Christian Slater on His Golden Globe Nomination, Live With Kelly Cohosting Gig and Mr. Robot's New Twists

Find out what the two-time nominee had to say about his latest honor and the Heathers pilot

By Chris Harnick Dec 12, 2016 5:53 PMTags
Watch: 2017 Golden Globe TV Nominations - Drama

Christian Slater was sound asleep when he got the call on the morning of Monday, Dec. 12. He is now a two-time Golden Globe nominee for his work on USA's Mr. Robot.

"I remember one of my publicists last night saying she would call me and let me know if there was any news to report and I totally forgot that," he told E! News in a phone interview. "I was like, ‘Who's calling at this hour?!' [Laughs.]"

Despite the "worrisome" nature of being woken up by a phone call, Slater said he's thrilled and couldn't be more excited or "happier" for costar Rami Malek who also got a nomination.

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USA

Slater won the award last year, but that doesn't take the thrill away from a second nomination, he said. "This is already more than I could've expected or anticipated. It's such a thrilling, wonderful surprise. The other actors in this category are people that I have grown up with and admired and some I've worked with. I'm just excited for everybody," he said.

As for where that award is, Slater keeps it in New York, "next to the sign that my son had made for me about four of five Christmases ago, he had carved this wonderful sign that said, ‘Out of difficulties grow miracles.' And it was very exciting to put that Golden Globe next to that wonderful thing that my son had given me," he said.

In Mr. Robot, Slater plays the title character…who is dead and a figment of Elliot's (Malek) imagination. Filming on the third season doesn't start until April, but Slater is already itching to get back into the swing of things.

"Rami and I saw each other last night, and we saw [creator Sam Esmail], and we're just chomping at the bit. We're very anxious to see what Sam has in store for us, what's going to happen and we can't wait to get back to work. I really love playing this role and Rami loves being Elliot, and honestly we love working together. So this kind of acknowledgment is just the cherry on top of it all. It's unbelievable," he said.

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Mr. Robot is known for its twists, like the fact that Slater's character really isn't there…or is he? So what kind of twists can fans expect in season three?

"I don't know. It definitely is the kind of show where you never know quite what to expect," Slater said. "So he may surprise us all and not have any twists! I don't know, we'll see how it all unfolds."

Season two featured standout performances by the ladies of Mr. Robot and Slater made it a point to single out Grace Gummer, Carly Chaikin, Portia Doubleday and Stephanie Corneliussen.

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"I just want to say that I was so blown away by the women of Mr. Robot this year. Grace Gummer was unbelievable, Portia is just so brilliant, Stephanie is amazing and Carly is…I mean, the women of Mr. Robot really blew me away in season two and they're performances were fantastic," he said. "They definitely need to be acknowledged in a very similar fashion at some point because they're amazing."

In addition to Mr. Robot, Slater has guest cohosted Live With Kelly opposite Kelly Ripa. "I love it. Look, across the board, I love working with her, she is hilarious and couldn't be a better way to start the day, other than getting this kind of call I got this morning," he said. "They're on par, right there!"

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"Mr. Robot" Cast Talks Season 2 Pressures

Is he still in the running for the permanent spot? "Well, I mean look, I don't know who makes these decisions," he admitted. "I go, and all I can say is I love doing it and who knows? We'll see what the future brings."

As of now the future does not bring a role in TV Land's Heathers pilot—yet. Heathers star Shannen Doherty is on board though. "But I'm very excited and I think they've got a really very interesting spin on the show," he said. "I think a new take and a new twist, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they're going to do with it. I enjoyed the musical very much, so this should be very entertaining."

Mr. Robot returns next year on USA. The Golden Globes air Sunday, Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. on NBC.

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)