Dylan McDermott brings tough-guy persona to TNT

Dylan McDermott was a bore -- and it might be my fault.

Maybe I should have insisted on a better phone connection (the actor with trombone pipes sounded like he was speaking through a tin can). Maybe I was the 471st interview of the day ... out of 472. Maybe I shouldn't have asked him if he ever gets queasy hearing his stepmother, Eve Ensler, perform her worldwide sensation, "The Vagina Monologues" (the dutiful son dodged the question and used the opportunity to plug her recent humanitarian efforts in the Congo).

Whatever the reason, I wasn't able to get McDermott to separate himself from his best-known characters: leading men so wrapped up in their own ethical codes that they don't make time for a life.

His latest role is no exception. In "Dark Blue," debuting Wednesday on TNT, McDermott plays Carter Shaw, a lieutenant hellbent on protecting his undercover squad, even if it gives him little time to play department politics, sustain a long-term relationship or get a decent shave.

Bullets fly with wild abandon, but the show's most menacing weapon is Shaw's quizzical stare.

"I felt with Carter that he's conflicted, that he's just not another cop on television," said McDermott, 47. "A lot of times, television wants to create heroes, but most of us are struggling and that's more real. You see more of that on cable than on network shows. This is the land of the anti-heroes."

McDermott went on to speak passionately about the resurgence of cop shows ("After 'NYPD Blue' they went away for a while, but I think they're coming back") and his relatively unknown co-stars ("They're so good. They don't need my advice"), but if he's got a sunnier side, my rather pedestrian and guarded questions weren't going to make it come out.

For most of the 20-minute conversation, McDermott treated my inquiries as if I were a detective investigating one of the shady clients on "The Practice," the show that earned him an Emmy nomination and TV-star status. The closest I came to a light moment was when I brought up NBC's "Big Shots," his ill-fated attempt at a sitcom.

"That was an experiment," he said. "That was fun to do, but I enjoy the world I'm in now and I'm hoping we have a greater run with this show."

I suspect that after he hung up the phone, he did something wild 'n' crazy, like finish his Sudoku puzzle. Next time I talk with him, I'll have to ask. If I have the guts.

njustin@startribune.com • 612-673-7431