Derek Cecil: Introducing the star of a new interactive drama that could make a couch potato rich

Picture this--an actor being chased by a mob yelling "Show me the money!" It could be a scene out of a bad movie; it's more likely Derek Cecil's worst nightmare. The 29-year-old Texan is the star of ABC's new drama series Push, Nevada, in which he plays Jim Prufrock, an IRS agent searching for a chunk of missing casino money in a mysterious desert town. Whodunit aside, the show also features an interactive element in which viewers can piece together the clues in each episode to locate a prize of over a million dollars stashed somewhere in the U.S. (To would-be hunters: Cecil doesn't know where it is.)

The series, created by Ben Affleck and his Project Greenlight partner Sean Bailey, features movie-quality cinematography and a colorful collection of characters, but it is Cecil's understated and earnest performance as agent Prufrock that is the linchpin.

KATHY CAMPBELL: How are television viewers going to see Push, Nevada--as a drama with a gimmicky catch or a game show with incredible production values?

DEREK CECIL: Well, the show exists in and of itself. I mean, if you have no interest in the game, the clues that are buried within the show won't distract you from the storyline. The idea was that the show should stand alone as a compelling mystery-drama. When I read the script, I remember thinking, People don't talk like that on TV. The dialogue is very theatrical.

I saw the show as a chance to line up with people who were creating something new. It seems like TV shows are getting more and more derivative; you're basically left to choose between cops, lawyers and doctors--the other options are few and far between. The fact that my character worked for the IRS intrigued me. It's not really a job that brings the word hero to mind, you know? Plus it felt like the show held within it something we'd forgotten--somebody driven by principles and beliefs.

KC: He does seem to have a basic goodness about him. But also a mysterious edge. He's kind of a combination of David Duchovny's Fox Mulder and Kyle MacLachlan's Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks.

DC: Actually, for research I went back to classic movies like Meet John Doe [1941] with Gary Cooper and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington [1939] with Jimmy Stewart. A lot of what's driving those actors through those stories is a lot of what's driving Prufrock through this one. Coming into a conspiratorial world, he's blessed with naivete. I think his blind faith carries him through.

KC: Some actors, after their big break, are approached by autograph seekers and well-wishers. In your case, you might run into people who are under the mistaken impression that you hold the keys to a million dollars. How will you cope with what could be a voracious public?

DC: It gives me pause, but I'm not going to start carrying a gun. I'm more concerned about warning my mom.

Kathy Campbell is Interview's Copy Chief.

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