‘Damages’ EP Todd Kessler: Louis Tobin lives on
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In last week’s press talk with “Damages” executive producer Todd Kessler, he said that they would be dropping a bomb. By now, we all know what that bomb was. Louis Tobin committed suicide.
In the world of “Damages,” it’s hard to predict what an event like that will have on the story and its characters. It isn’t hard, though, to imagine the emotions that go into such an event.
“The whole family doesn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore,” explains Len Cariou, who plays Louis Tobin. “And he’s just heartbroken and very ashamed of what he’s done and what he’s done to the family’s name. So he thinks [suicide] will bring some kind of peace.”
Wow, if that’s what Louis thought his death would bring, he was dead wrong (sorry for the bad pun).
In our last press call, Kessler discussed some of the fallout from Louis’ death.
Warning: Spoilers!
Fans are used to dead characters still affecting the world of “Damages.” What can we expect from Louis Tobin going forward?
Well, first of all, you know, we were absolutely thrilled with Len’s performance and we still are thrilled with Len’s performance, which means that yes, we will be seeing more of the character of Louis Tobin. What happened on Thanksgiving, which was the day that Louis Tobin confessed to his family, that Thanksgiving is a day that we will return to throughout the rest of season.
Can you tell us more about how Louis’ death affects the other characters?
In terms of the Tobin story and Patty’s investigation, Louis killing himself and what that’s going to lead to for Joe and for Danielle Marchetti and for Marilyn Tobin really -- and Leonard Winstone, you know, it’s starting to boil, the pot on the stove is starting to boil. And next [episode] also, there are a couple, you know, big events that happen, which we’re very excited about. And we’ll see more of Danielle Marchetti as she gets out of the hospital and it’s basically a hornet’s nest of activities surrounding Danielle, so we’re really excited about that one.
It was never really explicit, but it seemed like Louis ordered a hit on his son if his henchmen caught him drinking. Did he order his son killed?
Well, that’s something that’s going to be further explained as we move forward. So, you know, following Joe to make sure that Joe wasn’t drinking, and then to find out that he was drinking, that’s all stuff that we’re going to be exploring moving forward, and to what extent, the actions that Louis and Leonard Winstone, played by Martin Short, were going to take to control Joe.
Before committing suicide, Louis pulled out an envelope for Patty. How significant was that?
He in no way expected Joe to be the one to find that, and that’s something that’s going to have our story take a turn because Joe did find that. So that will be further explained and the ramifications of that really lead the story into the next chapter. So for us, last night was kind of the end of Act 1 of our story and next [episode] begins Act 2.
How do you feel Louis Tobin’s death will shape the show, Show Trackers? Stay tuned -- next week we’ll talk to Lily Tomlin, who plays Marilyn Tobin. Have questions? Please comment below!
– Jethro Nededog (Follow me on Twitter @TheRealJethro)
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