The guy who is always dying on TV is the happiest man on the planet.
To clarify, actor Sean Bean spent so much time smiling and laughing during our interview that we all wanted to put him in our pocket and take him home. It's obvious that he is high on life, now amidst the first season of his brand new show on TNT called "Legends."
He even makes 'lemonade out of lemons' when some famous guy whacked him, sending him to the hospital needing stitches.
Here are highlights from our chat. (The uncut VIDEO version is in the section on the right).
ALLISON WALKER: You perfected the technique of death, which kind of worries me.
SEAN BEAN: It worries me a bit, too [laughing]. A little bit too much, this! Yea, I've kinda explored all avenues in that regard - that death quarter.
AW: Have you seen that death compilation that some uber-fan put on You Tube?
SB: Yes, I did. I saw it a few months ago now. I knew it was around for a little while, and I thought, 'Naw, what this death scene [thing].' But I didn't expect it to be so big. My kids said you should watch it and they showed me. It was fascinating ... It spans, like, 30 years of my career.
AW: You now star now as an undercover agent in one heck of an identity crisis in TNT's "Legends." So Sean, what's your deal with you transforming yourself into a completely different person?
SB: That's his job. He's very good at his job. He's a very driven man. He throws caution to the wind and hurls himself into these creations, these characters - these "legends" - as they're called. In order to achieve his aims and track down these criminals from various organizations and for that he has to be very convincing.
AW: It's funny because we saw you as a cross-dressing teacher in "Accused." Was that more fun to play or becoming, say, a Chicago cop or a Serbian extremist like in "Legends?"
SB: "[In "Accused"] I guess that was a bigger leap for me than probably the characters I play in "Legends" because that was a challenging role. Once I got it, I was fine. But it was just getting in there, I think, more mentally, more than anything else, getting into character. I finally got it one day and thought, 'Thank God for that.'
AW: I have to talk about" Game of Thrones." (SPOILER ALERT if you're catching up and still aren't done with season 1.) A lot of what's happening now is obviously based on your character, but when you died in the first season - dude, you should be getting paid for the last three seasons. Right?!
SB: I wish [laughing]. That'd be nice. I guess I knew that I wasn't going to make it beyond the first season. It was such a great part and I met with the producers and the writers and directors and they were a great bunch, as you can see from its longevity.
AW: I'm looking closely at your handsome face right now and I understand Harrison Ford did something to you? Did he bang you up?
SB: Yes he did. That bugger [laughing]. He actually accidentally hit me with a hook due to the filming of a final scene where I died - again. ANd it caught me above the eye and I have quite a few stitches in it. But it's a good one. It's in the right place. Kind of a designer scar.
Again, see the whole interview in the VIDEO section up top!