Actor Edwards Expands His Borders to Television’s Thriller Production Field

Anthony Edwards reunites with his former “ER” co-star Sherry Stringfield in “Border Line,” airing Monday on NBC.

But he’s strictly behind the camera in this thriller, as “Border Line” marks the television production debut of Edwards with his partner Dante DiLorento under the umbrella of their production company, Aviator Films. The movie also heralds the return to TV of Stringfield, who left her role as Dr. Susan Lewis on the top-rated NBC series in November 1996.

In “Border Line,” Stringfield stars as Alison Westlin, a Los Angeles immigration lawyer and single mom who puts herself and her young daughter in jeopardy when she investigates a murder case. Elizabeth Pena also stars as the Westlin family nanny, and James LeGros is an IRS official who is friends with Westlin.

Edwards, 35, and DiLorento, who spent the first decade of his career acting in regional theater, recently produced the feature film “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” which was just released in England, and the team is currently in pre-production on the feature “The Normal Heart,” based on Larry Kramer’s landmark play about AIDS. The drama will be directed by Paris Barclay (“NYPD Blue”).

Edwards the award-winning actor recently talked about Edwards the producer during a break from “ER.”

Question: What does producing give you creatively that acting and directing don’t?

Answer: Ulcers! It’s funny, we get so emotional. Many people can produce without getting emotionally involved. To them, it’s just a deal--it’s not personal. But for whatever reason, we do get emotionally involved.

Q: What creates that emotional connection for you?

A: I think we both came from a creative place to produce. We didn’t come to it from putting deals together. [Agents] don’t come from the creative place the way actors do and writers and directors do, in that you must have an emotional connection to the work.

Producing is something I’ve wanted to do because just waiting for scripts to come in for an actor doesn’t fulfill me creatively enough. Dante’s and my background is in theater, and in theater, even if you are an actor, you are much more involved working with everybody together. The seed of creativity of filmmaking is the development of the story, finding the script and finding the idea. In this case, because we are non-writing producers, it is bringing the talent together and seeing the vision of, “Oh, this script would work for Sherry.”

Q: What was it about “Border Line” that appealed to you and Dante?

A: I’m always looking for something that has something to say in that if I am moved emotionally, it’s saying something. It’s saying something about a character and the transition of a character. To be honest, this thriller genre is not one I pick up and look for. It was Dante’s sensibility of seeing the kind of heart and structure to the story, even though it was a thriller genre.

Q: Had you been looking for a long time to bring Sherry back to television?

A: The idea came before Sherry left the show. We were always in the process of doing something with her. It was about the time she left the show that Dante found this script.

Q: Was there ever any talk of you reuniting on screen with Sherry in “Border Line”?

A: I could have played [the INS agent]. But why limit it to that if you have the possibility of working with great actors like James LeGros? Having Sherry in the movie was certainly enough for everybody to be excited about making it. I didn’t need to do it for business reasons.

Q: Ken Kwapis was an interesting choice to direct “Border Line” because he’s best known for directing feature comedies and episodes of “The Larry Sanders Show.”

A: Ken is not who they wanted. He is known as a comedy director, but I know Ken as a father and friend in that our kids are the same age. I know him as a really bright, intelligent, creative man who, when I see his comedy movies, I see a lot of different kind of movies and storytelling going on. I knew he was hungry to try and do something with the genre. I didn’t want to work with a guy who had done a lot of these kind of [thriller] movies because it’s by the book. Ken had a real point of view.

Q: Is it easier to get a project green-lit for TV versus film?

A: It’s certainly easier in that your “yes” and “no’s” are quicker. Probably the most frustrating thing about the independent world, or the feature world, is the development process and then the bringing together of everybody to all sit down at once to say we are making this movie now with these people. With television, you have a season and air dates and a speed to it, so it’s rewarding that way. Yes, it’s limiting because you have 20 days to shoot, and shooting days are ultimately what separates film and TV movies really.

Q: Weren’t you suppose to produce and direct the feature film version of Sam Shepard’s play “True West”?

A: We got it right down to the wire. We had it financed and all there and we were right about at that point of having to start writing the checks and it fell apart. It was certainly my decision not to go forward. I wasn’t willing to change something that was being asked of me to change, so in that way, we learned a lot and it puts as much further along in understanding the game in putting together the deal for “The Normal Heart.”

Q: So what’s the status with “Normal Heart”?

A: We are in lawyer hell. We are optimistic about it, but it’s a miracle any movie gets made because it’s a miracle if you can get through the negotiations.

* “Border Line” airs Monday at 9 p.m. on NBC. The network has rated it TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children younger than 14).