Scifi.ign.com

Greg Lee discusses his key family connections on Dark Angel and Xena.

January 30, 2001

Xena and Dark Angel are day and night in temperament and style, but nobody will argue with the fact that both shows boast women kicking ass of one form or another. As Xena winds down this season and Dark Angel ascends, rising young actor Greg Lee has been allowed to play in both environments, doing a handful of episodes for each show and holding his own against the warrior women past and future.

As Joxer's son Virgil on Xena, and Max's long-lost Manticore sibling Zack on Dark Angel, the Virginia Beach, VA native has been busy this season, flying between Vancouver (where he shared a flight with Kevin Sorbo, of all people) and New Zealand to film both shows, but he recently took some time to chat with IGN-Sci-Fi about how he got started, hanging out with strong women, and having Bo Derek as a screen mom.

Yes, you heard that right -- in NBC's ill-fated Wind on Water, Greg played the son of revered pin-up Derek's character. "I knew what an icon she was but I didn't realize how much of one she still is," he says. "I knew who she was, sure, but when you call your dad and tell him you have a show in Hawaii with Bo Derek….he was excited. I would go home to Virginia for whatever, and in the gym people would ask me about her -- guys who have been married 20 years -- and it's like, 'She's great, and incredibly gorgeous, and...she's mom."

Of course, Greg is now getting similar inquiries about Jessica Alba, whose turn as Dark Angel's Max has turned her into this season's certified sex symbol. "Oh, yeah," he says. "I think everyone is in love with Jessica."

While Greg says there are no plans yet for him to revisit Virgil, he's tight-lipped about what, if anything, lies ahead for Zack, who we last saw in "Blah Blah Woof Woof" -- he may or may not have been aboard a helicopter that crashed. The previews on Fox, however, indicate that Zack may indeed be back for February sweeps.

Cagey or not, Greg's loaded with charm -- it shouldn't be too long before Jessica's getting queries about him.

This is the last season??

IGN Sci-Fi:When did you know you wanted to be an actor?

Greg: From birth. It was one of those things I always talked to my mom about. I didn't watch much TV, because I was an outside kind of kid but movies were always important to me...things like Star Wars.

But until you do something, it's just talk. When you decide to do it, it takes people by surprise. I always wanted to in my heart, but I didn't do anything until after high school. There are so many people who go to jobs they can't stand and work as little as they can and make as much money as they can and retire early.

Me on the other hand, I want to work as much as possible…sure, I would love to make money…but my heart is more into my job and I don't ever want to retire. So I was the oddball. Right after high school, I finally decided to go for it. I was going to a community college and I decided then that I needed to get under way or I'd never to do it.

I went to New York City for a couple of years and studied and got a little experience here and there to get my feet wet and to experience life on my own in a big city. And about four years ago, I came to LA and have been very happy here.

IGN Sci-Fi: When you were cast in Xena, did you know it would be a continuing character?

Greg: They told me originally it would be a one-off and that it was a possibility it could be two but there were just going for one in the mean time. I got over to New Zealand and we sat down for the table read with Lucy [Lawless] and Renee [O'Connor] and Rob Tapert. Rob told me I'd be gone after this one and I said, "OK, well thanks for the opportunity." About two days into the shooting, they asked if I could stay for one more and I said, "Sure, I'm all about staying for one more, that would be great." During the second episode they asked me to stay for a third and I said I didn't think so, because I had a movie to do, and then the movie fell apart so I shot the third. And from there they continued to call and I haven't been killed off.

IGN Sci-Fi: How did you handle all of the show's stuntwork?

Greg: I just sort of winged it. Luckily, I had Lucy and Renee to very quickly explain to me that all the choreography for the fight scenes was more like a dance. Thanks very much to them I got through the first one very easily and caught on after that. I had a lot of fun -- it was like playing Luke Skywalker.

IGN Sci-Fi: Was Virgil toned down from being as goofy as Joxer after you took the role?

Greg: I'm not sure what they originally had in mind. The character was originally named Jerrick, and in the first episode where Joxer introduces me to Lucy and Renee, the "that's your son?" moment was the joke. In "Who's Gurkhan," they wanted me to throw a little bit of Joxer into the facial expressions, but for the most part they steered away from doing that 100 percent.

IGN Sci-Fi: Did you study tapes of Ted Raimi or just learn from working with him?

Greg: From working with him. He is the funniest and nicest guy you could ever possibly want to meet. He knew Joxer so well you could just watch him and learn. On and off set, it was almost a part of him.

IGN Sci-Fi: Were you surprised about Xena ending this year?

Greg: I was surprised. I think Lucy has her hands full with her family and I think she loves the role and loves everything about it [but it was just time]. I sat next to Kevin Sorbo on a plane from Vancouver to LA and he said several folks on Hercules had ended up on Xena…Michael Hurst is directing now…so it's had a long history.

IGN Sci-Fi: How did that go when you met him?

Greg: I sat down and I looked over and thought he was familiar so I finally asked him if he was [Kevin] and he said yes. He was a really cool guy and a lot of fun. A lot of the conversation kicked off when he asked me if I had been to New Zealand and I was like "Actually..." He's really happy on his new series [Andromeda].

IGN Sci-Fi: How did the Dark Angel role come about?

Greg: The competition for the part was very fierce, and I feel extremely blessed to have been picked. I was told at first that it might be two, three, or maybe more episodes but they weren't sure which way they were going to go. Zack was introduced as a kid in the pilot, but I knew going in that I was very fortunate and that he would be pretty important to the storyline.

IGN Sci-Fi: Did you have any idea while working on it that the show would be as successful as it is?

Greg: My first episode was shot before it aired so, no. But being on set with all those people -- you meet Jessica [Alba], Michael [Weatherly], John Savage, Valarie Rae [Miller], J.C. MacKenzie…and you kind of know right away that you have something that works. I can't say enough about the cast. They are so incredible and nice and talented and more than anything and it feels really special to be part of that.

IGN Sci-Fi: Which character is more like you -- Zack or Virgil?

Greg: I think there are pieces of me in both characters. I don't think I'm as hard as Zack. I guess Virgil is more who I am, but not exactly who I am.

IGN Sci-Fi: You're working with strong women on both shows -- are you used to strong women in your own life?

Greg: Very. My mom is hard as a rock.

IGN Sci-Fi: So she's thrilled you're working on these kinds of shows then?

Greg: She's thrilled that I'm working, period. I get a lot of my oomph from my mom and that "never give up no matter what" attitude from my mom. My mom and my dad raised my sister and me to be as independent as possible, and I think to do that you have to go out there and do it yourself. Rely on yourself and just go when it gets tough. And it gets very tough at times but you just have to keep your head up and keep fighting no matter what. I consider myself very fortunate.

-- Heather McLatchie is a woman who considers herself capable of kicking ass but has trouble pulling off the wardrobe.

Photos courtesy of: Fox (Dark Angel), Handprint Entertainment (Greg), and Michelle's Xena Picture Library (Xena).