He's been on ABC's "Lost," playing an evil corporate type, and on HBO's "The Wire," as Cedric Daniels. Now actor Lance Reddick is playing FBI agent Phillip Broyles, who heads up a department that investigates paranormal incidents, on Fox's "Fringe." His character's stern persona is similar to others he has played, but the difference is in the details. The Baltimore native is currently working on reviving his music career and aiming for the stars when it comes to acting.
Excerpts from an interview:
Q: You don't have any fear of getting typecast?
A: The only time I was worried about it was with "Fringe." I had a concern about doing the role because I'd just come off playing Daniels (on "The Wire").
Q: Your characters on "The Wire" and "Fringe" have similar demeanors.
A: They are very contained guys. But by the same token, maybe it's just my way of approaching that kind of character. First of all, they are both in command basically of warriors, soldiers and teams of mavericks. That kind of command requires such a balancing act.
Q: "Fringe" is all about secret experiments and unknown phenomena. What do you believe when it comes to that?
A: Wow, UFOs, I don't know. I mean, in terms of them actually having visited our planet. Do I believe that there is other intelligent life out there that is comparable or potentially superior to us in the universe? I think if you look at how organically life seems to grow and develop, I think it's ridiculous to think we are the only planet in the universe which developed life to the level of human beings. As far as ESP or telepathy, hmm, I'm open to the possibility.
Q: I understand you are a big reader, but not much of a television junkie.
A: Well, let me go back. I may have said something like that in the past, but that's not exactly what I said. I grew up watching television, but a year after my daughter was born, I was working three jobs, seven days a week, and didn't have time to watch television. I noticed that my attention span went up significantly. Boy, this (is) a tricky thing to say being an actor who has made the bulk of his career on television, but generally, as a human being, I am not a fan of watching a lot of TV. There is good stuff out there, but you have to pick and choose. I am not a fan of letting kids watch a lot of television while their brains are developing.
Q: I read that you suffered a severe back injury a while ago. How did happen?
A: I was working three jobs and I always worked on adrenaline and I also was working out every day. One night I came off a double shift of waiting tables and I had to go straight to a double shift of delivering newspapers. I used to deliver big huge bundles of The Wall Street Journal to the financial district in downtown Boston. I had just turned 27 and I was used to feeling like I could do anything. I went to lift a bundle of papers toward the end of the night and I'd been up for about 24 hours. I felt something in my back and I kind of ignored it. Each day I felt it a little more but ignored it. About a month later I went to get out of bed and couldn't. That was the beginning of me thinking, "I need to re-evaluate my approach," and that was the beginning of how I started acting. I was trying to make it as pop musician at that time.
Q: So, your first acting experience was in school?
A: We were studying "Macbeth" in 10th grade. We were asked to pick a scene and act it. At the time I was a huge "Star Trek" fan, and I remember reading that William Shatner was a Shakespearean actor. So I did it the way I thought Captain Kirk would do it. (Laughing) The interesting thing about it was, I wasn't a great student and I really didn't enjoy reading literature. I did a play every year for fun when I was in college. So after I hurt my back I decided I had to change something. It was clear the recording studio was taking me for a ride. I started getting cast and doing theater in Boston and then applied to the drama school at Yale purely on a lark.
Q: So at 29 you were getting jobs. Why apply to Yale Drama School?
A: First of all, I want to say this about my experience at Yale. I wouldn't be where I am if I hadn't gone to Yale. In retrospect, I really think I was guided to do that.
Q: What is your goal now that you have achieved a certain success? Do you want to be an A-lister?
A: Ultimately, I still want to be an A-list movie star. Boy, this is the kind of thing I never say, at least in interviews. I really want to be thought of, in terms of my work, the way my idols are thought of. It's not that I aspire to be the biggest movie star in the world, but I definitely want to be one of the best actors in the world.
(Patricia Sheridan can be reached at psheridan(at)post-gazette.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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