Pic from Comics Continuum
Forbes March: 4/02 Visimag's Cult Times interview, on Unofficial Forbes
Rock Solid
Cult Times Special #21 April 2002
By Steven Eramo
He can be impenetrable or he can be intangible, and there was one point where it seemed he'd be splitting into three. Enter the world of Mutant X mutation Jesse Kilmartin, aka Forbes March.
As fair-haired superhero Jesse Kilmartin in Mutant X he's a natural, but when it comes to being an actor, Forbes March admits that wasn't first on his wish list of careers. "Acting was for those artsy-fartsy types, which, of course, I'm not one of," he jokes while on break in between takes on the shows Toronto set. "No, seriously, I wanted to play professional football, which I knew deep down wasn't likely. I also thought about becoming a professional track athlete. However, I don't think such a thing exists. My parents would have been thrilled if I became a doctor, but that wasn't in the cards either.
"I remember once when my school was putting on a play. I stood outside the auditorium doors watching all the other kids who were auditioning. I had this incredible urge to go in there and audition too, but naturally, I though I was too cool. Oddly enough, when I got older I ended up getting a job that required me to take an acting class. The first exercise the teacher gave us was this very famous one where we had to find a 'pin' that he placed in a brick wall. It didn't take us long to figure out that the pin was, in actuality, and imaginary one. However, when I stepped up to the wall I was able to convince myself that there was one there and I tried looking for it. It was such a buzz to play with my mind like that. I hope that's not being to artsy-fartsy," laughs March, "but it was such an exhilarating moment. It was then I realized I'd found my calling, which was acting."
On Mutant X, March's character of Jesse Kilmartin has the ability to alter his body density at will. One minute he can turn rock solid and the next minute walk through a stone wall. As a member of Mutant X, Jesse's mission is to fight crime as well as help others like himself learn how to control and use their powers. He and Shalimar Fox (Victoria Pratt), a feral beauty with both animal and human DNA, where the first to be recruited by the groups enigmatic leader Adam (John Shea). While growing up, Jesse's unique abilities made him feel like an outcast. All that changed, though, after he joined Mutant X.
"For the first time in his life Jesse feels like part of a family," says the actor, "When he abandoned his real father it was Adam that took him under his wing. He gave Jesse a sense of self-worth and something worth fighting for. My character shares a close brother/sister-type bond with Shalimar, and is developing strong relationships with new teammates Brennan (Victor Webster) and Emma (Lauren Lee Smith). As Mutant X continues to gel as a group, it's helping Jesse grow more confident as a person. He's never had a 'support system' like this and it means a lot to him."
Like most TV shows, Mutant X went through a number of changes from the time of its conception to the filming of its pilot episode. For example, in the original character breakdowns, each of the four lead mutants had codenames. In Jesse's case, his was 'Synergy'. This idea, however, was quickly dropped. Also, when the character of Jesse was created he was given a mutant ability different than the one he has now. The original breakdown stated, 'he can literally split his body into three triplicates, each representing a different aspect of his personality. He is also able to take on the physical appearance of anyone around him.' While these might be useful powers to have, they didn't exactly help endear the character to March.
"Playing three versions of the same character works just fine when it comes to the actual filming of it," he explains. "They point the cameras at you and you take on the personality of version one. You act out the scene while someone else feeds you the other two characters lines. The director yells, 'Cut,' you take a break, the crew guys change the lights, and you get into the mindset of version number 2 or three as the case may be. Then you go back in front of the camera and do the scene again, this time from either of their perspectives. I hope that makes sense.
"Now, imagine doing the same thing in an audition room," continues the actor. "There you are standing in front of the video camera with a casting director who's reading the other character's lines as professionally as he or she can. However, they're in a bit of a rush because they have another 100 actors to see. Needless to say, you're not the best of inspirations and can you blame them? However, you still have to try and convince them you're three different incarnations of the same person. Talk about mission: impossible.
"So to make a long story short, when I read the first version of the Jesse character I decided to pass. It was in the middle of pilot season and I had three or four other auditions on that same day. I didn't want to waste my energy trying out for a role I didn't think I had a chance of getting. However, when I told my acting coach that I passed on the part he convinced me to reconsider and then helped me figure out a way to approach it. They must have liked something I did during the first audition because I was subsequently flown down to Los Angeles to read four more times. It was there, much to my surprise, I got the job."
Is March pleased that the producers decided to change his character's powers? "Yes and no," he muses. "Despite the fact that I didn't want to audition at first, it probably would have been a wonderful acting challenge as well as fun to play a threesome. In terms of overall show, though, I think with the mutant ability he now has, Jesse is able to contribute more to the story. I mean, you have Lauren's character of Emma, who's an empath and a telepath. She has the whole 'mind thing' covered, so it wouldn't have made sense to also bring in a character that could split into three. Even more importantly, since Jesse can change his body density he gets to be an action guy, and I just love that, he says smiling.
Jesse has seen plenty of action since he and Shalimar burst onto the scene in the opening teaser of the first Mutant X episode The Shock of the New. In it, they save Emma from falling into the evil clutches of their arch-enemy Mason Eckhart (Tom McCamus), security chief at the biotech firm of Genomex. "We had a blast doing that scene," notes March. "In fact, it was enormous fun filming the entire pilot [which included the second episode I Scream the Body Electric]. We were creating an entirely new world belonging to Mutant X. Because the genre is comic book Science Fiction, the rules are very different. Some make sense, others you have to take liberties with. In the end though, there still has to be some sort of continuity to it. We actually shot our third episode [Russian Roulette] first and then the pilot. This gave us the chance to find our footing and get into the groove of things and I think it really paid off.
"Insofar as the actor sequences, they continue to get better and better. There was one episode that ended up being five minutes short, so the produces decided to expand on a fight scene between Jesse and Brennan and the bad guys. It came out looking great. In another story [In the Presence of Mine Enemies], my character is in love with woman who may or may not have betrayed Mutant X. She's captured by Genomex and Jesse wants to rush in and save her, but Adam says no. So the two of them go at it. It's a great pleasure to work with John Shea and the two of us had fun 'battling' things out.
"Our fight coordinator, Paul Rapoviski, is a world champion Filipino stick fighter, so a lot of our fights you'll see us using pipes, broomsticks, you name it. Paul and out stunt coordinator, Marco Bianco, spend a great deal of time with this show's cast and have taught us some pretty amazing stuff. I've never had to hit anybody in my life so far. However, these guys make me look like I can really kick ass, at least on TV," he chuckles.
Although he enjoys the physical challenges of Mutant X, the actor wants his character to be more than just a lean, mean fighting machine. "I can't wait to start work on our next story [Blood Ties] which explores Jesse's relationship with his real father [played by Art Hindle]," enthuses the actor. "Up to now, a lot of episodes have been about establishing the Mutant X team and have centered around the its new members, Brennan and Emma. Not very much has been revealed to audiences about Jesse and who he is. He's been there to kind of feed the story along. With this episode, though, we start to delve into his background. I've read the script and I couldn't be more pleased. Believe me, I'm looking forward to taking Jesse as far as the producers and writers are willing to let me."
In his early days as an actor, March - who was born in Briston, England and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia - also worked as a model. He graced runways, billboards, and print ads for such high fashion names as Tommy Hilfiger, Giorgio Armani, Nautica and Marlboro Clothing. "I used to tell people that being a model had no impact on my acting. I realized later I was talking garbage," he says. "Of course it did. If you spend eight hours a day in front of a camera with people staring at you in your underwear, then you're bound to gain more confidence in yourself. My modeling experience also helped later on with auditions. A model goes on hundreds of job interviews and is scrutinized in the most critical of ways. You may not like it, but you get used to it. The same is true of an actor."
March laughs when asked about his very first acting job. "In hindsight, it was so embarrassing. Luckily, I didn't know enough about acting to understand how truly awful I was. After that, things could only get better." He went on to play the much-loved Scott Chandler on the ABC Soap Opera All My Children. On the big screen, March has appeared in Way Off Broadway and can be seen later this year in Campfire Stories. Of all the roles he has played so far, his favorite is that of being a father to his baby daughter. "Having the love of something so small and pure gives you a new sense of responsibility," he says.
He may not have always wanted to be an actor, but nowadays there's nothing else March would rather be doing. "It's such a cool thing to be able to work in this business, especially on a regular basis," he says. "I'm so grateful, and if I ever get big-headed about it I hope someone I know has the common sense to kick my butt right back down to Earth."
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