Cult Times | #65, February 2001

Interview by Thomasina Gibson

IT'S 'CIGARS at the ready' time as Fireworks and Tribune Entertainment present their own version of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Actually their show is called Andromeda and diplomacy prevents any specification as to which the above descriptions refer but, encased in three very different frames, the males most likely to assist the Andromeda's Captain Dylan Hunt (Kevin Sorbo) in rebuilding a firmer future, definitely fit within those definitions. Feel free to make your own decision as to which is which.

Take surfer dude Harper for instance. He could be described as 'good'! Well, he's very good at his job, which is to provide essential technical expertise (computer based or mechanical) on board Andromeda. This boy wonder can repair and restore any broken circuits, change the fuses in the plugs or build the odd Back-to-the-Future-type Time travelling transporter machine as and when required. It's when you look at some of his other attributes that things could start to get a little ugly. He's bold, brash, sassy and full of nonsense and drives the rest of his companions batty. The really scary thing is that actor Gordon Michael Woolvett is damned close in real life to the character he plays in the show.

"Sadly I am somewhat like Harper," he confirms. "Harper is an amalgam of all my endearing qualities." Right! And these would be? "Obviously modesty!" suggests Woolvett. Uh huh! Does the phrase 'I am a God!' ring any bells? Or perhaps 'I am a genius!' "I find it very easy to play Harper," grins the actor, "and not because it's an easy role, but because it's an enjoyable role to play and anything that is that much fun is suddenly no longer work. Harper is such a cool role for me because I've always been attracted to the kind of characters that have those despicable qualities that somehow draw you to them regardless of the fact that they are so obnoxious." With tongue firmly in cheek Woolvett nods, "I think Harper has lots of obnoxious qualities and the audience will get to see a lot more of them as the series goes on." Woolvett also thoroughly enjoys the fact that he gets to put his personal knowledge of computers and technobabble to good use. "All the extra stuff like having to work with outrageous props and make them look as though they are actually real is all just play for me. I actually design websites and spend a lot of time round computers when I'm not working, so I try to make sure that what I'm doing seems real and makes sense to me because, if it does, then it will be all the more realistic for the audience. I also don't want to just stick a wrench into a big circuit board and say, 'Hey, I'm fixing this'. I want to be able to explain what I'm doing like, 'I'm bypassing something' or 'replacing the blue chip' or whatever. That helps to make it a little more believable."

So just what is a laid-back surf-crazy guy doing on Andromeda? "Besides ogling the female embodiment of the ship?" asks Woolvett. "I think the reason Harper is hanging out where he is is because everybody has some sort of redeeming qualities that appeal to him. Even characters like Tyr [Keith Hamilton Cobb], who scare the hell out of him have their nicer sides. In fact, there are scenes coming up where Tyr and I joke around together. It's not something you would expect given their personalities but that makes it all the funnier. Although when Tyr's had enough of silly jokes he'll just sort of push Harper or shove him and I don't think he realizes how much larger than Harper he really is." Grimacing at the memory Woolvett says, "There is one scene where Tyr picks Harper up and throws him down off camera. Usually in film and television they do what's called 'foley' work where the action takes place and the sound is added later. Usually they drop a sack or something to make it sound as though the person is hitting the ground. But Keith threw me so hard that they didn't have to do that. When you listen to that episode, it really is me hitting the ground." Ouch!  Statuesque actor Keith Hamilton Cobb wouldn't do such a thing on purpose, of course. No way! It's just that there isn't enough room for such a large person on such a small set. As big, butch Nietzschean Tyr Anasazi, Cobb could be forgiven for throwing his weight around but he's not really bad. Honest!

This interview is longer featuring contributions from Keith Hamilton Cobb and Brent Stait that is not reproduced here.  Back issues are available by visiting www.visimag.com