Christopher Gorham

Under Covert Affair

by Landyn Gerace

Along with his acting career, Covert Affairs star Christopher Gorham has tackled several episodes of USA Network’s hit show as the director when not on air as character Auggie Anderson. He recently directed the episode “Starlings of the Slipstream” that aired earlier this month.

This being the third episode with Gorham in the director’s chair, he says they have all been different experiences for him. He says that “Starlings of Slipstream” is the episode he is the most proud of due to its overall structure and pace.

As both an actor and director on Covert Affairs, Gorham has to be able to change his mindset completely when switching roles on and off the camera. As an actor, he says all he focuses on is what that character knows at that point in time, where as the director, he has the entire episode in mind.

“I have to be thinking not just the moment before and what’s happening in front of me but also where it’s going.” He says, “The joy of directing is that you get to expand that out and now you get to influence the story telling of the entire episode. Not just your individual character and your individual scenes. You really get to be the guide for the audience in this experience. That’s a real privilege and very rewarding.”

When directing an episode, Christopher Gorham is typically notified a couple of months in advance. Once he got the script, he took five days to prep and then about seven days of actually directing. After production, he had four days with the editor of “Starlings of Slipstream.”

“One of the things that I love about directing TV actually is how fast the turnaround is. Because you’re rewarded with this completed project so quickly. I really like that,” says Gorham.

On the show, he says he looks up to Covert Affair’s executive producing director Stephen Kay.

“I’ve done a lot of TV shows and I’ve been lucky to work with a lot of really good directors…. He’s been nothing but encouraging and helpful and I’m always grateful for his input,” Gorham added about Kay.

One of the more fun aspects of directing episodes is choosing the music. However, it is not always guaranteed that every song selected by the director will be featured in the episode, as it is ultimately the producers’ decision. Gorham says he is really happy with his choices of music and it’s always exciting to see what songs make the final cut.

Although Gorham has been in the entertainment industry for many years now, he has never continued to play a character as long as he has Auggie. As the seasons go on, he finds it interesting to see how Auggie grows and enjoys unveiling to the audience more facts and events that took place in his character’s past.

One of the most vital aspects of Auggie himself is his relationship with Annie Walker, played by Piper Perabo. It has not only been the most consistent part of the show but also the heart of it.

This season, the audience not only gets to see how Auggie’s relationship with Annie changes but also with Annie’s new found love, Ryan McQuaid played by Nic Bishop. Ryan McQuaid is a former Navy SEAL who is now dating Annie after her relationship with Auggie ends. Auggie is known for his emotions getting him in trouble, so Gorham is excited to see how his relationship with Ryan plays out.

Along with recurring cast members there is a long list of people Gorham would like to work with on the show. One in particular is Ty Burrell. Gorham and Burrell worked together on the show Out of Practice where they played brothers and Gorham would love to have him on Covert Affairs as a potential brother for Auggie.

“He is incredibly jealous of all of the international travel that we get to do on Covert Affairs and I keep telling him that if he ever has enough time that he can come and play Auggie’s brother and we’ll take him on a trip,” he says on Burrell.

As Christopher Gorham wraps up directing for this episode, he hopes to get back in the director’s chair in the future. It is not only something he enjoys to do, but also something he continues to improve at with the more experience that he gets. At some point, he’d like to be able to work on a feature film, as it is something he could check off of his bucket list. Until then, Gorham plans to continue his work on Covert Affairs and spending time with his three young children.

He says, “I think directing is something that I’ll continue to do for the rest of my career hopefully.”

Covert Affairs airs Thursdays at 10/9 central on USA Network.

Copyright ©2014 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: November 20, 2014.

Photos ©2014 USA Network. Used by permission.