Dragon*Con 2006 interview transcript

Read a transcript of the Dragon*Con 2006 video interview, courtesy of KellyGirl and Dreago.

• KellyGirl
• Dreago
• Tom Hern

K — Well, last year when we talked to Matt, he was quick to say that you are a "fucking good-looking guy"...

T — Hahahaha! That's my boy, Matty! That's my boy!

K — But he never really answered my question about the relationship between Slade and Ram...

T — Right, right.

K —Because we, as viewers, so clearly saw all these power plays and sexual tension. So what was going on there?

T — Ah well you know, I think there was definitely a little bit of homosexual subtext and undertones there but umm...

K — On purpose?

T — Oh no, I don't think so. I think there's always going to be that sort of innuendo or subtext when there's two strong male characters that have a strong friendship, you know? I think, if they're both powerful and there's a lot of energy then there'll often be tension and that could be interpreted as sexual tension. It doesn't really bother me, I think it's quite a nice subtext but...

K — It was fun for us!

T — Yeah, we definitely weren't playing that as a choice — we weren't ... uh... layering that into our performance or anything like that. But, uh, yeah I don't know. It's interesting... yeah, yeah. I can see how it would be interpreted that way.

D — Well, it's interesting because you're saying it's two powerful males and I can't speak for Kelly but for me I didn't see it because of that I think I saw it because of the manipulative element where you're in the wheelchair, you have less power so you really have to charm and wheedle to get your way.

T — Right right, I see, so it was on a manipulative level. Yeah, that makes complete and utter sense. Yeah, that does make sense.

D — How did you prepare to get into that wheelchair?

T — Umm, well, I just spent a lot, a lot of time in that wheelchair before we actually started shooting. I had it available to me for about a month before we started to shoot and I just made it a part of me really. I spent a lot of time just out in the car park at Cloud 9 just cruising around in it because I figured... It was so exciting when I first got in the chair because I went straightaway now as an actor it's all from here (indicates waist) up and it's all in my face, my hands, and my voice. And so my hands became quite valuable to me as well, you know? Especially with the black, the black gloves and that in Series 4 in the early days and all of it - it was all just coming out here (wiggles fingers) which made it, made it quite fun and then so I almost made that as a point of focus initially as if they, as if everything I was saying was coming out through here.

D — Ahhh.

T — So that was quite a good preparation and ummm, I just spent a lot of time imagining that the frame size of the camera is just here (indicates waist to top of head) and anything down here is dead, you know? So that's quite an interesting exercise for preparation as well. Yeah, yeah it was good.

K — Was it always the intention for him to get out of the wheelchair?

T — No, it wasn't.

K — Really?

T — No, it wasn't always the intention. It was something that I only read. We were at that stage... I'd heard murmurs of it at the start of Series 5. But of course, I think to a point it was a logistical thing as well. Once you move Ram to Liberty and once he was flying solo away from the Technos and stuff there was no real way that he could be cruising around town in his electric wheelchair. They could've put him in a manual chair or whatver but I think part of it was the logistics. And it was, to be honest, not one of my favorite storylines that he got out of the chair. To be honest I was kind of a bit bummed initially. It grew on me and I accepted it but I don't know it was a bit far-fetched for me, to be honest.

D — Yeah.

T — Yeah, it's kind of like — well, what's that all about?

D & K — (laughing)

K — Well, how was the physicality of like, playing that learning to walk again where you're so weak?

T — That was awesome! Yeah, that was real fun, eh? That was really fun. I would've like to have had a bit more time with that. We were quite rushed with shooting a lot of those scenes. But, umm... I haven't seen any of them. I don't think I've ever seen any of that stuff — I've never seen it so...

D & K — Really?

T — No. I don't know what it's like. I remember shooting it but no I've never seen any of it. I've hardly seen any of Series 5.

D — You don't watch your own work?

T — Uh, traditionally I do. But I just... like that stuff wasn't broadcast in New Zealand and I just never went about fetching it out to look at it. I watched most of Series 4 but I've hardly seen any of Series 5.

D — Oh wow.

T — So yeah, I'd like to see some so hopefully...

K — Well, we don't have it.

T — Yeah, that's right, that's right so...

D — So what kind of critiques would you give yourself now, being where you are, when you went back and watched Series 4?

T — Yeah, umm... well, I would like to think that I've grown a lot as an actor since then. I mean, I really fell into the deep end as an actor going on to The Tribe. I'd never acted professionally before. I wasn't trained. I'd done tv presenting and had fallen into this drama that I was really learning on the job and on the fly. I think I must've had some sort of good natural instinct to be able to umm, to get there. But I don't think I had much consistency in my work back in those days compared to now. I think hopefully I've learnt and grown from... I've had a lot more experience since then and I think I have the ability now to be able to pull on those emotions a lot easier than I did then and to be more consistent with my work. But I still think there's a few things that when I watched Season 4 that I liked - but not many.

D — Really?

T — Yeah, I think... but I think that's natural. Most actors will cringe when they watch their own work. But yeah, I was only sixteen or something like that when I did Season 4. So you're a teenager — you're still learning who you are yourself let alone as an actor. Man, it's tough though — critiquing yourself. It's tough watching it. Well, it's tough talking about self-review in any sense, isn't it? Like for you guys, if you're talking about whatever field you work in if people say 'What are you like? How good at your job are you?' It's a tough question, you know?

K — (laughing) Yeah, I was just saying that I put the recorder over there because when I listen back to our tape from last year I'm so loud it's obnoxious.

T — Yeah yeah, see! It's awful!

D — We're like — why did we say that?

T — Yeah yeah yeah! You see! Exactly! So that's totally it. I was trying to explain to my mum the other day because umm, I'm working on a show back home at the moment called Shortland Street, which is like New Zealand's kind of most popular drama.

D — Oh, congratulations!

T — Yeah, thanks. And umm, I play a Christian nurse on the show, which is pretty funny and it's a lot different to any other role I've ever played. He's very, you know, straight and...

D — Devout?

T — Yeah, devout. And it's great a great role, I really enjoy it. But because it's so popular in New Zealand, I mean all the shows I've worked on have only been popular overseas but not in New Zealand. And umm, so this is the first time that I've really had people when I go to the supermarket or whatever, just being swamped. And umm, I was trying to explain to my mum what that's like and what it feels like. And she couldn't really understand. And it was really funny and then, it's because, you know, my mum and I are very close and she could usually understand where I'm coming from and she couldn't. She just couldn't grasp it and understand it because she'd never done it herself. Funny though, the next week there our road at home in Christchurch got blocked off and she was with my stepfather. And he ended up nutting out at the cops like 'What the fuck! You shouldn't have blocked off our road! Just get the hell out and let us go back!' And it was all, they were being filmed the whole time and you know? They ended up on the cop show on Sunday night.

D — Really!?

K — Oh no!

T — And, and it was so funny because mum rung me just straightaway afterwards and she goes 'Baby, I understand.' She was like 'I've had people calling me up ever since I was on there and they've been hassling me. And you know, I've had all these people coming out of the woodwork.' And I'm like, mum, welcome to my world man. And now she totally understood it. It really really actually, even though I felt for her and empathized with her situation, it was really refreshing because she understood my perspective, you know? Yeah yeah, so that's... I don't know how I ended up on that rant all right but...

Part 2

D — My next question is about... is about the television presenting. How do I make it segue? But you mentioned that you had started off as a tv presenter and are you still doing some of that now?

T — No, I'm trying to steer away from that actually, I'm trying to steer away from it.

D — Are you planning on staying in children's tv because you mentioned Shortland Street and that I'm assuming is a little more adult.

T — Yeah, that is a lot more adult. Yeah, and umm... it's definitely the route I would rather go now. It was so nice when I did the cop show before I did Shortland Street. I just did a little one episode role on a cop show called Interrogation which was really good because it was adult content and...yeah, it makes me feel like a man, you know?

D — Did you get to take your shirt off? Because I know the first time we interviewed you, you were very concerned about that.

T — Ah yeah right, yeah no I think I've kind of gotten over that a bit.

D — You've got that six-pack you always wanted?

T — Yeah, no I haven't really got... I mean, I've by no means got like the buff body or anything but I'm a bit over that. Yeah, I don't really mind. It's not about that anyways. It's about the performances.

D — I don't know because when we went back and read the interviews you were very concerned.

T — Well, you know, I was a teenager, you know. It's like - guys get paranoid about that shit.

K — You also seemed really concerned because you talked a lot about how Raymond cast a lot of unconventional looking people...

T — Yeah, it's true.

K — And I just wonder if it made you worried about moving on, would you be able to move on because you're not a necessarily a traditional... a Mel Gibson.

D — And not that we think this but you referred to yourself as 'freakish looking.'

T — Yeah yeah yeah. Well, I mean, look I've got some new teeth now, right? I've got some new teeth and that's part of the whole the thing in the business that is a load of shit. But it's the reality. I went out after Tribe and umm... you know, I did a lot of work on my acting and I really honed my craft and got a lot better. And I can really say that. And really worked hard. And I went out to auditions you know, and people would say 'yeah we loved what he did but he's just not right the look for this.' And you know, I'd get a lot of that. And then I was actually on hold for a film that was shooting in Australia and I ended up getting dropped off the film because with about a week to go before shooting they said 'oh you know, it's just the teeth man. You know, it's just the teeth. We love him and if we could rush him through orthodontics and get his teeth done and whatever...' And it turned out that I couldn't. I didn't have the finances to be able to go and get my teeth sorted, or the time or whatever. And umm, but after that I thought... even though...

D — It's like a stripper who pays for implants.

T — Yeah yeah, no shit! That's right - it's a work investment. And I just kind of went... well, I'm not that worried about it that I wouldn't get them done to get more work. I would rather be working and doing what I love and if that means going and getting a small change to the way I look then I'm cool with it. But that is how fickle and bullshit it is really, you know? It's a nasty industry like that. It makes me sick.

K — And yet, here you are...

T — Yeah, well here I am but you know, things are starting to unfold for me in that sense. There is a place... there's beginning to be more of a place for unusual looking people as well. Like you know, the whole Zach Braff kind of guy is so the guy at the moment... that's the kind of Hollywood look.

K- The guy next door...

T — Yeah, even a little bit nerdy isn't such a bad thing and kind of...you know like nerd chic is suddenly sexy again and you know? So all those things are good.

D — So you're going to go out to LA? And swing out for pilot season?

T — Yeah, I'm gonna go out there and do three months for pilot season. I've actually got a film project that's looking really hopeful at the moment so I'm going to meet with the director out in LA next week actually. And that could be...

D - The start of something?

T - ...that could be the start of something. I really hope so.

K — We'll cross our fingers for you too.

T — Yeah, thank you. That'd be awesome. I've been auditioning for shit for months. And it's the first real big bite that we've had so... You never know, so hopefully...

K — Well, you know the last time you were here you were you were very sad that you did not get to see Luke Perry.

T — Yeah yeah yeah. What's up with that guy?

K — Who are you going to see this year?

T — I don't know, Traci Lords maybe.

K & D — (laughing)

T — Maybe Summer or...

D — Summer Glau?

T — Yeah yeah she looks pretty good.

D — Well see that segues into my question which is who is your fantasy femme?

T — Ah yeah, my fantasy femme. Ah, well... just anyone?

D — Yeah, it's DragonCon, all your fantasies come true.

T — My fantasy femme... shit... I watched... I don't know her name but I watched a film on the way over here. That really bad Tom Cruise... uh, what's it called? Mission Impossible 3? That Asian chick from that?

D — Which I did not go see...

T - Yeah, it's not on the top of my list. But the Asian chick off that film, man she is...

K — Lucy Lui?

D — Is that Gong Li?

T — No it's not Lucy Lui. It might be Gong Li.

D — Was she the girl from Memoirs of a Geisha?

*Note: After checking IMDB, the actress in Memoirs of a Geisha was Ziyi Zhang and the Mission Impossible 3 actress was Zhen Lei.

T — Yeah I think so, I didn't see Memoirs of a Geisha but yeah I'm pretty sure that is her. And oh yeah... dude. There we go. That's at the front of my consciousness. There's plenty more back there as well. But yeah she'd be mine. Gong Li, we'll go with that.

K — As an actor or movie viewer, what is one plot or character that's always going to get you even if it's a total cliché?

T — That's always gonna?

K — That's gonna grab your attention.

T — Aww man, Doc Holliday in Tombstone — Val Kilmer. Love that dude.

D — Westerns?

T — Yeah, love Westerns. Really usually only like old-school Westerns like umm... old Clint stuff like Josie Wales. Like (puts on character voice) 'Don't you piss down my back and tell me it's rainin'.' That kind of shit, you know? But uh, Tombstone that's probably the only contemporary Western that I like. Doc Holliday — favorite character.

D — What is it about Westerns that get you?

T — I like... I like... you know, here we're at a convention where people are into umm, fantasy worlds, you know? I'm not really like... sci-fi worlds don't appeal to me. I don't look at it and I can't imagine myself in that world. But when I watch the Western movies I can imagine myself as a cowboy in there, you know? That's what you've got to be able to do to enjoy it, don't you? You have to feel like it's real.

D — Live vicariously.

T — Yeah, live vicariously, exactly. So yeah, that's why I like the Western. Yeah, I'd like to be a cowboy.

D — Awesome. Great - thank you.

K — Well, time's up so thank you very much.

T — Thanks a lot guys. Yeah, thank you very much and I'll talk to you again eh?