The gripes of Roth

Tim Roth has enjoyed the switch from big screen roles to a TV series. Photo / Supplied

Tim Roth, star of Lie To Me, returns to his second season as Dr Cal Lightman, genius psychologist who deciphers micro-expressions to obtain the truth from veteran criminals. He may not always be the smartest guy in the room, but he probably knows more than anyone else.

In a role some say this London-born actor was destined to play, Roth, 48, is having the time of his life. "What I like about the second season is that we see Lightman not always being right and how he deals with that. I think it ups the stakes and it's great to see that he's not always going to get it," says Roth, in his Beverly Hills hotel room.

Producer Shawn Ryan talks about what else is in store for audiences. "The science aspect is always important but I'm also interested in Lightman. Who is he? What's his background and where does he come from? We want to dig deeper." Adds Roth, "Yes, it's more character-driven, not just for Lightman but for the others, especially the dynamic between him and Foster (Kelli Williams)." In addition to the other regulars: Brendan Hines, Monica Raymund, and Harley McFarland, Mekhi Phifer (ER) joins the cast this season.

Says Ryan, "Mekhi is just a wonderfully charismatic guy and he adds an element to the show that didn't exist before. Hopefully he's going to be a good fit long-term. As the season begins, he is the outsider. Eventually, he becomes part of the family fold."

Roth relocated to Los Angeles back in 1990 and is raising his two sons, Timothy, 14, and Cormac, 13, with his wife Lori Baker. He is finding the techniques he has learned from his alter ego, Lightman, come in handy in real life.

"I try not to use these skills but you can't really avoid it. So, I mainly use it on my children," he laughs. "And I like busting the crew on occasion."

An acclaimed film actor, Roth's career took off after Quentin Tarantino cast him in Reservoir Dogs, followed up by Pulp Fiction. In fact, it has been said that Roth's Lightman resembles his character in Pulp Fiction. "Yes, I can see that. Maybe I should stick up a cafe," he laughs. "Actually, Quentin and I were planning to work together. We were supposed to do Inglourious Basterds but the scheduling didn't work out for me, otherwise I would have done it. I would love to work with him again. He's a good friend."

Roth's first big break was the British TV movie Made in Britain (1982). His big screen roles include: The Hit, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Rob Roy, Everyone Says I Love You, Youth Without Youth, and he starred opposite Tupac Shakur in the rapper's last movie, Gridlock'd.

Roth didn't start out with aspirations for a cinematic career. "I became an actor as a byproduct of a joke that backfired. Seriously, I auditioned for a school play as a joke, and then I got the part, so I had to do it. Then I got the bug.

"But even as a little kid, like most kids, I thought it would be great to be an actor but I think that's quite often a common fantasy for children. But the fact that it all actually happened and that various things fell into place is quite extraordinary. In the middle of all of this I'm still amazed my career eventuated - considering where I come from."

Roth grew up worlds away from the entertainment business. His mother, Anne, is a teacher and landscape painter, and father Ernie, is a journalist. The family grew up in middle class London. Roth attended school in Brixton where he found he had a talent for picking up accents - mainly out of necessity - and adopted a cockney accent to blend in with his schoolmates.

Despite his uncanny ear to imitate accents, Roth was adamant he wanted to remain British for Lie To Me. "They wanted me to do it with an American accent, but I realised the workload was going to be huge and there didn't seem to be any reason. Why he should be American? There are people from all over the world living here. So in the end they went, 'Okay, go for it.' And now I think it's somewhat of a benefit. It's a different noise within an American TV show."

Having made quite a name for himself on the big screen, to find him starring in a television series was a surprise for many of his Hollywood counterparts. "For some people it's a snobbish thing to go to TV from film, but for me to do American television was something very new and exciting. It's exhausting, but it's very fulfilling."

As Lightman, Roth's physicality is as important as the dialogue. "I've always been a fan of physical acting, and not so much a fan of the method, or the internal stuff. What the character does is watch and listen. That's one of the trickier things to try to pull off," he explains. "But I have so much fun playing this guy. He's such an interesting, odd person that I don't pay much attention to contriving the performance. It's like a really interesting experiment, and I'm enjoying it a lot."

Ryan says of the origins of the series and his fascination with the subject, "Well, I've been lying my whole life," he laughs. "And I've been trying to figure out ways to not get caught. And now I know."

Lowdown

Who: Tim Roth
Key Roles: Made in Britain (1982), The Hit (1984), To Kill a Priest (1988), The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover (1989), Vincent & Theo (1990), Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Rob Roy (1995), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Gridlock'd (1997), Planet of the Apes (2001), The Incredible Hulk (2008) ....
Latest: Lie To Me, second season
When: Starts TV3 early February