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June 2006

Risk Management – Marie-Danielle French

Tom Everett Scott ups the ante in Saved.

After years of near-misses, Tom Everett Scott is ready to roll the dice on a portraying a flawed character with a gambling addiction. In Saved, Scott plays Wyatt Cole, a paramedic whose propensity towards self-destruction is tempered by the need to save lives while on the job.

"I can really appreciate this role and this series," says Scott. "There's so much for me to enjoy." It's clear from the actor's excited and animated tone that he's deeply invested in his latest role as a complicated man of many contradictions.

While Scott is best known for his role in the Tom Hanks-directed That Thing You Do! from 1996 he's hardly a stranger to primetime TV. Six years ago, he starred in the gritty Fox drama The Street, which scored raves with critics but lasted only 12 episodes.

In marked contrast to Scott's sometimes bumpy career, it seems his Wyatt Cole character has it all. He's charming, charismatic and personally engaging. He's compassionate and dedicated to his job as a paramedic. But beneath the veneer, Cole's addiction wreaks havoc on his personal life. He's barely on speaking terms with his overbearing father, and his ex-girlfriend and colleague is a constant source of pain. At one point, he finds himself thousands of dollars in debt, and is forced to take a brutal beating from some thugs as punishment for not paying up on time.

"He's literally gambling with money and his life and emotions," says Scott. "He just doesn't care what's going to happen to him."

While it might be Cole's recklessness that drives him, it's his need for excitement that pushes him to live life on the edge, both on the job and in his personal life.

"The character is an adrenaline junkie: he's got to feel things all the time," says Scott, noting that while his risk-taking behavior certainly lands him in his share of hot water, it's also what pushes him to do great things as a paramedic. While others hesitate to make the tough life-and-death calls, Cole is unflinching in the face of danger.

"'You've got to bet big to win big,'" says Scott about Cole's philosophy . "He doesn't just feel that way, he actually lives it."

Saved premieres June 12 at 10 p.m. ET on TNT

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