By Christina Radish

Sam Witwer at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con held at the Convention Center in San Diego, Calif.

Familiar to television audiences from his role as “Crashdown” on the cult hit Battlestar Galactica, Illinois native Sam Witwer recently spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about taking on such an iconic character.

MediaBlvd Magazine> How did you get into acting? Have you had any formal training, or was it something that you just wanted to do?

Sam Witwer> When I was a little kid, it was something that I wanted to do. But, when I grew up a little bit, I got a little bit more realistic and decided that I wanted to be a rock star instead. I did a few school plays, here and there. My parents really wanted me to go to college, but my grades weren’t the best, shamefully so. I auditioned for a bunch of schools and the only school that would take me was the only school that didn’t look at your grades, which was Juilliard in New York. That was a big surprise. I didn’t think there was any sense in auditioning for Juilliard because I didn’t consider myself an actor, and I didn’t want to be an actor. And, also, they take 20 people a year. I was really surprised when they took me, but at that point, you can’t really say no to that. I went to New York and, slowly but surely, my mind started gearing towards being an actor. It was a total lucky break. I can’t really take credit for it, but what was great about it was that it was my first exposure to the world of drama and acting.

MediaBlvd> How did you get involved with Smallville? Was it just through the regular auditioning process, or had they seen you in something?

Sam> I’m not sure what they saw me in, but they saw me in something. Someone got the idea that I would be right for this and they approached me for it. They called me in for a meeting, we talked for an hour, or an hour and a half, they pitched this character to me, and then offered me the role. That’s basically how it worked. I didn’t screen test, or anything like that. It was pretty nice of them. I did give them a little taste of what I would give them in a little read, but I didn’t screen test. I don’t know if it was Dexter that they saw, or The Mist, or Battlestar Galactica. They didn’t give me that information.

MediaBlvd> Were you interested in it enough that you jumped at it right away, or did it take a little bit of thought for you?

Sam> It took a little bit of thought. It was something where their pitch is really what nailed it down for me. They told me a very cool story about a very cool character, and the thing that interested me about it was that it seemed like something that would be very difficult to pull off. And, also, it was the fact that there’s so much ground to cover with the character, in terms of the different sides to him. They said that the reason they wanted me to play the role was because they needed somebody who could be really open, vulnerable and nice, and then go to the other end of the spectrum and be totally dark.

MediaBlvd> Had you been familiar with this character prior to getting the role? Were you a comic book fan at all, growing up, or was it something that you had to educate yourself about?

Sam> I had to educate myself a little bit. I knew who Doomsday was and I knew what he looked like, so one of my first questions was about how they were going to handle that. As for how they are going to handle it, I can’t tell you. I had actually downloaded the Doomsday animated movie that Warner Bros. put out. I downloaded that on Xbox live, two weeks before I knew that they were looking at me for this role, so that was funny. They called me in and said, “The character is Davis Bloome,” and they mentioned the name Doomsday, and I was like, “So, you want me to kick Superman’s ass?” I knew a little bit about the character and, since then, I’ve read up a lot more.

MediaBlvd> Had you been a fan of the show prior to being cast, or did you have to catch up?

Sam> I had to do some catching up. I hadn’t really seen it, so I had to educate myself on that as well. But, the good news is that this character, Davis Bloome, is an outsider anyway, so he looks at this whole situation, these people and these characters with a fresh pair of eyes. I don’t really need to be totally up on everything because this character doesn’t know what the hell is going on. He meets all these people and he doesn’t know about superheroes, or anything like that. He’s a paramedic. He lives in the real world. So, he comes into this and he’s very surprised by all this stuff that he finds.

MediaBlvd> For those who are not familiar with the character, can you explain who Doomsday is and how he fits into the story?

Sam> In the show, he’s Davis Bloome, a paramedic in Metropolis. He’s this perpetual loner and outsider. He was raised in the foster system and had a tough upbringing, so he’s a little bit moody, but is generally a very moral, cool, nice guy. He gets introduced into this whole story by becoming friends with Chloe (Allison Mack). They strike up a very fast friendship and, through that, he’s introduced to the rest of the characters, and crazy stuff starts happening. The main thing with this character is that he is having these mysterious black-outs that he’s had his entire life, and he doesn’t know what that’s about. He’s been very curious as to what it’s about, and he’s been afraid of himself because of it. Eventually, he will find out what it’s about, and he’ll find out that his problem is that he’s Doomsday. He’s this horrible creature that basically kills any potential threat to ensure its survival.

MediaBlvd> Playing such a mysterious character, do you know how much viewers will learn about him this season?

Sam> We’re trying to make it as gradual as we can, over the season. The key is that you do want to have it pay off, by the end of the season. You want to see some stuff, especially with the way that Doomsday is introduced in the comics. He’s basically just right there. There’s no set-up. He appears on the scene and just starts wasting people. And, to be true to that, you want it to pay off fairly soon, but at the same time, you want to take your time, over the season, to do it.

MediaBlvd> What has it been like to work with Allison Mack?

Sam> I’m very happy to be paired up with Allison Mack. She’s the person I’ve worked with most on the show, so far. She’s a sweetheart. I really, really like Allison. She’s a great actress and really fun to work off of. It’s a really great thing to pair Davis Bloome up with Chloe because my personal take on it is that Chloe is the eyes of the show. She’s the window through which the audience experiences Smallville. So, for this very likeable character to look at Davis Bloome and say, “Hey, this guy is a good guy and he’s worthy of our attention,” is hopefully a good way to get the audience to feel that same way about him because they all like Chloe and trust her judgement.                   

MediaBlvd> Did you do any research at all into the paramedic aspect of your character, so that you could learn what that’s like?

  Sam> I spent a day with some paramedics in Los Angeles, and that was a lot of fun.

MediaBlvd> Were you intimidated about coming into a show that’s already in its 8^th season?

Sam> Not really. As an actor, you’re always the newcomer, in a way. The best you can hope for is that everyone’s new. You go on and you make friends fast, and that’s that. You do your job and you go home. That’s how it goes.

MediaBlvd> Since you had some past sci-fi experience, with things like Battlestar Galactica and The Mist, do you think that makes you more prepared for the dedicated fans of Smallville?

Sam> The great thing about fans of the genre is that they’re extremely loyal. If they like you, they will like you for life. It’s really an amazing thing! As for how my experience has fed into Smallville, it’s all imagination. It’s all about taking unreal circumstances and trying to imbue it with as much reality as you can, so that you’re constantly asking the question, “What if this were really happening?” I think one of the big mistakes that some actors make is that they just try to have fun with it, rather than actually asking themselves the question, “What is the reality of the situation?” I’ve been very fortunate to be in some very, very good projects where they ask that question and answer it, in very interesting ways. In any acting project, whether it be sci-fi or just a drama, you want to continue to ask yourself those questions and, hopefully, come up with interesting answers to those questions.

MediaBlvd> As an actor, when you’re playing a character that’s a comic book villain, is it difficult to find something to identify with, or do try to just approach the character by thinking about who he is in the present?

Sam> It’s not really any different than you’d approach any other character, especially the way we’re doing it. We’re creating a human being here. We’re not creating a monster. We’re creating a guy that, hopefully, the audience will identify with somewhat, and then we’re going to drag him through the mud and take him apart, piece by piece, as the season goes on. I don’t really think about the comic book aspect. Every now and then, I think, “Okay, well, let’s give them a glimpse of this,” or “Let’s have this scene have a glimpse of that.” But, right now, it’s just about creating a believable human being. What we’re trying to do is have there be a large consequence for him. He’s not happy about this. This isn’t fun for him. This is not really a character that, frankly, you could have a lot of fun with, as an actor. This is some tough stuff, at least performing it. Hopefully, it’s fun for the audience .

MediaBlvd> When you play such a dark character, do you have to do anything to get into character, or is it easy for you to just turn that on and off?

Sam> Sometimes, it’s easy to turn it on and off, but the more intense the scene is, the more you have to get yourself in a very unpleasant place. That can definitely be exhausting.

MediaBlvd> What’s been the most fun thing about working on the show, and what’s been the most difficult or challenging, so far?

Sam> Really, the answer to that is the same -- just creating a believable, layered character that has a lot of stuff going on, psychologically, that’s not the most pleasant. Sometimes it’s rewarding because you do something and you go, “Oh, cool! We found a little humor in that scene that we didn’t think was there.” And then, sometimes you do something that’s just absolutely emotionally draining. It’s all part of the job.

MediaBlvd> Have you gotten to do many stunts or special effects things yet, or is that something you’re looking forward to?

Sam> I haven’t really been able to do much yet, but I’m definitely looking forward to it. I love that stuff! I loved the stunt stuff I got to do on Battlestar and in The Mist. I love any opportunity to be physical on the set, so that’s absolutely something I’m looking forward to. When you’re doing physical stuff, the more you can get your body to believe that something is happening, the easier it is to say the lines correctly. If you’re running and your adrenalin is up, you’re probably going to say that really tense line in the right way. It’s just going to happen.

MediaBlvd> Have you always been a fan of sci-fi? Is that what has attracted you to these various projects that you’ve done, or is that just how things have worked out for you?

Sam> I’m definitely a fan! I grew up with Superman and Star Wars and, to a lesser extent, Battlestar Galactica. It’s definitely something that I understand, if not just for the fact that I get that, when it’s done right, it’s really great, and when it’s not done right, it kind of sucks. It’s something where good actors really pull off incredible performances, and not so good actors look pretty foolish. Hopefully, I’ll not make myself look foolish.

MediaBlvd> Are you hoping that the visibility of these projects will help translate into film roles for you? Is that the direction you’re looking to go in?

Sam> Yeah. I’ve been auditioning for a lot of film, ever since The Mist, and I have broken into that a little bit. For me, it’s just about interesting roles and good material. If the material is there and the role is challenging, I’m interested in doing it. In terms of the stuff that I’m looking forward to doing, there’s some stuff that may be coming up that’s absolutely not sci-fi. It’s just drama or comedy that, hopefully, I can make happen. I’m interested in everything. If the part is good and it looks like it’s something that would be interesting to do, I’m all about it.

 MediaBlvd> You provide the voice for the central character in the Star Wars video game, “The Force Unleashed”? How did that come about?

Sam> That was absolutely amazing! I got involved with that because Amy Beth Christianson, who is a concept artist for Lucasfilm, was trying to hammer out the concept art for Darth Vader’s Apprentice. They were trying to figure out what he needed to look like, and what kind of character they were visually creating. And, when she created the concept art, she created a piece of art that looks just like me. Peter Hirschman, who is a Battlestar fan, recognized that right away and said, “That looks like Sam Witwer.” David Collins, who’s a friend of mine, saw that the concept art was looking that way. So, they essentially arranged an audition. When I sent them my headshot, if you put the headshot next to the concept art, it’s the same guy, so I had a leg up with the competition because I looked exactly the way they wanted the character to look. At that point, they really put me through my paces. At a normal audition, you act for five or 10 minutes. If you’re there longer, you’re talking to the director or you’re discussing something. This was 45 minutes of acting. I was told later, by Haden Blackman, that the reason they made me perform for 45 minutes was because they felt like it was too easy. They’d auditioned a lot of other guys, but this was something where I looked exactly the way they wanted me to look, so they thought it just seemed way too easy that I was just right there, and they wanted to make absolutely certain. They just drilled me for 45 minutes with these scenes, over and over again, but it worked out.

MediaBlvd> What was that experience like?

Sam> That was an incredible project to work on! The thing that was most fun about it was that the script was really good. The actual story and the script, and the way that it fits in the Star Wars mythos was excellent, and that’s what was so exciting about it. I’d look at scenes and go, “Oh, my god, how are we going to do this? This is something you could totally blow. This is something that could be done badly. How do we do it well?” And, that was fun. I felt the same way with Dexter. I felt the same way with The Mist. I saw scenes in those scripts where I was like, “I don’t know if I’m up to the task. I don’t know if I’ll be able to pull this off.” And, that is exciting. It’s exciting to look at it and worry and go, “Okay, the pressure is on! This is tough.” In the case of Star Wars, it was all about, “How in the hell do I create a Star Wars protagonist that feels like he could fit in with Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia?,” because we were really going for that original trilogy aesthetic. We constantly discussed how we were going to create this character and how we were going to have him come off. I kept saying to everyone, “We have to deliver these lines like a 1940's movie. It needs to have that nice, 1940's clip.” If you watch the original Star Wars, all the dialogue is really fast, so we had to do that. When I was saying something, I needed to say it fast, like it was an old school, black and white, adventure serial. One of the greatest things about it is hearing back from the fans that they are embracing the character. We created an hour-long Star Wars movie and we shot it with motion capture over at Industrial Light and Magic. They created digital copy of me, and then they dotted up my face, and dotted up the other actors’ and actress’ faces, and we shot it like you would an effects movie, all performing with each other and acting. From that performance data, they created an hour-long animated movie that they put into this game. It’s been really fun to see what the fan reaction has been. I thought I was just going to get slaughtered. I thought, “I’m asking for hate mail!” But, all I’ve heard back is just really positive things about how they feel about that character, and how they feel about the story.

MediaBlvd> Are you still actively pursuing music? Is it your ideal goal to be able to split your time equally between acting and music, or is acting the primary focus for you now?

Sam> Acting has to be the primary focus. It’s one of those things where you don’t necessarily call the shots. You wait for things to come up, and you don’t really know when they’re going to come up. The Mist came up because I happened to walk the right person across the street, who ended up being the casting director, and I ended up being exactly the right type of actor they were looking for. When opportunity happens, you have to jump on it, but that takes time from the other stuff that you’re doing. I’m trying to finish up a second album, but because I’ve been working so much, I haven’t had the opportunity to really devote as much time to that as I’d like to. At the same time, it’s a great problem to have because I’m working and I’m gaining momentum, in terms of the Hollywood thing. The great thing about music is that, with the way that technology has progressed, I don’t have to get permission from anyone to make an album. I don’t have to get hired through a casting office and get a director’s permission to make an album. I can just do it on my own, with my friends. As far as music goes, it’s my thing. It’s something I do for me. It’s something that the members of my band do for themselves. The members of my band all have industry jobs. For example, Brian Taylor, who is the writer/director of Crank and Crank 2, and a movie called Game, is one of my guitar players. Glenn Howerton, from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, is one of my vocalists. When things slow down in Hollywood for us, we play some gigs, but things have been a little bit busy for all of us. It’s been a little bit slow with that, but the good news is that, as an actor, you do have a lot of downtime, so I’m sure I’ll be able to finish it up, sooner or later. The project is called The Crashtones, and you can listen to some of our stuff at www.MySpace.com/TheCrashtones or you can go to www.SamWitwer.com. It’s pretty fun stuff and, at times, really offensive. Maybe you’ll like some of it.