Source: The Wall Street Journal
Date: January 19, 2012

Upstairs at dimly lit West Village haunt the Lion on Tuesday evening, Matt Bomer and Mark Feuerstein, two pretty faces from the USA Network, were chatting about the new seasons of their series, “White Collar” and “Royal Pains.”

Incidentally, Mr. Bomer and his dinner guests, who were mostly journalists, were missing the “White Collar” premiere.

“I have a really hard time watching myself anyway,” he said. “I have a very strong super-ego that probably tells me things less healthy for me.”

Over tuna tartar and steak, the actors expounded upon their USA endeavors; but Mr. Bomer was also fielding questions about “Magic Mike,” the coming Steven Soderbergh film in which he plays a stripper.

“I made the choice that my character just likes to show his cookies and make a dollar at the same time,” he said, laughing. “The second you start to judge anything your character does you’re screwed.”

The film fit Mr. Bomer’s criteria for a career move. “Here’s my check-list,” he said. “Does it scare me? Does it take me out of my comfort zone? And will it mortify my parents?”

Midway through the meal, the actors played a bit of musical chairs, moving around the tables to chat up different guests. At last, Mr. Bomer ended up in a giant red velvet seat at the head of the table, which he shared with a reporter from Buzzfeed. The seating arrangement brought out a spontaneous song, since the actor was reminded of the Tom Petty music video for “Don’t Come Around Here No More”—”the Alice in Wonderland one.”

Afterward, he was back on the topic of stripping. “I’m always in tear-away now,” he said. “This suit is tear-away. I wanted to make sure we made a least one periodical tomorrow.”