Inside the 'Prison' Walls
On the Set, Even Plot Twists Are Kept Behind Bars

By Amy Amatangelo
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, March 19, 2006

Remain calm.

That's what I told myself as T-Bag gave me my own private tour of the Joliet Correctional Center in Illinois.

After an almost four-month hiatus, Fox's hit series "Prison Break" returns Monday night. And on a recent bright and chilly day, Robert Knepper, who plays Fox River's most menacing inmate, has graciously volunteered to show me around the real-life former prison where the conspiracy drama is filmed.

Sure, Knepper's whole demeanor is different from that of his character. There's no sinister smile. No nefarious tilt of the head. No lackadaisical swagger. No malevolently lilting southern accent. In fact, Knepper is quite a charming man. But still, it's hard to shake the feeling that it's T-Bag I'm spending quality time with.

Here on the set, things are hush-hush with all the actors speaking in vague "if-and-when-we-escape" caveats. A scene in the outdoor yard has C-Note (Rockmond Dunbar) warning Michael (WentworthMiller) -- that he's got "to handle things." What those "things" are and how close the prisoners are to escaping are kept tightly under wraps.

Viewers may have heard that "Prison Break" -- a series about a man who got himself sent to prison so he could help his innocent brother escape from death row -- films at a defunct penitentiary. But it's beyond chilling to actually be on the set. There's barbed wire at every point of exit. The cells, which were shared by two inmates, are smaller than a lot of people's closets. All of the open spaces are tightly enclosed, creating a false sense of being free. This is a place where notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy was confined.

There are "some rooms you walk into where you're just overwhelmingly sad," said Sarah Wayne Callies, who plays Dr. Sara Tancredi. "There's the emotional residue. Then there's just the reality of standing in the middle of a yard and realizing this is where people come to lose hope."

"I really thought it was a beautiful piece of property," said Muse Watson, who plays kindly inmate Westmoreland. "I thought, 'What a wonderful place to raise horses.' But the longer I stayed here and the feeling I got from this place, I thought, 'This is not a place to raise horses.' There's a karma here that's just so bad."

As my tour ends, Knepper points to a serene mural a previous inmate had painted -- a work of art that belies the decrepit surroundings. It's one of the first things he saw when he came to Joliet Correctional Center. "I thought, that's perfect, that's real, that's human," Knepper said. "That's like a T-Bag kind of thing."

It is these small details that bring the series to life. "The prison is the main character on the show," Miller said. "It gives us a certain integrity and authenticity that you can't really put a price on, and it reminds you what the stakes are."

'Finale Is Massive' And More . . .

When "Prison Break" last aired a new episode in November, the imminent escape of Michael (Wentworth Miller) and his brother Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) from Fox River State Penitentiary was stymied by a repaired air duct. Here's what lies ahead for the rest of the season and (perhaps) beyond, according to the cast:

What can viewers expect in the final nine episodes of the season?

"I think what we're going to see is a decided change in Michael," said Miller (top). "He came into this prison environment very cool, calm and collected, with a very poker-faced exterior, keeping all of his cards very close to his chest. As the clock continues to tick and the pressure mounts and the complications arise, the cracks start to show. Initially I went into this thinking Michael was the good brother and Lincoln (Purcell, bottom) was the bad brother, and now it's become clear to me that Michael has just as many issues, if not more, than the brother he's trying to save."

So look for more prisoners to get in on the escape action and for "the body count to rise," Purcell said. "The finale is massive," he said.

What upcoming episode is everyone most excited about?

The April 3 episode will flash back to what all the main characters were doing three years ago, before many of them were in prison. "The episode just cleared a lot of things up -- where all the characters come from and the reasons why we're here," said Amaury Nolasco, who plays Michael's cellmate Sucre.

What about a second season?

While awaiting word on whether the show would be renewed, most of the actors were optimistic the series would win a place on the fall schedule. Would Season 2 have this chain gang on the run from the law like "The Fugitive?"

"The cast is like, 'We can't wait until we get out of prison,'" Rockmond Dunbar said. "That's basically when the show begins. The show will start when we're running."

And Purcell has another thing he's looking forward to. "All I'm thinking about with Season 2 right now is the opportunity to grow my hair."

-- Amy Amatangelo