James Callis on Numb3rs, Part 4

JAMES YOU ARE AMAZING HOW DO YOU DO THIS.

OK, I just saw Numb3rs with James. Wow. Just... wow.

He looks, talks and acts nothing like James at all. It's nothing like Gaius Baltar, nothing like Guy Curran, nothing like Tom, nothing like Mark Feinman. It's another person.

I was worried the character would be really black and white, someone you're meant to hate. Maybe it is, but somehow I felt he brought depth into the role. It's just the one episode, so there was no real time to build up his backstory, and a lot of it is done by others talking about him - "IQ of 155, educated himself in prison", etc. But the way he himself talks and acts is somehow... three-dimensional. I wanted to learn more about Mason Duryea. I can't say I liked him or even felt for him, but there's something fascinating about his madness. And he is very, very creepy.

Off character, I've never seen James be anything but kind and warm; he's cheerful most of the time, and you can usually hear the laughter in his voice even when he's not joking (tho he mostly is). Where does he get this darkness? How does he go into a character like this? I think this was the first time I was disgusted to see James kiss a beautiful woman! I felt like slapping him and spitting in his face too. It's a new experience. Yet, when they shot at him, I immediately went into "Don't you shoot MY JAMES" mode. In some scenes, I think his eyes look sensitive and tortured; I'm not sure if that's James showing through or a part of Duryea. It's so weird to see him like this.

The accent: It's nothing at all like his regular American accent; it's Oklahoma, and I don't have a lot of knowledge of that area, so I can't really judge it. It felt fake at first, but as I watched the character unfold, I kinda forgot all about it and just believed it was real. I think that's a really good sign.

The look: He looks horrid in the prison scenes, but actually not all that bad in the scenes with the tribe. He's such a hideous character that it's hard to find him appealing here, though. Some fans are wild about the wild man look, but I guess I like my James a little more groomed and, well, sane. :D His cheek hollows look more pronounced; I wonder if he lost a few pounds just to look more psycho and tortured.

I do like Numb3rs. It's a cop show, and I generally don't like those. I don't think I've ever sat through a whole episode of CSI, for instance. But this show introduces all these mathematical and computer science things that make it a bit more interesting. The cops act a bit too macho; it's a bit dramatic, a bit overdone, a bit too easy - would they really figure it all out so fast? - but it's still good TV, and it was enjoyable to watch. I'm happy and proud that James got to do an episode of this.

Numb3rs, Fan Fiction, And Donuts

Numb3rs

I'm going to see the Numb3rs episode next week, so I'll be blogging about it then. See kixxa's beautiful photos of the...well, I can't say beautiful but certainly fascinating Mason Duryea. He looks NOTHING like James at all, just... haggard and crazy and weird. I hear James is doing an Oklahoma accent on the show. This should be interesting!

Another interview with James about the role!

TVGuide.com: Have you ever been this hirsute?
Callis: I think I have been hairier, possibly, in a few other gigs. But half of that was mine and half was borrowed. I bet you could tell which half was which! [The producers and I] were of the same mindset that I wanted to be as disguised as possible. The wig we used for when I was in prison, we called the "Jim Morrison look."

So that's this. This has got to be the scariest and least recognizable James picture ever! They really did a good job of masking him.

Heh heh, "hirsute". Too bad he doesn't go deeper into the hirsutism issues, like his chest hair.

You'd be frightened as f—k if this guy sat down to dinner with you, because he's a time bomb. You don't know when he's going to go off.

I'm frightened just seeing him. Strangely, I had another nightmare about Beginner's Luck, where Alex tried to steal my mobile phone. I'm blaming Duryea, although it might be that seeing BL was just such a traumatic event.

A little pointer to people searching for the episode: Gaius Baltar did not appear on Numb3rs. James Callis does not equal Gaius Baltar. And Duryea is a lunatic who kills people, and Gaius isn't. Yes, they both have a harem; they both pose as religious cult leaders; but that doesn't mean they're exactly the same OMG James Callis has been typecast. There is a difference. Seriously.

A bit about the final scene (edit: of BSG, not Numb3rs):

...at the time I wasn't totally sure what that scene meant. A lot of people actually thought we shot it in New York. I was like, "Sadly, no."

Does he know what it means now? I'd love to hear his views on that scene.

Fan Fiction

Gaius Baltar is probably the most difficultBSG character to write about (and I'd argue that's even true of the show writers, since James had to constantly tell them he doesn't want Gaius to be evil). Some of the fan fiction has made him out to be a complete bad guy, which always annoys me. Here are links to two fics that depict Baltar as a more multi-faceted character.

BSG: The Simple Life by Wolfen Moondaughter (who made the awesome Gaius painting for MegaCon) is set a few years after the finale. It discusses some of my favorite themes: Baltar's guilt, redemption and starting over. As Hera faces danger, Gaius has to face death and his guilt eye to eye again. There's also a follow-up on Baltar's cult (still there, much to his dismay), Helo and Athena, as well as Lee and Kara, who didn't get much of a goodbye in the finale. Kara appears as an angel guiding Lee here, which is a nice touch. Baltar is depicted as an in-depth, complex character, growing to reconcile his past and the future on the new planet. And there's Caprica-Gaius love, which is always good.

Ask Me No Questions And I'll Tell You No Lies by kixxa is written from Aaron Doral's point of view. Set on New Caprica, the story features a brief but heated conversation between Doral and Baltar, exploring the morals and life philosophy of both characters. I'd never really thought of Doral's point of view (or even of him having one, as we usually see that model in groups rather than as individuals), so it's very interesting. Baltar shows courage, speaking his mind to the cylon who's in the position to make his life very difficult, or indeed end it.

It's interesting about the element of courage in both stories. Throughout most of the show, Baltar was a coward, but he certainly had moments of bravery and even heroism (especially in the very end). Both of these fics could be seen as backtalk to the negative image most BSG fans have of Baltar: he can be a hero when he sets his mind to it, and despite his negative qualities, he's not a bad man.

Donuts (yes, still. Shut up.)

Kixxa sent me a lovely present - The Flight of the Falcon by Daphne Du Maurier, read by James Callis. I really enjoy listening to his soft voice, and the story is very compelling so far. I might blog about it later (I still haven't written about any of his old projects other than BL, so I'll see when I get around to it - probably a James drought coming soon, so I can work on it then).

She also included a couple of old-style post cards. I've gotten a lot of donut-teasing jokes thrown at me lately, but this is the best one so far:



Heeee! :D :D
(I'm sorry about the low quality of photography. My webcam is at a breaking point, and it's very hard to aim.)

And I've finally found a picture that kinda-sorta shows it - on page 47 of a James Callis picture search, after such relevant items as Alexander Siddig and myself, there it was. Behold: the donut gut! It's pressing against Tricia, but it's there and it looks so soft. Just beautiful.

Here's my own attempt at fan fiction. *blush* I'm sure you'll all hate it and it's really inferior to the stuff I just linked to, but *blush* I'll just post some of it anyway *blush and giggles*

As the sweet, greasy pastry filled his mouth, James groaned to himself. He knew he shouldn't have another donut, especially since it was his tenth one that day, but the siren song of the frosting was too strong.

Even as the washed down the moist, soft goo with the pulsating nectar of life - sugary Coca-Cola -, he could feel the fat lodging drowsily onto his expanding waist. 'Oh well,' he thought. 'I get to do bed scenes with Tricia Helfer - life isn't so bad.' He gave his hirsute chest a ruffle and decided to go ask for an extra rehearsal. He didn't even notice how his hand reached for another luscious morsel of fat and carbs...

I'm thinking of expanding this into a 200+ page novel. If James doesn't allow the use of his name, I could always use a fake one - like Ames Phallus or something. Who's playing... Baius Galtar in... Cattlestar... well, I'll work that out later.

James Callis on Numb3rs, Part 3 / James on the Finale, Part 2

Long title again, but whatever - there's a new interview that covers both topics:
"Frakkin' Gaius Baltar talks to IGN".

Hey, [Saul Tigh voice] it's Gaius Frakkin' Baltar! Frakkin' civilians never get things right! [/Tigh voice]

Seriously though, IGN has done some great interviews in the past (see sidebar, "James Callis interviews"), and this one's no exception. I feel like I could quote the entire interview, but I hope I won't.

About Mason Duryea:

We bat these words around today like "psychotic" and "sociopath" - and maybe you could use them for this kind of person when you don't really know what he is. He's totally self-educated. He's read a lot of books in prison and he's definitely quite smart on some level.

I'm glad he mentions that the words are overused, because it bugged me that so many people used them for Gaius. I don't think he was really either, and I think these words have become a catch-all for any mentally deranged or narcissistic person. However, they might actually describe this particular character. I'm also glad that he mentions that Gaius is a "different kettle of fish" - is this a British phrase? Very cute.

Question: Has James ever played a character who was not smart? Could he even do that? I feel like there's so much wisdom in his eyes that he might not be very convincing as a dumb character. But maybe I'm wrong. It'd be interesting to see him try that.

You know, the thing that really got to me was this line where he says (In Duryea's voice) "Is a coyote insane because it eats your poodle?" I was like, Christ, that's a very frightening man.

I hope I'll be able to watch this episode, because I'm stil not quite over "You are my binary messenger". And I actually had a nightmare where I was watching Beginner's Luck, and there was this whole horror sequence added. They were in the cabin in Edinburgh, and Jason found a radio that said things like "You're going to die" in a really creepy voice, and it strikes me now that it must have been the Duryea voice.

James apparently used music to prepare for the role:

Actually at the time I was listening to David Gilmore's album On an Island. There was an instrumental track on there that just screamed to me…like the silence and the desolation of the plains.

Very interesting. I've heard of this method before with actors, but I didn't know James uses it too.

The Numb3rs episode airs tonight US time and tomorrow Europe/Australia time. I'll blog more about it later.

Then a bit more on Gaius Baltar's end. I'm glad they asked about this, because now that the finale has aired, he can freely talk about it. Obviously stop reading now if you haven't seen the finale and don't want to be spoiled.

Basically, James thought Baltar would die. He had mentioned that in many older interviews, so I'm not that surprised to hear this, but. It would have been so anticlimactic for us who love Baltar, I think, to see him just killed for everything he's done. I don't think he deserves to die. I think, like Caprica, that he redeemed himself in the end and became someone you can be proud of. But maybe it's true that that happened mainly within the finale itself.

So when I actually got to live through it, and had, as it were this realization, this sadness. This relief. The line "I know about farming" isn't exactly the most poetic line in the whole world, but it really did something.

That's what I felt too, watching it. Actually, my "worst case scenario" for the finale was that Gaius would enter the fight, die within five minutes, and never be spoken of again. I was SO relieved that he was in the final scenes.

I'm sorry IGN, but I will quote this whole quote, OK? Still talking about the farming line:

It really touched me. I've tried to explain at some conventions that it's like…this man feels so guilty and part of that guilt is shame. When you are so ashamed of who you've been and the things you've done. There's just no way you can make it up. It was crying for a lot of things. It opened something up. I think that's an amazing thing that Ron (Moore) has done. It allowed Baltar to make his peace and it really threw a curveball on the whole scene. This shouldn't be the man that you feel something for. But you do. It was brilliant.

Sniff. What can I add? It's a beautiful scene, it's a very defining moment for Gaius, and it's an acting triumph for James. It's touching to hear him talk about the scene like this. I'm still torn on some of the issues in the finale, but every time I think of the end of Gaius Baltar, I'm filled with this sense of catharsis and gratitude. That was so well done.

James Callis on Numb3rs, Part 2

...OK, that's really creepy. I am going to have nightmares about James saying, "You are my binary messenger" in that creepy voice. He really does sound insane.

And... he kinda looks hot here. I'm not nearly as bugged by the wig as I was in the promo pictures. A couple of fans actually went wild over the "wild man" look, so opinions were divided on whether or not it's hot. I think I might end up drooling over Mason Duryea (not Druydea like I initially wrote - sorry about that). Either way, he creeps me out. A lot.

The episode is called Angels and Devils and it airs this Friday US time (and Saturday European time). Exciting! Kixxa has promised to make some spine-chilling screenshots of the show. Looking forward to that!

Edit: And there's a different clip here, but it doesn't work for me.

James Callis on Numb3rs, Part 1

(Parts 2 etc. will follow when I've seen the episode.)

How to make James Callis look unattractive? Still two days ago, I would have said: impossible.

But apparently not so, as the Numb3rs pictures have him in an obvious black wig and beard that covers his entire frakking face! Argh.

The picture and more info on the character here:

“He played an incredible character. An incredibly scary, Charles Manson, eat-you-alive type psycho,” says Alimi Ballard (Agent Sinclair).

Wow. Some people are saying he's been typecast after the "villainous" Gaius Baltar, but that sounds nothing like Gaius. Gaius has empathy and guilt, and besides, he's a coward. If you met him in a dark alley, he'd run and hide from you, even if you were a little girl. This sounds a lot more like Haman in One Night With the King, who was a genocidal maniac. But he was a sexy genocidal maniac, so somehow it's more OK, even if the role was pretty black and white and they had him talk in a weird throaty voice.

Another picture here. It looks odd to see James restrained by the police. And he really does look mad in that photo!

And the character's name is Mason Duryea. What a name. We get it, THIS MAN IS A BAD MAN. PLEASE HATE HIM BEFORE YOU'VE EVEN SEEN THE EPISODE.

I do like Numb3rs, which is an unusually intelligent cop show, and will hopefully like the episode. But I'm a bit bugged that James has to play such a heinous role. I hope it's not all black and white. If he looked his usual hot self, I wouldn't mind so much. I actually have Don't Mess With My Man playing in my head right now.

Two New James Projects/ Daybreak II Picspam

Looks like our boy has been busy lately! Two new projects to report.

Firstly: James is going to appear in the season finale of Numb3rs! I'm kinda excited about this! Numb3rs is a good show and this will give James visibility in the US. Plus this show actually airs in Finland, so I'm going to be able to watch and tape it. Maybe I'll even buy the DVD box just for that episode. We'll see.

News courtesy of Ask Ausiello:

Question: How about some scoop on the most underrated show on TV: Numb3rs. --Jeffrey
Ausiello: How's this for some fraktastic guest casting: The May 15 season finale will feature Battlestar Galactica's James Callis and Everwood's Sarah Drew! Callis will play a charismatic sociopath who is suspected of abducting Amita. Drew co-stars as one of his followers.

Hmm, it sounds a bit like Gaius, with the followers. But not so much, since I don't consider Gaius a sociopath. I wonder if he'll be another British villain or try out his American accent? Either way, I am happy.

And another new project:
Scoop on a British film James is doing, called Re-Uniting the Rubins:

The next film is up! I will be down in London for about 10 weeks on a new film, a low budget (but still about £1M) comedy that the producer Jonathon hopes if we get right it could be the UK version of Little Miss Sunshine.

Ah! This sounds very promising. I liked Little Miss Sunshine a lot, and I tend to love that kind of black comedy. It's an easy genre to get wrong, obviously, but it's also something where I suspect James will really shine. No information yet on what role he's going to play. There are some pictures of the studios here. I'll keep my eye on this blog, in case some James goodness trickles in that way.

So, two new projects that actually sound good! Unfortunately, it looks like Merlin and the Book of Beasts has been delayed and there's some other Merlin project going on instead. I have no idea why. I'm getting so many hits about Merlin, but have nothing new to report on it. It's a shame - the film sounds less and less promising, but James looked kinda awesome in that armor.

And last but not least, an awesome Daybreak, part II picspam. Obviously major spoilers for those who haven't seen the finale. The most central dialogue is also transcribed on the page. Beautiful pictures - and lots of Gaius! James looks totally cute and endearing in that soldier's helmet.

And what do you know? Google blogsearch has finally found my blog as a "related" blog for a James Callis search. Maybe I should stop complaining about it in every post now. We'll see.