Marshall Allman as LJ on "Prison Break"

So tell us, how did you get into acting?
I went to a talent search in my hometown- Austin Texas. There I met Steven Nash, and he told me to move out to Hollywood, so I did. And then I started taking acting classes when I got here. And yeah that show I started, it was in 2002.

Did you ever want to do anything else apart from acting?
Oh sure of course. Apart from acting I love to write and direct and produce. I’m playing to do them in the future.

You’re most commonly known as L.J from "Prison Break". How did you get the role?
Basically just one day I got an audition. I just went down and auditioned and it went really well. It was in LA and then they called me into test and I went in to test for the studio and then for the network and I got it. I was very excited and really nervous. It’s a wild thing to test for a network cause your sitting in a room and there 20 people in suits like just staring at you.

What was it like playing a character younger than yourself?
It’s actually kind of fun because it’s just different. I pretty much always play characters younger then myself. They react differently. Basically for me a lot of the age just had to do with the writing. Even though you can play a young character he might be beyond his years in how he acts and behaves.

"Prison Break" was actually shot in a real prison. What was the experience like?
It was pretty wild! The actual prison itself was very much intact and kind of like a ghost town. There was like still documents, photos and peoples offices there. It was crazy! It was just wow! It was a wild set. It was really cool and a really cool opportunity cause you don’t always get that in television where a network is willing to shoot on location outside of LA.

In an episode of "Prison Break", there’s an emotional scene between yourself and your father where you had to cry. How did you make yourself cry? What’s your process?
There are quite a few scenes where I had to cry. Well, I didn’t have to cry, you never really have to cry. Sometimes they write it in but you know most of the time when I’m acting it’s what the circumstance means to me. You know, if you were saying goodbye to your father for what seemed like the last time, and he’s on death row, you’re not trying to cry or do anything, it’s just that. You’re just really there and it means something to you, so you have an emotional reaction out of that. So, for me it’s all about what I’m doing. It depends on what I’m doing, if what I’m doing is something that is meaningful to me then yeah! Now it’s a different thing when personally it’s not meaningful to me but meaningful to the character. Then that’s a different thing and you have to work you way around that a little bit and do it as if you were doing something else that was meaningful to you.

Which was your favourite episode to film?
Ohhh wow! It’s too hard to name- I mean I’ve done like I think close to 40 episodes. I have enjoyed all the different ones for different reasons. I’ve gotten to do lots of stunts! I’ve gotten to do lots of significant work like a real drama. I’ve gotten to be arrested and put in jail! I’ve been muffled around by FBI and government agents! I’ve been kidnapped. I mean it’s just too much to really even sum up! I mean I don’t know if everybody realizes just ho much LJ went through! Cause I mean the show is so action packed and faced paced that you can kind of forget that these characters have been through all this stuff over the last couple years. The things they put LJ through, it’s like he’s going to be in deep recovery for like the next fifteen years.

Do you still keep in contact with the cast?
Ah its not like buddy buddy. But when I see them its like were friends. And so in that note yeah I do keep in relative contact.

Can we expect a fourth season of Prison Break?
Yeah!! I think they signed on for 22 more episodes!

You are turning 24 soon yet you’re already married. Was the decision hard to make or was it an obvious one that you took without looking back?
My point of view on that is that marriage is a serious commitment. So, it’s nothing that I think that people should make whimsically. You know? Its different then love. Once you have the love and you think “okay am I ready to marry this person?” There’s tons of books out there that you can read on things to do before you’re married to understand what type of commitment you’re making, cause it’s different, you know? Marriage is a choice and a commitment. Love is what helps you get through all the years of marriage.

Tell us a bit about your upcoming projects.
First off I did an independent film called Wing Creatures with Forest Whitaker. It’s going to be a really good drama. And then I’ve got another independent film called the Immaculate Conception of Little Diddle and that one I’m really excited about! It’s a wild movie and it’s gonna be really awesome! And I just most recently finished a movie called Anytown which is going to be controversial, I mean it’s just a crazy subject matter. And I’m just finishing up my first short film that I produced and wrote and acted in. My wife is in it! So I’m really excited about that too!

Young actors lately have been getting a bad name due to some people partying it up in Hollywood. What is your opinion on those people?
It just so happens that in this industry there are, people, who it’s their job to expose your personal life. And if in your personal life, you’re not making the wisest decisions ever, you’re up for scrutiny. I hope for everyone that they make the best decisions for themselves. But do people always do that? No. Just because they may be good actors doesn’t mean they are a healthy person.

Hollywood is famed for the movies, yet it’s also known to be really fake. Would you agree with this statement
You know, I think that any circumstance in life where there are people, and where there is money and where there is something to be gained, you are going to find that peoples motivations always aren’t altruistic in that they care more about relationships then they do about their own pursuit of a career. There you go! Everybody is fake somewhere. Fake in the sense that they pretend to love people and really there just kind of like hoping to gain, you know things that aren’t people. So if they have materialistic pursuit but then they pretend to be not perusing that. That would be what I define as “fake” and AMEN! What do you want? We are all humans!

Many people believe that acting is all about fame. As an actor, do you believe so?
I think fame is a by-product of doing something that people respond to.

Technology has really been developing lately and so we can expect a lot out of it in the future. What are your opinions on technology? Do you believe it will somehow end up taking over our lives in the future?
I think the biggest thing that technology is doing right now is creating more and more false intimacy. Instead of being used to connect more people in real ways, it’s being used to connect people without really connecting. In the sense I can send you a message on myspace and look at your profile and walk away feeling as if I know what’s going on with your life currently. It’s cutting out getting together with friends and looking each other in the eye, and asking the person about what’s going on in their life. But technology also has good aspects, such as connecting people throughout the world. As long as people remember that man wasn’t made for technology, technology wasn’t made for man, we’ll be okay.

Global warming is another important daily issue. Are you environmentally friendly?
We’re given time on this earth and we’re basically renting it. I think while we live, we should do our best to maintain the world. But I also think that even with all the scientific fear and proof and the fact that the Earth is irreplaceable, I don’t think they give the earth enough credit. The Earth is a bit more durable than we think of it. But there is a responsibility with what you’re given and we can’t live without it.

Now some random questions for readers to get to know you better as a person than a character on screen.

After a long day, what makes you smile?
Honestly, my wife does.

If you were a super hero, who would you be?
A ninja turtle!!!!

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I’d go to outer space with my wife.

If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?
My ancestors and then I’d meet Jesus.

What’s your favourite type of music?
Good music! I love music so anything that sounds good.

If you were stuck on a desert island with only three things, what would they be?
My wife, water and a bible.

Tell me a secret!
I jump rope backwards.

What do you find more boring than watching paint dry?
Watching dry paint.

What’s the strangest/most disgusting thing you’ve had in your mouth?
When I was younger, I grabbed someone’s beer instead of my coke. It was disgusting back then!

How would you survive a crocodile attack?
I would use every skill that I’ve learnt from TV shows!

If you had to choose, would you rather live without knee joints or elbow joints?
Elbow joints!

How can fans contact you?
You can send fanmail to my agent and manager. I do have plans for a website sometime in the future, so look out for that!