In his first television interview following his character Will Gardner’s shocking death in Sunday’s episode of the THE GOOD WIFE, actor Josh Charles discusses his decision to exit the critically-acclaimed CBS drama series and sends a special message to his fans when he visits the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN, Monday, March 24 (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Letterman:  “What the hell happened?â€
Charles: “What an intro!† (audience laughs)
Letterman:  “You got killed off!†Â
Charles:  “That’s what you gotta do to get on the Letterman show.  I had to do that, I had to get killed off to get on your show.â€
Letterman:  “Now, you knew this was going to happen?â€
Charles:  “Yeah, we’ve known this since last year.   It’s been one of the greatest gigs for me in my entire career, but at the end of last year, my contract was up and I was just ready to kind of move on…â€
Letterman:  “That’s a very courageous thing to do.â€
Charles: “Ah, you know – “
Letterman:  “In show business, don’t you think?â€
Charles:  “It might be. Yeah, I guess it is.  It is tough to leave stability and leave sort of structure…â€
Letterman:  “Yes, but moves like this always pay off.  I think they’re always for the better.â€
Charles:  “Well, I could just tell you that I think what we decided last year was to come back and do these 15 this year, which I think really was great for the show and also was a really proper goodbye to the character, so that was special.â€
Letterman:  “What has been the reaction of fans, friends, family to this?  It was all secretive, right?  You couldn’t tell anybody.â€
Charles:  “It is kind of amazing.  We’ve been able to keep it a secret for an entire year…Yeah, I told some family members that I know could keep a secret, which is a very few.â€
Letterman:  “Yeah.  What about neighbors and people on the street?â€
Charles:  “Uh, no, you know, there’s the neighbors – today, I will say this.  When I went out to – I went downstairs, and I saw by our mailbox, the neighbors across the street, who I don’t even know, had left my wife and I a really beautiful note just saying that we feel like a family member had died and we know this is just a TV show and all that.  But it was, I have to say, I was very touched by it.  A lot of the, you know, the response on Twitter has been much the same and I just want to say to the fans that, you know, I really appreciate all of your comments.† (searches to look directly into camera) “I don’t know where I’m looking, but I just want to tell them that I really appreciate that.  Sorry, Dave.†(Charles, audience laugh)
Letterman:  “That’s all right.â€
Charles:  “But I really do.  It’s meant a lot.  I get invested in characters in TV shows, too, so.  Everything’s going to be ok!  I’ll call your mom later.† (Letterman, audience laugh)
Letterman:  “Do you have, in the back of your head, a plan – you must have a plan of things you want to do now?â€
Charles:  “Oh, I have no plan.† (audience laughs)
           Also visiting the LATE SHOW tonight is President Jimmy Carter, who is promoting his new book, A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power, which will be released tomorrow, and musical guests The Hold Steady.
           The LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN is a production of Worldwide Pants Incorporated. Barbara Gaines, Matt Roberts, Jude Brennan, Maria Pope, Eric Stangel, Justin Stangel and Rob Burnett are the executive producers.
CHEAT TWEET: Â .@MrJoshCharles talks about his exit from #TheGoodWife & sends a message 2 his fans on #Letterman 2nite 11:35 pm! #CBS http://bit.ly/1hV9FPx Â
RATING: TV-PG (Rating may change on day of broadcast due to specific subject matter.)
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