James Roday's character
is predictable
David B. Moye
VANCOUVER, B.C. (TNA) – Somebody must be watching the USA Network crime comedy "Psych," but it’s probably not real psychics.
The show, which just began its second season, stars James Roday as a police consultant who solves crimes in his home town of Santa Barbara, California, using his keen powers of observation.
But here’s the catch: In order to get the local police to take him seriously, he has to pretend he’s psychic.
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James Roday's character |
That’s why even though "Psych" was the No. 1 new show on cable last year, Roday doubts real psychics are among its fans.
"To be honest, after the pilot episode, I’m not sure how many psychics kept tuning in," Roday said. "I think we’re doing a pretty good job of spoofing that line of work."
Still, he concedes that some of the psychics he consulted before the first season tried to convince him that his character may be truly psychic and not realize it.
"When I met with a couple of psychics before we got started, they told me, 'A lot of people have the gift and don’t realize they have the gift. You need somebody to help show you that you have it,'" Roday said.
"But yeah, I’m not sure how popular we are with the real psychics out there."
Like his character, Shawn Spencer, Roday refuses to believe he has psychic ability, but he does share one thing with the character: ability to B.S. effectively, a skill he has used mostly on the basketball court.
"Basketball was the sport that I picked up last in my jock years," he said. "I really didn’t play a lot of basketball growing up. I just watched a lot of basketball on TV, and since Isaiah Thomas was my hero, I talked a bunch of trash. I had the perfect crossover in my head, [even though I] never actually executed it.
"I started playing basketball with guys that had been playing for a lot longer than me, and I basically just BS'd my way into them thinking that I was decent player, when, really, I’m not that good."
Roday may not have been able to play basketball, but he’s done pretty well for himself as an actor, thanks to "Psych," to which he contributes scripts (including the recent season premiere that featured Tim Curry and Gina Gershon as guests).
Still, he’s not interested in standing pat. He’s spent the last year trying to finance an indie film called "Gravy" that he cowrote with a friend and hopes to direct.
"I’m still trying to get this movie off the ground," Roday said. "It was supposed to happen after last season, and now we’re going to try to make it happen as soon as we finish this season."
Roday says the hardest part about getting the movie done is trying not to act in it.
"I'd always planned on not being in it, but it seems like every time I sit down with someone that has dough, the first question they ask is, ‘You are going to be in this, right?’ I may have to make my peace with adding a hat. But if it means getting the movie made, then absolutely—I'll do whatever it takes.
"I’m just tired of ["Scrubs" star] Zach Braff beating me to the punch. Everywhere, at every turn, he just keeps beating my ass, and I won’t have it. I won’t have it, and so I’m not going to stand for it anymore."
"Psych," which also stars Dule Hill and Corbin Bernsen, airs Friday nights on the USA Network.