We've Got a Bone to Pick with John Francis Daley

As if the smartest geek-squad on TV needed another partner in crime-solving, John Francis Daley returns to Bones (Mondays, 8 pm/ET on Fox) tonight as Dr. Lance Sweets, now a permanent member of the show's crime-cracking family. Daley clues us in on where the show's big mystery arc is headed and tells us about his character's lady troubles. Sounds like a problem the team won't be using science to solve.

TVGuide.com: So your character's name is Dr. Sweets. Is that supposed to say something about him?
John Francis Daley: I think it's just one of those goofy names that they can all harass me with. It's probably a name that my character tried to change at some point, but he didn't want to disgrace his dad so he didn't.

TVGuide.com: He does at least seem like the kind of guy who minds his manners.
Daley: Exactly. He wants people's respect, not their mockery.

TVGuide.com: But Sweets gets that anyway, being a hotshot professional who's so young.
Daley: Yeah, he gets it constantly.

TVGuide.com: Do you ever get that kind of flak yourself? You're 22, right?
Daley: Yeah, I do. I definitely got that when I was younger because I was usually the youngest person on any cast I was in. So I've sort of gotten used to it. But now I just tell everyone I'm 37, so I get the respect I deserve.

TVGuide.com: They brought your character in so you could get to the bottom of the tension in Booth and Brennan's working relationship, right?
Daley: Yeah, at first it was sort of a couples-therapy-type situation where I'd study them and found it fascinating that they can get along even though they're two totally different types who shouldn't. So it's fun for my character to dissect them and see what makes their chemistry work. But after a while, my character started helping them with their cases and doing criminal profiling, and that gets really fun because I have to put myself in the minds of these killers. I'm actually shooting a courtroom scene right now. I'm like an expert witness.

TVGuide.com: In tonight's episode, you go on a double date with Det. Booth and Dr. Brennan? What's up with that?
Daley: It's a way to see them in their element outside of work. It starts out as an experiment for Dr. Sweets and it goes kind of awry when the fourth party, my girlfriend, comes into play.

TVGuide.com: Who knew Dr. Sweets had a girlfriend?
Daley: Yeah, it's really funny because you see Sweets' vulnerability to the extreme when he's with his lady. He still wants to come off as the consummate professional in front of these two agents, but his girlfriend is there calling him on his crap, and that makes it more difficult.

TVGuide.com: You're this dorky kid and somehow you've got a girlfriend, while Booth and Brennan, genius studs that they are, can't seem to hook anything up.
Daley: Oh yeah, and they don't go easy on Dr. Sweets and his relationship. It leads to a lot of internal conflict for him and his lady.

TVGuide.com: So we're going to get a bigger peek into Sweets' private life?
Daley: I think so. And in his private life, he really is sort of a secret kid. He plays XBox and does a lot of the things that people his age would normally do.

TVGuide.com: And yet, he knows all about Gormagons and ancient secret societies?
Daley: Yeah, you know, he can even dissect the character in [the video game] Halo. Figure out what makes him tick.

TVGuide.com: Some people think you're secretly the younger Gormagon.
Daley: I'm flattered, as I've always wanted to be thought of as a serial killer. Obviously I can't say anything about it — that would hurt the show. But I can say people's integrity comes into question in the next Gormagon episode, and pretty much nobody at the Jeffersonian is safe.

TVGuide.com: Will people be surprised at how the Gormagon arc fleshes out?
Daley: Yeah, I think a lot of people will be surprised. It really comes out of nowhere, and after you find out who's behind it you'll understand why.

TVGuide.com: So it's someone we've seen at some point in the series?
Daley: Yes, I can say that. And you never know, it could be a guest we had on the show a season or two ago or [it could be] a regular, I can't say.

TVGuide.com: Do you still keep in touch with your costars from Freaks and Geeks?
Daley: I do. I keep in touch with Sam Levine and Martin Starr and Jason Segel. I saw Linda Cardellini like a month ago. It's like a family, one that you only get to see from time to time.

TVGuide.com: Was high school for you at all similar to what you experienced on the show?
Daley: Well, I was literally in high school while I was on the show, right on the set. So I never had the real high-school experience, only the fictional "lights, camera, action" high-school experience.

TVGuide.com: So you were faking it the whole time?
Daley: Yes, which in its own way is kind of interesting. And people ask me all the time if I ever feel like I missed out, and I really don't. Doing a television show is always going to be more fun than going to actual high school, so I can't complain.

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