Saison 2 Episode 12 : Hunger - Interview: Ted Raimi from Bean Curd God to the LEGEND OF THE SEEKER, You Gotta Love Him - L'Epée de Vérité
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Legend of the Seeker is the hit fantasy series starring Craig Horner as Richard Cypher, once a simple Westland woodsman, who learns that he is the Seeker and wielder of the magical Sword of Truth, capable of defeating great evil. With the help of a Confessor, Kahlan Amnell (Bridget Regan), a woman with the power to make someone tell the truth, and a powerful wizard named Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander (Bruce Spence), the Seeker has been on many journeys over the course of its two seasons.
This weekend, Ted Raimi will return as mischievous magic peddler Sebastian. In this exclusive interview with IESB, the actor talked about how much fun he has with the role, his longtime friendship with show producer Rob Tapert (who also cast him as Joxer in Xena), working with his brother, Sam Raimi, and what he enjoys about his collaborations with Bruce Campbell and confirms he will have a role in Bruce Campbell vs. Frankenstein.
IESB: How did you get involved with Legend of the Seeker? Did they just come to you with this character?
Ted: My old buddy, Rob Tapert, who cast me in Xena, called me and wondered if I wanted to go to New Zealand to do Legend. I said yes, right away, because there's never been a part that Rob has asked me to do that hasn't been fantastic and more or less tailored for me. Rob is an old friend of mine, and he knows all my strengths and weaknesses really well, and he knew just where to put me. So, I was on a plane to New Zealand, hoping I would get the part right, so I could come back a second time, which has happened.
IESB: What were you told about the role when it was offered to you, and how much did you help them develop?
Ted: They didn't tell me much, other than the fact that he was a map maker. When I got there, I realized that he was maybe a little shady. And, with the help of the costume department, we talked about making him a little bit creepier, so I had a three-day growth on my face, a little greasier hair, a bit of a gin blossom nose, like he'd been drinking a little, and suddenly he became this oily salesman. I got very lucky.
Some of that was Rob Tapert's casting choice and the other part of it is just reaching a certain age, where I no longer play computer guys, like I always used to, and my face has started to crag out. Older people are just maybe a little oilier looking, I suppose. I've played lots of creepy people before, though. I've played a psychopath priest, a bad evil doctor and a creepy lawyer. It's one of the two or three things I do quite a bit.
IESB: Is it more fun to also get into a costume and have a full look to go with it?
Ted: Oh, yeah. It's a blast. When I walk onto the set wearing that apron, vest and long hair, you get right into it, right away. There's not much prodding you need, to get into the time or place. Plus, it's doubly exciting for me because I happen to love the Terry Goodkind books, which is an extra treat.
IESB: How much more developed is your character this time, and how much more trouble will he be causing?
Ted: Yes, he does cause a lot more trouble. In this episode, I team up with Zedd's brother. We find out that Zedd (Bruce Spence) has a brother, and his brother is a failed magician. And, I convince him to team up with me to sell the banelings this cure that will enable them to stop having to kill people. The banelings all want it, of course, but because I'm Sebastian, I water it down, so that I can get more doses. And, the cure stops working, so all the banelings come after me to kill me and I need help. It's a little like the credit crisis right now, in a way, with me being the bank. It's pretty cool, and it's cool to be a part of the Legend of the Seeker universe. I felt really lucky. I know that there are a lot of fans of the book, and they are very demanding fans, and I have to treat the characters with reverence.
IESB: What's it like to work with Craig Horner and Bridget Regan? What sort of dynamic, as actors, did they bring to the scenes you did with them?
Ted: First of all, they're both really young and working with young actors, you get this energy you don't get when you're working with older ones. They've just got nothing but non-stop energy, and that's fantastic.
Secondly, they behave as though they're not famous at all. They behave as though they don't know they're on a huge hit show. So, they make the vibe on set like you're working on this little indie movie that's just incredibly fun to work on. It feels like you're working on this tiny little movie, with a tiny craft service table, in a tiny location, but it really is none of those things. It just feels like it because of them. I'm a lucky guy.
IESB: How is it to work in New Zealand? Is it any different now than when you did Xena there?
Ted: It is different than when I was working on Xena. Auckland, the city that we shoot in, has not changed too much, and some of the crew from the Xena days are still there. Sometimes, when I'm standing on set, looking around, I could swear that I was shooting Xena, just for a moment. It's a little surreal. But, the two shows are very different, other than them both being fantasy and shooting in New Zealand. Legend is a far more serious show than Xena was.
IESB: What's been the most enjoyable thing about working on this show and playing this character, and what's been the most challenging aspect of it?
Ted: Some of the best things about working on it are that the characters are so well drawn that you have to live up to playing them, as an actor. It takes a lot more playing Sebastian than it ever did in my earlier days, working on Xena and playing Joxer, because the character is much more complex. All the characters are.
Being away from home is always a little challenging. When I was in my 20's and 30's, I used to love to be away on location for weeks at a time. I didn't care. Now, in my 40's, I'm like, "I kinda want to be home." I wish I were shooting in Los Angeles, sometimes. There's nothing wrong with New Zealand, but you do want to be closer to home.
IESB: This show has really been a surprise hit. What do you think it is that makes it so appealing to audiences? Is there something that sets it apart from other fantasy series?
Ted: It did take people by surprise. I think some of it is the characters that Terry Goodkind penned. Another reason is that Disney took the subject matter and didn't necessarily brand it Disney. There aren't little Tinker Bells flying around and there isn't magic dust. They could have easily done that, but they didn't. They kept it really straight-forward. It's a very serious, very dark show. I think there aren't any other fantasy shows that take it quite so seriously and that don't put any extra spins on it, so people do like that. Plus, it's just a wonderful escape of good guy/bad guy without making that fantasy angle too silly. It's a very difficult line to walk, but Legend does it very well.
IESB: How did you originally meet Rob Tapert?
Ted: I met Rob when I was a little kid. Rob was friends with my brother, Sam Raimi, and I used to see him all the time, over at the house, when he would come over. I was probably no more than 10 or 11, when I met him, and we became friends, when I moved out to California.
IESB: What do you think it is about your work style that makes you so compatible with each other?
Ted: He just has a good eye for TV. He's one of the last of the old school producers, in that he's not an old guy, but he has a good sense for what sells and what doesn't sell, and won't subvert his own likes and dislikes for marketing.
IESB: You seem to have a lot of fun with the roles that you take. Is that important to you, as an actor, at this point in your career?
Ted: It's really all that's important. If it isn't fun, you're just paying bills. And, if I'm just paying bills, there are a million other things that I ought to be doing with my life that are far more lucrative than acting. Primarily all I do now is try to take things that interest me and that I find fun to do, and this is one of them.
Rob Tapert is about the only person that I know who, when he tells me that there's a part that he thinks I should do, I'll go and do it without any question. But, I can't think of any other person like that. If you infuse something with a sense of joy, the audience sees it and they're going to love it. It's a question of quality over quantity, I suppose, and hopefully I have the former and not the latter.
IESB: You do a lot of great genre work and seem to genuinely be a real fan of it as well. What was your first exposure to the genre and what is the appeal of it for you still?
Ted: My first exposure to the genre was when I read Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, as a little kid. I was so impressed by that book and so moved by it. I remember reading it one summer when I was about 10, which is the perfect age, and I remember being really impressed by it. As I grew to watch movies and TV as I got older, I judged everything by that book. And, of course, there was the original Star
And then, when I started becoming an actor and reading for these sorts of parts, producers could see that I wasn't just doing it as an alternative to something more unsavory, and that I really, really loved the genre. Who doesn't want to work with somebody who loves what they're doing? Before this stuff become popular, a decade ago, actors would really poo-poo sci-fi, fantasy and horror auditions as something that wasn't good to do, and now they don't because it's popular. But, when it becomes unpopular again with the masses, I'll still be doing it just because I still like it so much.
IESB: You have such great comic timing in your performances. Does comedy come easy for you, or is it something that you've had to work at?
Ted: I think it comes pretty easy to me. I'm a lucky guy. I don't know why. Every actor has what I like to think of as superhero powers. One actor might know that they have a great smile and they'll use it all the time. Other actors have great hair and fling it around. Some actors have height that they'll use. Some actors have really serious eyes. Knowing your strength is really important. You can't survive in this business if you don't. I think I have pretty good timing, so I always try to leverage that whenever I go to read or do a part.
IESB: Working on Xena for as long as you did, are there things that you learned about yourself, as an actor, that you still carry with you now?
Ted: Yeah. I learned about consistency, during Xena. I learned how important it is, once you create a character, to keep that character consistent and it's really one of the hardest things all actors have to do, when they're on long-running shows. You have to be the same person throughout potentially four, five or six seasons, like I did on Xena, and that's difficult to do. Some actors resort to just playing themselves. That happens quite a bit. They create these characters that are just so hard to do that they can't do it every day, year after year after year. But, I learned the importance of that. Hopefully, I did it consistently on Xena, and I certainly took that lesson with me to now.
IESB: What do you enjoy about working with family? How is it different to work with your brother, Sam, than it is to work with other directors? Is there more of a comfort level there?
Ted: In some senses, there is. But, in other senses, working with Sam, I can't get away with anything like I can with other directors. I suppose that's true in any business. If you work with your father, your brother or your cousin, as opposed to just working with somebody you don't know, they know you so well and they know when you're not working your hardest or when you could be giving more, so that can be difficult. But, on the positive side, we don't have to say much to each other, in terms of direction. I never wonder, "What's he up to?" I know what he's up to, so that's nice.
IESB: Since you were a part of the Spider-Man films, what do you think about the decision the studio made to re-boot the series with a different cast and director?
Ted: It feels exciting, actually. I suppose I'm a little bit disappointed that I won't get to go back and do Hoffman again, but I think Sony is going to do a great job re-booting the series and making it a younger, fresher cast. They get to re-imagine the whole thing and I think they'll do a fine job with it. They always do. I think Spider-Man is in good hands.
IESB: You and Bruce Campbell have known each other a long time, and he even babysat you, as a kid. What do you enjoy about working with him? Do you have plans or hopes to work together again soon?
Ted: It's great to work with Bruce. The problem with working with Bruce is that it's like ammonia and ether. It's two volatile substances. You really should be mixing ammonia with water, or something. We don't really check each other very well, in that regard. I go off to left field and wonder, "I don't think Bruce is going to stop me from going crazy here." In that sense, it can be a crazy experience. But, on the same level, Bruce is so creative on set that there's this infectious, manic, wildness that goes on while he's directing, and I personally love that vibe. That's something I always hope I will get with other directors, but seldom do.
IESB: Will you be involved with the My Name is Bruce sequel, Bruce Campbell vs. Frankenstein?
Ted: I can tell you that I will be in it, yes. But, as to what I'm doing in there, I'm not allowed to say because Dark Horse Comics will send their goons after me and kill me.
IESB: How did Playing Dead come about? What made you decide to direct a web series?
Ted: I had been looking for something to direct and Suzanne Keilly, who's a Groundlings alumni, had a script that I really loved. It was funny and could be done on a budget, and it had Death in it as the main character, which I thought was hysterical and also very challenging. I thought, "If I'm directing this, how am I going to photograph death? What do I do? It could either be completely stupid, very serious or silly." I didn't know what was going to happen, but all those questions really intrigued me.
The script was hysterically funny and it was funny, both physically and verbally. That's something you rarely find in scripts. It's either one or the other. This had it all. We shot it here in Los Angeles, with a very fast shooting schedule. I think it turned out pretty good. I got a lot of cool bands from Detroit to contribute music, and Curtis RX did the composing. That's how that got going. You can watch it at www.WatchPlayingDead.com
IESB: Do you have any other projects coming up, that your fans can keep an eye out for?
Ted: Besides Legend of the Seeker, which you can check out at www.LegendoftheSeeker.com for clues and tips, I'm getting ready to direct a horror anthology series for the web. This one's going to be different. It will be very low on gore and guts. Most of them are pretty visceral, but this one will be more like Alfred Hitchcock Presents. It will be more suspense and twisted tales. I'm really looking forward to shooting those, and I'm going to start production in about two months from now.
IESB: With all the work you've done throughout your career, what's most important to you now, when you're deciding which projects you want to get involved with?
Ted: What's most important to me is that they interest me. I'm a very lucky guy, in that I don't have to take the first thing that comes along anymore. I can pick and choose, and what I choose to do are things that amuse and interest me. That really is #1. The other question is, "Do I want to see it?" And, if I want to see it, I can safely say that I think others will too. But, the first and most important thing is if it interests me or not.
IESB: Are there still any particular types of roles that you'd like to do, but haven't gotten the chance to do yet?
Ted: I think I've done them all. I don't know if I've missed any. One I haven't done that I'd like to do is historical fiction. Legend of the Seeker is, to some degree, but technically it's fantasy. It doesn't belong in any time period. And, a war movie would be nice. I've missed out on war. I think I've done everything else. I've done drama, romance, fantasy, action, sci-fi, horror, thrillers, spy thrillers, detective shows, cop shows. I've done them all. But, I'd like to do a war movie or a period piece, or preferably both. Then I could kill two birds with one stone. That would do it.--------------------
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