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TV Zone Magazine | #161, April 2003 Equally handy with a wrench, some rewiring, or a witty comeback, Seamus Zelazny Harper is the kind of engineer who should be on board every starship. Gordon Michael Woolvett tells Steven Eramo why he's the best in the biz... In a recent episode of Andromeda, Seamus Harper strode onto the ship's command deck and announced, "Hey, have no fear, Wonder Harper is here with news that's guaranteed to turn your frowns upside-down." Over the past two-and-a-half years, the show's resident Mr Fix-It has helped save the Universe, as well as the lives of his fellow crewmates, more than once. For Canadian actor Gordon Michael Woolvett, who portrays the ebullient engineer, it feels like only yesterday that he began his tour of duty aboard the Andromeda Ascendant.
"Boy, oh boy, I'll never forget starting out on this show," he says smiling. "A few years ago I did another Sci-Fi series called Mission Genesis. My first day on that programme I had to crawl down a conduit, pop open a panel and fix some wires. When I arrived for my first day of work on Andromeda I had to crawl down a conduit, pop open a panel and, surprise, surprise, fix some wires. Afterwards, I began to think, 'Jeez, am I going to spend the rest of my acting career doing this.' Thank God that's not been the case. "Something that impressed me right from the start about Andromeda was that the cast was unlike any I'd worked with before. There was a real professional bond and mutual respect amongst the actors without all the behind-the-scenes drama that sometimes goes on. I thought that was neat. It wasn't long before I felt as if I'd known everyone for years, and in some cases I had. Laura Bertram [Trance Gemini] played my girlfriend on Mission Genesis, and as for Lexa Doig [Rommie], she and I hosted a TV video game show a while back. So everything fell into place very quickly and it's been smooth sailing ever since." Harper and Trance originally travelled with Captain Beka Valentine (Lisa Ryder) on the salvage vessel Eureka Maru. The trio subsequently came aboard the Andromeda Ascendant and joined Captain Dylan Hunt (Kevin Sorbo) on his quest to restore the fallen Commonwealth government. Harper is the only member of the Andromeda crew who was born and brought up on Earth during its hellish post-Commonwealth period. Not surprisingly, he is a bit of cynic and slightly lacking in the social graces. He is much more comfortable in the company of machines and tinkering around the ship. Fortunately for Harper, life on Andromeda has helped change all that. He's not the same person he once was. At least he likes to think so. "A character grows by leaps and bounds in his or her mind but to everyone else that growth is probably miniscule," muses Woolvett. "As far as Harper is concerned he's a different man. He's certainly matured but his height remains a bit of a problem. If only he were taller," jokes the actor. "No, seriously, Harper has definitely grown up but at the same time we can still count on him to say things that will make us laugh or just piss Tyr [Keith Hamilton Cobb] off. "Believe it or not, being funny can often be quite challenging. Whether you're a writer, director or an actor, it's very easy as well as obvious to go for the laugh. So whenever I'm doing a scene that has Harper going for a laugh I try to take him the other way and have him be serious but still do something amusing. For example, he might stub his toe or hit his finger with a hammer. In those instances it's not necessarily funny to him but those watching might get a kick out of it. I hope that makes sense. Conversely, when Harper is supposed to be serious I try to make him crack a joke in the face of adversity. What you end up with, I hope, is a real person who has a good sense of humour as opposed to the guy who's just there to deliver the punch line. When he's not busy helping save the universe on Andromeda, the actor enjoys spending time with his wife, actress Michele Morand (who guest-starred in the second season Andromeda story Last Call at the Broken Hammer), and their son Rogan, who was born 31st July 2001. Woolvett's eyes light up when the topic of conversation turns to his little boy. "Fatherhood is fantastic," enthuses the actor. "My boy is walking, talking and running around like a crazy machine. We recently moved into a new house and he's running up and down the stairs, and that means either Michele or I are chasing after him. Rogan has been to the Andromeda set and he just loves running around the halls of the ship. The floors are rubberized so he can't hurt himself. Who knew that the Andromeda would turn out to be the perfect day care centre." Whether he's acting in front of the cameras or at home being a husband and father, Woolvett always gives 150% of himself. Last fall, his work on Andromeda was rewarded when he received the viewer-voted Gemini's Hottest Star award. With the show already renewed for a fourth season, the actor is looking forward to more Outer Space adventures as Seamus Harper. "I cannot tell a lie. I've loved this character ever since I auditioned for it three years ago," he recalls. "Harper felt comfortable, like putting on an old shirt, you know? It's been a fun ride so far and I can't wait to see what the writers have in store for him next season." This magazine was published in March 2003, only part of the interview is published with respect to copyright, to read the full interview the magazine is available to purchase as a back issue, for more details click here to vist the Visual Imagination Website |
