A Little Dish on 'Chuck' from Tricia Helfer

One of the best parts of the current television season for me has been getting the opportunity to participate in interviews with every regular cast member of USA Network’s deserving hit Burn Notice.

As next week’s season finale rapidly approaches, it was Season Two newcomer Tricia Helfer (Carla) and series star Jeffrey Donovan’s (Michael Westen) turn in the hot seat this week. [Read last month's post featuring icon Bruce Campbell here.]

The chat with Helfer, who also stars as Cylon Number Six on Sci Fi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica, was especially informative since she gladly discussed all three of the popular TV shows she’s currently aligned with. They would be Burn Notice and Battlestar Galactica, of course, as well as the dramedy Chuck.

Helfer will appear on the 18th episode of the NBC series, currently scheduled to premiere at the end of March. Her character, yet another ace spy, is named Special Agent Alex Forrest, and the guest stint will reunite Helfer with Chuck lead Zachary Levi, her costar in the very weird but ultimately so-so 2007 feature flick Spiral (yes, I’ve seen it).

When asked about the Chuck episode and the similarities and differences between Burn Notice’s Carla and Alex, Helfer graciously shared her belief that the main distinction is the different tone of the two series. After accurately describing Burn Notice as a fun show that can be lighter in tone at times, she contrasted it with NBC’s spy dramedy.

“Chuck obviously just takes it another step further into the comedy side, and it’s definitely a little lighter and fun. So, with Carla, obviously they’re both super strong, intelligent agents. But I think with Agent Alex Forrest as my Chuck character, it’s just a little bit more tongue in cheek.”

Yet, here’s the shocker: Helfer adds that Alex is “much more like Casey.” I’m thoroughly intrigued now. Could Adam Baldwin’s brooding NSA agent be heading towards a hookup with a like-minded and equally competent intelligence agent? Read on.

Helfer explains that Alex is “very by the book. She’s very no nonsense, kind of emotional, which sounds similar to Carla. They’re both kind of bad asses, I guess, when you’re looking back at it. But Chuck just has a little bit more tongue in cheek [and] you can be straighter on Chuck.”

As for her approach to playing the two spooks, Helfer says she “worried less about showing dimensions to the character [Alex] because that was the humor about the character. She is so one-note emotionalist. With Carla, my concern with her was making sure that because you really never find out too much about her, making sure that she’s not just super agent bitch spy [love that way of putting it!] and that you [can get a] glimpse into a bit of a vulnerability or a bit of a humanity, other than just being super strong.”

Helfer also talked about the possibility of reprising her special agent role on a future episode of Chuck since she’s only booked for one installment thus far. Thankfully, she’s all for it if Chuck should get a third season (fingers crossed) and the opportunity should arise.

“It’s definitely open-ended in terms of [if] I could come back. Agent Alex Forrest is alive at the end of the episode, and she could always come back. But I don’t expect to come back — certainly not on a regular basis. But I’d certainly sign to coming on again and shaking things up.”

And, finally, just for the Major Casey fans out there, Helfer clarifies that Alex “may have a little thing for Casey at the end of the episode. So, if she comes back, it would be fun to come back and explore that because Casey doesn’t get very much action.”

No kidding! Casey’s such a big sourpuss. Still, it would be totally fun to witness him revealing a romantic side — even if it doesn’t seem like he actually has one at this point — with a woman like Tricia/Alex. I can’t wait to see that episode!

Burn Notice airs Thursdays on USA at 10pm EST and Chuck airs Mondays on NBC at 8pm EST.