Were you a “Party of Five” fan like I was? If so, you’ve heard of the actor, Scott Wolf. Even if you were hiding under a rock when that show was popular, you may have seen him in “Everwood”, “The Nine”, “V” and “NCIS”. Wolf also just wrapped an arch on the new NBC series “The Night Shift”.

These days you’ll find Scott Wolf on season three of TNT’s “Perception” opposite Eric McCormack and Rachael Leigh Cook as Donnie Ryan, Kate’s (Cook) ex-husband and Assistant U.S. Attorney who enlists Daniel Pierce’s (McCormack) help on the cases he is prosecuting.

Scott Wolf on Season 3 of Perception

This past Friday, I was able to chat with Scott Wolf about Season 3 of Perception. Here’s what he had to say…

Why should we tune into Season 3 of Perception?

If you’re a fan of the show and you’ve seen seasons 1 & 2, all the great cases and human stories that people have seen for the first couple of years pick and get taken to another level in terms of the interest of these cases

For anyone who hasn’t seen the show before there’s so much to it. I mean at the heart of it there’s a crime mystery but most of the cases in addition to being kind of whodunit like a lot of shows like this on TV, it tends to be a whydunit as well because they are these neurological, psychological and emotional ailments and conditions that most of the perpetrators of these crimes and sometimes the victims suffer from and because the lead character Eric McCormack (Daniel Pierce) is himself a paranoid schizophrenic and deals with a mental illness, there’s sort of a blurred line between the good guys and the bad guys. In a way that are no good guys and bad guys and even often times the people who have committed a crime are really empathetic human characters.

So the show has great heart and great murder mysteries and then there’s also some really great romantic stories. It’s difficult to pull all that off in an hour of television but I jumped into this show because it really stood out and I think they managed to tell these really cool, fascinating, complicated murder mysteries with some really great human romantic stories as well. There’s a lot to enjoy.

Will we see more of Donnie & Kate’s relationship this season


Yes would be the short answer.

Where we left off at the end of last season, it was unclear as to whether Kate ultimately was going to be able to give Donnie a second chance and it looked like Donnie was headed out-of-town and had tried for the last time to reconcile their relationship. But at the beginning of this season things get a lot more complicated for the two of them and it seems as though regardless of whether they’re able to work it out, it seems as though Kate is wanting to give that a try.

So, there’s this really great story here of Donnie’s quest for redemption. It’s a story that maybe has been told before but it’s just really a cool version of it which is that somebody made a bad mistake but if two people are meant to be together and they’re willing to try to move past it, can they survive? Season 3 explores that in great depth.

Other than yourself, whose your favorite character in the series and why?

Oh boy. I mean I suppose I’d have to say it would be Daniel Pierce, who is at the center of the story. It’s just a really cool version of this character…There’s elements of all these great crime solvers in him but at his heart he’s also someone who understands what it means to be afflicted with a mental illness. When he’s trying to solve these cases rather than there just being a bad guy on the other end whose done this terrible thing it’s a person who he actually really understands and has empathy for and needs to bring to justice because he’s done a terrible thing. It’s a really unique version of that central crime solving character because of how much emotion and heart he brings to the cases he’s trying to solve.

What’s it like working with Eric McCormack?

He’s fantastic. He’s just great. He’s hilarious and kind and I’ve long been a fan of his work. He just brings such detail to the work. He’s actually also a producer of the show, so that puts him in the position where he has some authority to keep an eye on things and make decisions. To be working along somebody who just does all that the right way. He’s so kind and respectful and sets the perfect tone for everybody on the set.

It tends to be that the lead character on a series has a lot to do with what it feels like to be working on that set and because Eric is really just the best, so smart and passionate and kind, it just makes it an awfully great place to go to work.

How do you balance your busy career with being a father of 3?

You tell me (laughter) I’m fully committed to both and I think that’s the only real way to do it. I’m not willing to miss a thing at home. I’m not willing to not be a dad to my children and a husband to my wife. I’ve been blessed so far that a lot of the work I’ve been doing is great work and are shows that I’m proud to be a part../but I’ve also been able to be at home. The work load hasn’t been so excessive that I feel like I’ve had to compromise much…I think it really goes back and forth…When my wife and I started our family, I pulled away from working as much as I had been and that was right for me then. In a way now I feel like it’s a perfect balance of both and as I go forward I think I’m kind of comfortable with the fact that at some given point in time my family life will take over and be the priority and other times of my career might but my children and my wife will always be the most important thing in the world to me. I just hope to be lucky enough to continue to be able to kind of feel like I can have it all.

It’s a lot of work. It’s funny. I was on set the other day and somebody said “how was your time off?” because I had a day at home and I said “this is my time off”.

What’s next for you?

I think the biggest thing that is happening right now is actually sort of trying to have a sense of what’s next for these two projects that I’ve been working on. My hope would be that both “Perception” and “The Night Shift” have a chance to keep moving forward. They are both such great shows with an amazing cast, so my dream scenario would be to somehow keep moving forward with these things

*At that moment you could hear kids in the background (after all, he is a father of 3)

As you can tell in the background I am raising a cast of characters here at home.

I love working on stage and there’s film stuff that comes through, so I’m loving being able to be busy. I love acting more than I ever have and I’ve always loved it, so having a chance to be a part of telling these great stories with great actors has been fantastic. I’m excited to see what happens next with these things and what’s around the corner.

Don’t forget to tune into the Season 3 Premiere of “Perception” today, June 17, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT).

“Paris”: Dr. Daniel Pierce’s picture-perfect new life in Paris is suddenly turned upside down after he is approached by the FBI legat to help with a dangerous international case. Meanwhile, his assistant Max Lewicki and Dean Paul Haley plot to get Pierce to return to Chicago.