By Kenn Gold  "NetRanger"

edited by shrrshrr

 Brendan Fehr recently sat down with SmallScreenBuzz to talk about his role on CSI:Miami. He also discussed Roswell, rumors of a Roswell movie, the internet fandom, and his latest movie projects. You can catch the entire interview on the Small Screen Buzz podcast.


The character of Dan Cooper, the computer geek whiz kid of the CSI:Miami crew, will finally be getting an {quote_top}episode that deals with his life outside of work. Brendan describes episode 4.15, “Skeletons,” as Dan’s coming out episode. We finally get to see Dan outside of the lab, and while the character is different than Brendan anticipated, he thinks it works with everything that has gone before. Dan was originally slated to be a surfer or beach boy who exuded sex appeal without knowing it, according to Brendan. Of course that is difficult to convey when the character is always dressed in a lab coat, but as Brendan points out, he does wear a wooden necklace. Originally slated to be a 2- or 3-episode recurring role, the character, Dan, is getting more air time with the overall subplot of a mole in the lab. In tomorrow night’s episode, “Silencers,” Dan helps the team analyze a victim’s internet blog.

CSI is one of the few shows Brendan catches (in addition to Seinfeld reruns), and put the word out that he would be interested if anything came up. Brendan has the same manager as Rex Lynne and Eva La Rue, who plays Natalia Boa Vista on the show, and heard about the upcoming role; he auditioned and got the part. Brendan says that it’s quite a different experience than playing Michael Guerin on Roswell, or other roles where he was the lead, but he is given latitude to interject a sense of humor into his character that plays well with the more serious drama going on. He has ideas about how to play Dan, while maintaining an eye on how the show wants the character to be portrayed, and has been giving the green light to crack jokes here and there.

When asked about his fellow cast members from Roswell and whether or not he keeps up with them, Brendan replied that he and Majandra Delfino still stay in touch on a regular basis. He was actually dog-sitting for her at the time of the interview. He also still hangs out with Nick Wechsler on an on-going basis. While he did visit Katherine Heigl on the set of Grey’s Anatomy when the show was getting started, he doesn’t really keep in contact with the other actors from Roswell; he hasn’t spoken with Jason Behr since Roswell ended, but has seen Shiri Appleby a couple of times at different events.

Brendan doesn’t know if the sales of Roswell DVD’s are going to break any records, and feels they are mostly being purchased by people who were already fans of the show. He did comment on the price of the DVD’s though, and was surprised to see that they are “among the most expensive boxed sets on the shelf.”

When Brendan was asked if he had heard anything about the possibility of a Roswell reunion movie, he said he hadn’t, other than from fans who said they had heard about it or seen it discussed somewhere. Brendan did comment that he would definitely read the script if it came up, and would be interested to see what they had in mind, but he doesn’t think offhand that he would do it. He pointed out that the other cast members have moved on from the show and are doing different things (Katie in Grey’s and Adam in CSI). He also isn’t sure if Fox would be interested in doing a reunion.

 Brendan went on to discuss his involvement with his fan base on the internet. While he isn’t currently as active as he used to be, he does still like to keep his fans updated and is very appreciative of them. He mentioned that he likes to follow things that he is a fan of on the net, such as Metallica, and enjoys it when his fans point out the band’s schedule and where they are going to be playing. “But it is different with bands, since you have to buy a ticket”- for TV shows, he reflected, you can find the schedule in TV Guide.

When asked about fan boundaries and putting himself out there, Brendan felt that fans were the best people {quote_middle}to have on your team. They send in letters to networks and get the word out. “Anyone out there rooting for you is a good thing,” he said. But he wants to be careful not to use his fans. He added that if such a thing ever occurred he would tell his fans outright what he was doing, and they would appreciate that. “At the same time, when you are active with the fans, some of them are going to think that you are more accessible than you want to be, and take it too far.” If you want to maintain your privacy, there is a certain amount of ground that you want to put between you. But at the same time, it’s great for them to be able to have a thank you for their support.

Currently Brendan has several movies in various stages of production. The day of the interview he had just {quote_bottom}seen a screening for the second time of The Long Weekend, which he stars in along with Chris Klein. Brendan describes the move as kind of low brow, and says not to expect anything new or cutting edge from it, but he still hopes a lot of people will get a kick out of the film. He appreciates the performances and efforts of Klein and others, and says the movie has some laughs. Brendan confided that he is not the best salesman for his movies, and is probably his worst critic.

Also in the works is a small part in the film Comeback Season, but Brendan is more excited about his part in The Fifth Patient, which he recently filmed in Mexico. While the movie is currently in the 4th or 5th stage of editing, he hasn’t yet attended a screening. “The first impression is always the most powerful,” he said; he doesn’t want to see it before the music and sound effects are in place. Brendan plays a character with “a certain amount of authority and power.” He says it was a challenge to step up and play that role at his age, and he “wants to see if he pulled it off.” He says a trailer is already up at Shoreline Entertainment’s site. Both movies, The Fifth Patient and Comeback Season, are planned for release at the Toronto Film Festival in September.

Listen to the entire interview at "SmallScreenBuzz.”