BODY OF PROOF has slowly worked its way onto my must watch list this spring and I’m so glad that tonight’s finale is of the season (not series) variety.  To celebrate the end to a great first season, I had the chance to talk to Nicholas Bishop about what brought him on to the show, what happens in tonight’s finale, where the Megan/Peter relationship is going to go, and just how hard it is to hide his (lovely) native accent.

Great to talk to you, by the way, I’m really enjoying the show!
Thank you very much – I enjoyed being a part of it.

How did you get involved?  Was it something through the natural audition process, or was it a script you felt you had to tackle?
It was interesting.  It was kind of through the usual channels.  My agent, he sent me the script, and I really liked it.  The funny thing about this one, in the kind of whole mix of pilot season, this was either the first or second script, probably the second script that I read, and it really stood out to me.  I thought the writing was fantastic, I thought the characters were really strong.  And then obviously, because they wanted to find their leading lady, and Ms Delany ended up being that person, which is great, it was kind of about 3 and a half weeks before I found anything out, and I sort of went out and did other things, and then I got that the call that they wanted to bring me back in, and it happened!  It was kind of a strange process, but it ended up all for the best.

What’s the major difference between shooting in LA-for-Philly versus shooting in Providence-for-Philly?
To me, I’ve never shot in LA.  I did a small independent film in LA in 2009, so for me it wasn’t that different to be honest, because a lot of my work has been in Australia or in other parts of the world.  Part of the job that I love is being able to get used to and spend time in other places and meet different people and get used to their culture and the society.  I actually really loved it.  I thought Providence was great, it was great for the show, the people were fantastic and accommodating.  It was very cold [laughs] which is fun when you know, Dana’s out there in a tiny little skirt and I’m wearing just a shirt and a jacket.  We had a good time, and I think it really suited the show.  The show is set in Philadelphia, and I’m not saying that they’re exactly alike, but it certainly suited the show’s kind of style and atmosphere.

Right, an East Coast mentality versus a West Coast mentality.
Yes, very much so!

What I notice about Peter and Megan – is there something beyond a friendship, beyond a working relationship?
Is there something between them….I think at this stage, no, and I say “at this stage” because who knows where the characters will go eventually.  I think there’s certainly potential for that, because they both do respect each other very much and can communicate with each other on a level that she doesn’t communicate with anyone else, with the other characters. Certainly not her ex husband or her mother or anyone like that.  I think that he can get to her very quickly.  And he can disarm her very easily, and that’s one of the things again that I loved about that relationship between the two characters.  I will never say never!

I like, too, that it is one of those things where maybe something will happen, but it doesn’t have to happen.  There is just a solid bond between them that’s very relatable.
Yeah, I think that they have a mutual relationship for each others’ professionalism.  They’ve both been through something in their past, you know, with her accident, and we will find out at some point about Peter and his backstory, that he has been through an injury in the past that stopped him from being a professional sportsman.  He understands what it’s like to battle through that, and in one of the episodes, he talks about how he had three sisters, so he knows what that’s like, to deal with women on a regular basis.  He can communicate on that level, and get through the nonsense to the heart of the problem, you know?

What can you tease about what we’ll see in the finale [tonight]?
Oh wow, there’s lots of stuff coming up in that episode.  The actual mystery and the case itself is a really good one, as always.  We lead the audience to believe that there are a whole bunch of suspects and it ends up being someone that you’d probably least expect.  I think that’s one of the bonuses and one of the skills of the show, one of the positive things of the show, is to take people on that journey.  One of the great things of this show is the emotional content, the relationship stuff that happens.  There’s a lot of relationship stuff that comes up certainly for Megan, and her daughter, and her ex-husband in this episode.  So that certainly happens.  And that’s all I’m going to tell you! [laughs]

Why do you think now is as great a time as any to watch the show and get involved in the finale?
I think now the characters are much more solid.  I think that there is more of an understanding, certainly from our perspective, about what these characters are about, from a writers’ perspective, and we know where everyone fits in.  When people tune in, if they haven’t seen every episode, they get a very clear understanding of what the relationships are, and the dynamics between all of the characters on the show.  I think it’s an exciting time in the show because of that emotional content; not just the procedural side of it, especially Dana’s character. But all of us, how we all have to deal with what she’s dealing with in her life.  Because let’s face it, we all have to deal with whatever Megan Hunt is dealing with, certainly me.  I’m like the punching bag.  I think it’s exciting.  There’s a lot of stuff that’s coming to a head in this next episode, and certainly a reason to tune in.

Do you get a chance to watch TV when you have some downtime?
I do.  I think, also because I’m still quite new to America, I mean, we’re flooded with American television in Australia, so we also don’t get as much access to the shows that are on here.  I watch as much as I can.  I like to see what’s out there, to see what people are doing, and to familiarize myself with the schedule in general.

Do you have a favorite show that you can’t miss?
BODY OF PROOF [laughs].  Shows in the past have been like DEADWOOD, SIX FEET UNDER.  At the moment, I love DEXTER and I love BREAKING BAD.  Things that are a bit edgier are more my style.  I love MODERN FAMILY.  I think that’s terrific.  And then I watch a whole bunch of crime shows, documentary crime shows.  And because of our show, there’s a show I watch called DR G MEDICAL EXAMINER, which I’ve become addicted to.

Talk about your accent for a minute – is it difficult to adopt the American accent, do you stay in the American accent on set?
I do, actually.  Everyone, I’m sure, from different places does it differently, but the easiest for me to do, because as you can hear, it’s quite a different sound, I tend to stay in the accent from the first moment I show up on set in the morning until I leave for the day.  It’s just easier to communicate with people as an American all day long, rather than switching between.  It’s easier now because I spent quite a long time doing it.  But at first, I mean, you know, I would certainly have a very sore jaw at the end of the day, because you guys, quite literally, use different places of the mouth to talk with.  Getting used to that took a bit of doing!