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Mark Sheppard - "Warehouse 13" Tv Series - Newsarama.com Interview

Webmaster — 2009-06-09T20:25:55Z

Actor Mark Sheppard is what you might call a geek culture icon. His geek-fu includes recurring roles on Battlestar Galactica and Firefly, along with spots on Medium, Middleman, and most recently Leverage.

The upcoming SciFi Channel series Warehouse 13 is next on his list, though he'll also soon be reaching the small screen in a different way. As the voice for the main character of Wii exclusive, The Conduit, Sheppard shows that he is not just a geek (or someone who plays one on TV), but he believes in the story telling of genre in all of its many forms. We caught up with the prolific actor at E3 2009 last week and talked about all this and more, finding out just what a geek he truly is.

Newsarama : So Mark, to introduce ourselves to you, we are at heart a comic book website...

Mark Sheppard : Oh, All my friends write comics ; Javier Grillo-Marxauch... I'm in the Middleman, you know, I'm Manservant Neville.

NRAMA : Oh yeah !

MS : Mark Verheiden, he's one of my dearest friends. They're all my buddies. Jane Espenson is now in there. Yeah, a lot of my friends write a lot of comics. I'll be at [San Diego] Comic-Con this year, and we might be doing a Middleman reading of the episode that never got aired, which is essentially the last graphic novel. The Middleman panel is coming together nicely. I never got to be David Horner, which is what I was supposed to be in the end, you know ?

NRAMA : I don't know why that show didn't pick up the way it should have.

MS : It was fun. I was always happy to do it. I love Javier. And John Rogers did Blue Beetle, I work with him on Leverage.

NRAMA : You've become a bit of a geek culture icon...

MS : Well thank you !

NRAMA : With your roles in Battlestar, Firefly, and now in...

MS : [laughs] No, keep going ! X-Files, Medium, Star Trek, there's a lot of stuff out there. Jake 2.0...

NRAMA : You're a genuine genre fan then ?

MS : Of course I am ! Why would I do it if I wasn't ? I mean, even Leverage, I worked with Dean Devlin, and Dean's the biggest geek of them all. He did Stargate. We love to tell stories, and we're always going to tell good stories.

NRAMA : What about sci-fi do you think allows for great stories to be told versus any other type ?

MS : Imagination ! No constraints of space and time, no constraints of character. Grand stories, grand ideas, grand thoughts, the nuances, everything. It's not a medical drama where you're being operated on by George Clooney, it's a medical drama where you're being operated on by aliens [laughs]. I mean, there's your choices. I like them both, but I get drawn to the fantasy level more. I'm just starting Warehouse 13, and I'm back on Leverage ; I'm dead in Medium so I can always go back. Hopefully I'll go back on Dollhouse this year, and we'll see what else comes up.

NRAMA : Outside of the myriad of sci-fi properties you've worked with, what're some of your other favorites ?

MS : I wanna play House's brother ! He says he's an only child, but it could be a complete lie.

NRAMA : Just so you can be a smartass on there, too ?

MS : Oh, I am a smartass. [laughs]. But there's a lot of good stuff out there. The fun thing is, there's a lot of new stuff being created. Just as much as I might want to be on something that exists, there are some great writers out there creating new things. It's always fun to wait and see what they're going to do. You know, I've had some auditions this year for shows that I didn't get, that I hope to end up on anyway, you know ? There's a lot of goodwill out there. I have a lot of fun doing what I do. I've met some great writers, great actors, and we get to play, have fun, and get paid for doing so. It's kind of an honor.

NRAMA : You mentioned a lot of your friends being in comics. Is that something you'd ever think about doing ?

MS : Well, we're everywhere. It doesn't matter what the medium is, if it works it works. People like Felicia Day and Joss Whedon are proving that it doesn't matter anymore, “I just do this.” We'll do everything now, telling a story is telling a story. I've read great graphic novels, and I've read some awful ones, but it's a great format for storytelling.

Let me ask you something, what did you think of The Dark Knight ?

NRAMA : Well, I thought it was amazing.

MS : Why ?

NRAMA : Well, it distilled the idea of who Batman, Joker, and Two-Face are and presented them in a pure form on the screen.

MS : And that's because Chris Nolan made a movie before, created the world for you, setup the world, and makes a movie where he doesn't have to create the world again, and just hits a homerun with it. He really made a character story. There are three characters in the film ! I love that Christian Bale stayed out of the way, and Heath Ledger's performance was a performance that others will be held up to for a long time. But man, that's what it's all about, we want better entertainment, be it games, comic books, movies, and we're not settling anymore. You know, people are smarter, so we just have to have better and better stuff in every medium.

NRAMA : Well that's a nice segue into The Conduit here. You're lending your voice to this game, and you just spoke about better entertainment, so how is this a better sci-fi shooter than what we've seen a hundred times already ?

MS : Well, the main difference between this and anything else is it's a first person shooter [FPS] that's designed from the ground up for the Wii platform. Then everyone goes “why ?” You get the controllers in your hand and you see why ; this is what it's built for. The Wii is the perfect analogue for the FPS. Shooting, pointing, scrolling, all these things work intuitively.

We have a 480p console here, and look at the graphics ? They pushed this as far, if not further than anyone else has pushed this console. When you go to the single player game, it's the most clever and evocative story beats. If you're gonna build a game, it's gotta be this good.

NRAMA : How early on did you get involved with this ?

MS : Pretty early. They've been doing this for about 22 months, and I've been around for the better part of a year, and I've been aware of it as long as they've been doing it.

NRAMA : And have you been a gamer prior to this ?

MS : Hell yeah. I'm a 360 player most of the time. I'm a big Call of Duty 4 player ; my nine year old and I play Call of Duty 4.

I spoke to Jason, let me back up. I was doing an episode of NCIS with my dad. It was written by Jesse Stern. He also wrote Call of Duty 4. So Jason from Infinity Ward was visiting and I was like, “Dude, I love your game, I play your game all the time,” and he said, “Your dad's Colonel Hargrove !” So we were having a geek out moment. I told him, “You got me with that nuclear bomb going off in the middle of the game,” which, if that's a spoiler, you guys are asleep. I told him “I spent 45 minutes crawling around trying to get out of a nuclear wasteland.” He told me he went through hell to get that into the game. Those are smart, intelligent writers. That's a great gaming company, and to know they're coming back to give us that next push, I'm excited for it. I like the way that company approaches what it is they do.

The game market is changing. Voice acting has gotten very very good. They're evolving, too.

Then you look at these guys [High Voltage, developers of Conduit], they spent 16 years making other people's games. Then out of the gate, this is what they come out with on their own. Hitting a home run is really hard in the gaming industry, and I think they have here. I love the game, I love the story. They're just a fantastic company the way they behave and the way the do everything. People are asking, “Are you going to put Wii Motion Plus support in ?” and they say no. They've already got great one to one analogue that works really well, why add something just to have that bullet point on the box ? I mean, who thinks like that anymore ? It's kind of different, it's kind of interesting.

Here, we have 12 player multiplayer on the Wii, supporting WiiSpeak.

NRAMA : And real matchmaking ! You don't have to use friend codes !

MS : Pretty good, huh ?

NRAMA : Yeah, that makes the Wii sound a lot more appetizing for online multiplayer.

MS : Well, Nintendo has its things that it does, but gamers tend to change that. You vote with your dollars. If you buy games like this, they'll make more games like this, and that's the bottom line.

You know, we're Call of Duty fans, and we're Batman fans, right ?

NRAMA : Right.

MS : Well, we want better Call of Duty games and we want better Batman movies and better Batman comics, and we want better Wii games, [so we buy what's good]. Screenshot from 'The Conduit'

Screenshot from 'The Conduit' ENLARGE IMAGE

NRAMA : Well, any other specific things that gamers should look forward to specifically with The Conduit ?

MS : I just like challenging the player. The multiplayer is just a ground-up design. There's a mode in here called Bounty Hunter that's just amazing. If I'm wandering around the level here, I have a target that I'm supposed to kill, that's my Bounty. If I shoot anybody else, I lose points. It's great fun. No one knows who has the bounty on them. The problem is, then, there's also a Bounty on my head, and I don't know who that is. When you have 12 people doing it, it's terrifying. I think there's a lot of playability in this, and I think this is the start of something special for Wii games.

NRAMA : After this experience, do you want to be involved in games again ?

MS : I hope so ! I had a great experience. It depends on what the game is and who wants to play. But these guys ? High Voltage ? Without question. I'd do it again in a minute.

The Conduit is due out exclusively on the Nintendo Wii June 23rd, 2009. Mark Sheppard can be seen in Season 2 of Leverage this summer on TNT and Season 1 of Warehouse 13 on SciFi Channel, amongst many other shows.

Mark Sheppard - "Warehouse 13" Tv Series - Scifiwire.com Interview

Webmaster — 2009-06-07T21:03:57Z

Mark Sheppard, who is well known to sci-fi fans for roles in Firefly and Battlestar Galactica, told SCI FI Wire that he shot a quick-turnaround guest appearance on SCI FI's upcoming original series Warehouse 13.

"A while back, I got a lovely call from my friends at SCI FI, nine and a half pages of dialogue, to do in a day," Sheppard said in an exclusive interview Wednesday at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, where he was promoting The Conduit, in which he does a voice. "I was actually out doing publicity for The Conduit on the East Coast. And they called and said, 'Can you go to Toronto to rehearse on Sunday to shoot on Monday ?' I'm like, 'I'm in New York. It's not that hard.' So it was perfect." Mark Sheppard reveals \Warehouse 13\<\/i\> secrets and his guest role Mark Sheppard at the High Voltage Software booth at E3

In the show, two Secret Service agents (Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly) find themselves abruptly transferred to Warehouse 13, a massive, top-secret storage facility in windswept South Dakota that houses every strange artifact, mysterious relic, fantastical object and supernatural souvenir ever collected by the U.S. government.

Sheppard will guest-star as Mr. Valda, the enigmatic representative of the Regents, the mysterious organization that controls Warehouse 13. He disapproves of Artie's (Saul Rubinek) methods as the team leader of the Warehouse and isn't afraid to let him know it.

Following is an edited version of our interview with Sheppard. Warehouse 13 premieres on July 7 and will air on Tuesdays. The Conduit comes out on June 23. (Possible spoilers ahead !)

You flew to Toronto ?

Sheppard : I went up there and got to meet Jack Kenny, the executive producer. Amazing guy. There are really good people up there. I love what he's doing. SCI FI has been great to me. NBC and SCI FI. ... I went up and did several scenes with Saul Rubinek, who is one of my favorite actors, and CCH Pounder. They're just two powerhouse actors. They created a role for me, and I would like to think that the role will come back.

So tell us more about your character.

Sheppard : Well, Warehouse 13 is the repository of all supernatural stuff that has existed through time, and, as I understand it, tends to exist in the dominant superpower's realm. So one time it looked the Nazis were taking over, and it managed to burn itself down and reappeared a little later in America, who seems to have had control of it for a little bit. I've always liked the analogy that it's like the warehouse where they would have put the Ark of the Covenant from Raiders of the Lost Ark. But it's a little cleverer than that. It's funny and witty, and it's got some great acting in it, and I think it's something that could be really exciting for SCI FI. We're dealing with Lewis Carroll's mirror and James Braid's chair. Some interesting stuff there, you know ? It's very clever writing and very, very good acting all the way around.

I've been brought in as spokesperson for the Regents, who are the organization who look after the Warehouse. Sort of a Knights Templar for the Warehouse, if you will. It's an interesting position. It will be an interesting time. We shot our scenes in a very strange location for what it is that we were doing. It's going to be very interesting to see how this unfolds.

So where was it ?

Sheppard : No, no, no. I'm not going to give that away. That's the good stuff. It was a lot of fun. I'm on Leverage, where Saul Rubinek played the guest in the pilot. I kept crossing paths with him, and never actually meeting him. I'm a huge fan of his. He's a fabulous actor, and he plays the guy who's really in charge, who runs the scene but looks after the Warehouse. It's a really good story. ...

You've worked more than once with Joss Whedon, first in Firefly and now in Dollhouse.

Sheppard : Joss is special. I don't always know what he's doing. I don't always understand what he's doing. I don't know that he always understands what he's doing [laughs]. But he's still brilliant. He's a lot of fun to play with. He likes to mix it up a lot. I play a role in Dollhouse called Agent Tanaka. You want to work out why I'm playing an agent Tanaka as a character in the show ?

I was wondering ...

Sheppard : Well, hopefully someday we'll actually explain it to you. If we ever get to it. And he likes to mix stuff up. I mean, I'm such the obvious bad guy when you bring me into something. But he put me in this role where you're never quite sure what I'm going to end up as. It's a lot of fun for me, and I'm sure it makes him giggle a lot. ...

So you're here at E3 promoting the Wii game you do voice work on, The Conduit.

Sheppard : I love these guys [High Voltage Software, the game developers]. These guys are straight up and dead honest. It's the same thing to me. A great storyteller is a great storyteller. They've had 16 years of building other people's games. They go to build their own game, and they decide to make a first-person shooter for the Wii. I mean, how insane has that got to be ?

Until you play the game and you go, "Wow, this is the smartest thing I've ever seen. ... They made it for us." I mean, we all have Wiis, so we all want something to play on it. ... But they brought me in real early for this. ... And I'm a gamer, and I love to play, and there's nothing better for me than to go sit in a Conduit booth and say, "Hey, I'll play multiplayer with you guys. I'll play with you all day."

Mark Sheppard - About his current work - Sfx.co.uk Interview

Webmaster — 2009-03-10T16:40:17Z

The actor who plays Romo Lampkin has been in about a million sci-fi TV shows. We persuaded the busiest man in genre television to write a foreword for our latest special, dedicated to Battlestar Galactica, and we also ran a four page interview in that edition – but even that wasn't enough space for all his cool anecdotes, and so here on the SFX website over the next couple of weeks we're able to share even more of what he told us. The 44-year-old actor has appeared in Dollhouse, Firefly, Star Trek, Medium and more, as well as being an accomplished musician, and we spoke to him about all of it when we met up at the last Starfury convention...

SFX : You've worked with Joss Whedon again and have a recurring role in Dollhouse, right ? Sheppard : "Yes. Playing Tanaka in Dollhouse is a lot of fun for me. It's pretty obvious from the character's name that I probably wasn't the first choice for the role ! But I think Joss wanted to include me, and they asked me if I wanted to fill this particular spot. And I think they rolled the spot around the fact that they've now got me. As I arrived right outside the stage, and Joss is there, and my first words were, 'Can I keep the name ?!' He's like, 'I knew you were gonna say that !' So I think it's gonna be one of those things that we're gonna have an interesting time portraying Tanaka. He'll have to come up with a reason for the name !"

SFX : You played Badger in Firefly - was that Joss's choice of name too ? Sheppard : "Joss was gonna play it ! He wrote that part for himself. I only found out during shooting it. Adam [Baldwin] was like, 'Dude, he wrote Badger for himself !' So Joss was riding me hard, he says, 'We were great until you found that out...' Then he lost it and he couldn't get through the scene."

SFX : Sounds like there's a real sense of community working on all these sci-fi shows in LA. Sheppard : "It's a very big community in LA. I got to work with people like Eddie [James Olmos] and Mary [McDonnell], and Jamie [Bamber], Tahmoh [Penikett] - these are some extraordinary people. Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin I've worked with four or five times. Alan Tudyk. I mean these people are so nice ! You've met them ; you know I'm not bullshitting. They're lovely people ! There's a reason why they carry on working, you know.

"I've got to know every director that I've worked with more than once. But it's not a slam-dunk. You know who you know. If you want to go to work, then you want to go to work with somebody who you know can do the job. That's why people get hired. That's why Javier [Grillo-Marxuach] will use the same directors and actors in a lot of his stuff. He knows he's gonna get what he wants.

"I've been very lucky as an actor. I've got some fantastic friends who write fantastic stuff. How great is your job when somebody goes, 'Mark, I've got something I'd like you to do which will bring you accolades, joy, and money.' [Laughs] I'm like, 'Nah, I don't feel like it. I want to go home and play on my PlayStation.' It's kind of marvellous ! I feel I've been very lucky, you know, with Joss and Javier. I've known Javier for a long time ; I've done many shows with him, and he's truly a great friend."

SFX : Speaking of which, you were in The Middleman recently, but The Middleman's all over now. Do you miss it ? Sheppard : "Middleman's gone. Javier sent me a finished script for the episode we never did - which he beautifully paid me for, which I thought was the most amazing thing ! He's an old, old friend, and he's a wonderful man. Manservant Neville was supposed to turn into David Warner in Time Bandits and everybody on the planet has this iPod-type thing which is the instrument of destruction for the universe. And we never got to shoot it ! I was miserable ! So my character built this whole thing up, and I don't ever get to shoot me losing it all. So he's finished the script, he sent to me, I think it's hysterical.

"He always writes the word 'Panama' into everything ! And I was like, 'Where is it this time ?' and he wrote it. The title of the last episode was 'The Palindrome Reversal Palindrome,' which is, 'a man, a plan, a canal, Panama.' Right ? So that's how he got 'Panama' into it !

"He's hoping to stage a reading at Comic Con if we can get everyone together, do a charity reading or something. His readings are brilliant, and I urge any Middleman fan, if you can, to assault Javier's website and see if he'll give up any footage of any of the readings that we did, because they are so funny. The show was brilliant, but some of the table reads are the best humour I have ever seen. Fans of the genre would love to hear it. Javier actually reads all the incidental character's lines and the scene descriptions at an incredible speed. I mean he's one of the most intelligent men you're ever gonna meet. It's like having a comic book read to you by a genius, which is great, and then having all the characters come to your house and read their parts. [Laughs] But yeah, it's special. I know he's gonna do it as a graphic novel so he can finish up."

SFX : What are you working on at the moment ? Sheppard : "I've got this amazing series with Dean Devlin called Leverage, in which Timothy Hutton is the lead. Christian Kane, who's another great genre guy, has got this wonderful role in this ; he's basically playing a very, very cool thug. Bright thug, which is fun. Just a great heist-type Ocean's Twelve-ish, slick, fast, funny, weird piece in which Timothy Hutton basically is Robin Hood. And they decided they needed a 'Sheriff of Nottingham'. So they wrote me as the Sheriff of Nottingham, which is the greatest honour ever. They've certainly written the character of the nemesis for me - but a nemesis that can win was the dictate, a nemesis that just is gonna kick their asses. I'm interested to see what viewers have to say about that. I'm really proud of that show."

SFX : So have you ever written like a spec script yourself ? Ever pitched a series ? Sheppard : "I've written and made films. I've sold scripts. I love directing, it's a wonderful thing for me, because I don't have to shave or get particularly dressed up ! And I liked it cos again it's the storytelling. It doesn't matter to me where it goes, but what I really want to do is tell tales. I love directing, but then I love all aspects of TV and movies."

SFX : Thanks Mark !

Mark Sheppard - "Leverage" Tv Series - Ifmagazine.com Interview

Webmaster — 2008-12-16T20:44:32Z

When it comes to genre TV, Mark Sheppard is the go-to guy. Appearing on everything from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, THE BIONIC WOMAN, 24, THE MIDDLEMAN, MEDIUM and others too numerous to mention, if a show requires a memorable, recurring character, chances are Sheppard is or has been on it.

That trend continues this year, as he comes aboard TNT's new hit action-drama LEVERAGE (airing tonight at 10:00 p.m.). Playing the recurring character Jim Sterling in five of the 13 episodes, he will provide a perfect foil to the show's modern day Robin Hood Nate Ford (Timothy Hutton) and his merry band of dysfunctional post-modern thieves.

In “The Two Horse Job” that debuts tonight, Sterling appears to bust up a con the team is putting together revolving horse racing and insurance money. Since Sterling essentially has taken over Nate's job at his former insurance company, they're perfect foils for each other since each knows the other's move before they even play it.

Sheppard spoke with iF on the set of LEVERAGE, and tells us about his new role as well as hints about what to expect from his other recurring role this year on Joss Whedon's new series DOLLHOUSE and the finale of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

iF MAGAZINE : So you're the Big Bad on LEVERAG, to crib a BUFFY term.

MARK SHEPPARD : Yes, but the definition of a good guy and a bad guy is very hard to explain, because Nate would be on the wrong side of the law as far as I am concerned. If he thinks of himself as a Robin Hood character, I would see myself as the Sheriff of Nottingham. I actually took his old job that Nate used to occupy at the insurance company – the one who wouldn't pay for his son's treatment. So we bump into each other as the season continues, and I seem to be the thorn in his side. I seem to be the person who doesn't want him operating above the law and I have no respect for what he's doing and I'm quite happy to shut him down at a moment's notice.

iF : So in a real world sense, you are technically the good guy.

SHEPPARD : Absolutely, I'm the good guy. As the producers say, in a different series, I would be the lead. I think it's a wonderful part. A lot of “bad guys” are written very obviously, but my character is on the side of the law, which makes it very interesting. There's a sort of moral ambiguity in there. It's a fascinating piece. If you look at Nate as an anti-hero, I would definitely be the villain of the piece, but if you look at it, as my character looks at it, Nate is in fact the villain and I would be the hero of the piece.

iF : That gives you some great drama to play.

SHEPPARD : There's a lot of fun conflict. There's an interesting line somewhere in the series, Nate says “I thought you were an honorable man, Sterling,” and I say, “I'm catching thieves, there's nothing more honorable.” So I think Sterling is willing to go to any lengths to do what he has to do. It's interesting. I think both Nate and Sterling would agree the other comes a close second in ability. It's definitely a play on whose smarter and who's better. There's a lot of rivalry. As you see this season continue, you will see more and more interaction between us.

iF : Do you have an accent on LEVERAGE ?

SHEPPARD : Dean came up to me and said, “do you want to play it English or Irish ?” I said “I think I can play it English, because it's Jim Sterling.” I wanted to play it American, but they wouldn't let me.

iF : Will you be back on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ?

SHEPPARD : I will be back for the end of Season 4.

iF : Without giving anything away, will fans be blown away ?

SHEPPARD : I think if I handed everyone the copy of the script and they read it and knew what was going to happen, it still wouldn't come close to how good the actual realization is. I think it's going to be a fascinating experience. I think it's worth waiting for too. Plus, it's one of the first science-fiction series ever that has a beginning, middle and an end. I remember [J. Michael] Straczinski was trying to do BABYLON 5, because my father was on BABYLON 5 and Straczinski wanted to have a beginning, middle and end. But Ron [Moore] and David [Eick] set out to actually make a show that has a beginning, middle and an end, from the start. From the start there's been a finite understanding of the story and just to be involved in something as beautifully written, created and acted is extraordinary. Without BATTLESTAR I wouldn't have been offered BIONIC WOMAN. I was the 65-year old creator bionics. I'm the old man. I get around a bit. And I'm on DOLLHOUSE. I play a wonderful character named Tanaka who interacts with Tahmoh Penikett character. And I love LEVERAGE just as much.

iF : Do you have a recurring on DOLLHOUSE ?

SHEPPARD : I'm actually doing my second episode as we speak. I have a recurring role on MEDIUM as well. I'm the dead serial killer who makes serial killers. It's kind of fun. I have a lot of interesting places to play.

iF : So you're one busy guy.

SHEPPARD : There's a lot of stuff going on. I think BATTLESTAR has opened up a lot of doors. I'm very grateful to the writers there. Some incredible stuff was written for me.

iF : How did DOLLHOUSE happen ?

SHEPPARD : Joss wrote a role into DOLLHOUSE, and it sort of ended up in my lap, and I was “absolutely,” I would love the opportunity to come and play with him again.

iF : Do you have fans from all these different shows come up to you all the time ?

SHEPPARD : My life is wonderful, it's a wonderful thing to have happen. I was in a book store the other day and a guy came up, “nice work Counselor,” and I realized what he meant. I said, “thank you.” And I'm getting recognized every day now, and in interesting places. My wife's thing is, “it's not the one person that looks at you, it's the three people I see that don't say anything that's interesting.” I hope it's not from bad things like killing people on 24.

iF : Is there one fan base more rabid than the other ?

SHEPPARD : BATTLESTAR has still got a huge following in that way. I'm amazed by the FIREFLY fans as well. FIREFLY fans are disproportionate to the amount of attention for a show that didn't have a lot of hours on television. I'm blessed for having been a part of that.

iF : You're in a very unique position, in that you're on all these cult shows that have a devoted fan base, and now you're on another show like LEVERAGE that will break out as well with its fans too.

SHEPPARD : I think LEVERAGE is fantastic. It's the brightest writing I've read in a long time. It makes me happy to watch it, it makes me happy to be a part of it. It's a joy to have an intelligent series to watch. I'm a very lucky man.

Mark Sheppard - "Dollhouse" Tv Series - Sfx.co.uk Interview

Webmaster — 2008-12-16T20:34:24Z

Mark Sheppard talks of his role in Dollhouse

We were lucky to catch up with some of the cast of Battlestar Galactica recently, among them Mark "Romo Lampkin" Sheppard. He and fellow Battlestar crewmember Tahmoh Penikett are both also appearing in Joss Whedon's new show, Dollhouse. You can read all about Dollhouse in the latest edition of SFX magazine, issue 178 on sale Wednesday 17 December, but here we'll share a few words from Sheppard about the character he plays :

"It's great, being in Dollhouse with Tahmoh," he said, thinking of the great camaraderie that exists on Joss Whedon shoots. "Just walking onto a set and him being there, Joss being there of course… A lot of fun for me."

He continues : "I play a character called Tanaka. It's pretty obvious from the character's name that I probably wasn't the first choice for the role ! But I think Joss had wanted to include me and he asked me if I wanted to fill this particular spot - I think they've evolved this spot around the fact that they've now got me. But as I arrived and I'm waiting outside the stage and Joss is there I said, 'Can I keep the name !' He laughed and said, 'I knew you were going to say that.' So I think it's going to be one of those things where there's an interesting burden that shapes Tanaka !"

Look out for more of this interview with Mark Sheppard (who said of Joss Whedon's love for Battlestar Galactica : "He's a huge fan. He doesn't really want to know [who the final Cylon is], he's banned everyone on the set from talking about it. He says Battlestar is the best thing ever made, and that he aspires to make television like it") in 2009 as the end of Battlestar Galactica approaches and Dollhouse kicks off.

Mark Sheppard - About his career - Count Gore De Vol Video Interview

Webmaster — 2008-08-23T09:52:19Z

Mark A. Sheppard - "Battlestar Galactica" Tv Series - He's in the Season 3 bonus podcast

Webmaster — 2007-05-13T21:06:00Z

Click on the link :

http://media.scifi.com/battlestar/downloads/podcast/mp3/mark_1/bonus_ep_318_pod_mark_sheppard.mp3

Mark A. Sheppard - "Battlestar Galactica" Tv Series - Ign.com Interview

Webmaster — 2007-03-30T16:54:52Z

When I first began to talk to Mark Sheppard about his new role on Battlestar Galactica, the actor put it to me as simply as he could, saying, "I think I have the best character on the best show on television." Sheppard is a very familiar face to TV fans, including notable roles as Badger on Firefly, as Ivan Earwich (AKA "Yellow Tie Man") on 24, and as the evil Dr. Charles Walker on Medium. He made his debut on Galactica this past week, as the memorably named Romo Lampkin, a defense attorney who takes the case of none other than the infamous Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis). Sheppard will be appearing in the final three Galactica episodes of the season, and the day after his first appearance aired, I spoke to him about his experience working on the acclaimed series.

When I asked how he got the part, Sheppard replied, "I'm a huge fan of the show. Absolutely huge fan," and noted that he is friends with Galactica executive producer Ron Moore and his wife Terry. "I know Ron through [CSI Executive Producer] Naren Shankar and [Medium Executive Producer] Rene Echevarria. They all started at Star Trek together. Ron and I got to be friends and talked and talked and I said, 'When I grow up, I want to be a Cylon.' And he tried to make that happen. It was gonna maybe happen last year, and I wasn't available and it just didn't work out. I was in the middle of doing Medium. I was totally crestfallen, because it's my favorite show, without question. Battlestar is, I think, the best written show on television."

Sheppard then recalled being at a party with Moore and Galactica's other Executive Producer David Eick, "And David said, 'You still want to be a Cylon, right ?' I said, 'David, I'll play anything !' He said, 'We may have a trial coming up at the end of the season,' and I said, 'Keep me in mind.' Then I was at Ron's house, and he said, 'I have something for you.' And I said, 'What's that ?' 'Three episodes of Battlestar.' I nearly fell over ! I read the first script and Michael Angeli's characterization of Romo, which I think is fantastic. There's a lot more stuff then was in the episode. The intro scene [for Romo] was a three page monologue about fear, which was taken out. There wasn't room for it. But it explains the puzzled look on Laura Roslin's face and, 'I'm glad to hear you're not afraid about defending the most hated man in the universe !' Because I'd just given her a massive speech about fear, very weirdly."

Sheppard recalled arriving in Vancouver to work on the show, "and everybody's like, 'Okay, why does smarty-pants here have all this amazing dialogue to say ? Who is this guy ?' And we sat and did a table read, and as soon as we finished the table read, everyone was like, 'Oh, we're gonna have some fun !' I was welcomed with open arms. Edwards James Olmos is the most extraordinary individual. Lovely, lovely, open man. Very much into the acting ; very much into the doing. If people are there to play and to make it better, there isn't anything he won't do to support that. The same goes for Mary [McDonnell]. They really do lead from the top."

Sheppard talked about how delighted he was to explore his character's connection to Joseph Adama, the lawyer father of Admiral William Adama (Olmos) and grandfather of Lee "Apollo" Adama (Jamie Bamber). "I'm sort of like the real son of the grandfather in a way," Sheppard observed. "I was always described as the protégé of Joseph Adama, which I think was fascinating to play. Because obviously, without giving away too much of what's coming up next, I'm fighting what Baltar calls 'The Emerging Aristocracy.' I'm fighting the Royal Family. And I'm fighting with a bunch of people who believe that Baltar doesn't actually deserve a trial, which is kind of frightening, really, if you think about it. Because that therefore makes me the last custodian of sanity in the universe. [In this] military-industrial complex, which has now been reduced to 40,000-odd people, if we throw out the conventions that make us civilized, everything goes. We're worse then the Cylons, and we'll never survive. And I think that's the major point of my argument, and the major point of Joe Adama's argument, is that not only is everybody entitled to a trial, but everybody's entitled to a good one. They're entitled to fair and reasonable representation and a chance at proving a point."

Sheppard revealed that the "bonus scene" at the end of this coming Sunday's episode ("Crossroads, Part 1"), "Is Lee saying, 'Well you know he's guilty, right ?' To which the answer is, 'Well, he's guilty of something. We all are. But is he guilty of an actual crime ? No. Absolutely not. Has he done anything separating himself from the royal family ? Absolutely. Will they kill him for it ? Quite possibly ! But has he actually done something ? I don't think so. I don't think they can prove he did anything at all.' So I'm fighting a system that unfortunately breaks its own rules, continually. I think it's a fantastic character to play. And now I have two [more] episodes to take apart the entire structure I think."

When I asked Sheppard what it was like coming in to do such a large part on a show with an already established cast he answered, "Once they got past the, 'Who is this guy and why does he have all this cool stuff to say ?', Jamie, James and myself, we became known as The Three Amigos, after ten or fifteen minutes. All of our stuff was together for three episodes. It was a wonderful experience working with Jamie and James. Two of the smartest men I've ever met." Sheppard also explained how Olmos took him out to dinner, "And I got the most extraordinary evening of wonderful stories, just trying to pick his brains about his experiences. And how much he loves the show and how much he cares about his cast. The same is with Mary." He added that the cast, "were actually surprised that I loved the show and had seen every episode to that point. Because there's gonna be situations where some actors won't. Episode five or so had just aired of the season, and there I was shooting episode 17."

Sheppard's first episode actually came right after a rather massive upheaval for the show. "I arrived just as Katee [Sackhoff] had been killed off," the actor noted. "So Starbuck is dead and I'm like, 'What ?! No way. Whoa... What the hell is going on ?!' It was the most extraordinary feeling on the set. It truly was mourning going on. It was a very, very odd energy around, which you can totally understand. It was a huge, tactile loss to the cast. And every question came up [for me]. 'How the hell is Caprica Six on Galactica right now ? What is going on ?!' Eddie was like, 'Well, I directed an episode. I think you should watch this, because now you can know what's going on with Baltar.' And he was absolutely right. He gave me a copy of 'Taking a Break From All Your Worries,' which I think is a fantastic episode. And I was like, 'Oh wow... All of this has changed !' I didn't know the Cylon position for the last ten episodes, and so it was such an extraordinary learning curve. It was such a wonderful thing. To be asked to play in this playing field is a remarkable thing. I have friends who are very good actors who want to kill me now, because I've done Battlestar, their favorite show. I would have played anything, but to be allowed to do this much..."

I was curious where the idea came from that Lampkin would wear sunglasses nearly all the time, and Sheppard explained, "That's [Michael] Angeli. Angeli wears sunglasses a lot." Sheppard noted that Lampkin was, "Originally conceived as an older character. I think a 55 year old character." He elaborated on his feeling that Lampkin, by being the lawyer Bill and Lee are not, is, "almost like Joseph Adama's second family, who actually followed in his foot steps. That's where I started from. That was my theory. So I think there's a very intense situation between myself and Bill Adama, because I know a lot about him. I know a lot about where he comes from, because I know his father. The glasses were there to hide."

Sheppard said he also felt, "Lampkin's eyes are a weapon and a tool. As a major arch manipulator, he chooses his time to engage, the most important being with Caprica Six. That's their star witness. If Caprica Six gets on the stand the way she's feeling, he's torn to pieces. All she has to do is tell what happened at the beginning, and it's over for him, as far as Baltar is concerned. But I think giving Lampkin the ability to discuss things with her on a very deep level was lovely." Laughing about the fascinating back and forth dynamic in the scene where Lampkin speaks to Caprica Six, Sheppard said, "I get a 'make out' scene with Caprica Six, using somebody else's pen... which I stole !" Sheppard pointed out that he'd worked with Tricia Helfer ("Six") before on CSI, in what was one of her very first acting roles.

Sheppard added that it was also "Angeli's idea that [Lampkin] steals ; You want to talk about a fatal flaw in a character !" It's revealed that Lampkin steals many items because he believes it can subtly change the perception of those he's facing in court, and Sheppard felt, "It's a beautiful thing to play. He's absolutely correct."

As for what's to come, Sheppard had to remain understandably secretive. "I don't want to say too much about the last two episodes, but I will say this ; It was amazing to sit in a room and actually shoot eleven minutes of dialogue and action in a row and then go back and do it again. Every actor was at their peak and able to do it, [and able to] transition between three different situations in a scene, as you'll see in the [next two] episodes." As for his character, Sheppard said, "There's so much more I can tell you about him, but it would blow your experience."

While Sheppard is definitely on Battlestar Galactica through the end of season three, it's unknown if we might see his character again next year. When I asked if there was room for Romo Lampkin to show up in season four, Sheppard replied, "Well, there's always an opportunity to come back on Battlestar. But I don't know. I have no idea where Ron and David and everybody are taking the show. I would be honored to come back. I'd come back in a heartbeat. It's a great character to play."

Mark Shepard is on this week's Battlestar Galactica podcast

Webmaster — 2006-12-05T21:22:05Z

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http://media.scifi.com/battlestar/downloads/podcast/mp3/roundtable/roundtable.mp3