Pic from Comics Continuum
TV Guide 12/10/02
Forbes March ex-Scott Chandler, All My Children, Jesse Kilmartin, Mutant X
SHINE ON! Thank goodness that former All My Children star Forbes March (ex-Scott) has a sense of humor. Upon learning that his first interview with TV Guide Online about his syndicated sophomore series, Mutant X, had been accidentally destroyed, he laughs and graciously agrees to give another. It's that carefree attitude that helped March survive an early release from AMC, where he played Scott Chandler, Stuart's adopted son, in 1999. March didn't bat an eyelash when he had to pack up his family and relocate to Toronto, Canada, to star in his popular sci-fi series.
Interviewing March is one crazy ride. He talks in rapid-fire sentences, serves up several funny voices to emphasize a point and brings a punch line to every answer. So sit back, relax and get ready to have a hearty chuckle as March waxes on about his series, his snow days, and his stunts — on and off the set. — Delaina Dixon
It's been about two months since we spoke — what show are you on again?
(Chuckles) I'm on that Mutant show, with lots of bodies running around in tank tops — and we beat people up.
I thought you guys wore tough leather jackets.
Yeah, but they decided it wasn't good for the ratings, so now we're wearing less.
For all the new Mutant X fans you'll have after they read this article, what are your character Jesse's powers, and how did he get them?
He's "get-hard" guy! He can change his body density to be hard or soft. There were a bunch of scientists who messed around with genes while babies were growing in their mothers' wombs, and the mothers didn't know. When the kids hit puberty, they had these genetically altered powers — to be cat people or see into the future. One scientist realized that was wrong, wrong, wrong and immoral. He pulled together some of the mutants to save other mutants because the bad guys want to kill them off to cover their tracks.
What's been happening to Jesse this season?
We're shooting episode 19 [out of 22], and I'm fairly lightened, because it's been a tough season. Jesse's become a bit dry. He's like Chandler [from Friends], he's got that cynicism going on, which is kind of fun to play. It gives him a little bit of humor, which is nice.
That's a good move, because Jesse was kind of clueless last season.
He was kind of clueless! Jesse's been so beaten and battered and had a hard time. His father betrayed him, his girlfriend last year got thrown in the mutant underground, and every girl he kisses winds up dead. He's Dr. Death Kiss.
Since Jesse's taken on this darker side, what have you changed about yourself to make him more cynical?
I've killed my wife, shot my father, and buried my mother alive to dig into my darker side. (Chuckles). No really, I've never worked on a cynical character before, and it's kind of a challenge. If you go too far, it can come across spiteful and hateful.
How has Season Two become even bigger and better that the first?
We've improved in every department: New producers, writers and set design. The show's been completely revamped. Last year, we were a little cold and static. The writing was very self-involved in the scientific explanations of how we became mutants. The rules of the world were set last year, so now we can get on with telling the story.
And what does that entail?
There's a lot more character-driven stuff. Last year, we were too coordinated. This year, we're more raw, more action and more real. We go outside [to shoot] instead of being stuck in the studio all the time. Our sets have been redone, so that the base of the mountain really looks like the base of a mountain. We eat this year, which we didn't do last year. We're just generally more human, which makes the show more approachable.
Your show has a lot of stunts. What has been the coolest?
The coolest was when they drove a car into me, but it was also the scariest because they didn't tell me that they were going to do it. They said the car was going to drive near me. I stood there and this car was coming at me, 90 MPH, when it dawned on me that it wasn't stopping. I could have bailed which would have ruined the shot, and they wold have laughed at me because I'm suppose to be hard guy, solid like a rock. So I stood my ground, and the driver — he's a good driver — slammed on the brakes about six feet from me. The car skidded and swerved towards me, stopping two inches from my kneecaps. That was a very exciting moment.
Have you broken any bones this season?
I've been on various painkillers all year. I'm just trying to decide what to take now because I threw out my back again. But I haven't been too injured this year, and I'm thankful for that.
Michael Easton, who plays Stephen Clay/Caleb on Port Charles, has guest starred on your show. Any chances of him returning for more episodes?
As far as I know, there are no current plans to bring him back. But he was great to work with, and it'd be fun if he did come back.
So how will the season end?
I've been told that everything is going into mayhem. We could all be dead, so obviously we're going into renegotiations, and we'll see who does good. (Chuckles)
Will you be returning for a third season?
I'm on a five-year contract, so I ain't going nowhere, no time soon, honey bunny. But we get four or five months off between seasons. That's a nice time to freshen up and do something else.
What are you planning to do with your break?
I'm going to be doing some directing. There're some people producing some [independent films] that I'm looking at. It's a kind of cliché that every actor wants to direct, but I'm just holding myself back here on set. I very much like people who keep the cameras moving. I'm not very big on paint by numbers: Close up, wide shot, okay next scene. I very much like the Woody Allen style with a camera going through a scene. It's called motion pictures, people, you've got to see things moving on screen.
You were only on All My Children for about a year. Do you ever think of returning to the daytime arena?
Soaps are great opportunities for actors because they're such big blocks of text, and the storylines are fun. I'd love to go back if I wasn't in a situation where I was fighting for the longevity of the job. Bring me back for two weeks, where I could go in and have some fun, and then get out.
The holidays are right around the corner. What are some of the traditions you follow at the holiday time?
We're a fairly new family, and last year was our first Christmas we spent as a family. This is the first year, by choice, we're going to spend it just as a family in our house. We have lots of visitors coming, and we'll have to come up with some traditions of our own. I think lighting the house will be our first.
You're decorating your home?
You know every neighborhood has that tacky person with 3000 lights on their house? That's me. I've only two strings of them up so far, but we have over 1400 hundred bulbs, and I've promised a group of kids we'd put them up over the weekend. Our house is going to glow.
You're going to blow out the city!
I hear our power plant has a shortage [on funds], so being a good citizen, I'm going to give them a reason to raise the rates.
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