Paris Barclay

Director

"When I’m teaching my directing class, I always ask, 'how happy was your childhood? Were your parents always together?' And if they’re really happy and their parents are together, I say 'oooh, the odds are going to be against you!' Because part of what being a director is, certainly in television and also in films, is that we try to recreate our families, and we try to perfect them."

About This Interview

Paris Barclay was interviewed for two hours plus in North Hollywood, CA. Barclay spoke about his experiences in theater under the tutelage of Stephen Sondheim. He described his break in television, making music videos and working on the early ‘90s drama Angel Street. He commented on his work as a guest director on a number of drama series in the mid-90s, notably ER. He spoke in great detail about his extensive work as a director of the police drama NYPD Blue and the political drama The West Wing. For NYPD Blue, he talked about working with the ensemble cast and discussed memorable episodes. For The West Wing he talked about working with Aaron Sorkin and John Wells. Lastly, he discussed his work on several of the series he has directed since The West Wing, including American Dreams and Cold Case. The interview was conducted by Karen Herman on November 2, 2007.