QQ. The latest season of "The 4400" is getting ready to premiere. What can you tell us is new this season?
A. I don't want to give away too much, I don't want to get myself in trouble, we ended last season with an episode called "50/50" which was basically this idea of Promicin being introduced to the world but you have a fifty percent chance at living and developing an ability and a fifty percent of dying with the shot. It was a big deal and season four, Promicin is definitely the big thing that is driving this season. NTAC, where my character Marco works, is working to get Promicin off of the street and Jordan Collier and his group are working to distribute it because in their mind it is part of the bigger picture, it's part of what the future had in mind when they took people and brought them back. Season four is really exciting, it's really like these two sides facing off. It's not black and white, at least not to me, I think as a viewer it's hard to tell who is right and who is wrong, if someone is right and wrong, and where the real answers lie.
Q. What specifically can you tell us is new with your character Marco?
A. In season three he had a short lived but exciting romance with Diana. Now it is back to business as usual for them so season four I think it's really Marco growing into his own. He is really looked at as the go-to guy for Tom and Diana and I think from season one to now they really trust him and know that they can really throw anything at him. He'll risk his job, which we've seen, he'll really do whatever he needs to do in order to help them out and more specifically to help out the bigger picture of what they are all working towards. I think it's just more development for Marco. I will say that we get to see Marco's apartment, which I was very excited about, we have never seen where he lives. I think that's a big part of who this character is and when you see his apartment it's very telling who Marco is. So, that was very exciting and that's going to happen in the later episodes. There is a lot of good stuff in store for Marco.
Q. What is it about your role that really continues to challenge you?
A. There are a lot of things that continue to challenge me. On the simplest level, just the sheer amount of dialogue that is thrown at me, the technical dialogue that I am constantly having to say and memorize, so that's a constant challenge. It's something that I enjoy, and it's something that hopefully I am getting better at, but it's definitely a challenge. A lot of times, they've really been great at developing who Marco is as a person. But, a lot of times, my character's purpose on the show, or in certain scenes, is to receive or give information or sort of catch people up. So, it's always challenging how do I as an actor deliver information essentially, but in an interesting way and hopefully in a way that is true to who Marco is. Physically, mentally, where he started and where he is now, how do you give information as Marco. That's always something that is challenging for me that I am sort of fighting with and trying to work on. Then just keeping the relationship from season one to season four with the other characters accurate.
Q. How much input with your character do you actually get?
A. Not a huge amount, the writers are great at discussing ideas with us but with thirteen one hour episodes a lot of times they have these ideas that just don't factor into that particular season or a particular episode. There is just so much that they are trying to cram in with such a short amount of time. A lot of times I'll have an idea of where they are going with the character or ideas that they have and other times it's a real surprise. I still get new episodes days before we start filming them as we get into the season. I know myself, and a lot of the other actors, it's exciting to get that new episode. Not just see what's going to happen with your character, but what's going to happen with the other characters, and what direction they're going with for the show; it can change so quickly.
Q. Which storyline have you really found interesting and intriguing?
A. There are a lot of them, I think Tom Baldwin (Joel Gretsch's character) has he's gone through so much, and continues to in this season. From his divorce in the beginning to what his son Kyle is going through and dealing with that and this idea of being the head of this task force set up to investigate and control the forty-four hundred and being so personally connected to one of them. To be so personally involved with his son and his nephew and to see how he has to either put his personal relationships aside or how he tries to work his job through his personal relationships. It's a really interesting character and there is a lot of interesting stuff ahead for him in season four. That's a storyline that's always been interesting to me and then the storyline with Shawn and how he is this young kid who is sort of just your average kind of kid hanging out with his brother and his cousin playing the guitar and then be given the ability he was given and then be thrown into the spotlight. Basically becoming this political figure and really growing into his own, I think that that's been a really interesting storyline to follow.
Q. After four seasons, what do you think it is about the show that continues to draw so many viewers in?
A. After four seasons I think it's the characters, I think that it's definitely a concept show and it's an interesting concept. You get drawn into these characters and who they are and you follow them through these extraordinary circumstances and you see them come out, change and grow. I think and I hope that people are still tuning in because they are really connected to who these people are and to where they've come and where they're going. I think that the writers do a really great job, there are so many unanswered questions, but they're great at peppering in the answers. You might figure out one question and then three other ones are opened up. Not in an annoying way, not in a way that's "Oh my God, will I ever have answers?" In a truly interesting way of, "Okay, that makes sense, but now what about this?" So, you're constantly trying to figure out what is the bigger picture and what does the future have in store for these forty-four hundred people. Now with Promicin, there are way more then forty-four hundred people who have abilities and so I just think the show just keeps people guessing and I think that's the key to success and what keeps people tuning in.
Q. What would you like to say to all of the fans of the show?
A. A huge thank you, it's great to be a part of a show that you really believe in and to work with other actors, writers and directors that are so talented. Just to be a part of that group and then to have people that follow the show and and are loyal viewers and keep the show going. That's why we're in season four, because people continue to tune in and follow these characters. We wouldn't be able to work on this great show if it weren't for the people that are watching. A huge thank you and please keep watching because I think season four is going to be really exciting. I think that the show goes in a bit of a different direction, but I think it's a really good direction, I think people are really going to enjoy it.
