Phillip Keene Talks ‘Major Crimes’ and Buzz’s Journey [Exclusive Interview]

Phillip Keene doesn’t have much in common with his character on Major Crimes, though there is one pretty significant similarity.

I recently had the chance to chat with Keene about his role as Buzz Watson on Major Crimes and what we can expect from him for the remainder of Season 5.

Keene said he’d always wanted to be an actor from the time he was child, but the opportunity wasn’t there for him until much later in life. “I started working full-time when I was twelve. So the opportunities for acting classes or any stage production were very limited to me, just because of the work schedule I had and still going to school,” Keene said.

Keene’s dreams of acting were put on hold as he continued to work through high-school and afterward. Then he found a job that gave him a unique experience.

“When I was 21, I had the opportunity to work for Pan Am. I found the ad in the newspaper, and went through the interview process and ended up living in London. That was four years of my life that were fantastic for me. Because at that point I hadn’t gone to college, so that was in a sense, at that point for me, a college education — traveling all over the world and meeting all of these different people. That was just a blast,” Keene recalled.

“And for a little while, I lived in Amsterdam and commuted to London for work. So you know, some people have a 45 minute drive to work or an hour and half commute on the freeway; I had a forty minute flight,” he laughed. “It wasn’t that bad. Except for one day when I did leave my keys in New York, and made it all the way back home to Amsterdam, and couldn’t get back into my apartment. That was a bummer!”

Once his time at Pan Am had ended, Keene had the chance to focus on his dream of becoming an actor.

“After Pan Am folded, that was part of the big push for me to start pursuing my acting training. And so I made my way back to California eventually, and worked a series of jobs that just really got me nowhere, and then decided to start taking come acting classes and commercial acting classes,” Keene explained.

He had a friend who was also talent manager that helped with the process, agreeing to represent him if Keene continued to take classes. From there, he booked his first commercial before having the opportunity to work on a television series.

“I had been doing background work just to see what it was like to work on film sets or television sets, just to kind of get a little bit of experience because I was very, very green,” Keen said.

“Some friends of mine had been producers on Nip Tuck, and there was a new show called The D.A. on ABC with Steven Weber, and Sarah Paulson, and J.K. Simmons. I had a little tiny part in that playing a television reporter and when this series came up, The Closer, they remembered me from that.”

“I was offered this job for not a lot of money,” Keene continued. “They said, ‘you know what, you still don’t have a lot of experience, but we need someone to fill this role, and if you do well then maybe the part will grow.’ And here we are, 12 years later from The Closer to Major Crimes, and we’re still kicking butt!”

Keene also discussed the changes between The Closer and Major Crimes, particularly considering the way audiences watch television has evolved during that time.

“I think the consumers become a lot more savvy about what it is that they’re going to watch. We have a lot more choices than we used to have, and I think as a result, the quality of programming has gone up. It’s become much more competitive, and I think in turn, our writers have changed the format of the show slightly. Because before, it was a single point of view on The Closer, which was fantastic,” Keene noted.

“But the stories have become a little broader [on Major Crimes] in that we have multiple perspectives now, not just a single point of view, and I think the viewers really like that.”

For Keene, the biggest challenge in working on Major Crimes is continue trying to improve.

“When I started, like I said, I was very, very green, and working with a lot of well-seasoned actors and performers who came from the stage, and from film, and other television. So I was in a very well-manned boat, and there I was kind of shoveling coal [laughs] and kind of learning my craft, which, there’s always something to learn,” Keene said. “I am continually striving to get better.”

Keene considers himself to be very different from his character on Major Crimes, except for one unique similarity.

“Buzz is very much a boy scout — still very innocent despite all the horrible things he’s witnessed and how badly people behave. But he still believes that people are good. You know, he still has faith in humanity,” Keene explained.

“I’ve lived a lot more than Buzz has. Buzz was traumatized at an early age by the loss of his father and uncle, and you know, the horrible murder that took place. And having to kind of step up to the plate and be the young man of the family for a little while until his step-father stepped in. And having to wait to really pursue what it is he really wanted to do — there’s a similarity there between myself and the character.”

“But Buzz has not been exposed to the rest of the world as much as I have, I think,” Keene continued.

“I think his view is a little more sheltered than mine. So I have to kind of keep that in mind when playing the character. And also how hopeful he is still about the goodness in people, which I still have to a degree, personally. But I’m also a realist, and can see people for who they are.”

As for what’s coming up on the remainder of Major Crimes Season 5, we definitely have a lot to look forward to.

“By the end of Episode 13, Buzz will come to some sort of resolution. There will be some sort of resolution to this journey that he’s gone on. And there will be some very explosive episodes coming up,” Keene added.

“There are a couple of things that happen that are very loosely connected, in my mind anyway, to Game of Thrones. And I know we are a completely different show [laughs], but you know how in Game of Thrones, you fall in love with a character and then all of a sudden, you don’t know what’s happened to them? People die. People go missing. People are abducted. Strange things happen. The LAPD is a very dangerous place to work.”

When it comes to the kinds of procedurals Keene likes to watch on television, he named a classic.

“I’ve always been a huge fan of Law and Order, from its beginning to all of its incarnations. I think it’s a great, fun show to watch. I like watching The First 48 because you get to see how these cops really react in these situations. For reference, I think it’s a great show to watch.”

Keene also named a few other favorite shows he enjoys. “Just for pure relaxation, I love Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey — a lot of English shows. There was a five-part series called London Spy with Ben Whishaw and Charlotte Rampling which I really loved,” he said. “And I’m a huge fan of old movies from the 40s onward. I love watching stuff like that for pure escapism. I’ll watch a film simply for its art direction.”

Be sure to catch Phillip Keene as Buzz Watson on Major Crimes, airing Mondays at 10/9c on TNT.

Featured image credit: Riker Brothers

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