Nip/Tuck Doc Has Bite

Joining the cast of any show is a little bit daunting, but joining the cast of a show like Nip/Tuck where you never know what will happen has really got to be overwhelming. But Bruno Campos has been reveling in his role as Nip/Tuck's scheming surgeon Quentin Costa. TVGuide.com gave the 32-year-old former Jesse star a call to discuss the upcoming episodes of the show leading to the season finale on Dec. 20th — and maybe, just maybe, to find out some clues about the Carver's identity.

TVGuide.com: It seems like all of a sudden Quentin is a full-on bad guy. It is a little surprising.
Bruno Campos: I guess it is surprising. To me, it's less surprising because I knew it was coming. They still shock the hell out of me when I get the scripts. I see Quentin… he's kind of like a vampire. He takes no prisoners in his way of being. The way I see him, he's much like Christian except without the guilt. That makes a very dangerous human being.

TVGuide.com: But very fun to watch.
Campos: Hopefully it's fascinating. You're watching a predator roam around. It's like watching a shark in the water.

TVGuide.com: That whole scene with the military corporal where you basically just threatened him — wow!
Campos: That scene was so interesting to me, because it was very vampiric. Did you see the premiere?

TVGuide.com: Yes.
Campos: Do you remember when I inspected Christian's scar? Quentin is very interested in the wounds of people. He's very interested in whatever they might be hiding in their wounds. He feeds off their emotionality. When he sees this scar, it's very important to him. He really identifies with this kind of haunted quality. I see him as this vampiric kind of thing. It's hinted at slowly.

TVGuide.com: Did you know what you were getting into when you signed up?
Campos: [Laughs] I knew that I was joining Nip/Tuck, and that came with a set of expectations. I think it's fair to say that I've been given the Nip/Tuck treatment. Definitely. I did not know specifically what I was going to be doing at all. I knew that I was going to cause trouble… that I knew. And I declared war on them.

TVGuide.com: Obviously relationships on the show don't last very long. When Quentin's done with Julia, who's next?
Campos: [Laughs] Who's next? Well, at that point, he'll have practically burned every bridge he ever built. I could tell you, but what fun would that be?

TVGuide.com: OK, then can you tell me who the Carver is?
Campos:  It's funny, because I know so many people speculate on what's going to happen. I will say this: It's not guessable what is going to happen. I just haven't heard of anybody — none of my friends, people who watch the show — nobody has guessed. We're wrapped now, so I know what happens. I'll just tell you this: You'll never guess, never in a million years.

TVGuide.com: So you didn't have a little betting pool on set about who the Carver was?
Campos: We did have a pool.

TVGuide.com: So who won?
Campos: I won $100 off Joely [Richardson]. And I'm framing it! She wrote me a check for $100 and I made her write "You win, I lost" in the corner.

TVGuide.com: It sounds like you have fun behind the scenes.
Campos: We're all partaking in this mystery that everybody wants to have the scoop on. It's very interesting. It's not like an Agatha Christie type of mystery, where it ends up being the butler.

TVGuide.com: Right, with the candlestick...
Campos: Right. You're not going to guess it, but at the same time, it makes sense. It's not random, it totally fits in with the scenes and the psychology of Nip/Tuck. What has always been the most interesting thing about this Carver thing to me is not who it is — although that is interesting — but more importantly for me, why? Why is the Carver, as opposed to who is the Carver.

TVGuide.com: Have you gotten any other scripts and seen anything too over the top, even for this show?
Campos: Yeah. Everything's over the top.

TVGuide.com: At any time were you were like, "That's too far?"
Campos: You know what it is? Like that scene with the corporal. I don't know how many times anal sex has been shown between two men on television. I would guess not too much. I would guess probably one to two [times], or zero. You're the expert.

TVGuide.com: Not too much on nonpay channels, but more on shows like Queer as Folk and Oz. Wait, how did I get to be an expert on that?
Campos: [Laughs] You read stuff like that and there's a shock only because it hasn't been done. There are some other shocks that will be done, particularly in Episodes 14 and 15, which are going to play as one episode on the 20th.

TVGuide.com: How is your relationship with Julian McMahon and Dylan Walsh off screen, since it so tense on screen?
Campos: It's been fun for me to walk onto a show.… I was the new kid in school for the first few months.

TVGuide.com: Did they tease you at all?
Campos: No, but I got to grab Christian's ass and I got to wink at Sean. We had to do all these fun things like that together. Julian, Rhona Mitra and Kelly Carlson and I were all in bed together for eight hours, and I'm basically massaging his ass. Once you do that, all the tension either explodes or breaks. We ended up laughing about it. What can I say?
TVGuide.com: How have you been doing with the technical lingo?
Campos: I made a point of observing, I observed a lot of surgeries before joining the show. It was really great, and the doctors and patients who let me watch were really generous to do so.

TVGuide.com: I take it you're not the squeamish type?
Campos: I didn't know if I was going to be squeamish. I saw heads being split open and chests being flayed apart. The first time I saw that, it was very invasive. When you see someone's face pried apart… it freaked me out, but I got used to it. These guys do that every day. I went to one surgery that was 10 hours. The doctor let me feel the inside muscles. I can now say I know what the inside of your face feels like, which is bizarre that I could ever do that. To answer that question, it feels like pizza.

TVGuide.com: Those are the parts of the show I watch with my eyes half-closed.
Campos: [Laughs] I remember that facial transplant we did, I watched that episode with some friends and they all looked away. Did that happen to you?

TVGuide.com: Yep. But then they did that facial surgery for real just a few weeks ago. You guys are really cutting-edge.
Campos: I know, we did it a couple of weeks before the French did it. We beat the French! Except ours failed and apparently theirs was successful.

TVGuide.com: Have you run into fans who are freaked out about your character?
Campos: This girl I went to college with called me and said "you're a twisted bastard of the highest order." Isn't that nice?

TVGuide.com: Is it hard to relate to someone like that? You seem like a nice guy.
Campos: Thank you.

TVGuide.com: You could be totally lying to me, but you seem really kind.
Campos: [Jokingly] Yes, you're speaking to my robot that I programmed to be nice to you. It's fun. It is a first because he doesn't have normal reactions. If you ask a normal person how they're doing, they'll say "I'm not so good." You ask Quentin that, and there's this pause as if he wants to invade your psyche, and then he'll go "maybe I'm good." It's always a mystery. He doesn't give you straight answers, and when he does, it's designed for an effect, and not always a good effect. He's three steps ahead. When Quentin decides he's against you, he's out for blood. And it's cold. It's calculated, and there's a quiet, still viciousness to it.

TVGuide.com: I feel like you're hinting at something.
Campos: You think that, and everybody thinks that. I'm just saying… I know a lot of people have speculated, but it's not quite as cut and dry, not as obvious.