By Kenn Gold

Kyle XY returned to ABC Family last week for its third season.  The show centers on Kyle (Matt Dallas), a young man who awoke with no memory of who he was or how he got there, but who had extraordinary abilities.  In the second season, his female counterpart Jesse, a young woman with the same strange background, was introduced. 

MediaBlvd> What are you looking forward to the most about this season?

Jaimie> I’m not the new kid anymore.  We’ve got a few new characters joining us this season so I’ve been giving them the grief about being the new kid like I got last year!

MediaBlvd> The show started out very sci fi oriented, then last year seemed to get really far away from that.  Is it going to go back to it’s roots at all this season?

Jaimie> Yes, the show is definitely getting back to sci fi this year.  It seemed that last year it got into a lot more of the family drama and the drama between the characters, and that’s where it needed to go to develop those plot lines, but yes, it’s getting back to its sci fi roots starting out in the first episode.

MediaBlvd> Has Jessie found her center as a character yet?

Jaimie> The thing I really like about playing this character is that she seems to get so close to getting her life in the right place, or getting straightened out and figuring out how she fits in, then something happens to take her back down to absolute zero again.  So it’s a challenging role emotionally, and she has so many ups and downs.

MediaBlvd> Watching her, I’ve almost thought maybe the character was an allusion to someone with bi-polar disorder.

Jaimie> Exactly, she’s on somewhat of an emotional roller coaster with things moving along and she’s very happy, then things go wrong and it’s back to ground zero. So it’s very much like what someone with BPD would go through, that’s a great way to put it.  It’s a very exciting character to play.

MediaBlvd> Are you surprised with some of the things that ABC Family let’s this show do?

Jaimie> They explore a lot of things and kind of put things out in the open.  It’s not an after school special in other words.  So I like that, it’s more realistic.

MediaBlvd> So what is new for Jessie this season?

Jaimie> Well, more drama and excitement first off.  She’s also going to be moving in with the Traegars.  She also gets a love interest and gets to explore what that feels like, to get to love somebody and not want to be without them.  She gets to explore high school life and hair and makeup, and being with the girls and hanging out and things that normal teenagers go through, but that she wasn’t really given the opportunity to go through.

MediaBlvd> Do you have a favorite scene that you’ve done so far?

Jaimie> I do have a favorite scene, and I can’t tell you what it is, but it’s in episode 12.  You’ll know it when you see it.  That whole episode is amazing.  Oh, I mean episode 9, I’m so sorry. I keep forgetting we are only shooting 10 and think we’re shooting 13.  Episode 9 and it’s amazing.

MediaBlvd> Are you doing a hiatus again, or only a half season order?

Jaimie> Well, we did film 10 episodes already to be aired starting in January. We don’t have the airdate yet, but we will be back for more.  I think they were just being cautious because of the strike so we did 10 this year.

MediaBlvd>  How many times have you been asked about your belly button over the last few years?

Matt> I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been asked about my belly button; how many times I’ve been asked to see it, do I really have one, can they touch it?  I think it’s almost been exhausted by this point.  But it probably comes with the territory.  I’d probably make the same cracks if I knew somebody whose belly button was on television.

MediaBlvd>  Last year the show seemed to kind of get away from sci fi, and became more of a family drama.  Is it going to go back to it’s sci fi roots at all?

Matt> We definitely go back to our sci fi roots this season.  They really had to amp up a lot of the action, the sci fi, and the mythology this season, which is great.  I was on the phone calling the writers saying, “I want to do stunts again, I want there to be more action!” Especially in our first episode, it’s one of the biggest most exciting sci fi episodes ever.  There’s a ton of action, and this whole season has kind of been that way.  And it’s been a lot of fun to shoot.  And it’s always been exciting for me to stretch, and I think it’s going to be one of most exciting seasons to watch.

MediaBlvd> Do you get to do any of the stunts yourself, or is it all stunt doubles?

Matt> I beg them to let me do as many of my stunts as possible, but they don’t let me do a lot.  This year, they definitely let me do more than I have in the past.  In episode 301, there is this giant leap I make from one building to another, and they actually let me go out into the air on a cable and float down.  We were on top of a 10 story building in downtown Vancouver and it was cool.  So they are letting me do a little bit more this year.

MediaBlvd> Are you surprised at all about how the show has just taken off over the last two years?

Matt> Really when I looked at this role, I thought it was just going to be this little show on a little network, and all of a sudden there were posters going up, and people were talking about it.  It blew up, and it was so surprising, but at the same time it was awesome.  It was overwhelming but great, so it’s been a really exciting journey.  But yeah, it was definitely a big surprise that it took off the way it did.  I guess it was a surprise because ABC Family wasn’t so established then, and I didn’t know so much about them.  And this show got to be a part of what put them on the map, which was really cool.  I guess it’s not that surprising because I think it’s a really great show and it does appeal to so many different people.  So that doesn’t surprise me that it’s found it’s way into so many different homes.

MediaBlvd>  What is the amount on the life insurance policy that ABC Family has on you?

Matt> (Laughs) That, I have no idea. 

MediaBlvd>  Do you think Kyle has lost his naiveté yet?

Matt> I think he’s started to loose a lot of his naiveté, but at the same time he’s still a little socially awkward.  At this point, he’s only three years old, and as mentally advanced as he is, he is still learning a lot of those life lessons.  He’s trying to gain a lot of life experience, so it’s definitely still in him and will be for a long time.  But he is maturing, and growing and becoming the man he is destined to be.

MediaBlvd>  Were you surprised with how quickly they revealed the origin of Kyle, and explained where he came from and what he was?

Matt> I was.  I thought they were really going to string the story of where Kyle came from and his origin.  But when they did, they opened all of these new doors and questions. As long as they continue to do that, I think it will be great.  Lost is my favorite show on television, but even Lost strings you along.  But you do get little bits of information here and there.  So it’s kind of nice on this show that they have little surprises for you, then have new questions that come up at the same time.. 

MediaBlvd> What’s the craziest fan experience you’ve had since you’ve been doing the show?

Matt> I’ve told this a few times, but it’s still the number one in crazy fan stories.  I was in a bar in New York, and there was a girl smiling at me from across the bar.  It was right after season 1 had come out.  So she walks up to me and sticks her hand underneath my shirt and touches my belly button.  Then she leans over and whispers to in my ear, “I touched it.”  Then just walks away.  And that was it.  I was just so in shock, I didn’t even know how to react to it.  It was definitely strange and interesting.  But every time you meet a fan that cries or is shaking, it’s flattering but at the same time you’re like, “It’s ok, I’m just a normal person.”

MediaBlvd>  Did you do anything between seasons, or just take a break?

Matt> This season I took a break.  I traveled a lot, and got to go to Spain for a month or so.  I went to London, Paris; I got to go over all over.  That’s what I did this hiatus and hopefully next hiatus I’ll find some sort of project.  It would be great to do something else; tell some new stories, explore some new characters.