Matt Letscher could not have played two more different characters if he tried.
On ABC's Scandal, he is Billy Chambers, the vice president's former chief of staff, who nearly lost his leg when newbie Gladiator Quinn Perkins literally drilled into him during OPA's quest for the Cytron card. Over on The CW, the actor is the kindhearted Tom Bradshaw, navigating life as a 1980s single father to two girls on Sex and the City prequel The Carrie Diaries.
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"There's always the possibility that Billy could come back," Letscher tells The Hollywood Reporter of his surprise appearance in the season two finale to reprise the role he originated in Scandal's freshman run before Carrie Diaries was cast. "He survived being drilled into and went to prison, so we know he's alive."
As for now, Letscher is hard at work on Carrie Diaries through the end of November, with The CW granting a second season and slotting the drama set in the decade of decadence for Fridays this fall.
"I didn't know about [coming back to Scandal] last year until two weeks before we started shooting it," he says. "The character came full circle -- all the loose ends that were attached to him at the end of season one were sewn up pretty tightly at the end of season two. If he were to come back, it would have to be in a different capacity; maybe flashbacks, or Liv [Kerry Washington] would have to need something from him that only he could give her."
Returning to Scandal was an "honor," Letscher says, adding that being part of a hot show that has fans "all worked up" felt like being at a carnival.
"I'd love to come back -- I love the show, the cast, the crew, it's the warmest set in town, and the fan base is so passionate," he notes of the regular Thursday night #AskScandal live tweet schedule.
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"To go straight to Scandal and get to play the larger-than-life guy who has the page-long rants and gets drilled in the leg with blood flying everywhere, it was a blast," he says. "It's really been a nice counterpoint after the first season of The Carrie Diaries. I love that cast and crew and the relationship with my [onscreen] daughters. Carrie Diaries is very heartfelt and earnest in a lot of ways."
As for season two of Carrie Diaries, Letscher says fans should expect more ties to Sex and the City, starting with the introduction of Lindsey Gort's Samantha Jones in the Oct. 25 premiere.
"She's introduced in a really great way by [showrunner] Amy Harris. The reveal is expertly done, and Lindsey Gort is a dead ringer and has that same spirit and joie de vivre about her that Kim Cattrall had in the role," he says. "When fans start to see those little reveals, those touchstones to the other series, they get excited. You're going to see more of that as the season progresses and as her relationship with Manhattan progresses. That bodes well for us in the second season."
E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
