s a very funny kind of opposites attract “Odd Couple” relationship. It’s the birth of Liv – since they’ve broken up, she’s not going to be living in the home, so she feels responsible, yet, she now sees Major dating, and doesn’t want one of these new girls moving in, so she sort of thrusts Ravi and Major on each other. It’s great because the first time we see them actually talking, it’s the most awkward, uncomfortable conversation, so it looks like this is not going to bode well for either party. And then you cut back and they’re talking about video games, and *snap* just like that, they’ve bonded.
How would Major react if he found out that Ravi knows something that he doesn’t know?
Well, if you’re referring to the zombie secret… I think it’s different. I think at the beginning of him moving in, they’re not close friends, so I don’t think he’d be holding him to a standard of “you should share that with me.” But as the series goes on, when they do become more than just roommates, and they actually become dear friends… I think it’s different. I think at a certain point, you have the right to say “why wouldn’t you share that with me,” you know? Because Ravi gets a front-row seat to seeing Major’s pain.
What was your reaction when you saw your character’s name, “Major Lilywhite?”
I kid you not, when Rob [Thomas] and I had our first phone call, I asked him “how married to that name are you?” And the answer was “very.” I said “it’s so arbitrary.” He told me it’s not. “Major” comes from a guy that Diane [Ruggiero-Wright] went to high school with. She had a monster crush on him. His name was Major something. That’s where Major something. Rob played collegiate football, and he’s a big football fan, and one of his favorite players, who I believe was a strong safety, which is the position Major played, his last name was Lilywhite. So it was literally Diane’s crush and one of Rob’s favorite players.
Did you read the iZombie comics at all once you got the role?
I hadn’t, because I was aware of the property, because I do read comics. I spend a lot of time at comic shops, so I was aware of it, but I hadn’t actually read it beforehand.
What was your reaction upon seeing the show’s opening titles?
So awesome. ‘Cause, again, being a fan of comic books… in any sort of way I could have an affiliation… I was eager to jump at it. So seeing our intro be straight out of a comic, I thought was awesome.
Have you tried eating the brains?
No. In an interview, the interviewer presented brains in this container with a knife, so I thought “oh. They gave me a prop brain and we’re going to eat it.” And it sat there and I’m like “okay,” and he let me…. and it wasn’t [what we use]. It was an old plastic prop brain with old dried blood on it, so it was do disgusting. It’s all on camera, too. He was like “I didn’t think you were gonna do it, I’m so sorry!” I’ve never had the real brains, but prop brains taste terrible, I can assure you of that.
How excited are you to be following The Flash on what might be the best timeslot on The CW?
So excited. Because first of all, I like The Flash. I’m excited that I will be watching the lead-in show. That makes it easy for me to remember to watch my own show. And just from a standpoint of hoping our show does great, we couldn’t have a better timeslot.
A new episode of iZombie airs tonight (April 14) at 9PM on The CW. See some promotional images here!
