Brendan Fehr returns to television in an adaptation of the popular book series “Samurai Girl”.  Brendan will be playing the part of Jake Stanton, a former member of the Yakuza crime family.  The role of Jake Stanton is loosely based upon the character Hiro from the book series.

Samurai Girl follows the story of 19 year old Heaven, the sole survivor of a plane crash when she was 6 months old and adopted into one of Japans wealthiest and most powerful families.  Heaven was raised in a gilded cage, with every luxury available. She finds herself in San Francisco awaiting her arranged marriage to the son of one of her father’s business associates.  When the wedding is crashed by several masked Samurai warriors, Heaven is saved by her brother Hiko.  Hiko is mortally wounded in his rescue attempt, but before he dies he tells his sister that she can’t trust her family, and that she needs to find Jake Stanton.

 Jake had been in hiding from the Yakuza family, by quietly living in San Francisco and running a dojo.  When Heaven shows up, he gives her the duffle bag Hiko left with him.  Hiko’s last wish was for Heaven to find safety in a remote Zen monastery in Indonesia. He left her with money, a fake passport, and a video explaining the Yakuza infiltration into their family.

Heaven is determined to avenge her brother’s death and begs Jake to train her in the ways of the Samurai.  Along the way she learns of an ancient prophecy where good and evil fight for control.

Samurai Girl Airs this weekend as a 6 hour miniseries on the ABC Family network.  Watch it starting Friday, September 5^{th (} 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and continuing on Saturday and Sunday at the same times.

After watching the first 2hrs of the show, I have to say that I was pleased with the look and feel of the show.  Although I did notice quite a few changes from the book series, I have to say that the changes only improved the final product.  There was a good mixture of action, romance and intrigue.  The pacing of the story kept me interested and the visual images from various locations were just stunning.

Brendan Fehr has been a long time friend of MediaBlvd, and was happy to answer a few questions for us.

MediaBlvd: What was it about this script/show/cast that interested you?

Brendan:  I thought that it had an element of fun that I hadn't seen in some time while at the same time it provided scenes and story lines that allowed some heartfelt and drama. It was definitely an opportunity to do something where I was going to be responsible to provide a range of emotions or moods and to be able to balance and show those while still maintaining the integrity of the character was a challenge I was looking forward to.

MediaBlvd: How would you describe the character of Jake? 

Brendan:  Jake is a lone wolf of sorts. He's lived a life of secrecy, stealth, of making his presence unknown. He's a guy, who for the first part of his life wasn't interested in leaving his footprint or stamp in life. To be sure, this kind of thinking was required as an employee (assassin) for the yakuza but I'm not entirely sure this would've changed as drastically as it does had Heaven not appeared. But it appears at some point a change did occur or some event did take place (one that has taken place prior to our introduction to him) and he was struck some sort of revelation that this path was not one he was going to proceed on any longer. This past is one I'd love to be able to explore at some point.

MediaBlvd: It was mentioned at Comic Con that if the first 6hrs of the show do well, that it's possible that the show might be picked up for additional episodes.  Do you think fans will be happy with how the story was left after this miniseries?  Would you like to see the story continue?

Brendan: There is definitely a beginning and end in the series while at the same time, given that this is a back door pilot we had to leave or create some plot line that begs to be explored. The successful shows it seems are ones that give the audience that beginning and end, a "case-closed" satisfaction while at the same time leaving enough out there among the characters that will draw them back to watch in anticipation of certain relationships, arcs, struggles, etc. being explored and dealt with.

MediaBlvd: There were several quite complicated fight scenes in the show, how long did it take you to learn them?  What was the process?

Brendan: The fight scenes were somewhat varied in terms of a number of things. For example… the length, sword vs. fists, dirty vs. graceful, etc. This all led to different preparations. There were definitely basics to learn which we spent about 2 weeks beforehand learning with some of the longer and more complicated fight scenes being practiced while there were also a few times when I arrived on set and was taught the fight scene half hour before we started shooting. An example of this type of scene would be the fight in the stair case in the hotel when Jake rescues Heaven for the first time.

MediaBlvd: In a post on your website you wrote that you were extremely pleased with the first 3hrs of the show.  Is there a particular scene that stands out in your mind as being exceptional?

Brendan: There's not one scene I feel especially proud of at this point. There are a few that I watch and groan at but that's just us crazy actors. But the great part about the show is most or essentially all the scenes I am quite proud of. Maybe proud isn't the most appropriate word for some of the more "basic" type scenes but there is a healthy satisfaction and that's a great feeling when you've put your all into it.

MediaBlvd: If this miniseries is ever released on DVD... what extras would you like to see included on the disk?  Do you have any cool or funny stories to share about the making of this miniseries?

Brendan: I'm sure we had some crack ups caught on film and those are always fun but other than that I am generally too focused on getting the stuff on film that'll make the show great and never tend to think of the extras this generation now expects. It's crazy. Releasing a great show on DVD or great album is no longer good enough. These labels, production companies, bands, etc. now have to be thinking beyond the meat and potatoes of it and gotta take time, money and effort away from the actual product and figure out what little things we're gonna garnish it with. What? When the hell did this happen? And the sad part is I too enjoy these things. Arrrgh!

MediaBlvd: Your daughter James is 5 months old now, in your opinion... what's the best thing about being a dad?

Brendan: Being a dad is the best part of being a dad. It's one of the few things in life where it's not the things you get out of it that are the best part though they too are phenomenal and wonderful. But too simply be "dad" is the real deal. When you get pure joy out of "being" rather than "doing" or "seeing", that's when you realize how big and unexplainable some things are and being a dad is one of those very few things. 

MediaBlvd: You just announced on your website that you have just started working on a new independent movie called "Fort McCoy", What can you tell us about this role?

Brendan:   Fort McCoy is a story, based on true events, which take place in 1944 at a POW camp in Wisconsin. There were Germans and Japanese prisoners held there and this particular story follows a man (Eric Stoltz), who due to a heart murmur, cannot participate in the war. His "action" is limited to being a barber for the brave men going off to fight and it's his story of working through this insecurity and finding his place in life, war, and his own family. I play Sgt. Dominic Rossi, who has already done a tour in Tunisia and is now working as military police on the base. I am a guide of sorts, liaison even, to this family taking up residence on the base where this story all takes place.