Watching Bones

I always get a kick out of seeing my favorite actors/actresses in shows or movies (or commercials or cartoons-as voices) other than the shows that I love to see them in regularly. One of a few actors that seems to pop up in the oddest places is none other than Bone’s Jack Hodgins/TJ Thyne. He’s played opposite David Boreanaz in Angel and Michaela Conlin in MDs before he took the role to work with both of them in Bones. His resume is packed with other guest spots: 24, The O.C., My Wife and Kids, CSI:NY, Charmed, Nip/Tuck, Cold Case, Walker, Texas Ranger, and even Friends are just a few of the shows on his list.

The TV Addict did an interview with Thyne in November that touched on his appearance in so many different roles. In addition to noting that he was “one of the nicest people around,” it was a really good interview. The question was asked if it was hard for him to play the same character for so long after having been so many different characters. Thyne said,

It’s actually really trippy for me because to be completely honest, I’ve always resisted the whole ’series regular’ thing. Over the years I’ve tested for so many shows and when I got to the studio test, I’d pull myself out thinking — I can’t spend 6 years on a show playing the same character, I can’t do it!

To me, the idea of playing different character in different genres was always what I wanted to do. But when BONES came along and the character of Jack Hodgins had so many different colours and opportunities, I took a risk for the first time. And I’m so glad I did. Jack’s got a lot of different layers, we’ve got an amazing cast, great writing and Hart Hanson is a genius in terms of being a showrunner.

About some of his other appearances, Thyne said that he’s “played a 1940’s priest in the south, then a tattoed gun-totting drug dealer in LA and the voice of an Armadillo on a Nickelodeon show.” But fortunately for us, he admitted that “as long as I can find time to squeeze in some parts here and there I think I can be happy playing Jack Hodgins for the rest of my life.”

Thyne also talked about working with Boranaz and Conlin previously. “David was great to work with on ANGEL. I played his lawyer for 4 episodes. I also worked with Michaela [Conlin] on MDs in addition to working with our producers on THE OC and 24.”

Also, it seems like the camaraderie we see between Hodgins and Zach continues off camera as well. “Eric Milligan was really funny when I first met him. He said, “You’re that guy… the guy who’s been in everything. There’s a few people who’ve been in everything and you’re one of those guys.�? Eric cracks me up.”