James Callis on FlashForward, part 3: James Is a Villain?

(In case I tagged it badly: "Comic Timing Essential" was update part 2.)

It's been confirmed that the episode James first appears on is episode 17, The Garden of Forking Paths, which will air in two weeks' time. The press release is on many sites, here at SpikeTV.

Of even more interest is this link with SpoilerTV quoting TV Guide: a fellow BSG fan is asking about his role in more detail.

MICKEY: How the frak are ya, Romy? Here's what Sonya Walger says about him: "He's this curious person who seems to know an enormous amount about Olivia's future. It turns out that this guy has had multiple flash-forwards, so he becomes incredibly important and significant to her and, in time, to the entire investigation." The bad news: He's not a good guy. In fact, he's going to make D. Gibbons look like a walk in the park full of unconscious people.

Hmm. So he's the villain again? I'm a bit disappointed. I was kind of hoping he'd be more like Lloyd Simcoe - someone with an important part, who's essential to the story without being the enemy, and yet manages to be a bit complex and imperfect.

But let's be honest: some of the show's "good" guys - including Mark Benford, Demetri Noh and Aaron - aren't particularly interesting characters. What's happening to them is interesting, but they haven't managed to get my sympathy throuhgout most of those events. There's something wrong with this show and "good guy" roles, and in that framework, I want to see James as a complex, strange, highly intelligent bad guy. Simon has been the most interesting character for me so far, and he's not really a good guy at all.

What I do worry about is that James is now going to be the bad guy every time, because Gaius was the bad guy. This is annoying because

a) he wasn't, at all;

b) on some shows, the bad guy roles are really black and black evil; and

c) James is such a kind guy in reality - it would be nice to see him exhibit that on shows as well.

But the actors always say that playing the villain or antagonist is the most interesting role. That's the role they want. I remember Jamie Bamber saying that Apollo was a limiting role, because he had to be good, and he sometimes envied James the more varied Baltar. The bad guy gets more leeway.

It's also a question of how James plays the part. He's really only played the eevil villain once, on One Night with the King, where he really was just bad bad bad. (And I doubt that, as a Jew, he'd like to play a Jew-hating bigot with much compassion.) Generally, though, James seems to bring some kind of understanding or nuance or compassion into the part he plays.

The reason actors want to play the villain is probably not that they want to be eevil and swirl their moustaches and cackle in a corner. They want to portray the darker side of human nature, which exists in all of us, but which we usually have to control. It may be liberating to let that part of you go and just get to do bad stuff for once. But if it's not done with complexity and psychological insight, it's just boring and cartoonish.

So let's hope for a complex character most of all, be it a hero or a villain. (Or a weird mixture of both, like Gaius Baltar.)

Relax, James Callis Is Not Bald.

...as far as I know.

Heh heh! OK, in my defense, it was already April Fool's in Finland when I posted that, and also I apparently got many people - most notably kixxa who just about had a heart attack. Relax, baby! :D I'm flattered that you guys think so much of my James-imitating skills - the "article" contained three quotes, so I pat myself in the back for making anyone think that was actually him. Do I know our man or what?

Just in case: if James should actually be bald in FF, I repeat my heartfelt NOOOOOOOOOO!

Other than that, happy April Fool's day everyone! :)

Oh James Why. :(

You know, I was actually feeling pretty good today... and then I found this:

"Callis goes bald for FlashForward". Sniff!! (There's no picture, so I can't say how bad it is.)

You know, I have been fearing this since that Galactica Quorum interview! We so should have made that petition that he not touch scissors for a year (Artemis_Neith's idea).

At least he knows we love it:

"I know my fans love the hair," says the hirsute actor. "But don't worry, girls - it grows back!"

....

"You know, I always wanted to know what it feels like to be bald," Callis says.

So how did it feel? "Cold."

Callis promises that the hair will be back by his Eureka role. "They pretty much insisted on it," he laughs.

Damn! I knew Dominic Monaghan was bald on the show, but James?

And I was so excited about this role! Oh well... at least we knew in beforehand so it won't be a big shock when we see him.

Random Thoughts o' the Week

I'm always dubious to call anything "weekly", because I probably won't end up writing every week and it looks silly. But let's just say these are random thoughts of this week, regardless if the thoughts ever come back or if they rush out into the darkness never to return.

Small personal update: I'm a bit more depressed lately, but having my meds adjusted and getting more therapy, so hopefully I'll have more energy for this blog and the LJ rewatch community soon. I feel like my writing is sub-par for now, but maybe that's just the depression talking. I'll be reporting on the news as soon as I see them, either way. If I sound lacklustre, it's because of my brain chemistry, not because I've lost interest in James.

A reader asked about James' glasses. I have no idea, but there's a thread at the Unofficial Website on the topic. Apparently it would be a Ray Ban model that someone identified. Read more here. It's interesting that his glasses fascinate people. Maybe also try having his hairdo (the long one)? Chicks dig that.

Still no con bookings for this year. Shooting Eureka in Vancouver, James is probably just too busy and not where the cons are. But who knows, maybe he'll be joining something on a shorter notice? I'll keep you posted. Looks like I won't be able to go to any con this year, judging by my finances, but it's always nice to hear about other people's experiences. Honestly, it is. I'm not envious AT ALL that you people get to talk to James and hug him and all that. (Grr.)

FlashForward: turns out we're only two weeks behind the US, and Revelation Zero, part 1 aired yesterday. Whoa! I'm going to see James soon, no doubt! I'm very excited about that - except that the pace of the show is still sssslllllooooowwww. I enjoy the premise and am still excited James will be on this show, but jesus. It may be an ABC thing, because I think the same is true of Lost. I didn't watch it when it first aired, partially because it's so painfully slow. Now, on DVD, I'm hooked on it, but only if I fast forward a lot of the scenes. There are characters I really care about, and characters I don't care about at all, and all of their back stories are expanded, so it's slow going. I have a feeling I'll love FF on DVD, but for now, we only have the slow-paced episodes. I just hope James will have some killer dialogue and great scenes that won't feel like watching paint dry. (Well, at least watching him and his subtle expressions is still interesting, no matter what's in the scene.)

Poll-wise, people seem pretty unanimous that they will watch James' episodes only, if a show he appears on is not something they'd otherwise watch. In fact, 100 % voted for that. I must admit I did peek at Eureka season one, but felt no need to watch the entire show, because it's apparently more of a sitcom type thing, not really a story with a plot you must follow. So I'm one of the "just watch his episodes" fans. You don't have to be a fan of the show to enjoy James' episodes. I hope.

I was looking through the archives, and looks like I have an anniversary coming up - one year of obsessing over James+donuts! I expected it to go away but, um, it hasn't really. It's been a juicy year. Mmmmm, donut gut. (L)!

A softer side of James. All cuddly and sweet. Plus: Tricia. I'm not sure which one turns me on more. *drool*

Speaking of James' physique - some people apparently felt uncomfortable with the James' body poll, so I've removed it. Let me know if I sound annoyingly objectifying or disrespectful or whatever. I probably wouldn't enjoy a poll asking ppl if they prefer me muscular, chubby or skinny, and maybe James wouldn't feel very good about it either. Sorry, James. It wasn't a serious thing for me. I love you just as you are (and also chubbier).

It's becoming harder and harder to google anything James-related, because there is a shocking amount of spam. I don't get it. Is it because people are googling James so much right now? Or because some spambots are creating spam based on your search? "James Callis shirtless" amuses me, but the day it turns up "james callis donut porn james callis donut eating contest james callis donut gut james dunkin donuts" type stuff, I will freak out. And can I just, once again, frown upon the "james callis alexander siddig" crap. People, they look nothing alike. Nothing at all. I do not see the resemblance, and I've spent a fair amount of time staring at James Callis pictures. I have nothing against Mr Siddig, but every time his face turns up in a James search, I get a bit annoyed with him. I wonder if Siddig fans feel the same way about James, coming to think of it.

That's about it for now. More James news hopefully soon.

Stills and Synopsis of "Re-Uniting the Rubins"!

We have some more info on the Rubins film at last! It's set to premiere at Cannes film festival this year, so hopefully that means a UK premiere soon also.

In the meantime, here's a link with a synopsis and stills.

Danny 33 (James Callis, “Battlestar Galactica”, “Bridget Jones”) is a divorced “capitalist-loving/survival-of-the-fittest/ control-freak-with-a-rod-up-where-the-sun-don’t shine” high-flying city exec with no time for his seven year old son

Wow, that sounds really different from his other roles! Also different from the other characters - he has a rabbi sibling, an eco-warrior sibling and a Buddhist sibling. It sounds like a lot of fun.

You can tell in the stills that James plays an uptight character -his eyes and mouth in all of these pictures signal irritation or impatience. Danny might not be a very likeable guy, but I'm curious to see how he constructs the personality this time.

Thanks to M for finding the link!

Comic Timing Essential

M found this intriguing casting call for FlashForward, episode 17:

[GABRIEL MCDOW] Late 40s, Male, Race Neutral. Odd, quirky, a bit socially awkward. Highly intelligent, he seeks out a stranger who he’s convinced can help him and won’t take no for an answer. Comic timing essential...GUEST STAR. RECURRING

That sounds like a great role. A bit older than James - I thought he didn't want to play late 40's? - but right up his ally: intelligent, comic timing, quirky, and somewhat mysterious. Great! I'm really looking forward to this.

(does "race neutral" mean he can be any race, or that he must be white? It doesn't specify if he's American or British or whatever - one character is specified as "Latin, no accent". I didn't know they were that particular.)

A couple of amusing points in the casting call:

[DOUCHEY GUY] 30s, open to all ethnicities. Drives a Cadlilac Escalade with thumping bass. Lost in his own world, he talks on a cell phone, his own self-importance distracting him from some major action happening right in front of him...CO-STAR

It's a pretty detailed description, yet he doesn't even have a name! "Douchey guy"! Hee.

[RUBY] 17, drama student, histrionic, a real diva. Attractive in an off-beat, artsy way. Girlfriend of a band member...One line

A name, all that detail and... one line? It reminds me of that sketch in Goodness Gracious Me where the Indian woman goes for an audition, the casting director gives her all this jazz about who her character is, including "can you try a Scottish accent?" and then she auditions with "arrrrghhhhh" and that's her only line.

I suppose James has auditioned for things like "Douchey guy" in the past. Now he's doing the recurring co-star roles. It's kind of touching to see his career move upward like this - I know, I've only been around for a short time, but still. I'm proud of him and glad I joined at a time when he's doing so many roles. Maybe in a few years' time, he'll have his own show?

Eureka Stars on James' Role

Television Without Pity has interviewed Eureka stars Colin Ferguson and Salli Richardson-Whitfield. Interview here, and of course they are asked about James.

So what does James Callis bring to the show?

Colin Ferguson: [Mock-derisively.] Nothing. He's never brought anything to everything he's done. [Both laugh.]

Salli Richardson-Whitfield: Sexiness and trouble.

...

Richardson-Whitfield: He's not only a wonderful actor, he's actually sexy and interesting.

Ferguson: And from the table reads, he's funny, which you don't get to see on Galactica.

Richardson-Whitfield: He's very funny. But not as funny as you.

:) :) *beams*

I'm glad Richardson-Whitfield finds James sexy, because she needs to play his love interest. This will probably give them great chemistry. Plus it's always nice to have someone who appreciates James' charm. *happy fangirl sigh*

But um - you don't get to see him funny on BSG? I thought he was plenty funny there. Whatever, Ferguson.

Apparently James' character will make some of the things shift in the show, and it's going to reverse, or something. Hmmm. I'm beginning to wonder if I should actually down... buy... the third season of Eureka so I'd better get it. Well, we'll see. It doesn't premiere in the US until July, so there's still plenty of time to catch up.

Callis-English Dictionary, Part 1

There is a rare and demanding language that we, as James Callis fans, must learn to decipher. I like to call it simply "Callis". After watching so many interviews and transcribing some of them, I consider myself something of a connoisseur of this language. Being the humble, noble person I am, I've decided to give the world the gift of a Callis-English dictionary. Let's start with some simple phrases.

Callis:

"That is a good question."

English:

"That is a question."

Callis:

"That is a GREAT question."

English:

"I'm not sure I understood your question."

Callis:

"There's this thing in Shakespeare..."

English:

"I digress, but did you know I got an education in literature? Shakespeare Shakespeare Shakespeare!"

Callis:

"I haven't seen the film yet..."

English:

"I saw it and oh god, what was I thinking?!"

Callis:

"Our WONDERFUL director..."

English:

"..who is probably reading this. I wouldn't want to burn any bridges."

Callis:
"The Audi ad was so much fun."

English:

"Ka-ching!"

Callis:

"It's definitely more for teenagers than BSG."

English:

"It's vastly inferior to BSG."

Callis:

"It's shot in Vancouver, which is great. I love Vancouver."

English:

"It is my only reason for taking the job."

Callis:

"on some level"/"on a very big level"/"on every level"/whatever with "level"

English:

This is a specific, often repeated feature of the Callis language, and it seems to serve as an equivalent for the "Intrusive Dash" used in written Callis. In other words, rather than strictly mean something, it serves as a divider between words and clauses.

I'll make fun of myself too, just to be fair. So here are a few Denis-English translations for those who want to decipher MY challenging and beautiful language, which I am the foremost expert on. Ahem.

Denis:

"James is brilliant in this film."

English:

"James is in this film."

Denis:

"He looks GREAT!"

English:

"He looks fatter, which is great."

Denis:
"I came upon this old James project..."

English:
"I broke every copyright law in the world to get it."

Denis:

"I came upon this on a random google search.."

English:

"I spent five frakking hours searching for more donut quotes and all I found was this. Frak!"

Denis:

"I respectfully disagree."

English:

"You don't see the genius of James and therefore you are an idiot."

Fan Guide to: FlashForward

I know some fans are planning to watch only the James-relevant episodes of FlashForward. However, that might get confusing, so here's a little guide to things you MUST know about the show to get what the frak is going on.

Edit: If you want to see a somewhat more detailed article, read here. However, I must warn you that there is a woeful lack of CAPS compared to mine...

The Most Essential Stuff

-There was a big BLACKOUT during which EVERY PERSON in the world LOST CONSCIOUSNESS. They all had a "FLASHFORWARD" which means they saw a flash of their own future.

-Everyone saw the same moment of the same day, and the visions match. (For example, if you saw yourself with someone, that person also saw you.) Nobody knows WHY this happened, and whether people can CHANGE their future or if it's set in stone.

-The FBI starts to INVESTIGATE the issue. The investigation is very painstaking, slow, and frustrating. Also for the viewers.

-The main characters are FBI investigator MARK and his wife OLIVIA. Mark is in charge of "Mosaic", the investigation of the blackouts. Olivia is a doctor. James' character will meet her first, so pay attention. Olivia looks like this.

-James' character is called GABRIEL MCDOW and he has had MULTIPLE FLASHFORWARDS, which is unheard of.

-Two people were AWAKE during the flashbacks, but nobody knows who they are. There's blurry video footage of one of them, known as SUSPECT ZERO.

-In her flashforward, Olivia saw herself in love with another man, the amusingly-named LLOYD SIMCOE. They hadn't met before the blackouts. Lloyd is British. He has an autistic son Olivia has been treating. He also believes he is somehow RESPONSIBLE for the blackouts, but this has not yet been explained. Olivia wants to save her marriage and not fall for Lloyd, but it's not going very well.

-Mark's flashforward had him investigating the case, and the clues from the vision keep showing up in the present. Also, he was talking on the phone with Lloyd, saying there will be ANOTHER BLACKOUT. Dun dun dun!

-Mark doesn't care about THE RULES and that's why he is SUSPENDED from the FBI. (He's also BROODING and ANGSTY, so what else is NEW?)

-There are lots of DRAMATIC CLOSE UPS and CLIFFHANGERS at the ends of episodes.

More Details Which May or May Not Matter for James' Character

-Mark, a recovering alcoholic, saw himself DRINKING in his vision. Oh yeah, and he was about to be killed, but the drinking has been more of an issue.

-Mark's AA sponsor AARON saw his dead soldier daughter alive in the flashforward. Then the daughter TRACEY showed up at his house, asking for protection. She's being chased by some organization. Aaron is also in DANGER.

-Lloyd has a buddy called SIMON who comes from England to be sarcastic and threaten him. Simon doesn't like the fact that Lloyd told people about their experiment. Simon is a doctor.

-Mark's work partner AGENT NOH didn't have a flashforward. He later found out he will be KILLED soon, and is trying to figure out the murder. Then they find out Mark is the one who's going to KILL him. Uh oh.

-Mark and Olivia have a daughter called CHARLIE. Her flashforward was "no more good days", but this hasn't been explained. Charlie recognized DYLAN, Lloyd's son, when she saw her at the hospital. Dylan, the autistic boy, is so far NOT PSYCHIC or anything.

-There is also a lesbian agent called JANIS who saw herself PREGNANT in the flashforward and an intern called BRYCE who has stage 4 CANCER and was going to kill himself, but decided to live because he saw a mysterious Asian woman in his vision. (Logically enough, Janis is looking into SPERM DONORS adn Bryce took a trip to ASIA.)

I think that's about the most important stuff. I'll edit with any new details, so people can KEEP UP. (Sorry about the CAPS but once you start talking like THIS, it's very hard to STOP.)

James Callis Joins Eureka!

Right after the FlashForward news - James joins another show, SyFy's Eureka!'

News link here.

Callis will appear during the show’s upcoming fourth-season as Dr. Grant, a former resident of the town whose return is a cause for alarm. His character will have a romantic interest in Allison Blake (Salli Richardson-Whitfield), which causes friction with Sherriff Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson).

Um. I'm ... actually not all that excited. *blush* I don't like Eureka, I only watched one episode and wasn't overly excited. But I think I'll get back to it and give it a chance now. I may not have a chance to get into it enough by the time he's on it, but I'll watch it later on DVD.

What I do feel excited over is that James is getting big roles now, not just one-episode guest stints. He "joins the cast", in both FF and Eureka. It's news that he joins a show. It's all over the entertainment sites. I feel he's really arrived. And I'm proud.

ETA: There's also an article at Airlock Alpha.

There might be some confusion with fans over how Callis can do both "FlashForward" and "Eureka." However, according to reports, Callis only had a short-term recurring role in the ABC series when it returns this week, and his production work on that season has already ended.

Yes, we may wonder, and I'm just a bit confused about the FF role now. How big can the role be if they're still shooting it and yet he's already moved on to Vancouver? Of course, since FF might not make it to the second season, it's not like he can count on that show to put his kids through college. Even if FF does go to season two, there's time to do Eureka in between. Hmmm.

I'm not against him doing Eureka, even if I'm not a huge fan of the show. It could be quirky and fun. However, I hope his role on FF is as cool as they've touted.