MONDO EXTRAS

Ted pulls a lot of strings around the office; is he a power player or a cog?
Harrington: I think he's a cog, as much as he'd like to think at times he's a power player, and he and Veronica have that battle between them. In that particular episode, what he then does is cover his tracks, because Veronica notices that there's money being moved, so she asks why. So I come out and tell her it's for the Jabberwocky project, which I see on the back of a shirt, and I say, "Of course you know what that is." And in the corporate world, if you don't know something, that means you're out of the loop. So she plays along, and unfortunately, as things do, it spirals out of control, so that the entire corporation of Veridian Dynamics thinks that there's something called the Jabberwocky project, which is something that does not in fact exist. Which, then Veronica approaches Ted and says, "You have to give a presentation to 2,000 shareholders in an hour about it." So I don't think Ted learns his lessons as quickly as he should, but the nice thing about the character is he's a mover and shaker in way, certainly, but it's always for what he thinks are the right reasons. Whether it's with Linda or his daughter Rose, he's always trying to do right.

I've noticed that most episodes you seem to sport a constant 4 o'clock shadow. Is that a conscious character choice, or just your untamable stubble?
Harrington: It's sort of a choice, but it's also a technical thing. It's so much easier to maintain a little bit than it is to shave when you're shooting so out of sequence. You know, they're 14-hour days, and you start with scene 3 and you go to scene 50. It's either that or go shave twice a day, and that's just not good for anybody. So you try to make it not look like he's sloppy, but -- hey, maybe it looks like he's burning the midnight oil and working real hard.

Better Off Ted airs Tuesday nights at 9:30/8:30C on ABC.