Actor Ben Schwartz Talks House of Lies: Season 4 DVD & Working With Don Cheadle! [INTERVIEW]

CBS Home Entertainment, Paramount Home Media Distribution and Showtime Networks are bringing House of Lies: Season 4 to DVD. In an exclusive interview with MStars News, actor Ben Schwartz talks about his role as consultant Clyde Oberholt and working with Don Cheadle.

In House of Lies, Ben Schwartz plays Clyde Oberholt, a young and ambitious consultant. Clyde (Schwartz) also happens to be a major suck-up. As the perennial court jester of his team, Clyde likes to play practical jokes and get dirt on his co-workers. In the fourth season, Clyde has come crawling back to Marty Kaan (Cheadle) and must re-prove himself.

Before Season 4 arrives in stores on DVD, the House of Lies actor dishes on his favorite episode, Clyde's relationship with his father, and what fans should expect from the upcoming fifth season.

MStars News: Tell me what interested you about your character, Clyde?

Ben Schwartz: In the very beginning, I had auditioned for the show. I remember I met with [David] Nevins, who's the head of Showtime, Matthew Carnahan, Stephen Hopkins who was a producer at the time and Jessica Borsiczky. They talked about this character, Clyde, just being this deep and dark character, who had all these layers. I could be a smart ass but at the same time, he's vying after Cheadle's job.

He always wants to be more. He's never really telling the truth and all these things. I love the idea of playing such a shaded and dark character that can also be funny at the same time. It was really exciting! Also the script was great! Don Cheadle man! The second you hear someone like Don Cheadle is in the show, you are drawn to it. I wanted to be around him so I could learn. Those are big big reasons why and also Showtime. I always wanted to be on a big cable show where you had freedom and you could take risks like that!

MS: Tell me about working with Don Cheadle. This fourth season, Marty is trying to rebuild and restart relationships.

BS: First of all, working with him is incredible. If I can recommend to any actor, anytime you can work with Don Cheadle, do it. Anytime you can put him in your movie, do it! Anytime you get to work with him or get directed by him, do it! He's just so good!

I remember there are scenes where we are all just watching him! Because he's just so good! He's doing new things. He's attacking scenes in different ways. He's always so prepared. They always say the lead actor in the show is usually number one on the call sheet. There's a term here that says if the person who is number one on the call sheet is kind and good to everybody, treats the crew well, comes to work and shows up, it trickles down to everyone on the call sheet with cast and crew. He's a perfect example of that!

He's a great leader. He cares about everybody. He wants to make the best show possible. That feeling, that idea of working hard, coming to work ready and prepared trickles down to all of us, making us want to be as good as we can. Working with him is incredible! I feel very fortunate. It's one of the big reasons in the beginning when you start considering TV shows. When you realize you can work with someone like him, it's one of the big reasons I said yes.

MS: After these four seasons, what is it that still excites you about the character?

BS: The best thing is each year, you learn something new. Last year, I was able to have a love interest and see what would happen with my character, who seems he would just sleep around. What happens when he finally finds somebody? You meet my father in season 4. Also in that season, I have this beautiful, crazy scene where I attack him with words with such venom. He has a heart attack and dies. I kill my own father with words and that's amazing.

I remember when I read that scene, I was so excited! I got to play stuff like that! Because from my comedy background, I don't get to do that stuff as much. It's so fun to try and flex those muscles each year! You find something else that surprises you, or deepens your character, or shades it in a new way that makes you excited to keep playing it!

MS: In these scenes about Clyde's father, because it's such a universal theme about fathers and sons, was that a challenge to portray those emotions?

BS: What was interesting, the situation itself was very challenging the way that it works in the TV show. This father was terrible to Clyde his entire life. Then he shows up out of nowhere. When he has cancer, even though Clyde hates him, he has to try, be a good son, and take care of him. He's trying to take care of him and the father is just being as mean, as rude as he's ever been.

Then Clyde finds out that he was lying about his cancer. The relationship of father/son was so unique and different than anything that I was used to. There's such venom! I'm very close with my family. I'm incredibly close with my father and we had none of this. But in the TV show, he's hated him since he's been a kid. He tried his best to block that hatred to let his father have peace and joy. He was going through his cancer treatment and the second he found out that he didn't have cancer, it just all comes out. It was such a unique thing that for me! it was so fun to play because obviously, it was fictional. It was such a unique experience that it was a little bit different than the father/son stuff!

MS: With the Season 4 DVD coming out April 5, what episode would you say is your favorite?

BS: Oh good question! On this DVD, there was a really fun episode where I'm trying to steal my girlfriend Kelsey from Doug! I'm trying to make her my own to finally have something for myself. I will say that's my favorite episode just because of how unique the circumstances were. In the episode where I finally confront my father, I have this huge arc of things to destroy. In that episode where I confront him, I lay it all out there on the line. He passes away. It's such a huge moment for my character and also a really fun scene to play as an actor. That was my favorite one of this season because of the uniqueness of it and the way I got to play in a different way.

MS: Because you did the voice work of BB-8 in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, in a hypothetical situation, how would Clyde and BB-8 react to each other? Would they get along or would they be at each other's throats?

BS: [Laughs] What a crazy question! What a great question! I would say, the way I see BB-8, when I watch that movie is, he's just the best. It could be a guy or a girl but that droid is just joy to me! It saves the day and stuff like that! In any predicament, if I had to choose Clyde or BB-8 to be by my side, I would choose BB8 every single time. Clyde always has a second agenda to screw you over. Clyde is always thinking about himself. BB-8 was on a mission man! He was ready to save the galaxy! I would always choose BB-8!

MS: With the fifth season premiere on April 10th, what are you most excited for fans to watch?

BS: This season, the thing that I think really pops, we kind of hit the comedic tone of our show a little bit harder this year. It comes off really funny! To me it's the funniest season we've done so far which is great! The really fun thing to be excited about is that the finale of this season 5 takes place in Cuba. We shot in Cuba! We were the first scripted TV show in America to ever shoot in Cuba ever! It was incredibly exciting to be around that culture, be able to photograph it, and show it to people here! I love the comedy this year! The four of us really get to play with each other more this year than other years! It's exciting! I think people are really going to enjoy it! I'm really psyched about how this season went down.

House of Lies: Season 4 arrives on DVD April 5th. House of Lies Season 5 premieres on Showtime April 10th at 9pm.