t Bridge Studios in Vancouver, Canada, where Showtime's post-apocalyptic Jeremiah television series is filmed, there is a concrete corridor buffer between the inside and outside of the studio. It's here, in the cushion, that actor Sean Astin slides into a director's folding chair. He's pulled himself away from a script reading to talk about his latest role as "the mysterious Mr. Smith" in J. Michael Straczynski's latest novel for television, now airing in its second season on the cable network.
The first question lobbed at Astin has nothing to do with his latest dramatic role. It's "How's your foot?" A documentary on Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers had revealed how, in a scene for the film as Samwise Gamgee, Astin had accidentally stepped on glass shards while attempting to wade into a river to clamber into a canoe. The accident was painful and required him to be airlifted from the location by helicopter for treatment.
"That gave me a real good war story," chuckled Sean Astin. "I got a lot of sympathy from it, and one of my treasured keepsakes from the experience is a walking stick, a Maori walking stick that [director] Peter Jackson presented to me. That was a gift from the crew. The next day I was back at work, and I ended up having some elven runes carved into it by Gino, our special-effects guy, and the date that the injury happened [was engraved into it], and the name of the town where it happened. I have that in my house in Los Angeles, and I look at it with fondness all the time. I wouldn't have that if it wasn't for the injury."
Sean Astin is a lucky man in so many ways. He's a veteran of over 25 feature films. He first came to notice as a 13-year old in The Goonies (1984). Today he is also an ambitious director. His directorial debut, a short film titled "Kangaroo Court" (1994), was nominated for an Oscar. He's directed episodic television for series like Angel and Perversions of Science. His latest short, titled "The Long and Short of It," was filmed in New Zealand and is included as an extra feature on the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers DVD.
As I understand it, your entry into Jeremiah was when series creator Joe Straczynski had offered the role to you. You analyzed it, and you looked at the script of what the show was about and ... ?
Astin: I watched most of the episodes of the first season before I had my meeting with Joe Straczynski. I hadn't actually read the scripts, I don't think. And at my meeting with Joe Straczynski, he presented me with a sketch of what the character was that he was creating.
First impressions: What were your thoughts and feelings about the character and what the show had to offer?
Astin: I instantly loved the character. It was instantaneous. My appreciation for what it was that he'd created. I instantly knew that it was something that I wanted to do. When I heard him, at my lunch with him, telling me of the character that he was creating. I wanted to like the show before I started watching it, because my agents had communicated to me that Luke Perry had placed a telephone call and evidenced his great passion for my work as an actor and his desire for me to be involved, and that I found flattering and moving and so I instantly wanted to watch every episode of the first season, and I wanted to like it, and I wanted to see if there was a way to make it work.
Who is Mr. Smith?
Astin: Mr. Smith is one of the millions of people who were under the age of puberty when this horrible Big Death came around. I like to refer to him, and I'm not sure this is exactly right, but as "either an unwitting prophet, or a fool." Mr. Smith is a figment of the incredible wellspring of creativity that is the mind of Joe Straczynski. He is a vessel through which the ideas of man's relationship to God, and the tensions his relationships to God creates, can be wrestled with and communicated.
That's very interesting. I don't know if you're aware of it, but it's sort of known that Joe is an atheist, but he's very good at writing religious issues, and writing about this territory.
Astin: I can't remember if Joe told me that he's an atheist or not, but when I hear you tell me now that he's known as an atheist, I would say I'm not convinced.
He's written a couple religious-related episodes in Babylon 5, and they're very touching and very well-written. With Mr. Smith, he's a bit of a enigma, and I'm curious if you have a backstory of this character?
Astin: Not really ... not too much.
I assume this is a character development we will see as the show evolves ...
Astin: I'm not so sure, I don't know what's in Joe's mind ... mine is not to reason why, mine is but to do or die. ... [Chuckles.] Joe shared with me a few thoughts or ideas about Smith's background, but really not very much. So to me, Smith is a combination of me, Sean, and the kind of archetype of an idea of someone who believes that God is communicating to them, or rather, maybe it's better said, someone who God talks through.
What kind of adventures has Mr. Smith been through as he deals with Jeremiah and Kurdy?
Astin: I think audiences can look forward to the fact that Mr. Smith comes into Kurdy's life in an interesting way, and what I love about Mr. Smith is that everybody responds to "a guy" who says that God is speaking to him, a little bit differently. My character is basically a great litmus test against which the faith of the other characters are meted out, or amplified, or glimpsed through, so I think it's fair to say that throughout the course of the second episode, there will be times where Mr. Smith's adventures will take him into ... he isn't initially a part of the Thunder Mountain group and he's not really a part of their lives, so I can say this: The question is, is Mr. Smith going to be able to become a part of that, or is he not going to be able to become a part of their thing? I think that question, whether or not he's going to find comfort or solace or whether or not they're going to find him threatening, remains to be seen ...
Does Mr. Smith have a role to play in the rebuilding of society with Jeremiah, Kurdy and the Thunder Mountain people?
Astin: I would think that both Mr. Smith and God would say, YES! He does! And that's God in the person of Joe Straczynski, of course. [Laughs.]
Yes, even on Babylon 5, Joe was God, of more than 110 episodes, so ... he was the god of that show, and I'm sure he is here as well. How's it coming along on the show? Are you enjoying working with Luke and Malcolm?
Astin: Yes, I'm having a really, really good time, I'd say this is the most fun time I've had in my career, in the post-Two-Towers, present-Jeremiah ... along with my wife and kids. I mean, my life is really, knock on wood, is really going well, and I'm enjoying it, and I'm really enjoying the professional experience. I'm really inspired by all the Canadian crew that I'm working with, and giving myself over completely to Joe Straczynski and his imaginative genius is easy to do, and the pace of television I find compelling. Vancouver is a beautiful place to spend time and aesthetically, just the natural environment is beautiful, the people are beautiful, the restaurants, the food is great. I mean, I'm livin' large. That's something for a hobbit to say. [Chuckles all around.]
That's a great compliment, especially when you compare to New Zealand ...
Astin: I think it's fair to say that I'm having more fun, day in and day out, working on Jeremiah, than I did on Lord of the Rings. And I think that's because of my experience on Lord of the Rings; I don't think I would have evolved as much as a creative entity if it wouldn't have been for the awesome experience of being involved with Lord of the Rings; it totally adjusted my constitution as a human being, in terms of my own physical strength, and in terms of my ability to appreciate the power of imagination, so I'm forever indebted to Peter Jackson and Lord of the Rings for bringing me down there, but I was 35 pounds heavier and it was hard work for me.
This is pure crystalline joy, every minute. No hobbit feet, no ears, no hair. The clothes are easier, there's so much dialogue. Sam didn't have that much dialogue. Sam, I basically had to anchor myself into a space of loyalty and commitment and devotion and dedication, persistence and hard work, all of which are emotions that are comfortable for me, and I just have to live in that space for a year and a half. Here, I'm tickling the tendril stops of my own mind about how people experience God for themselves and how that operates in their lives, and in their interactions with other people, so I'm using the character and the portrayal of the character as a way to enjoy my own spiritual explorations; it's really been gratifying.
What do you think Joe is trying to say with this character, and his communications with God, and how it participates in the storyline?
Astin: Mm-hmm. I think it's a good question, I think it's a fair question, but I don't think it's a question I'm capable of answering. I really don't know. I made a decision in my meeting with him, on Ventura Boulevard, in this little Indian cafe, that he was a good man, in my estimation. It was an instantaneous feeling that I had, looking into his eyes, and I was willing to trust. I made a choice to trust Joe, and to trust that whatever it is that he wants to use this character for, that it can only be ultimately for goodness' sake, and so I am a willing vessel for him.
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Also in this issue:
The cast and crew of The Matrix Revolutions
