Found an interesting article in USA today and thought that some of the "24" fans here may like to read it.
'24' actor gets full-bore into torture sceneBy Bill Keveney, USA TODAY
24's Morris O'Brian was traumatized after being power-drilled, but it's old hat for the actor who plays him, Carlo Rota.
"I've played so many variations of bad people. I always end up torturing or being tortured or meeting some kind of sticky demise." says Rota, whose roles have ranged from illegal procurer (La Femme Nikita) to Mafia heavy (The Boondock Saints).
The London-born son of Italian immigrants, who describes himself as a Canadian actor, took center stage last week when Morris, a computer whiz, got the Black & Decker treatment from nuclear terrorists. After torture that included an attempted drowning, O'Brian gave in, activating a device used to arm nuclear bombs.
Rota's playing of the scene — grisly even by the standards of 24 (Fox, tonight, 9 ET/PT) — made the shoulder drilling more difficult to watch. "As an actor, I couldn't go halfway," he says. His goal was to play it as "the most antagonizing pain you've ever experienced."
Rota, 45, drove from Canada to Los Angeles a year ago without an agent or a job, but he knew 24 co-creator Joel Surnow from Nikita. A two-episode gig last season as the ex-husband of Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) stalwart Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) has grown substantially this season. His Morris has a gruff, sharp-tongued nature that seemingly can be tamed only by Chloe, who has also had difficulty playing with others.
"She holds the ultimate power over him. A lot of people have actually called me Mr. Chloe," says Rota, who says he has far more in common with Morris than with the thugs he has played.
Aside from plot demands, Rota says, it was imperative for Morris to give in to his torturers' demands. "He's not a field operative. He's a computer guy. Suppose people were beating you to a pulp. Do you come up with a pithy comment?" he says.
"If he hadn't have caved, he would be setting himself up to be the super-individual he's not."
Rota, who plays a Lebanese contractor in the Canadian TV comedy Little Mosque on the Prairie, disagrees with critics, including some military officials, who say 24's torture sequences have distorted the views of the public and some soldiers regarding what should be forbidden practices.
"I think it's an interesting point to bring up, but at the end of the day, (24) is a fantasy. I would be quite surprised if a person wakes up in the morning and decides he knows how to torture people because he's just seen 24," he says.
(Last week, executive producer Howard Gordon told The Philadelphia Inquirer that 24 will cut back on torture scenes later this season for creative reasons, not in response to critics. Fox and 24 would not comment on the criticism.)
As things get worse for Morris, the role gets juicier for Rota.
"It becomes increasingly hard for him to deal with what he's done. Cracks will appear," Rota says. "Unfortunately, the sun does not come up for Morris for a while."
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That was a very tough scene to watch. You could almost feel the pain that he was having when they drilled him!
Don Cardi
