It must surely be a crime to be as good-looking as Matt Bomer is.

In the crime drama series White Collar, the 33-year-old is the embodiment of the suave white-collar criminal: Confident, charming, cheeky, smooth, slick and dapper in vintage suits.

Really, he makes you almost agree that there should be one law for good-looking people and another for all the rest of the riff-raff.

In White Collar, Bomer - whom you'll recognise from his role as Bryce Larkin in Chuck - plays Neal Caffrey, a con artist, forger and thief who escapes from prison with only four months left on his sentence, and believes his ex-girlfriend, Kate, is in trouble.

Finding her vanished without a trace, he allows himself to be re-captured by FBI agent Peter Burke, but strikes a deal with him: Using his insider expertise, he'll help the FBI hunt down other white collar criminals in exchange for limited freedom. Meanwhile, he has a secret plan to find and help Kate.

Nothing more romantic than love in a time of forgery. And trust us - Matt Bomer makes even an ankle bracelet look good. May Seah



Catch White Collar tonight at 10pm on MediaCorp TV Channel 5.



What's it like playing a con man?

First of all, I prefer to call it a "social engineer" - because that's what con artists tend to call themselves - but it is a confidence game. A lot of it is what an actor does. The best con men do a lot of homework: They know their mark inside and out; they know every detail associated with every recon that they're going to try to pull.



Were you inspired by any famous film criminals?

I think the character that I was most inspired by, and who I most enjoyed, was really Cary Grant's character in To Catch A Thief. He had the confidence, the charm, a sense of personal style. But he also had a lightness to him and could do the comedic stuff as well. And the romance.



Are your friends getting wary of you now that you've picked up the tricks of the trade?

Well, I just did a scene where I pick somebody's pocket and the crew told me they don't trust me any more, because I guess I've gotten good at it! No, I don't know that my friends think I'm conning them. Most of my friends I've had for a long time, so I've been conning them for years! People just think it's the same old Matt.



You sing as well, don't you?

I do sing, yes. Well, uh, I mean, if I'm drunk and it's karaoke, then that's one range of songs that I'd sing. But, all kinds of stuff. I started out doing things like Spring Awakening and Broadway stuff.



What's your favourite karaoke song?

Oh, Desperado by The Eagles. Anything by The Eagles. That's where I take it. I wait until everybody gets nice and tipsy and I bring them down another notch. Transcript courtesy Mediacorp TV Channel 5