Post by Niemmy on Oct 28, 2005 5:50:10 GMT -5
BBC Cult - Printer Friendly Version
Wayne Pygram - The cheery Aussie beneath Scorpius' leather.
The audition
Tell us about how you got the part of Scorpius.
My screen test was very curious. I got a page of dialogue, no information as far as the makeup, and the costume and the whole thing [was concerned]. [The character was like] an intelligent, dark, Spock. So down I go. Everything I’ve done with the character, the voice, the mannerisms, I had on the day. So it was certainly all coming from internal, which is always good.
The director on the day was Andrew Prowse. He’s one of our screen directors and executive producers. Prowsey’s a big gangly thing. I did my test, I did it twice. And he was just bored stiff. I thought, "Hmm, that went well."
I left the test and rang my agent and said, "Whoever that guy is, I never want to see him again. I did a really good test, but we’re not going to get the job." And then I got the call two days later, to go down to Fox for a head mould. And Prowsey has been my number one supporter [since]. Basically, as soon as I walked in the room and did it, I had the job. But I really was quite disconcerted by it all. he’s bored! But he wasn’t, that’s just him.
So it was interesting. But everything I do, I was doing before I saw the costume. Obviously there’s more detail in the movement, [but] I had the bare bones off one page. Which was good, because I have this thing - if the shoes are right for you, they’ll fit. And they fit.
Harvey vs Scorpius
How did you approach playing the various versions of Scorpius, and which was the most fun to play? Question from Amy Tyndall.
The Harvey character, he had a very clear function, to go hunting for information. But the liberation, when he evolved, was when Scorpius, in his arrogant way, took out the chip, but left the clone. [Since then] he’s like an actor without a role.
So that led me to go a little bit more crazy. Really to free it up. For me, it’s just clear cut, it’s pretty obvious that they’re two very separate characters. There’s no confusion, have to go away in a corner and prepare anything, nothing like that at all.
Certainly the real liberation came when Scorpius did extract that piece of data out of Crichton’s brain, and the notion of this guy is, he’s a loose cannon. He’s bouncing off the walls, going crazy. He wants to be useful, he wants to do something. He’s an actor with out a role. So that’s when he really got energised.
He has a manic nature, which he didn’t have to start with, because I really didn’t know what I was doing. I was just putting my foot in the water. But, as I say, once we extracted that piece of data from Crichton’s brain, I just knew that I could go to play, I could actually really up the ante, turn the volume up.
Is Harvey fun to play?
There’s fun and there’s fun. I mean, the comedy is fun. There’s no doubt about it, the silliness is fun. But there’s nothing like intimidating people. And winning. You always win. Even when you give it all away, they think they’re winning, they think they’re winning. Not!
I love that. You know, the seduction.
Acting interested
What made you want to become an actor? Question from Amy Connelly.
It’s just purely fantasy with me. I’m an untrained actor. Everyone thinks I’m trained, and I’ve done all the Shakespeare and all that stuff, but I really just invented myself as an actor and that’s how I work.
I was reading an Al Pacino interview one day, and he said this thing and I thought, "how flippant is that." He said, "Well, either the muse kicks in or it doesn’t." I was quite a bit younger and not as wise, and eager for it to be this big philosophical thing. It’s not. It’s in you, it’s actually in you, and you just have to let it come out. And that’s fine.
I’m a believer that as an actor, my job, my pure job, is to create interest. All the other [skills], I mean, [without them] I wouldn’t get the job. It’s like a carpenter’s job isn’t to bang nails in, [but] if you can’t bang the nails in you wouldn’t be a carpenter. My job is to create interest, and the best way to create interest is to be interested in others. Because as a viewer you’re going, "what’s he got going on?"
[It’s not] the attention’s on me. The attention’s actually on the other person in the scene. [That] drags the lens to you. A little acting trick, that one. In life it’s a lot like that. In life we’re interested in the other person. That’s what you do when you’re talking to someone. You’re not going, "how am I going to say the next line." Obviously if you’re in a business meeting with someone you might have that going on.
An actor’s job is to create interest, so the audience goes with you. And the best way to create it is to be interested in someone else.
Prosthesis problems
How do the makeup and the costume affect the way you portray Scorpius?
The makeup and the costume both have constraints. But the problem is the solution. I’m so philosophical.
The problem is the solution. I’ve got a costume which is really restrictive - [so] he walks in a certain way. That was a gift in a sense. It might bite or hurt when I do something physical, but that’s all right.
The makeup, again, it’s very tight round the neck. So when he moves his neck, it has a lot of weight, and half of it is because that’s the only way I can move. The problem is the solution, go with it, it’s going to lend itself to your characterisation.
I have had skin issues with the makeup, and I’ve had headaches. For three seasons, the headpieces were hard plastic. Round about lunchtime, my head was throbbing. Once it’s on, it’s on for the day. This year they moulded the helmet with soft plastic, which made a big difference. Now I have been sick, and lost a lot of weight, so I’ve been through two headmoulds in my time on Farscape. I started to put on weight this year, and they would have to get pliers out and zip me into the headmould Like, literally hold me down and get the pliers out. So if you’re all claustrophobic, and I have a little bit of claustrophobia, because it’s quite restrictive around the neck, [it’s unpleasant]. I know Claudia didn’t like that feeling [during the filming of Promises]. The headmould is torture.
What was it like having the mould done?
They cover you from the chest up, straws in the nose, and that’s it. Twenty minutes and you’re on your own. No!
Once it dries it starts to get heavy and you can’t move and, if you’re going to panic, that’s when it happens. It’s not when it’s wet. When it’s wet, that’s all OK, but when it dries it actually gets hot, and if you’re claustrophobic, people are going to get into trouble. I turned blue last time.
Were you hurt?
No, but I freaked out the boys in the Creature Shop.
Yeah, there’s limitations [to the costume], but the limitations are bonuses, I think.
Performer’s paradise
Which episodes were the best to do?
It’s a funny thing, because a lot of times on the floor you think something’s going to be weak, or it isn’t satisfying, they turn out remarkable. In the cut, in the manipulation of the edit.
The first four episodes are profound. I hit the floor running, the excitement on set when I was there was just remarkable. I could feel the excitement. Rowan Woods, who was the first director I worked with, I could hear him cheering and clapping on the monitors.
I’ve never had anything quite as in-your-face as that, as a slap on the back or "you’re doing well Wayne". So those four episodes were overwhelming from a performer’s point of view. And Ben was so generous, he let me hurt him, let me play, let me win.
A lot of the Harvey stuff I do really love. I love the World War One sequence, with the bombs going off. There’s so many moments. I loved playing the drums, that was pretty cheeky. They’re frivolous things, that’s Wayne, I had a bit of fun. Whether the episodes were [good] or not, . I don’t see a lot of the work. I’m getting the DVDs this year, for the first time.
We work in Homebush, a long way from the city, where I live, and on Friday nights, once a fortnight, they’ll have a screening. And Friday night, what do you want to do, hang around for another three hours or go home? Go home, get clean, go down to the icebergs, have a beer, whatever. I go home. I don’t watch rushes, I don’t watch a lot of my work, I never have done. I work internally. Is it handy to see rushes sometimes? Absolutely.
I always love to see the other people’s work, the other guys’ work. Because I really worked in isolation for three years, me and Ben. Which was great, it was a wonderful relationship. We had a chemistry going on. It’s wonderful to see other people’s work.
The cancellation
How did you feel when you heard about the cancellation?
Heartbroken, curtain coming down, cold.
It was like your girlfriend has just left, your wife has just left, but what made it worse was, she came back every night and knocked on the door and said "Wayne, I’m not sure, I’ll come in, I’ll just come in tonight." She stays the night, wakes up the next morning, says, "No, I made the right decision, I’m outta here". Because in the first two weeks there was all this stuff going on - we were doing a telemovie, eleven episodes, whatever.
Every day there was a different story, so the grieving process was delayed. It was horrible. That’s exactly it. Your lover leaves, but she comes back every night, wants to stay, gets up the next morning and says no, I made the right decision, I’m gone. The same thing would happen again, and again. I’ve never seen so many grown men in tears. It meant a lot to everyone, which was great. It was our family.
Fan power
What did you think about the efforts of the fans to save the show?
Overwhelming. Overwhelming.
I’ve always known about the fan base, because I come out and do the conventions, but the crew at home, they don’t get it. We’re hardly on air in Australia. They’ve hardly had a chance to sort of celebrate our success.
The fans took out a half-page article in the Telegraph at home thanking the cast and crew. The crew got it. Powerful. I’ll stop raving at that point. Powerful. And generous.
Wayne Pygram - The cheery Aussie beneath Scorpius' leather.
The audition
Tell us about how you got the part of Scorpius.
My screen test was very curious. I got a page of dialogue, no information as far as the makeup, and the costume and the whole thing [was concerned]. [The character was like] an intelligent, dark, Spock. So down I go. Everything I’ve done with the character, the voice, the mannerisms, I had on the day. So it was certainly all coming from internal, which is always good.
The director on the day was Andrew Prowse. He’s one of our screen directors and executive producers. Prowsey’s a big gangly thing. I did my test, I did it twice. And he was just bored stiff. I thought, "Hmm, that went well."
I left the test and rang my agent and said, "Whoever that guy is, I never want to see him again. I did a really good test, but we’re not going to get the job." And then I got the call two days later, to go down to Fox for a head mould. And Prowsey has been my number one supporter [since]. Basically, as soon as I walked in the room and did it, I had the job. But I really was quite disconcerted by it all. he’s bored! But he wasn’t, that’s just him.
So it was interesting. But everything I do, I was doing before I saw the costume. Obviously there’s more detail in the movement, [but] I had the bare bones off one page. Which was good, because I have this thing - if the shoes are right for you, they’ll fit. And they fit.
Harvey vs Scorpius
How did you approach playing the various versions of Scorpius, and which was the most fun to play? Question from Amy Tyndall.
The Harvey character, he had a very clear function, to go hunting for information. But the liberation, when he evolved, was when Scorpius, in his arrogant way, took out the chip, but left the clone. [Since then] he’s like an actor without a role.
So that led me to go a little bit more crazy. Really to free it up. For me, it’s just clear cut, it’s pretty obvious that they’re two very separate characters. There’s no confusion, have to go away in a corner and prepare anything, nothing like that at all.
Certainly the real liberation came when Scorpius did extract that piece of data out of Crichton’s brain, and the notion of this guy is, he’s a loose cannon. He’s bouncing off the walls, going crazy. He wants to be useful, he wants to do something. He’s an actor with out a role. So that’s when he really got energised.
He has a manic nature, which he didn’t have to start with, because I really didn’t know what I was doing. I was just putting my foot in the water. But, as I say, once we extracted that piece of data from Crichton’s brain, I just knew that I could go to play, I could actually really up the ante, turn the volume up.
Is Harvey fun to play?
There’s fun and there’s fun. I mean, the comedy is fun. There’s no doubt about it, the silliness is fun. But there’s nothing like intimidating people. And winning. You always win. Even when you give it all away, they think they’re winning, they think they’re winning. Not!
I love that. You know, the seduction.
Acting interested
What made you want to become an actor? Question from Amy Connelly.
It’s just purely fantasy with me. I’m an untrained actor. Everyone thinks I’m trained, and I’ve done all the Shakespeare and all that stuff, but I really just invented myself as an actor and that’s how I work.
I was reading an Al Pacino interview one day, and he said this thing and I thought, "how flippant is that." He said, "Well, either the muse kicks in or it doesn’t." I was quite a bit younger and not as wise, and eager for it to be this big philosophical thing. It’s not. It’s in you, it’s actually in you, and you just have to let it come out. And that’s fine.
I’m a believer that as an actor, my job, my pure job, is to create interest. All the other [skills], I mean, [without them] I wouldn’t get the job. It’s like a carpenter’s job isn’t to bang nails in, [but] if you can’t bang the nails in you wouldn’t be a carpenter. My job is to create interest, and the best way to create interest is to be interested in others. Because as a viewer you’re going, "what’s he got going on?"
[It’s not] the attention’s on me. The attention’s actually on the other person in the scene. [That] drags the lens to you. A little acting trick, that one. In life it’s a lot like that. In life we’re interested in the other person. That’s what you do when you’re talking to someone. You’re not going, "how am I going to say the next line." Obviously if you’re in a business meeting with someone you might have that going on.
An actor’s job is to create interest, so the audience goes with you. And the best way to create it is to be interested in someone else.
Prosthesis problems
How do the makeup and the costume affect the way you portray Scorpius?
The makeup and the costume both have constraints. But the problem is the solution. I’m so philosophical.
The problem is the solution. I’ve got a costume which is really restrictive - [so] he walks in a certain way. That was a gift in a sense. It might bite or hurt when I do something physical, but that’s all right.
The makeup, again, it’s very tight round the neck. So when he moves his neck, it has a lot of weight, and half of it is because that’s the only way I can move. The problem is the solution, go with it, it’s going to lend itself to your characterisation.
I have had skin issues with the makeup, and I’ve had headaches. For three seasons, the headpieces were hard plastic. Round about lunchtime, my head was throbbing. Once it’s on, it’s on for the day. This year they moulded the helmet with soft plastic, which made a big difference. Now I have been sick, and lost a lot of weight, so I’ve been through two headmoulds in my time on Farscape. I started to put on weight this year, and they would have to get pliers out and zip me into the headmould Like, literally hold me down and get the pliers out. So if you’re all claustrophobic, and I have a little bit of claustrophobia, because it’s quite restrictive around the neck, [it’s unpleasant]. I know Claudia didn’t like that feeling [during the filming of Promises]. The headmould is torture.
What was it like having the mould done?
They cover you from the chest up, straws in the nose, and that’s it. Twenty minutes and you’re on your own. No!
Once it dries it starts to get heavy and you can’t move and, if you’re going to panic, that’s when it happens. It’s not when it’s wet. When it’s wet, that’s all OK, but when it dries it actually gets hot, and if you’re claustrophobic, people are going to get into trouble. I turned blue last time.
Were you hurt?
No, but I freaked out the boys in the Creature Shop.
Yeah, there’s limitations [to the costume], but the limitations are bonuses, I think.
Performer’s paradise
Which episodes were the best to do?
It’s a funny thing, because a lot of times on the floor you think something’s going to be weak, or it isn’t satisfying, they turn out remarkable. In the cut, in the manipulation of the edit.
The first four episodes are profound. I hit the floor running, the excitement on set when I was there was just remarkable. I could feel the excitement. Rowan Woods, who was the first director I worked with, I could hear him cheering and clapping on the monitors.
I’ve never had anything quite as in-your-face as that, as a slap on the back or "you’re doing well Wayne". So those four episodes were overwhelming from a performer’s point of view. And Ben was so generous, he let me hurt him, let me play, let me win.
A lot of the Harvey stuff I do really love. I love the World War One sequence, with the bombs going off. There’s so many moments. I loved playing the drums, that was pretty cheeky. They’re frivolous things, that’s Wayne, I had a bit of fun. Whether the episodes were [good] or not, . I don’t see a lot of the work. I’m getting the DVDs this year, for the first time.
We work in Homebush, a long way from the city, where I live, and on Friday nights, once a fortnight, they’ll have a screening. And Friday night, what do you want to do, hang around for another three hours or go home? Go home, get clean, go down to the icebergs, have a beer, whatever. I go home. I don’t watch rushes, I don’t watch a lot of my work, I never have done. I work internally. Is it handy to see rushes sometimes? Absolutely.
I always love to see the other people’s work, the other guys’ work. Because I really worked in isolation for three years, me and Ben. Which was great, it was a wonderful relationship. We had a chemistry going on. It’s wonderful to see other people’s work.
The cancellation
How did you feel when you heard about the cancellation?
Heartbroken, curtain coming down, cold.
It was like your girlfriend has just left, your wife has just left, but what made it worse was, she came back every night and knocked on the door and said "Wayne, I’m not sure, I’ll come in, I’ll just come in tonight." She stays the night, wakes up the next morning, says, "No, I made the right decision, I’m outta here". Because in the first two weeks there was all this stuff going on - we were doing a telemovie, eleven episodes, whatever.
Every day there was a different story, so the grieving process was delayed. It was horrible. That’s exactly it. Your lover leaves, but she comes back every night, wants to stay, gets up the next morning and says no, I made the right decision, I’m gone. The same thing would happen again, and again. I’ve never seen so many grown men in tears. It meant a lot to everyone, which was great. It was our family.
Fan power
What did you think about the efforts of the fans to save the show?
Overwhelming. Overwhelming.
I’ve always known about the fan base, because I come out and do the conventions, but the crew at home, they don’t get it. We’re hardly on air in Australia. They’ve hardly had a chance to sort of celebrate our success.
The fans took out a half-page article in the Telegraph at home thanking the cast and crew. The crew got it. Powerful. I’ll stop raving at that point. Powerful. And generous.
