WASHINGTON, DC – In “White House Down,” Maggie Gyllenhaal has what, for her, is a relatively unusual role.
As Special Agent Finnerty, Gyllenhaal is a tough-as-nails secret service agent whose task of protecting the president (Jamie Foxx) is complicated by a large-scale attack on the White House when she happens to be temporarily off-duty. It’s a big summer blockbuster and, like most reporters, I made sure to talk with the indie favorite about that change of pace, but I also wanted to briefly talk with her about another possible change of pace, specifically the potential offered by TV.
I’ll post the “White House Down” portion of the interview in the next couple days, but towards the end of the conversation, I used Gyllenhaal’s husband Peter Sarsgaard, currently working a juicy gig on AMC’s “The Killing” as a transition point.
As you can tell, it sounds like Gyllenhaal is a fan of the medium and, after doing HBO’s “The Corrections” pilot, it sure sounds like she’s interested in (and possibly close to) exploring small screen options.
You’ll hear at the end that the interview handlers tried to stop the interview due to time, but she made sure she at least finished her answer.
Check out the interview chunk above and you can join me in keeping an ear out for that hypothetical TV project Gyllenhaal can’t discuss.
And remember that “White House Down” opens on Friday, June 28.