Brendan Fehr – December SFX magazine

Thanks to Carmen for sending this to me

written by Stephanie Conwell and Jayne Dearsley

Some people say he looks like David Duchovny. Some say he lookd like Chesney Hawkes.

The Sleepy Town of Roswell is embarking upon its third year of teenage strife, love triangles and hooky alien arguments. The show survived a nail-biting few months with no home before UPN picked it up and revived it, allowing Michael Guerin-alien kid, moody boyfriend of Maria- no weave his magic for another year. With is great for the actor Brendan Fehr, because his character is still a work in progress.

“It’s funny, I was looking back to the pilot and some of the early episodes and Michael was really lonely”, he says wistfully. “You could really tell that the was on the outside, but he kind of fits in now. He’s still the loose cannon in the sense that he’s still got the temper and he’s a little bit fiery, but the fits in a little more. He had to loosen up a little bit, but I miss the fact that he was really an outsider. I wanted to soften him up because I thought he was too hard and, now that I’ve softened him up just a tad, I want to go back to that hard edge”

Anyone who thinks that Fehr is anything like the character he plays may be pleased to know that there are a few differences.
” I’m a lot more friendly than he is-even though he is getting better-and I have more social skills,” he laughs, which is relief, cause Michael (to put it mildly) can be a bit, well strappy. “He’s been alone his whole life, so it’s kind of nice to have company, but I think he’s gotten used to it and he doesn’t mind chilling by himself once in a while, as long as he knows he’s got someone to go back to, and I’m kind of the same way. I don’t mind hanging out by myself and doing my own thing, as long as I know than when I get bored of it, I’ve got my friends and family.”

The fact that people do confuse him with his Roswell alter-ego is a source of amazement to Fehr. ” When you really think about it, it’s weird that some people recognise you because they think they love you. It’s like, “You like Michael, you don’t even know me”. They hold you in a some level of importance just because you ‘re on a show.”
he laughs about it now, but at the beginning Fehr really wasn’t certain that life in the world of Roswell was for him. “I was living up in Vancouver and the woman up there-who cast x-files and Millennium when they were filming there- had been called on by Fox to cast Roswell. She had been a big supporter of mine and said, “Yeah, it’s about aliens in high school”, and I was like, ¡No a chance! I know I’m not famous or working or anything like that, but I’m not going in for a TV show about aliens in high school. That’s not where I want my career to start off”!

Fehr smiles, then adds sheepishly “I read the script and It was actually really good…”

Then of course, he auditioned for the part of Max, before deciding that the character of Michael was his kettle of fish. Luckily he “nailed it” and got the part. Although there was a bit of a delay afterwards.. “We waited for two months before the other roles were cast, and I was wondering if the show was going to get off the ground, because a month before they wanted to start filming, they still hadn’t found the Max they wanted!. I was like, “The one time I get a part, it’s going to all go up in smoke and they’re not going to be able to cast it and they’re going to push it and cancel it and I’m screwed!”.

Taking a role also meant that Fehr had to move from his native Winnipeg to L.A. “Would I live here if I wasn’t an actor” No,” he declares, striking a pose for all Canadians in the world, before softening towards his adopted hometown. “I’d go back up to Canada somewhere and do something, but I like it here. I’ve got good friends down here and it’s fun. There’s stuff to do, you can hang out: you’ve got the beach, there’s pretty good weather, and stuff like that. I’ve got my complaints, but I’ve got complaints about anywhere I live”.

Fehr recently made the move from “alien” to “vampire” with road movie “The Forsaken”, but unfortunately the film didn’t exactly set the world alight. “I felt it wasn’t a great movie but entertaining, but after seeing what some of my peers did this summer I feel it was really kick ass, Man, were there crappy movies!”

So, how are things with Roswell?
“With the episodes we’re doing right now, I work like 70 hours a week. On the weekends, I just sleep and run errands” Fehr shrugs, philosophically. Doesn’t sound like he’s enjoying himself much, but he’s quick to disagree. “Yeah, It’s still a lot of fun,” he states. “Usually on TV show, you’re stuck with doing one character, but the way the writing’s been going, we get the chance to play other stuff, which is kind of why you get into acting. Sometimes you get episodic burn where you’re like, “I wanna go home!” but your pull through that. You’re getting paid and it’s fun, so you’ve gotta gain a little perspective on exactly the position you’re in and how blessed you are.”

So there you go. Michael’s a big old softy after all. Ahhh!.