Quantcast
Exclusive Interview: 'PUSHING DAISIES' STAR LEE PACE FINDS HIS QUIRK AS NED THE PIE-MAKER - iFMagazine.com Send to a friend
© (C) 2008 ABC/photo by Danny Feld Lee Pace in PUSHING DAISIES - SEASON 2 - "Robbing Hood"

Television:

Exclusive Interview: 'PUSHING DAISIES' STAR LEE PACE FINDS HIS QUIRK AS NED THE PIE-MAKER

The actor talks about his beloved series and enjoying playing romantic scenes

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN, Contributing Writer
Published 12/10/2008



Sadly for fans who proved immensely passionate but not numerous enough, PUSHING DAISIES has been canceled. However, ABC has committed to running all of the episodes that have been filmed; the quirky fantasy series, about a pie-maker whose touch can raise the dead and put them back again, in love with a resurrected woman he may never make physical contact with, is in its last days of production.

 
Lee Pace, the Texas native who plays Ned the pie-maker, talks about why he loves PUSHING DAISIES so much in this exclusive interview.
 
iF Magazine: First of all, congratulations on your Best Actor Emmy nomination for Season One.
 
LEE PACE: Thank you.
 
iF: Was that possibility at all in your frame of consciousness before it happened?
 
PACE: Well, this thing happened right before the Emmys where they were doing all these lists of people who were likely going to be nominated, and I stopped paying attention to it. My dog wakes me up every morning about six-thirty, seven, to go for a hike, and he woke me up, and I looked at my phone, and I saw about twenty missed calls and I imagined I was nominated – or my mother was in the hospital.
 
iF: Do you feel things have been any different for Ned this season?

Related Articles

 
PACE: I’m having a great time with this season. In the first episode, everything got turned on its head. Olive [Kristen Chenoweth] leaves the Pie Hole, Chuck [Ned’s beloved, played by Anna Friel] moves out, Olive moves to a nunnery – everything makes Ned uncomfortable. And I think that is the best, that’s the most fun to play, when he’s uncomfortable and he’s fighting with the girl or he’s fighting to be okay with something that he is really not okay with when it comes to getting close to people. That’s what I’m playing with.
 
iF: You have a live pig on the show this year. Is that different than acting with the dog?
 
PACE: A little different, yeah. They’re really smart, the pigs. They move their legs to the mark and they’re really floor-broken now. But this pig is not cute. She – Fiona – has got squinty eyes and a big runny nose.
 
iF: Even though PUSHING DAISIES is fairly lighthearted, you tend to get knocked over and hit in the face a fair amount. Are you getting any better at taking hits and punching people?
 
PACE: I love doing the stunts, I want more, because I love that physical comedy. I think it’s really, really fun. And I’m pretty durable.
 
iF: In recent years, you’ve done the films A SOLDIER’S GIRL, in which you played a transvestite, and MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY, in which you played a singing piano player in pre-WWII England. Do you seek out roles that are very different from one another?
 
PACE: I’m always driven by material. If it’s good, I’m interested. If it’s a romantic comedy that’s good, I’m game. If it’s a more serious movie, I’m game. The thing is, all the movies that I’ve done are very different than Ned and very different from each other.
 
iF: Do you enjoy the romantic aspects of PUSHING DAISIES?
 
PACE: Romance makes you feel good. That’s one of the things – the movies I’ve done have been so dark that you always take [the darkness] home with you, always. There’s no way you can’t take it home with you, so with PUSHING DAISIES, it’s just so fun and lighthearted and sweet that I’m happy. I’m happier doing this show than I’ve ever been, really. I don’t wake up grumpy. I wake up and it’s [contented sigh], "Ah, it’s a sunny day in L.A. and I get to go shoot PUSHING DAISIES."
 

CLICK HERE FOR iF'S INTERVIEW WITH PUSHING DAISIES CO-STAR KRISTIN CHENOWITH


Reader Comments

Caroline from Belgium sez....
PD is such a great show, it's unique in every way... and I love the actors! I hate that they cancelled it! why do they always cancel the good shows while crappy corny shows get 10 seasons?!
6/24/2010 3:02:19 AM

Haliuna from New York, NY sez....
Lee Pace is a good actor. PUSHING DASIES MUST COME BACK!!! every other shows are the same!!! all these new shows coming to ABC are not something new!! this was the one the! most unique show which i loved watching very much!! My favorite TV series of all time. Loved everything characters, the stories, the setting, the costumes!! everything. was so well written! :( :( :( still upset til this day!! make it come back!! HBO????
5/18/2010 11:10:13 PM

soph from thailand sez....
apparently i was too late to become a pushing daisies fan?? recently followed the works of Lee Pace and it's amazing. I think american society should cherish something that has sometimes nothing to do directly with obvious appealing scenses...its a good show...good..morals for kids..it's something if your kids are allowed to watch t.v. i think...Pushing Daisies is the recommended show..at least..the way to culture..ur country's future..
1/19/2009 9:19:45 PM

Larry from Moline sez....
It makes me laugh and cry and everything in between. Clearly the best show I have seen on TV in many years.It is perfect in every important way!
1/16/2009 3:30:52 PM

Patricia from Rhode Island sez....
I am so heartbroken. Lee Pace and the other very talented actors have such a gem - what in the world were those loony execs thinking? He delighted me - so sad- there is such garbage on tv - less joy for all. Pooh.
1/7/2009 5:27:52 PM

gee from nyc sez....
omg i love ned so much and they shouldnt have cancelled it was and is the best show on air... i will miss u ned, olive, chuck, emerson, lily, vivian and the rest of the cast if any of u happen to be reading this!!!!!!!!! i love you lee pace!!!!
1/5/2009 3:39:35 PM

Marge from New York sez....
I friggin love this show, like friggin Tina loved Tony! ABC is dumb. no question.
1/3/2009 8:25:38 PM

Joseph from New York sez....
Pushing Daisies was the most original show on TV. It had amazingly creative writing, a premise it stuck to, eye-popping visuals, and a comedy center not to be beat. And the icing on the....pie.... was the amazing chemistry of the phenomenal cast, loaded with star power! All of this should have amounted to a smash hit show, with proper publicity. Alas, it became TVs best kept secret. Those in the know, KNEW, and those who didn't had no idea what they were missing because the network failed to promote it's greatest treasure. And of course the writers strike didnd't exactly help either, as the first season wasn't on long enough for things to catch, and the delay to the second season was too long. It's kind of the polar opposite of the fictitious show in "The Producers" which has the worst of the worst elements that translate into a smash hit. I wish only the best for the cast and I hope to see them back someday. Would that someone at ABC or another network, in a flash of sanity, touches Ned's magic finger to the show and puts it back on the air. If not, I offer a finger of another sort......
1/3/2009 7:27:19 PM

Hayley from mesa, az sez....
devastated. i love this show. i will cry forever, and never watch ABC again once it leaves the air. ABC is such a waste of space. the skidmark on the underpants of NBC. they completely turn down anything original or smart because they want to appeal to the idiot masses. *sigh* *cry* *sigh* *sob*
12/19/2008 12:32:03 AM

Maeve from Pennsylvania sez....
I can't believe they would let a show like this just slip away! All the great shows with original plots get cancelled. It was my favourite show!! :(
12/14/2008 6:37:40 AM

Dorothy from sez....
Lee Pace is adorable and the show is creative, smart and simply a warm wonderful experience. Seeing it go, hurts :( I really want it to continue as a movie later or to be picked up by another network!! PLEASE. I love it so much. Anyways, ABC will learn its lesson, Private Practice is terrible and will crash next season, Greys is going in the toilet, Lost and Desperate can only do so much. WORSE TV DECISION EVER!
12/13/2008 12:42:39 AM

Meg from New York sez....
Really a shame that such a deserving show would get cancelled in favor of--Private Practice? The entire cast and crew are genius, and Daisies provides much needed escape for the audience. It's witty, romantic, AND ORIGINAL, which is something TV is seriously lacking. Oh well, at least we'll get closure on "Pushing Daisies" come January. I will always love this show.
12/12/2008 3:20:28 PM

Susan from Tacoma, WA sez....
I've been a huge fan of Daisies since the pilot came out... the cancellation feels like losing a limb. I haven't been this sad since the Harry Potter series ended. Pushing Daisies is the best show on TV, hands down.
12/11/2008 7:16:58 PM

Jen from Massachusetts sez....
Kristin with an 'i' not Kristen with an 'e'
12/11/2008 11:12:20 AM

Marko from Croatia sez....
I love the show! It`s brilliant! Please, make more episodes or movies.
12/11/2008 6:24:42 AM

Sarah from Oklahoma sez....
Pushing Daisies was the show we never knew we always wanted. I'm going to stop falling in love with delightful shows; it's as sure a killer as Ned's second touch ...
12/10/2008 10:12:18 PM

Andrea from Spokane Washington sez....
Why are they canceling this show? Isnt tv about excape? This show provides that. How sad that ABC is so out of touch with whats good. So whats next? Another cop drama or reality show? Just what we need, because we all know there are not enough of those! Get with it ABC. Show what the people want not whats already on tv.
12/10/2008 2:51:37 PM

Meuy from California sez....
I'm so sad that Pushing Daisies is getting the axe!!
12/10/2008 1:02:16 PM

Nicole TWN from Los Angeles sez....
*again with the disconsolate weeping*
12/10/2008 12:28:44 PM

Debbie from Austin sez....
I love Pushing Daisies, and think the whole cast is top notch. What a perfect series it has been, and what a shame it is not going to continue. I'll treasure my season 1 DVD set, and keep watching the season 2 episodes that are left on my DVR.
12/10/2008 12:15:13 PM

Jennifer from NY sez....
Someone, please pick up this show! It's the best one on TV!
12/10/2008 12:05:12 PM

Lindsey from Houston sez....
My goodness, this is so sad!!! I really hope another network picks up this show! ABC made a stupid move by not promoting it enough. I love ya Lee!!
12/10/2008 11:54:40 AM

Claire from Arizona sez....
I love Pushing daisies. I'm so disappointed it was cancelled.
12/10/2008 11:07:27 AM

Your Comments are always welcomed here
Your name?  Your location?
Tell us what you think?

Enter Security Code:
Code Image - Click on Load New Code if you see this message.
Load New Code



WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SYFY SERIES?

WAREHOUSE 13
EUREKA
CAPRICA
STARGATE UNIVERSE
SANCTUARY
MERLIN
GHOST HUNTERS
SCARE TACTICS

More Polls...