Go Away With … Patrick Fabian

By Jae-Ha Kim
Tribune Content Agency
February 17, 2015

As attorney Howard Hamlin on AMC’s new hit series, “Better Call Saul” — a spinoff of “Breaking Bad” — Patrick Fabian gets to chew up the scenery. “It’s a dream role,” says the actor, who was born in Pittsburgh but now calls Los Angeles home. “The show is so well written that sometimes I can’t believe I’m being paid to be in it.”

An avid traveler who loves the outdoors, he adds, “I’m from Pennsylvania, but I’m a Southern California boy at heart and am always looking for sunshine and ocean. California is a great place to raise a family.”

Fans may follow Fabian on Twitter.

Q. What place has special meaning to you?

A. Hawaii. I proposed to my wife on top of Diamond Head, so it was special. For our fifth anniversary last year, my sister-in-law gave us five days in Hawaii without the kids. We woke up late, ordered from room service and just watched whales breach. We looked at each other and said, “Should we go anywhere or do something?” And then we figured, why? We were having a great time. It was so relaxing. We had our modern-day romance. At one point, my wife said, “Do you mind if I go on my iPad?” So she was on hers, I was on mine and whales were breaching in front of us. It was wonderful. (Laughs)

Q. What is your favorite vacation destination?

A. I lucked out. I got to go to Fiji last year. The whole family went. We stayed in Vomo. The Fijian people couldn’t have been any nicer. It was amazing. We also stayed at the Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort.

Q. Are you able to tack vacations onto work trips?

A. Sometimes! That’s one of the good things about being in the business I’m in. I remember Johnny Carson asking Michael Caine — who had just done “Hannah and Her Sisters” — why he was doing “Jaws 2.” And he said that you pick one movie for the art and the other for travel and location. (Laughs) I did “Xena: Warrior Princess” and got to go to New Zealand, put on a leather costume and beat up bad guys. Acting’s taken me all over. I’m very fortunate that way.

Q. What is your favorite weekend getaway?

A. I go to Will Rogers State Beach and play beach volleyball whenever it’s warm out. It’s like being in a Sunkist commercial! Part of me is like, I moved 3,000 miles. I’m going to the ocean!

Q. What is on your travel bucket list?

A. I was in Europe briefly when I was younger, but I’ve never been to Italy. I’ve got to go to Tuscany.

Q. What is an untapped destination?

A. North Carolina. It’s not the Deep South, but it was sort of the netherworld, in my mind. I was there when the leaves were turning with the bursts of orange red and yellow. I was unprepared for how gorgeous it was and how friendly everyone was. Those rolling hills are just stunning! I found it to be a place of real charm.

Q. What was the first trip you took as a child?

A. We used to do the classic station wagon trips. We went to Ontario, Canada, and went camping at a lake. I fell in love with a girl from Parma, Ohio. We played games during the car ride. We sat in the death seats in the back facing out the window and no one wore seat belts.

Q. How about your family? Do you travel with your little girls?

A. We started traveling almost immediately with them. We heard that if you travel with them when they’re young, they’ll adapt. We took them to San Francisco, Texas, Mexico … but sometimes you’re aware that you’re “that family” and you feel bad for the other passengers. When we traveled to Fiji, my youngest was beside herself! It was an 11-hour flight that started at 11 at night. By 1 a.m., she was having a meltdown. There’s nothing you can do. I was lucky we were with family and we took turns holding her and trying to console here. But there are not enough lollipops and iPads to help at that point. The people seated in front of us dealt with it. They watched every movie that was offered and drank every bottle of Scotch on the plane and were fine. But in the end, we landed in Fiji and they passed out leis to all the women and our girls loved it!

Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?

A. Always an iPad, music, headphones and a hard copy of the New Yorker. It’s a great magazine that covers a variety of things in an in-depth way.

Q. What is your worst vacation memory?

A. I was on a flight to Denver and we flew into a storm. I was convinced that I was going to die. There was a kid about eight or nine years old sitting next to me with a teddy bear and he was fine. I’m clutching the seat and he looks over at me and hands me his teddy bear. And I took it.

Q. Were you a kid when this happened?

A. No, I was a full grown adult in my 30s. (Laughs)