Alice’s Caterina Scorsone – Wonderland’s Everywoman

The Syfy Channel's re-imagined Alice Hamilton (Caterina Scorsone). Photo by James Dittiger and copyright of The Syfy Channel

When she was a child, actress Caterina Scorsone read Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland books, not knowing that one day she would not only be stepping into Wonderland, but also walking in Alice’s shoes. However, in the Syfy Channel miniseries Alice, this iconic literary character is quite unlike the little blonde-haired girl who most of us are familiar with. For one thing, this Alice is a brunette. She is also a twentysomething martial arts instructor who very much has a mind of her own. While Alice may have grown up, she still retains elements of the original character, which Scorsone could not be more pleased about. 

“In this production, Alice is the everywoman, just like in Lewis Carroll’s original story,” explains the actress during one of her days off from filming this past summer. “She is the eyes through which viewers get to observe this wonderful and strange world, and that can be Wonderland or the world in general. Alice is kind of the perspective for the audience on just how bewildering life can be. The character is a tough cookie in this version of Alice. It’s a re-telling, so she’s an adult and very self-sufficient in the beginning of the story and throughout. At the same time, Alice is vulnerable and there are a lot of areas that she has yet to explore within herself as well as Wonderland. And this place called Wonderland is where she, and the viewer, get to discover all those sorts of places that she is not comfortable with all of the time. 

“This is kind of a new spin on the story, so it’s very contemporary and brings elements of psychology into some of the whimsy and fantasy that Lewis Carroll set up in his books. In terms of acting, this has been one of the most satisfying projects I’ve ever worked on. There are a lot of procedural dramas on TV right now, and that’s terrific and they have their place, but as far as personal stakes, they’re not always as satisfying. It’s great to solve a crime and it’s very compelling and interesting and I love watching stories like that, but as an actor, it’s the personal journeys that truly excite me. And in Alice, my character goes through such a transformation, more so than in any other project I’ve ever done. I’ve had the chance to play a tremendous range with her. 

One tough cookie. Photo by James Dittiger and copyright of The Syfy Channel

“She starts out pretty much emotionally closed, but by the end of the story, all her walls and defenses have been blasted away. It’s been a joy to work with the other actors who have been cast. Everyone who comes to work is so professional and so well-prepared that you know anything emotionally challenging is going to be supported and played with and you’re going to be given the time to do things right.” 

In Alice, we learn that at the age of 10, our heroine’s father abandoned the family without warning or word, which led to Alice developing a stong distrust in men. Now, years later, she believes that she has met Mr. Right in her handsome new love, Jack, but, unfortunately, her old demons resurface and she sends him away after rejecting his proposal of marriage. However, when Jack is kidnapped, she follows him and his abductors through a mysterious portal and winds up in Wonderland. Once there, she is forced to put aside her doubts in the opposite sex and ask for help in order to find Jack. 

“What’s cool about playing Alice is that, again, being the eyes of the audience or the everywoman, she gets to interact with everyone because so much of the journey and the adventure is through her experience,” says Scorsone. “Just like in the Lewis Carroll stories, she kind of walks through and meets all these fantastically colorful characters. 

Jack (Philip Winchester) and Alice. Photo by James Dittiger and copyright of The Syfy Channel

“Jack Chase [Philip Winchester] is the dashing young man who Alice opens the story with. He’s her love interest right off the top, and then there’s Hatter [Andrew-Lee Potts], who along with the White Knight [Matt Frewer] become my character’s trusted companions. Hatter is with Alice throughout the entire story and together they have this journey of self-discovery. Everyone she encounters affects her in some way that is a significant part of her transformation. They impact her subtly, and sometimes not so subtly, and act as a catalyst for the change that is happening inside her as a woman.” 

Scorsone could not have asked for a better person to help guide her through her onscreen adventures than Alice writer/director Nick Willing. “Nick is an amazing director for so many reasons, one of which is that he’s very interested in the rehearsal process,” notes the actress. “He makes sure that you have a significant amount of time to rehearse in order to get to know the material as well as the people you’re playing with. 

“So before our first day of shooting, we had, I think, a week-and-a-half to two weeks of intense discussions and rehearsals at the hotel where we were all staying, and Nick’s process is so neat. Usually you get together and everyone sits around a table and you do a read-through of the script and then start filming. What we did, though, was meet, discuss and rehearse, and only after we went through this really intense process did we sit around the table and do a read-through. 

Alice ends up a stranger in a very strange place called Wonderland. Photo by James Dittiger and copyright of The Syfy Channel

“By the time we got to set we were all very familiar with the material and had created trust with each other. So from day one the set has been a safe and creative place to play as well as explore and push the limits of what we thought we could do. Right from the start this has been a pretty magical situation to walk into, where you’re surrounded by people who fully believe in this project and are excited about creating something of value. It’s been one of the most consistently joyful sets I’ve been on. Nick has this incredible ability to keep it light and keep everyone laughing, and at the same time command the respect that you need to get through the really long days and lots of material. And what’s nice, too, is that everyone here is experienced enough to appreciate that.” 

Although the actress and the rest of the Alice cast and crew has spent a great deal of time shooting inside on a soundstage, they have also ventured out quite a bit in and around Vancouver, a place that Scorsone admits to have fallen in love with. “I have this mad fantasy that I’m going to move here and have this beautiful life surrounded by mountains and water,” she says. 

“It’s been so much fun working on-location. We were in Kamloops [British Columbia] for a while shooting in this abandoned sanatorium, and we also went to Golden Ears Provincial Park, which has a beautiful rainforest where the tress are so massive and it’s so damp that they’re completely covered in this lush, dripping moss. We were filming there at five in the morning and there was fog and mist everywhere. It was really quite surreal. There was mist on the water and you were outside of everything familiar to you and in this spectacular place that truly felt like Wonderland. 

Alice finds a friend - and perhaps more - in Hatter (Andrew-Lee Potts). Photo by James Dittiger and copyright of The Syfy Channel

“Then, of course, we’re wearing these incredibly creative costumes and the set dec is unbelievable. So you have all these elements that are adding to the suspended reality that has been created here. It just makes everything so much fun and easy emotionally as well as creatively to enter this world that we’re talking about here.” 

Obstetrician and violinist were among the career choices that Scorsone considered while growing up. Having acted since the age of eight, she stepped away from it a couple of times, including when she was 19 to go to university. While she was eventually drawn back to the business, Scorsone has no regrets about her brief respite from it. 

“I needed to explore what other possibilities there were,” says the actress. “And what’s fortunate is that that exploration led me back to an appreciation of what I’d been doing. I think when you start acting as a child it’s fun, but you haven’t made an actual choice about it. You’ve inherited it, so I had to get away from it and really decide if art was something important to people. So I quit, went to school, got my bachelor’s degree and after that came back into the business with a more mature perspective and have really been appreciating it ever since.” 

Ever get the feeling that you're all boxed in with nowhere to go; Alice sure does! Photo by James Dittiger and copyright of The Syfy Channel

Having begun working on TV in the mid-90′s, the actress has appeared in several made-for-TV movies as well as done guest-spots and recurring roles on such shows as Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, Power Play, Crash, The Guard and Castle. She also played the lead character, Jess Mastriani, for three seasons in her own series, Missing. 

“When you’re with a character for that long they become a part of you and you get close to them and feel protective of them,” says Scorsone. “Also, working on that show was a huge learning experience for me. With series TV you’re there every day and all day, it’s long hours and you’re surrounded by a tight-knit family of, in my case, 85. So as a professional, you’re learning a number of skills in terms of your acting as well as technical skills such as the camera, lighting and all the other things you need in your ‘tool bag.’ 

“You’re also learning how to ration yourself energetically along with emotionally and how to work well with others when everyone is tired and hasn’t seen their families for a while and it’s crunch time because you’ve got to get the episode done in 14 hours. So doing that series was definitely significant for me, creatively and in terms of my work ethic as well as professionalism and coming to understand the significance of every single crew member’s job on the set, and only together can we make this amazing thing happen.” 

On the big screen, Scorsone’s credits include Borderline Normal, The Devil’s Arithmetic, The Third Miracle and the upcoming political thriller Edge of Darkness starring Mel Gibson, Danny Huston and Ray Winstone. “I can’t say too much about the story because I don’t want to spoil it,” teases the actress. “But I can tell you that I loved working with Martin Campbell, who’s a fantastic British director. My role is a really cool one, too, and I have a South Boston accent in the movie, which was a fun challenge for me to do.” 

While she might work in an industry that is based on make-believe, it is very much the down-to-earth aspects that make an acting career rewarding for Scorsone. “When you first come onto a project it’s like the Land of the Misfit Toys, where you meet everyone at base camp and it’s all these people who never saw themselves working a traditional 9 to 5 job,” she muses. “For whatever reason, we were all attracted to this nomadic-like, caravan lifestyle where the stories and the challenges are always changing. 

“Everyone is willing to live in this kind of uncertain way where you go from job to job and don’t know what tomorrow will bring. There’s a heart to it as well as a tenacity and a courage that tends to inspire on every project. You get to witness these moments of fantastic humanity at 3 in the morning when it’s freezing cold and everyone is trying to get the shot. There’s a support that everyone throws into the ring for one another when you’re in these unusual situations, and it’s a privilege to be part of such a team.” 

See the conclusion of Alice tonight, Monday, December 7th, from 9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. EST on The Syfy Channel. 

Steve Eramo 

As noted above, all photos by James Dittiger and copyright of The Syfy Channel, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

Alice’s Matt Frewer – Father Figure

Matt Frewer as The White Knight in Alice. Photo by James Dittiger and copyright of The Syfy Channel

From Sci-Fi time traveller to a digitally enhanced artificial intelligence and even Sherlock Holmes, actor Matt Frewer has over the years brought these and many other characters to life in theaters as well as feature films and on TV. There is one role, though, he once longed to play but never had the chance to do so. And it was a role that would have taken him in a totally different direction as far as his professional life.  

“I always wanted to be a pro hockey player,’ says Frewer. “However,  at one point I realized I wasn’t going to be good enough, and if I was good enough, I would probably end up with no teeth, playing on a semi-pro team and talking with a French accent for no apparent reason,” he jokes. “When I finished high school I was all set to do an honors degree course in biology, but I backed out of that at the last minute when my drama teacher said to me, ‘You’d get a lot more girls with acting.’ Well, I was sold,” laughs the actor. “I’m happy to say I have no regrets. I love doing what I’m doing and would do it for free. Don’t tell anyone that, but I would, really.”  

Last night, Frewer made his debut as The White Knight in Alice, the Syfy Channel’s take on the classic children’s story Alice in Wonderland. The image conjured up in most peoples’ minds when they think of his character is one of a noble warrior dressed in shining armor, carrying a lance and riding into battle on a mighty stallion. In this case there is the armor as well as a sword and even a horse, but the medieval melange that is Frewer’s character is far more than just a familiar stereotype  

“The While Knight is kind of a cross between Baron Von Munchhausen, The Cowardly Lion and Don Quixote,” explains the actor, taking a break during filming last summer in Vancouver. “The idea for Alice sounded intriguing to me, and then I was completely sold on it when I read the script. The story, which is absolutely delightful, was written by Nick Willing, who’s also our director, and he has come up with some amazing characters.  

“I have to say that this role has sort of fit me like a glove, so it hasn’t been much of a stretch to play. We’ve got this wonderful Salvador Dali-type beard and mustache that I wear, and that’s been a bit of a challenge, especially when it’s hot out because the glue starts to come loose. So there’s that business of people futzing with you right up until the moment that the cameras start rolling. You being to feel like a Christmas tree being continually dressed,” jokes Frewer, “but other than that the character has been a joy to play.  

Our hero enjoys a laugh! Photo by James Dittiger and copyright of The Syfy Channel

“The White Knight has a huge heart, but he’s a bit mad, you know? He’s nuts and he’s noble, but he also has a big secret, so what he shows to the world is not necessarily who he is. And happily with Nick’s version of the White Knight, my character is able to reveal who he really is during a scene with Alice [Caterina Scorsone], and that was tremendous fun to play on many, many levels.”  

In Alice, the White Knight crosses paths with Alice Hamilton when she comes to Wonderland to search for her lover, Jack Chase (Philip Winchester), who has been brought there against his will. He joins the Hatter (Andrew-Lee Potts) in helping Alice find Jack, and in the process, the three of them also risk their lives to help oust Wonderland’s ruler, The Queen of Hearts (Kathy Bates) and break her stranglehold on the kingdom.  

“The two characters that the White Knight relates to almost solely in the story are Alice and Hatter,” says Frewer. “He comes cross Jack in a couple of scenes, but most of my onscreen time is spent with Caterina and Andrew. There is kind of a begrudging friendship and respect for one another that evolves between my character and Hatter. And with Alice, I think the White Knight is more or less a temporary Wonderland father while she’s there.  

“He is somewhat mesmerized by her because in his eyes, she’s Alice of legend. She’s the Alice who he has heard of and who was written about, and he will do anything for her. The White Knight really is her protector, and as inept as he is, he does his best. Again, this is such an incredible role, and, I think, probably the best role I’ve had since Sherlock Holmes. There are very few iconic characters that come along and that you get a chance to play, and the White Knight is definitely one of them.”  

An unstoppable team - The White Knight, Alice (Caterina Scorsone) and Hatter (Andrew-Lee Potts). Photo by James Dittiger and copyright of The Syfy Channel

What were some of the challenges the actor found working in his White Knight attire? “The first day of work on any new job is usually pretty chaotic, and in this case it was particularly so for me because they had only just begun to put my costume together,” he recalls. “It included a huge breastplate, chain mail and all the various other accouterments that a knight would wear. The breastplate was cumbersome to say the least. We ended up calling it the Volkswagen,” chuckles Frewer. “I then began to realize how hot it was going to be lugging this thing around, especially on-location, because it’s basically like being cooked in your own soup can.  

“So getting all that together is my not-so-fond memory of my first day on the job, but it was still fun, and continues to be. The thing is, a lot of the stuff I thought I’d be able to [physically] do as the White Knight has been somewhat restricted by my outfit, so I’ve ended up, I guess, channeling any restrictions into the fact that my character is an older guy. He is supposed to be in his 60′s and slightly crazy, and that ‘madness’ has come from spending too much time on his own. So we actually found other aspects of his personality to highlight as a result of wearing the armor, and that’s been great.”  

“Again, this has been fun. Typically on these sorts of productions, the work stops and everyone has a laugh, and probably my favorite memory of working on this as a whole is that the laughing has never stopped. We’re always having a good time and hopefully that translates to the audience.”  

Frewer credits the show’s cast and crew, in particular, Nick Willing, with making Alice such a positive experience for him. “Nick is a real visionary,” says the actor. “He’s a little bit like the White Knight in that he’s slightly ‘mad,’ but in a wonderful way, as well as a very warm, gentle, kind and witty guy. That is all an added bonus on top of the fact that he is also a huge talent. You don’t often find that combination.  

Ready to take on anything - the White Knight and Hatter. Photo by James Dittiger and copyright of The Syfy Channel

“Andrew and Caterina are a blast as well to work with. Caterina is a real find for Alice. She’s so much like her character and is an open book. Caterina is, I think, one of those actresses who has such an immediacy onscreen. Whatever scene she’s in, she’s right there and reacts to it immediately. And like I said, her face is an open book, and she’s an extremely tender, sensitive soul and isn’t afraid to show that. Caterina also has this kind of tough curiosity about her. Such a combination is perfect for Alice, and I think she has knocked the whole thing out of the park.  

“As for Andrew, he’s terrific, too. He’s from the north country in England, a place called Bradford, and he has sort of a tough guy swagger, but he’s very sweet as well. I think the girls are going to love him as Hatter. Andrew has this fantastic onscreen chemistry with Caterina, and hopefully audiences will go with that and be rooting for their characters to end up together.  

“There are very few projects where, when you start talking about them, you feel genuinely supportive of them, and this is one of those times. I think Alice is going to do great and I have really high hopes for it.”  

Born in Washington, D.C., Frewer trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and graduated from its three-year acting course in 1980. One of his very first roles was in the 1983 film Monty Python’s Meaning of Life. “There was a piece before the main film called The Crimson Permanent Assurance and it was sort of a pirate spoof where a group of young office workers were defending their building against a group of older ones,” says the actor.  

“The older office workers would pull up alongside what looked like a Spanish galleon, swing through the windows and take on all the young office workers. One of the older pirate guys corners my character by a window, I yell, ‘S**t!’ and jump out the window. That was my first professional experience in front of the camera. All I can say is thank God for all that classical training,” he jokes.  

The White Knight, dressed for action. Photo by James Dittiger and copyright of The Syfy Channel

A few years later, the actor became a familiar face, of sorts, around the world with his portrayal of a fictional British artificial intelligence in the TV series Max Headroom. “That was kind of a short sharp shock,” notes Frewer. “Originally, Max was meant to be this computer-generated man/video disc jockey and we perpetuated that ‘ruse.’ Then we realized the only way we’d be able to achieve the look and effect of such a character was to put someone in rubber make-up, and that guy ended up being me.  

“Max Headroom started out in England [in a music video program] and then evolved into a talk show. Coca-Cola then picked it up and I did a bunch of TV commercials for [director] Ridley Scott. That then convinced ABC TV [in the States] to feature Max in an adventure series. At the same time, I was doing a Cinemax [cable] talk show along with various other ancillary things as Max. Long way around, what I meant by a short sharp shock is that from beginning to end, the whole Max thing really didn’t last much longer than three years. But Max made the cover of Newsweek, and it was great for me because it meant I was able to arrive in Los Angeles as an actor without having to pound the pavement. I was playing a double-lead in a very high-profile show for ABC, and even though it only lasted for 12 episodes, it was a wonderful introduction to Los Angeles for me.”  

Besides his work on Max Headroom, Frewer has guest-starred on such shows as Robin of Sherwood, Miami Vice, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Outer Limits and Intelligence. He also had a regular role as Matt Praeger in Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, and currently plays the recurring character of Jim Taggart in the Syfy Channel series Eureka.  

Frewer as Jim Taggart in Eureka. Photo copyright of The Syfy Channel

“Again, some lovely people to work with on Eureka and a fun show to do,” says the actor. “My character only dips in and out every few episodes. He’s sort of a weirdo who lives in the woods, and I think whenever he comes to town, by sheer virtue of the fact that he is the weirdo who lives in the woods, the story sort of has to be about him. Jim is an Australian dog-catcher – I mean, you can’t beat that for weirdness – but he calls himself a biological containment engineer. He’s a nature boy, too, and tends to run naked through the woods a lot,” he says with a laugh,”so needless to say I have a ball when I do work on the show.”  

On the big screen, the actor’s credits include The Fourth Protocol, Far From Home, Going The Distance, Dawn of the Dead and Watchmen, playing former super-villain Edgar William Jacob/Moloch the Mystic. “The first scene I shot on that was in a cemetary and I just remember being overwhelmed by the number of crew,” notes Frewer. “You suddenly realize that you’re part of a big-budget movie and being directed by Zack Synder. He’s a lot like Nick Willing in that he has endless positive energy and keeps his crew driven and wanting to perform for him. Zack is one of those rare leaders who has the power but also the wisdom not to wield it. He’s a really amazing guy and I had a ball working with him.”  

The goal of most actors is to be able to practice their craft in as wide a range of projects as possible, and for Frewer, the wider the better. “I think the measure of success for an actor is that you can be on your deathbed – which hopefully comes later rather than sooner – and look back over your career and say that you did plenty of diverse and interesting things, as opposed to how much [money] you took to your grave,” he muses. “After all, what are you going to do? Get a more expensive lining for your coffin.  

“I was trained as an actor to do lots of different things, and that’s what makes this [acting] such a joy for me. You can only hope to be lucky enough to go from doing a heavy drama to something light and comedic and then something totally different from the two. It also helps to be facile and quicksilver-ish enough to be able to slip easily from one role to the next and not pigeonhole yourself because so many people are willing to do it for you.” 

The concluding two hours of Alice airs tonight, Monday, December 7th starting at 9:00 p.m. EST on The Syfy Channel. 

Steve Eramo  

As noted above, all Alice photos by James Dittiger and all photos copyright of The Syfy Channel, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

Alice’s Zak Santiago – In The Cards

Actor Zak Santiago. Photo by Mitchell Parsons and courtesy of Zak Santiago and The Promotion People

In the Syfy Channel’s Alice, the title character goes through the looking glass and ends up in a world filled with quirky and colorful characters. Just like the Lewis Carroll books on which this miniseries is based, Wonderland is ruled over with an iron fist by The Queen of Hearts, an ill-tempered monarch who, for some reason, has it in for Alice. Eager to meet our heroine in-person, The Queen dispatches two of her most trusted minions to bring Alice to her. Enter the 10 of Clubs, played by Zak Santiago. 

“My character is kind of a righthand man for The Queen of Hearts [Kathy Bates], and in this story he’s rolling with Mad March [Geoff Redknap],” explains Santiago during a break in production. “They are sent to find and capture Alice [Caterina Scorsone] and bring her to The Queen, who wants this very special ring [The Stone of Wonderland] that Alice was given. Mad March and 10 of Clubs are bounty hunters, so they possess a sort of severe coldness, but because there is such a humor in [director] Nick Willing’s writing, they’re almost like Laurel and Hardy. Here are these two deadly villains who aren’t so much bumbling, but who don’t really understand one another. 

“The Mad March can be described as this reconstructed, almost half-robotic assassin, and my character, the 10 of Clubs, is usually the one in charge of this type of operation. However, when Mad March is brought back to life, I have to bow to him a little bit, and this guy is really cold. So 10 of Clubs is trying to be ruthless, while at the same time trying to develop a relationship with this machine-like assassin. And the thing is, 10 of Clubs is usually a tough guy, but there are other times where he’ll show his cowardice. 

“As an actor, the trick is to find these comedic levels with your character without being too campy, and to be part of this fantasy world without descending into caricature. You don’t want to be false; you have to be 100% committed, even if the situation gets ridiculous at times. That’s one of the hurdles, though, with this type of storytelling. It may be a children’s story, but adults are going to watch it, too, and there’s dark humor in it. So it’s much more difficult to play as opposed to a broad farce, sitcom or straightforward children’s show. So that’s a challenge, but a good one, and my character has definitely been fun for me to play.” 

The 10 of Clubs (Santiago) in the Syfy Channel's Alice. Photo copyright of The Syfy Channel

Santiago had just returned to Vancouver from Los Angeles when he was sent the [audition] sides for Alice. As soon as he read them, he could not wait to try out for the 10 of Clubs role. “I was excited for a number of reasons,” says the actor. “When I was a kid, I read The Lord of the Rings series of books long before I thought they would be made into films. I also read C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and played Dungeons and Dragons and Middle Earth. I loved the idea of fantasy as well as legends and mythology and all that kind of stuff. And Alice is one of those stories you read as a kid and that just opened up your imagination. 

“I think I’m from one of the last generations of kids who didn’t learn on computers in school. There wasn’t an Internet, either, and we didn’t have cable TV, video games or a VCR. So everything existed in these books and what you could draw, paint, write, create or otherwise imagine for yourself after having read them. So Alice ties into that part of my childhood. I’ve always been drawn to otherworldly sorts of things, so I was thrilled to find out that I had a shot at helping tell this type of story. 

“Once I booked the job and before filming actually started, I found out a little more about [the production company] Reunion Pictures as well as Nick Willing and the legacy that he brings with him, which includes his work on [the 2007 Syfy Channel miniseries] Tin Man. Then there were the sets as well as the costumes – we have an Academy Award-winning costume designer [Angus Strathie] working on Alice - and, of course, the rest of the actors who had been cast. I began to get even more excited because I realized with Nick’s vision, and once I’d read the script, that this was going to be incredible.” 

The actor’s first day of work on Alice was on-location in Kamloops, British Columbia. “I had never been there before and the set they built was very surreal,” he says. “We also shot in downtown Vancouver and all over the lower mainland, but most of the filming has been at our main studio here in Aldergrove, which is about an hour-and-a-half outside of Vancouver and in the suburbs. This is where the throne room set is along with the casino set as well as where all the green screen work is done. 

Putting his imagination to good use, Santiago enthusiastically took on the role of the 10 of Clubs in Alice. Photo by Mitchell Parsons and courtesy of Zak Santiago and The Promotion People

“Kamloops was my first time being on-set and putting on my character’s costume and the make-up. The 10 of Clubs wears this long, pointy goatee-type beard, so that’s been a bit of work for the make-up women, all of whom do a fantastic job of fashioning the beard and gluing it on me every day. It’s meant a bit more time for me in the make-up chair, but otherwise the rest of my make-up is fairly standard. As for my costume, I wear an Italian suit with amazing woolen cloaks as well as bowler hats and 10 of Clubs headpieces, so I feel pretty regal. It’s almost like playing a cardinal or a cross between one of Emperor Palpatine’s men in Star Wars and some sort of evil lawyer,” jokes the actor. 

While the 10 of Clubs starts out working for the bad guys, his allegiances begin to shift as his eyes are slowly opened to who his so-called rulers truly are. “First off, I have to say that it has been incredible working with Kathy Bates and Colm Meaney who plays The King of Hearts, both of whom I’m a fan of,” says Santiago. “My character’s relationship with The Queen and King is one of fear and super-reverence. However, as things spiral out of control for them, The 10 of Clubs gets to see a weaker or less regal side of both of them, and it reaches the point where he turns his back on these two monarchs. 

“So that relationship basically disintegrates over the four hours of our story, but with Alice, it’s very much the opposite. She’s one of the good guys, and the 10 of Clubs eventually comes over to her side and ends up watching her back along with that of the Hatter[Andrew-Lee Potts] and The White Knight [Matt Frewer]. He’s not a turncoat, but rather the ultimate revolutionary. My character helps the campaign to overturn the despot, tyrannical ruler. 

“Again, my main challenge with the 10 of Clubs has been making sure I really believe in what he’s saying and doing, otherwise it’s going to be hard for people to take him seriously because he’s a pretty eccentric guy. What’s great, though, is that acting-wise everything has just been so clear to me because the scenes and dialogue all make sense and everyone in this cast is so talented and committed to the script. I’ve worked on a lot of projects and, honestly, this one has been almost a no-brainer. 

Actor, writer, musician, dancer and more - Santiago is a modern-day renaissance man. Photo by Mitchell Parsons and courtesy of Zak Santiago and The Promotion People

“Another huge plus has been Nick Willing, who is an actor’s director. He’s so specific about his vision and I can tell that he’s a real fan of the fantasy genre, too. We’ve been working some really long days, and it’s been hot and you’ve got something like 150 people in crazy outfits and all this other stuff going on, and yet Nick still finds a way to be true to this vision, you know? He doesn’t sacrifice anything because of time. Nick makes certain that he gets all the shots and is always funny and cracking jokes. There are some directors you work with who are craftsmen and are good because they make the day and keep to the schedule. When you’re doing episodic TV there’s so much you’ve got to get done and they know how to bang things out. But Nick is a true artist and this has been one of the best ever experiences I’ve had with a director. There are only two more days of work for me and I’m going to be sad when this [shoot] is over.” 

Having boxed for several years, Santiago reached a point in his life a while back where he felt a career change was necessary and decided to give acting a try. “When I was still boxing, I ran into a fighter friend of mine one day and asked him what he was doing in this part of town,” he recalls. “My friend told me, ‘I’m going on an audition.’ I asked him, ‘For what?’ and he said acting. 

“Years later I went back to that exact same part of town and looked at every doorway on that side of the street until I saw one marked ‘acting studio.’ I took a class and liked it. I eventually got an agent and slowly began chipping away at it [an acting career]. I’ve always been an artist, though. I danced when I was younger and still do, and I’ve also been a musician my entire life. But I never thought I would ever be an actor. It’s either my curse or my luck,” jokes the actor, “but I’m still doing it, so I guess it’s a good thing.” 

Santiago made his TV debut in an episode of Poltergeist: The Legacy and has since appeared in several made-for-TV movies as well as guest-starred on dozens of shows such as Da Vinci’s Inquest, The L Word, The 4400, Smallville and Eureka. He was also a series regular on Young Blades and the Canadian comedy series Robson Arms. 

Santiago as Hal Garcia in Robson Arms. Photo copyright of CTV

“Young Blades was great fun,” enthuses the actor. “It was a sword and sorcery/period-type piece with wizard characters and other fantastical elements. I played a musketeer and got to ride horses and fight with swords. Having boxed, I like anything physical and with lots of movement, so that was terrific. I also got to write for the show. My character [Ramon Montalvo Francisco de la Cruz] was a Spaniard and a poet as well as a lover of food and wine, a lover of women and a lover of words. And as it turned out, I wrote a sort of soliloquy for my character for each episode. It was like a monologue in poetry that he read at the end of the episode that encapsulated the events of that particular story. 

“That show was a challenge because, again, it was a period piece and an action piece, but it was fairly low-budget as well. Those types of programs are hard to do unless you have the money because of the lavish costumes along with the castles and other things of that nature. It takes a lot to string everything together, so we all worked really hard and I’m still good friends with the cast. It was a wonderful time in my life. 

“Robson Arms was even more of a low-budget program, and a neat one, too. Everyone did it out of love, and some of my best friends were my castmates on that show. As a young filmmaker I enjoyed it because it was such an amazing training ground for new directors. There was an incentive to hire first-time directors as well as young writers on that show, so it was exciting to be a part of. The producers had a great deal of heart, and, man, oh, man, was the show funny.” 

Santiago can be seen in upcoming episodes of the Syfy Channel series Caprica, and only a few weeks ago the actor guest-starred in the Stargate Universe episode Time. “Years ago I did a Stargate SG-1 [Evolution]; my friend Peter DeLuise directed that and he then ended up being one of my castmates for a season on Robson Arms,” notes Santiago. 

Hal (Santiago) takes charge of a slippery situation in Robson Arms. Photo copyright of CTV

“Another good friend of mine, James Bamford, who was the stunt coordinator on Stargate Atlantis and now Universe, had been trying to get me on Atlantis as a Wraith or to do some stunt work, so it was cool when I got to play a Marine [Corporal Rivers] on Universe. I got to kiss a really pretty girl as well, and that’s always fun when you’re acting. I was told that my character could be recurring; we’re all on this ship and I haven’t been killed off yet, so I’m hoping to come back and develop my character a little more because I really had a ball in the short time I was there.” 

From listening to Santiago speak it is obvious that he is a people person, and for him, that is a big part of what makes his job so enjoyable. “I’m so grateful for all the friends and relationships I’ve made, and the collaboration,” he says. “In this business you’ve really got to look at it as a whole bunch of people working really hard to come up with something that’s worthwhile. However, when any one of us forgets that we’re just a piece of the puzzle, that’s when you start to look at this as being something different. So as long as you keep in mind that you’re part of a team, then you’ll come away with these relationships and friends along with work that you’re proud of.” 

The first two hours of Alice airs Sunday, December 6th from 9:00-11:-00 p.m. EST on The Syfy Channel and concludes Monday, December 7th @ 9:oo p.m. EST. For more information on Zak please check out www.zaksantiago.com 

Steve Eramo 

As noted above, some photos by Mitchell Parsons and courtesy of Zak Santiago and The Promotion People as well as copyright of The Syfy Channel or CTV, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

Alice’s Andrew-Lee Potts – Hat Trick

Andrew-Lee Potts as Hatter in Alice. Photo copyright of The Syfy Channel

When you are in a strange place it helps to make friends, and not many places are stranger than the setting for the new Syfy Channel miniseries Alice. Innocent people from our world are being taken and brought to a parallel universe known as Wonderland. Once there, their memories are forcibly erased and they become prisoners in a casino where people never lose. The resulting emotional “high” helps sustain Wonderland’s residents, most importantly its ruler, The Queen of Hearts, and her husband, The King of Hearts. 

When Alice Hamilton arrives there in search of her kidnapped fiance Jack, she turns to come of the locals for help, including a slightly shady character called Hatter. Having not long finished his third season battling dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures as Connor Temple in the hit British TV series Primeval, actor Andrew-Lee Potts was excited about the idea of a potential trip across the pond to work in Wonderland and play Hatter. 

“When I first got a call from my agent to go in and read for Alice I thought, ‘Oh, wicked! That sounds fantastic and right up my alley,” enthuses Potts. “Then I found out that it was for the character of the Hatter, and straightaway everything felt right for me, and even more so when I eventually received the script and discovered it was written using the type of humor that I often use in my work. 

“So I taped my audition with the British casting director and I just did my thing. [Director/writer] Nick Willing wasn’t there in the room; it was just me and the casting director. And sometimes with that type of situation, especially when you’re doing overseas casting, things can get lost in the translation – i.e. how you should be playing the part. 

Alice (Caterina Scorsone) and Hatter (Andrew-Lee Potts). Photo copyright of The Syfy Channel

“And it’s funny because I went into the audition and played the role as I thought it appeared to me, and was more sarcastically comedic as well as a bit eccentric. Hatter is a hero of sorts in the story, and the casting lady suggested, ‘Maybe you should try being a little more sexy?’ and I [jokingly] said to her, ‘What do you mean? Am I not being sexy?’ So I tried that, and later on when I met Nick, he told me, ‘Your first reading of the role was perfect, but then you did something really strange and went all serious.’ So although I’m glad I did it both ways so that he could see either interpretation, I’m really pleased that my initial take was what Nick was looking for and that I eventually got the job.” 

A week after Potts received word that he had been cast, he was on his way to Vancouver, British Columbia to start shooting Alice. “We actually had a few days rehearsal before filming began, and that was really interesting for me,” recalls the actor. “I haven’t done that many plays and things of that nature, so I’ve tended not to rehearse a lot of the parts I’ve played in the past. I like to keep my performance as fresh as possible because I never quite know what I’m going to do with the material. That’s something I began doing during Primeval, and as a result they [the producers] allowed me to be a lot freer with the dialogue and to try, I suppose, to get the humour and keep things really lively. 

“On my first day of work on Alice, I actually shot my final scene as Hatter, and then went on to do my first scene, which was something like seven or eight pages long. It was just me being the Hatter in his teashop, so I had to gt into the swing of things straightaway. I was a bit nervous, but at the same time really excited. I was playing the character the way I wanted to, and it was a relief to see that Nick looked happy when he came out from behind the monitor after the first few takes. 

“I suppose as an actor you always think, ‘I hope I’m doing the right thing and they’re not going to recast me.’ I remember we started out filming in this abandoned mental institution up in Kamloops. It was hot and the Hatter wears a leather jacket throughout the whole story. Being British, I’m not used to the heat,” he says with a chuckle, “but I survived and it was a lot of fun. Both Nick and I hit the ground running with the character and we carried on having a good time with it.” 

A brief moment of respite for Hatter. Photo copyright of The Syfy Channel

In this telling of Alice, the Hatter is part of a resistence force led by Dodo (Tim Curry) and The White Knight (Matt Frewer), whose goal is to overthrow the Queen’s (Kathy Bates) tyrannical reign. While eager to take on his character’s re-imagined role, Potts also wanted to imbue his performance with some of The Mad Hatter’s original personality. 

“In the back of your mind you’ve got the original story where you know The Mad Hatter as being eccentric, crazy and all that kind of stuff,” explains the actor. “However, in Alice, we don’t have The Mad Hatter, we have the Mad March [Geoff Redknap], who was originally The [Mad] March Hare. So my character is supposed to be the sane one, but what I tried to do the first time you see the Hatter is go with a little bit of his eccentricity because I thought that might be enjoyable to the audience. 

“We tip our hat to every single character in Alice in Wonderland. With Hatter I wanted to keep an element of fun and spontaneity of the original. You never quite know what’s going on with him. Sometimes he goes really fast and other times he slows down and tries to take control. The first time Hatter meets Alice [Caterina Scorsone] it’s an assault of information on her, and from there he tries to take control. He’s a hustler and a very conniving one, and I wanted to play him slightly dangerous at the start as well. We have no idea what Hatter is capable of, and as the story unfolds, he does things that constantly surprise you. 

“At one point I had to do a hat trick, so I had to have a lesson and learn a bunch of tricks. That was cool, but, unfortunately, the hat I wore was really lightweight and the guy who came in to teach me the tricks was struggling because of that. They usually use a weighted hat, so I had to try to work around that. My character uses his hat as a bit of a distraction tool, especially in fight situations, which was quite fun and interesting. I’m quite handy with my fists in this, as opposed to Connor in Primeval, who couldn’t throw a punch to save his life, but Hatter is the complete opposite. 

The Hatter and Alice discover their budding friendship. Photo copyright of The Syfy Channel

“The stunts were neat to do, too, and quite challenging as well because I did nearly everything myself. That included learning how to ride a horse, which I had never done before. I’d never even sat on a horse before. So I went to horse training, which was brilliant. I loved galloping as fast as I could on top of a ridge in the middle of nowhere and thinking, ‘I hope I can stop,’” he says with a laugh. 

Although Hatter’s relationship with Alice starts out as a purely selfish one, it becomes more of a friendship as the story unfolds. “In the beginning, he sees her as a money-making tool,” says Potts. “Alice is initially useful to the Hatter in very different ways to the ways that she’s useful to him at the end. I think my character finds her absolutely fascinating because she is very headstrong and sure of herself. Even though she’s been flung into this incredibly strange world of Wonderland, where the things she sees would instantly blow away most peoples’ minds, she manages to keep her feet on the ground and continue searching for what she’s come to Wonderland for. 

“Again, Hatter finds that attractive in a way, but I don’t think he understands exactly why. Like I said, he’s a player. He’s used to having many women in his life, but not really connecting with any of them. In a weird kind of way, his and Alice’s heads work in a very similar fashion. They’re equally matched intelligence-wise, which furthers his challenges with her, and they spend a great deal of their time arguing, which leads to some very amusing situations for us to play. Alice has a lot of trust issues and she finds it incredibly hard to trust anybody. At the start, I don’t think anyone would trust Hatter, and that’s something else I tried to explore with the character. I wanted to make the audience go, ‘He’s just plain mean,’ and that’s the fun with Hatter. You’re supposed to expect the unexpected with how I played him.” 

Potts relished the opportunity to work with Nick Willing in developing the many levels of the Hatter that viewers are introduced to. “One of the brilliant things about Nick is that, yes, he has his own ideas, but he doesn’t trap you inside them,” notes the actor. “He likes to throw everything up in the air and see where it lands. I always feel that that’s what makes a better show. Going back to Primeval, I think one of the reasons why my character worked so well is that the producers had the same way of working as Nick does. Connor was supposed to be your typical nerd who liked Star Wars and that sort of thing. He’s quite cliché in the original script, but then we did something completely different with him, which was to make him eccentric and more of an accidental hero as well. 

Hatter and Alice try to talk themselves out of a tight spot. Photo copyright of The Syfy Channel

“So they were very open-minded in Alice with how I delivered a lot of the dialogue, and also with making it suit my voice as well, being that I have such a strong Northern accent. At first they wanted an English accent, but Nick said he really liked the Yorkshire in my voice, and also up in the north of England we always enjoy a cup of tea, so it’s kind of fitting that my character should run a teashop. I love that the first time we see the Hatter, he’s drinking a cup of tea. I’m so pleased with the way he’s been written. You don’t expect Hatter to be such a strong force in the story. I know it’s Alice’s journey, but she catapults him into his own journey as well within hers. 

“Hatter has been living in Wonderland for years, unhappy with his life as well as with the system and the way things were going. He had a lot of resentment built up towards the Resistence and the Queen’s side of things. So he’d kind of been living in a no-man’s land until Alice came into his life. She opens my character’s eyes and suddenly Hatter has something to fight for, a girl, and he doesn’t even realize it, which is lovely. Hatter is a little slow on the uptake with things like that,” he jokes. “He thinks he’s fighting for himself. Up to this point, Hatter has lived his life very selfishly. One of his lines is something like, ‘I’ve lived life playing both sides of the court and trying to keep everyone happy.’ But in this story he actually does good by himself and Alice, which is terrific.” 

While there is no sign of prehistoric wildlife in Alice, Potts feels that his work on Primeval was excellent preparation for this project. “Having done a big CGI [computer-generated image] show, I actually feel qualified for the first time in my life,” says the actor. “I thought, ‘This is easy. I’ve been doing this for the past three years. I can run away from these monsters.’ So that was a blast but in a different way because it’s less about monsters in Alice and more about the CGI world that we’re in. There are a lot of extended CGI sets, which was something I wasn’t used to, and far more green screen work, too. We didn’t do much green screen on Primeval. 

“So every day has been fascinating and I feel extremely fortunate to have been given this role. I felt ready for it as well, though, if that makes any sense, and I don’t know if I would have had the same confidence before Primeval. A lot of the stuff I’d previously done were one-off films and projects like that where you only have a short period of time with a character. With a TV series, though, when it progresses, you have the chance to explore all these different angles of your character. And during the four hours on Alice, Hatter shows every side of himself and way of behaving. So hopefully playing Connor on Primeval has helped me in portraying Hatter.” 

The first two hours of Alice airs Sunday, December 6th from 9:00-11:-00 p.m. EST on The Syfy Channel and concludes Monday, December 7th @ 9:oo p.m. 

Steve Eramo 

As noted above, all photos copyright of The Syfy Channel, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

Through The Looking Glass

WITH production just wrapped in Vancouver, B.C. on the upcoming four-hour miniseries Riverworld, the Sci Fi Channel has once again teamed up with RHI Entertainment and Reunion Pictures and begun shooting its next four-hour movie event entitled Alice.  Having directed the record-breaking, Emmy award-winning miniseries Tin Man for Sci Fi in 2007, writer/director Nick Willing is back at the helm to put a new spin on the classic Lewis Carroll story Alice in Wonderland. Using Carroll’s books Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass as jumping off points, Willing has created the modern-day story of Alice Hamilton, a fiercely independent twentysomething who suddenly finds herself on the other side of the looking glass. She is a stranger in an outlandish city of twisted towers and casinos built out of playing cards, all under the rule of a deliciously devilish Queen of Hearts, who is not happy about Alice’s arrival.

Academy Award winner Kathy Bates (Misery) stars as the Queen of Hearts and Caterina Scorsone (Crash TV series) plays Alice. Rounding out the cast is Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show) as Dodo, Colm Meaney (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as the King of Hearts, Philip Winchester (Crusoe) as Jack of Hearts, Matt Frewer (Watchmen) as the White Knight, Andrew-Lee Potts (Primeval TV series) as Hatter, Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica) as 9 of Clubs, Timothy Webber (Taken) as Carpenter, Alex Diakun (Sanctuary) as Ratcatcher, Zac Santiago (Kingdom Hospital) as 10 of Clubs and Eugene Lipinski (Animorphs TV series) as Doctors Dee and Dum. Alice is currently slated for a December 2009 premiere.