Date of publishing: 30th
August 2007
Alan Scarfe is born in 1946, in London and immigrated
to the United States in 1985. Alan began his career
as a theatre actor and performed mostly in North America
and Europe. But Alan has also an impressive filmography
in cinema and television. You will recognize him as
Professor Bradley Talmadge in the TV show "Seven
Days", as Archmagus in the epic "Earthsea"
as well as several small roles in other sci-fi shows
such Stargate Atlantis, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek
TNG, Andromeda, Highlander, SeaQuest, Quantum Leap,
McGyver and the list is still long! His latest job
was to portray Father Cassidy in the "Direct-To-DVD"
Babylon 5 movie "The Lost Tales".
Gilles Nuytens: First
of all, can you tell us a bit about yourself, who
is the man behind the character?
Alan Scarfe: I was trained as a stage
actor and most of the first twenty years of my career
were spent doing that in theatres across North America
and in Europe. Dozens of big classical roles like
Hamlet, King Lear, Othello.
Gilles
Nuytens: Why did
you become an actor, what was your motivation?
Alan Scarfe: I wanted to be a great
classical actor in the long tradition of Burbage,
Garrick, Kean, Booth, Olivier. Forty-five years ago
when I began it was still possible to think in such
a romantic, idealistic way.
Gilles Nuytens: You
have a really impressive filmography, which films
are you most proud of?
Alan Scarfe: I don’t really
think of film and television as the impressive part
of my career. But of the films it is mostly the small,
independent ones of which I am most proud. Films like
Deserters and The Portrait and the recent Hamster
Cage.
Gilles Nuytens: You
have appeared in a lot of science-fiction productions,
what do you like about this genre?
Alan Scarfe: Science fiction on film
and television, especially if you are playing some
kind of alien character with fantastic make-up, is
great for actors with a strong stage background. The
productions need that kind of size and intensity of
performance. You can’t really mumble if you’re
a Klingon.
Gilles Nuytens: What
did you know about Babylon 5 before landing the role
of father Cassidy?
Alan Scarfe: Virtually nothing other
than that it existed.
Gilles Nuytens: How
much creative freedom were you given with this character?
Alan Scarfe: As much as I wanted.
But the truth is, with television scheduling, you
are just trying to do your best under quite rigorous
circumstances.
Gilles Nuytens: How
was it like to work with a talented writer such J.
Michael Straczynski?
Alan Scarfe: That was the best part
of the experience. J. Michael’s writing. The
show was much more verbal than most are and the arguments
presented much more interesting.
Gilles Nuytens: Was
it hard to get the role?
Alan Scarfe: No. Very easy. J. Michael
had pretty much decided he wanted me to do the part
from looking at my demo tape. Then we just had an
informal meeting, shared a few jokes with each other,
and that was it.
Gilles
Nuytens: What is
the atmosphere like on the sets?
Alan Scarfe: Most sets are quite
relaxed. This one was. Though sometimes, for example
when shooting the pilot for a new series, things can
become more than a bit hysterical. But Babylon 5 had
already had a long-run as a successful series, so
the atmosphere was very relaxed. Most experienced
professionals definitely prefer it that way.
Gilles Nuytens: Are
there any practical jokes from the sets you'd like
to share?
Alan Scarfe: Not really. I did make
the error of describing a satirical, anti-Bush cartoon
that I’d just seen in the Guardian only to discover
I was speaking with a Bush speech-writer and avid
supporter. And then we had to work closely together
for the next eight days! This was not J. Michael,
I hasten to say.
Gilles Nuytens: What
did you enjoy the most working on Babylon 5?
Alan Scarfe: The writing, as I’ve
mentioned. The unaccustomed subtlety of it.
Gilles Nuytens: What
aspects of your personality do you share with this
character and what aspects of him are completely unlike
you?
Alan Scarfe: I’d like to think
I shared his compassion and intelligence. But the
character was a Catholic priest and I am a life-long
atheist.
Gilles Nuytens: Now
a few questions about Seven Days. You played Professor
Bradley
Talmadge for 3 years, what memories do you take away
from that show?
Alan Scarfe: I have done several
television series and always enjoyed them. It is the
closest an actor can come on television to being in
a theatre company. And I like to think it offers the
chance for one’s work to become better and better.
Gilles Nuytens: What
do you miss the most?
Alan Scarfe: Well, I’d be dishonest
if I didn’t say the pay check.
Gilles
Nuytens: How was
it to work with Jonathan LaPaglia, is he as "crazy"
as Frank Parker?
Alan Scarfe: Jonathan is not the
least bit crazy. He is a qualified MD, you know. He
just likes to have fun and that comes across. He was
terrific to work with and a really delightful person.
I developed a bit a skin cancer on my face during
Season 3 and he was the first one to point out to
me what it was.
Gilles Nuytens: As
Season 1 progressed, did the story lines from Seven
Days meet your expectations?
Alan Scarfe: Yes. The difficult thing
about any series and the question I would ask anyone
who showed me an interesting pilot script is “OK,
now what happens in episode 100?”. Writing
for episodic TV is hard. I think we had good writers.
Gilles Nuytens: On
Earthsea, you play a powerful magician. How did you
feel about taking on such a role?
Alan Scarfe: I felt easy enough about
it once I realised we had such a good director and
such a fine production team for sets, costumes and
all that. We also had a very fine cast.
Gilles Nuytens: What
did you know of Earthsea before getting the job?
Alan Scarfe: Nothing. But I read
the novels afterward. I found Ursula LeGuin’s
writing to be utterly charming. I wish I had made
them known to my children.
Gilles Nuytens: Do
you prefer this kind of heroic-fantasy genre, or is
there another genre you feel is more suitable for
you?
Alan Scarfe: The theatre. But I guess
you could call that heroic-fantasy, too.
Gilles Nuytens: Generally
before playing a character, how do you prepare yourself
mentally?
Alan Scarfe: On television and film,
where you often get little or no rehearsal, I just
make very, very sure that I know my lines! In order
to do that you basically have had to rehearse the
whole thing by yourself in your trailer or hotel room
or whatever and that inevitably gets you into the
mind of the character. So, it’s really the same
process as rehearsing a stage play, just a bit more
compressed and a lot more lonesome.
Gilles
Nuytens: In general,
what draws you to a certain role?
Alan Scarfe: Just whether I think
I can play it or not. Whether I think I can get the
audience to believe me in the role. And whether I
feel like playing it at the time.
Gilles Nuytens: After
all your experiences as an actor, are you interested
in writing or directing for the cinema or television?
Alan Scarfe: I have directed a lot
in the theatre. And my wife and I have written at
least ten screenplays that are gathering mold in various
production offices around the world. We like to think
it’s because they are too good. We are still
writing them. I have never been interested in directing
for television but I would like to have directed a
couple of our movie scripts. I doubt it will ever
happen now because I am too old and too lazy.
Gilles Nuytens: Can
you tell us about your experiences on Stargate Atlantis?
Alan Scarfe: It was brief. Only one
episode. But it was an interesting character with
an interesting and all too common problem. It was
a nice group of young actors to work with.
Gilles Nuytens: Same
question about Andromeda.
Alan Scarfe: That was a delightfully
wacky character and I had a lot of fun doing it. I
was never too sure what I was talking about but I
could happily have done it for more than the three
episodes.
Gilles Nuytens: What
else can we expect from you in the future?
Alan Scarfe: Well, I’m having
a novel published in Rome next year and I’m
toying with the idea of playing Orson Welles on stage
in Italian. As for television, that always comes up
at the last minute.
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