You’ve been watching him on television since he was “Chuckie Lee” on the family comedy The Torkelsons, “Minkus” on Boy Meets World and countless movies in-between. Now you can watch him weekly as “Mouth” on the hit drama One Tree Hill. His name is Lee Norris and we recently got to chat with the actor about OTH and his role in the upcoming film Zodiac!
Well, first off congrats on a Season 4!
Thank you, so much!
Were you surprised by how much effort was put in by the fans to bring back the show for another season?
I wasn’t surprised, because I know what awesomely dedicated fans we have. But, I was excited to see that they were so supportive. I can’t say I was surprised, because I’ve been out to the mall tours and the concerts and I’ve seen how dedicated our fans are. So, I knew that they had our backs. I was just so excited to see that their hard work paid off. That the CW is gonna bring us back, so we can tell some more stories.
When you started filming the show you were finishing college. How did it feel to kind of take a step back into high school with all the drama and stereotypes that go with being a teenager?
Oh, it was interesting, that’s a good question because… Ya know I had to finish college, but it’s so weird when you walk down those hallways in the studio – it really is like being back in your high school again. You sort of remember all those things that happened to you in high school, like all of the cliques and just everything that goes along with it. It was cool because you get to go back and relive your high school days, but you have a professional writing for you. So, you don’t really have to worry about coming up with the right thing to say to the hot girl, because it’s already written for you. It’s kind of a fun thing to sort of be able to relive that. But, I definitely dig back to my high school experiences and use that in the acting, because it’s really helpful.
What’s a typical day like filming for you?
A typical day filming – it depends. Sometimes I’ll have to get up really early and go into work, we go and get hair and make-up done, then we go to set and rehearse … start shooting. I think most people would be surprised to know there’s a lot of sitting around. When my friends come and visit, that’s always the one thing they point out to me is ‘Boy, I didn’t realize how much you actually just spend your day waiting’. Because, you’re waiting for the cameras to be set up, for them to seek out the blocking and the lighting. Then the actual scene its self takes just a couple of minutes to do.
So, a lot of the time we’ll bring a book or I’ll go into one of the other cast members trailers and we’ll just hang out. Like, James [Lafferty] and I will play video games, or I’ll go in and play with Sophia’s [Bush] dog … just whatever you can do to pass the day. You’re there for usually a long time, then you finish up and you go home, get ready for the next day. It’s fun though; I don’t mean to make it sound like it’s not fun. It really is, but there’s a lot of down time and you have to prepare for that.
Episode 316 was very emotional for us as viewers, how difficult was it for you to film, if at all?
Obviously, that was a particularly emotional episode. It was difficult just because.. for my character, he had been best friends with “Jimmy Edwards” [Colin Fickes], the kid that ended up bringing the gun to school. “Mouth” really had to deal with the fact that he had sort of … not really turned his back on the friendship, but he had sort of grown apart from him. And deal with the fact that this kid obviously had problems. So, it was really tough for me – everyday I was just going to work and it was almost like we were going into battle. That’s what the script supervisor kept saying. We would walk into that room where we were held hostage, we just had this look of gloom on our faces. We would just be there and he’s waving this gun in our faces, it was really traumatic.
But, I’m really proud of the work of not only the actors; but, the crew, the writers and everyone put into that. Because, I felt it was a great way to show that One Tree Hill is more than just who’s making out with who, that it has more relevance to teenage life. I was really proud of what we were able to do, and it was definitely worth the emotional toll that it took on us to be able to put that out there.
After airing, there was a lot of controversy surfing the web. Many felt that “Dan” shooting “Keith” took away the episodes message. What are your feelings on that?
That was a concern I know the writers had, I think at the end of the day if you look at that episode we were able to get the main point across. But, at the same time you have to realize this is a serialized drama and that we do have to move the plot forward; ya know people feed off of that. I can understand some people being upset with that, but I think that at the end of the day it’s a TV show. As much as it is our jobs to inform, we also have to be able to entertain. I don’t think you could have found a more shocking, cliff-hanger moment than “Dan” shooting “Keith”. It certainly made my jaw drop to the floor, and I knew it was going to happen.
“Mouth” later finds out it was “Rachel” [Danneel Harris] who opened the time capsule, do you think he forgave her too easily?
I think that if my friend had done that, I don’t know if I could have been as forgiving as “Mouth” was. I would hope that I could be, but I think it would have taken me a little longer. Again I think to the purpose of moving the plot along forward in a TV show sometimes you have to make confessions. Ultimately, I think those two characters have a longer journey to go, and I think it was important that he did forgive her eventually. Because it wasn’t something she did out of spite, although she definitely did make a mistake.
But yeah, I think if it had been me it certainly would have taken a lot longer, again though we’re dealing with a TV show and not necessarily reality. I think they handled it in a pretty good way, and the conversation that “Mouth” and “Rachel” had at the cabin about that was pretty real. He didn’t forgive her right away; he was pretty upset at her. He obviously had feelings for her, and he sees more to her than I think most other people do. And with the way the season ended there’s certainly a lot left to explore there. [laughs] That’s if she lives….
Since the beginning of OTH, “Mouth” has had a big crush on “Brooke” [Sophia Bush]. Do you think they will ever be an item?
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I don’t know. You’re right, he definitely did have a crush on her and to me as the episodes have progressed; they’ve obviously shared a close friendship. Um… and I don’t know, I think it would be cool for him to sort of get that dream girl – but, at the same time I don’t know how realistic it would be. So, I don’t know really what’s going to happen, they like to keep us in the dark because they want to keep the scripts fresh. I love working with Sophia, she’s really fun and a great actress, and if that’s something they want to explore I would love that. And if not, I’m sure hopefully he’ll get some loving from somebody. [laughs] I don’t know who, but maybe somebody else… we’ll see.
Who would you like to see your character end up with? “Brooke” or “Rachel”?
Oh, you’re gonna make me pick huh? [laughs] You’re a tough interviewer. Um… I think he would be happy with either one of them, but I’m a sucker for unrequited love. So, I think it would be cool if ultimately maybe he had a thing with “Brooke”. But, I wouldn’t be totally distraught if he ended up with “Rachel” either. [laughs] Really not a bad chose for me either way, they’re both so beautiful and fun to work with.
Well, the music of One Tree Hill is almost as important as the story lines. In past seasons there have been so many incredible artists and bands who have actually performed, who has been your favorite?
Wow, you’re right – the music is one of my favorite parts of the show. I’m continually impressed with our music supervisor, Lindsay Wolfington; and Mark Schwahn, our creator has a big hand in the music that comes on the show. We’ve been so lucky. I think my personal favorite, even though I’ve loved everybody that’s come on, I really enjoyed when Jimmy Eat World came on the show. I was familiar with some of their stuff, but when I found out they were coming I sort of dug into their catalog a little bit. And I’m just a hardcore fan now, I love them a lot. They were really nice guys to work with, and just down to earth, really excited about being there. For me that was a personal favorite. But, you know Gavin [DeGraw] is one of my all time favorite musicians and it was incredible to have him on the show, The Wreckers and of course Fall Out Boy. We’ve been really lucky to have some good musicians.
Is there any artist or band who you are hoping will appear in the next season?
Umm, yeah! There’s this band that we use quite a bit on the show called Augustana that I just got into recently, and I really love them a lot. In fact, I was so excited because they were going to be doing a show in Los Angeles while I was here. I think they were doing it with Snow Patrol, who is another band that I love, and I guess the lead singer got sick or something so I didn’t get to go to the show unfortunately. I would love it if one of those bands comes on, and I think it’s a great opportunity for an up-n-coming band like that to get a lot of exposure. So, I’ll have to talk to Mark Schwahn about that and see what we can do. Maybe we can make something happen there.
Well, I actually heard that you were a big fan of The Fray. Correct?
Yes, I love The Fray! In fact, I went to hear them this summer. I was back in North Carolina for a weekend and they were playing at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, so I went down to listen to them. They were incredible, I love The Fray.
I heard their set is really good, I’ve been meaning to go out and catch a show.
Yea, they’re great live. You know how some bands when you hear them live you’re just kind of let down because it doesn’t sound the same? They’re just as good, if not better than they are on the record, so that’s awesome.
We hear you’ve got a new movie, Zodiac, coming out. Can you tell us more about the film and your role?
It’s a movie directed by David Fincher, one that I’m really excited about because it’s unlike anything I’ve ever done before. I’m only in the very beginning of the movie because unfortunately, something very tragic happens to my character. Umm, it’s about a serial killer, so I’ll let you guys fill in the blanks as to what happens. [laughs] I don’t want to give too much away. But, it’s a great character for me because; I play a kid that’s 19, it’s set in the 1960’s, and he’s sort of out carousing with this girl who’s a married woman. He smokes; he’s kind of a kid that’s not “Mouth”…
The anti-“Mouth”, huh?
Yea exactly, he’s definitely the anti-Mouth. So, that was fun for me to be able to play a part like that and to work with somebody like David Fincher. Who did Fight Club and Seven, all these movies that I’m a big fan of. Then the cast is amazing; like Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo. These are actors that I look up to, to get a chance to be in a film with them is a dream come true. So, I hope that people will go out and see them movie when it comes out.
Do you have any more upcoming projects in the near future?
Umm, I don’t at this time only because we’re getting ready to start back on the show. We start back on the 20th [July], so it’s right around the corner. I’m just so excited to be able to go back to Wilmington and get back in this character that I love, and hang out with the people who have grown to be like my family. I certainly hope that all the fans out there will be excited to see another season.
Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me.
No problem, thank you. I can’t wait to see the interview up.
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