Balthazar Getty Talks About Life On The Small Screen

What’s next for you after Brothers & Sisters?

Eventually, I'd like to get back to making films. I've always seen this as a stepping-stone to get myself into a place where I can do the films that I want to do. I love the process of movies. I love the beginning, the middle and the end of that process. Television gives you a great amount of exposure and it also gives you an opportunity to work on your acting muscles because you can work on a show like this for years.

Do you prefer to work on television or in movies?

I’m not sure which one I prefer because they’re very different. When you get a movie script, you know where you're going with a character and you know the destination. It's easier to shape a character around that. But in television, you never really know where your character is going. When you go from script to script, anything can happen. You could be straight one week and then gay the next week. It's hard to play any back story when you don’t know the final outcome.

But it must be a wonderful feeling to be seen in millions of homes every week on a successful television show like Brothers & Sisters…

It is a great feeling. I've been around a long time and this show has given me the most exposure I've ever had in my career. Times have changed, though. When I started acting, there were TV people and there were movie people – and the movie people looked down their nose at the TV people. At some point it switched around. The material is getting better and better on television now. In fact, I think a good majority of the best writing and acting is on television at the moment.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of acting?

At the end of the day, acting is a lot of fun, but you also want to inspire people. I love the idea of somebody across the world watching your show and being inspired to become an actor or having a story inspire them to change their direction in life. If something positive can come out of your work and you can create a smile somewhere, then there's no better feeling than that. That’s why I’m an actor. I do this to move and entertain people – and to evoke emotion in them. I couldn’t be happier.

 Brothers & Sisters Season Three is out now.

Read our interview with Brothers And Sisters star Rob Lowe

Check out our Balthazar Getty interview

See what Calista Flockhart had to say about the new season of Brothers And Sisters
FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison

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