'Lie To Me' Star Tim Roth Talks TV, Movies And The Truths Still To Come

Actor Tim Roth might be best known for playing quirky characters like Mr. Orange in "Reservoir Dogs" or Ted the Bellhop in "Four Rooms," but these days he's playing a different sort of character in the Fox television series "Lie To Me."

Now in its second season and the recent recipient of a full season pickup by Fox, "Lie To Me" features Roth as Dr. Cal Lightman, a psychologist and human lie detector of sorts who -- along with his team -- assists various clients in getting to the truth of investigations, business negotiations and, well... anything a knack for the truth can fix. With reviews trending positively for the series and a new batch of episodes on the way, I spoke to Roth about making the jump to television and what truths "Lie To Me" fans can expect to uncover as the season progresses.

"I've never seen a television crew get their phones out so quick," said Roth of the November 24 news that the series would receive a full pickup for the second season. "The phones came out in a flurry, and everyone was trying to get a good signal. It was very, very good news -- especially just before Thanksgiving."

Calling his time with the series a "grand experiment," Roth said the transition to television has been "the most brutal job I’ve ever had" due to the heavy workload of a regular series.

"Quite often with films, most of what you are doing is sitting around -- even if you have a central role you're sitting around," he explained. "[With television] you work a heavy page count every day, and along with the long days, your weekends are often taken up with working. But it does satisfy on the one end -- it satisfies the need to keep working and to really burn at it and see that you know what your overload point will be."

"In England you go between stage television and film all the time," he added. "There isn’t a hierarchy at all over there -- it's really just the fact of an actors life. But now there's a lot more flexibility in the barrier all around and also in the minds of the actors and the studios and so forth. Actors can go back and forth and it's really not a problem."

As for what the future holds for "Lie To Me," Roth wasn't giving away many plot points. However, he did say that the relationship between his character and Lightman's colleague, Dr. Gillian Foster (played by Kelli Williams), will play a big role in the stories to come.

"On an upcoming episode, we really unravel Foster and Lightman and get to a point where we understand how they got together, how they became a team -- and there is a lot of potential for a relationship," teased Roth. "They're coming in a cluster of episodes, which is good because we need to make sure that their relationship is in the right place. I'm really looking forward to it. I love working with Kelli."

Since the lie-detecting science in the series is based on the real-life research of psychologist Paul Ekman (who consults on the show), Roth confessed to bringing a bit of the job home with him.

"I keep a close eye on the actors," he laughed. "I always watch Brendan [Hines, who plays Eli Loker in the series]. He’s a giveaway — a complete giveaway."

"It's an acting job, but you do absorb some of the things you're learning," he added. "Watching the news I do see some interesting things. That’s always fun to try and see who's not telling the truth, but sometimes you don’t have to be a scientist to see that stuff coming, do you?"

"Lie To Me" airs Mondays at 9 PM EST on FOX. The next episode airs December 14.

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