From Starlog magazine, March 2000, #272,
\npages 84-87, contributed by MyrnaLynne<\/p>\n
\nTeen Alien {Jason Behr Talks about Being Max!!},
\nby Ian Spelling<\/p>\nPhoto Captions: \ufffdHere\ufffds Jason Behr\ufffds secret: He feels alienated at Roswell High.\ufffd<\/p>\n
\ufffdRoswell\ufffds Max Evans (Jason Behr) and Liz Parker (Shiri Appleby) share a bond-after all, he saved her life-but they also share a secret: Liz is human. Max, an alien.\ufffd<\/p>\n
\ufffdThough Max shares his alienness with sister Isabel (Katherine Heigl) and friend Michael (Brendan Fehr), they are still Roswell\ufffds distinct minority.\ufffd<\/p>\n
\ufffdStar-crossed passion. Max feels love, but he won\ufffdt pursue a romance. \ufffdHow can he really get together with Liz?\ufffd noted Behr. \ufffdHe doesn\ufffdt know himself.\ufffd \ufffd<\/p>\n
\ufffdE.T. trials. The dynamic between the humans (including Majandra Delfino, left) and the aliens is one of the things that makes Roswell so successful.\ufffd<\/p>\n
\ufffdAre they among us? Behr doesn\ufffdt know from aliens, but about great co-stars, he\ufffds quite effusive. \ufffdThese actors,\ufffd he says, \ufffdare giving, honest and willing.\ufffd \ufffd<\/p>\n
Quotes: \ufffdThe more the relationship evolves, the more difficult the decision becomes.\ufffd<\/p>\n
\ufffdI looked like an alien Elvis.\ufffd<\/p>\n
* * *
\nJason Behr has just wrapped a long, long day on the set of Roswell. The young actor has been immersed in the episode \ufffdThe Toy House\ufffd and in his character, Max Evans, for nearly 12 hours. So maybe he knows what\ufffds going on. Maybe, just maybe, he can answer the questions that are mercilessly killing off the precious brain cells of many a Roswell fan: Are Max, his sister Isabel (Katherine Heigl), and their good friend Michael (Brendan Fehr) actually the aliens that crash-landed in Roswell? Or are they the descendants of those aliens? Oh, yeah, and do the aliens, whatever they are, age?<\/p>\nBehr, sitting in his trailer, smiles.<\/p>\n
\ufffdThat\ufffds the beauty of the story,\ufffd he explains. \ufffdIt\ufffds the wonder of Roswell.\ufffd<\/p>\n
Yeah, yeah. And the answer is\ufffd?<\/p>\n
\ufffd\ufffdWe don\ufffdt know,\ufffd he finally says. \ufffdAs an actor playing this character who is completely clueless about what\ufffds going on, it\ufffds OK for me not to know. As the scripts come in, as I learn more about Max and where it is he comes from, it\ufffds fine not to know for sure because it\ufffds new information for everyone. I\ufffdm finding out about the character pretty much at the same time the audience is, and that\ufffds the case for all of us in the cast. It\ufffds a little cryptic, and I think that\ufffds good. You can\ufffdt tell the whole story too soon, because then you don\ufffdt experience it as it happens. What we do know is that the three aliens believe that they\ufffdre from this 1947 crash. They don\ufffdt know if they\ufffdre descendants of aliens on the ship or whether they were on the ship.\ufffd<\/p>\n
\ufffdDo they age? It seems as if they do. They\ufffdve been in human form since they broke out of their pods, and they have aged in regular human time. But how long do they live? I don\ufffdt know. And that\ufffds great. We do not know. At any moment, things can change. I guess the moral of the story would be to live every day as if it\ufffds the last.\ufffd<\/p>\n
HUMAN PURSUITS<\/p>\n
Of course, Max, Isabel and Michael live each day in fear for their lives. If they\ufffdre not being pursued by the dogged Sheriff Valenti (William Sadler, page 78), then they\ufffdre praying that Max\ufffds simmering relationship with Liz (Shiri Appleby), whom he saved in the series pilot by using his E.T.-like healing powers, doesn\ufffdt leave them vulnerable to discovery. And if the Max-Liz union doesn\ufffdt blow their cover, there\ufffds always the possibility that Maria (Majandra Delfino) might run off at the mouth in the wrong place at the wrong time. To date, Roswell has done an exemplary job of mixing it up, of exploring personal relationships and delivering a compelling combination of SF, thrills, suspense and romantic longing.<\/p>\n
Behr, who spoke briefly about Roswell in SCI-FI TV #8 {another Starlog publication}, believes that the show has made considerable strides since the pilot aired on the WB in fall 1999 to strong reviews and impressive ratings. \ufffdThe first episode didn\ufffdt utilize all of the characters,\ufffd he notes. \ufffdIt had one main story and that was the one about Liz and Max becoming aware of each other in this new light. Because we know that we have a season ahead of us, we\ufffdve been able to pick different characters and try to explore their personalities, emotions and relationships. In the second episode [\ufffdThe Morning After\ufffd], we really got to know Michael a lot more than we did in the pilot. We explore his feelings, what his motivations are, where he\ufffds coming from. We know he has a foster family, that he doesn\ufffdt think his life in Roswell is so great. So, he has more of a motive to leave Roswell, to want to go elsewhere, than the others.<\/p>\n
\ufffdThen, in \ufffdMonsters,\ufffd we got a chance to see Maria, her paranoia, how she sees us. I thought her dream sequence was interesting. It was a very telling way to get her perceptions of us. She sees us as these monsters. So, what I like most about the way the show has evolved is that we\ufffdve been able to explore individual characters from episode to episode. Now that we\ufffdve gotten to know most of the main characters pretty well, we can go ahead and tell stories. And the words, all the inflections and all the little looks means so much more at this point, because the audience knows the characters, knows more about them. As characters, we\ufffdre constantly searching to find out more about our past, about where we came from. In searching for that past, we might actually find a different kind of future. So, the more we care about them, the more interesting their search is.\ufffd<\/p>\n
TEEN TROUBLES<\/p>\n
At this point, about a dozen episodes into Roswell, we know that Max, who works, ironically enough, in a UFO museum, is a terribly conflicted young man\/alien. He\ufffds frustrated and confused as to what\ufffds the right choice to make when it comes to Liz. And he\ufffds worried that what might be right for him may not be right for Isabel and Michael. \ufffdHe\ufffds very aware of other people\ufffds emotions and feelings, and he tries to take them into account,\ufffd comments Behr, who considers the \ufffdRoute 285\ufffd – \ufffdRiver Dog\ufffd two-parter the show\ufffds best outing to date. \ufffdHe knows that Michael does not want to be in Roswell anymore, that he\ufffds the one most actively seeking the truth. Max understands that. Max knows that his sister is the polar opposite. She likes her life in Roswell. Although she might have a tough exterior, she\ufffds a very sweet and loving person. She just tries to put up this facade and not let anyone else in, but she really does like Roswell. So, she doesn\ufffdt necessarily want to know the truth, though some part of her probably does.\ufffd<\/p>\n
\ufffdMax is stuck somewhere in the middle. He\ufffds in love with Liz, this girl he knows he can never be with because they\ufffdre just so different. He doesn\ufffdt know enough about who he is to allow himself to move forward, honestly, in a relationship. If he doesn\ufffdt know himself, doesn\ufffdt know his own capabilities, where he\ufffds from, what emotions he\ufffds capable of, or what physical things he is or isn\ufffdt able to do, how can he really get together with Liz? Procreation? How do you do that? There are questions hanging in the air and, hopefully, we\ufffdll answer them all over time. There\ufffds actually a lot I would like to explore. There\ufffds a great deal just in that conflict about his relationship with Liz that interests me. If he allows himself to love, where does that put him? He opens himself up to vulnerability. If, in fact, Michael, Isabel and I are exposed, and we had to leave Roswell, I would now have to leave behind one more person I really, really care about. The more the relationship evolves, the more difficult the decision becomes.\ufffd<\/p>\n
\ufffdAlso, if we do find the truth, if somewhere down the line we do find out where we came from and possibly even how to get back to our home, how does Max leave not only his family, but also Liz, this woman he has come to love in a different way than he has ever gotten to experience? I think that Max realizes that the closer he gets to the truth, the closer he is to losing her and the more uncertain his future is in Roswell.\ufffd<\/p>\n
\ufffdFor me as an actor, it\ufffds a challenge,\ufffd Behr continues. \ufffdFor a while, it wasn\ufffdt that Max was stagnant, but he was not really actively looking for the truth or pursuing the relationship. He was just kind of sitting there. Lately, they\ufffdve allowed Max to become a little more proactive and to actually do something. Mostly, Michael has had that proactive feeling about him. He has gone out and done something about it. Max, for a while, sat there conflicted about everything. Finally, he realized that he can\ufffdt do that. And he made the decision: \ufffdYou know what? I do want to know about my past. I do want to know where I came from. When it\ufffds time to make decisions, I\ufffdll make them then, but right know I need to know.\ufffd \ufffd<\/p>\n
Making most of the behind-the-scenes decision on Roswell is the tandem of David Nutter and Jason Katims, both of whom serve as the series\ufffd executive producers. Nutter, of course, if the X-Files veteran who has directed several episodes (Starlog #268), while Katims is the former My-So-Called Life producer-scribe who oversees the writing. \ufffdDavid is the heart and soul of Roswell,\ufffd raves Behr. \ufffdHe\ufffds one of the most gifted and brilliant men I\ufffdve ever worked with. He has a heart of gold. He really, really cares about you. He cares about this show. And you can tell that, just by talking to him. He\ufffds so passionate about Roswell. Jason is the brains behind it all. He has a wonderful knack for writing situations that are honest, that are real. What he does helps me understand everything, so that I can try to do my best with it. I don\ufffdt know where the show would be without him. The premise is such that Roswell could be made in a very bad way. It\ufffds a good combination of people, David and Jason.\ufffd<\/p>\n
Behr speaks of his co-stars with enthusiasm. \ufffdWe were very lucky to get the people we got for this show,\ufffd he notes. \ufffdThese actors are giving, honest and willing to work hard. If we\ufffdve backed ourselves into a wall somehow, everybody is willing to work it out in order to make the show as good as it can be. And they\ufffdre all good people, too, so I feel very lucky.\ufffd<\/p>\n
ALIEN ENDEAVORS<\/p>\n
Tomorrow, Behr will be back on the set with his fellow actors, but chances are that nothing for along while on Roswell will compare with his strangest day yet. The day unfolded a few months back, during production on the episode \ufffdMonsters,\ufffd which featured a rather memorable-to watch and to shoot-dream sequence. \ufffdThey dressed me up in this horribly cheesy green jumpsuit, painted my face green and put this really nasty wig on me,\ufffd Behr says, shaking his head at the memory. \ufffd\ufffdI looked like an alien Elvis. Then, they gave me these really cool alien eyes. I guess it worked out in the end, because it was all about how Maria saw us. She\ufffds a little quirky, a little abstract, so she projected her personality onto her dreams of us.\ufffd<\/p>\n
\ufffdIt made sense that her visions of us were a little left of center. I had to sit in this costume all day. Everything I touched in my trailer became GREEN. For the longest time, I just sat there in my chair and didn\ufffdt move, didn\ufffdt touch anything. By the day\ufffds end, I was so sick of it, so sick of doing nothing, that I was using my phone, touching things on purpose and reading scripts. By the time I went home that night, I had green palm prints everywhere.\ufffd<\/p>\n
As the interview nears its end, Behr contemplates both his current good fortune and the impact of Roswell on his present and future. After all, every actor years to latch on to a hit series that can then, potentially, serve as a springboard to even bigger and better things. Doors often slammed in an actor\ufffds face suddenly open with ease. Yet, except for that tiny window of opportunity called hiatus, actors on TV shows rarely have time to maximize their newfound star power. An actor, in a sense, can be trapped by the very vehicle that raised his profile in the first place. Then there\ufffds the loss of privacy and the crazy hours spent filming a show, not to mention the time and energy that\ufffds spent promoting it and one\ufffds self.<\/p>\n
Behr listens to the bittersweet scenario and nods his head in agreement. He can, no doubt, relate to much of the above, but he\ufffds not looking for anyone to shed tears over his plight. \ufffdYou wait, you starve and you try really hard to get work,\ufffd Jason Behr concludes. \ufffdAnd once you get work, you long for free time, just to take breath every now and then. But it gives you such opportunities. It does open doors. You just have to find a way to make it work, to make the vehicle work. Right now, though, it\ufffds all about the story and the people that you work with, at least that\ufffds what it is for me. If it\ufffds not interesting and fun, it\ufffds not worth doing. If you can\ufffdt tell a good story and tell it as well as you can-and in the process enjoy who you\ufffdre with and where you are-it\ufffds not worth doing.<\/p>\n
\ufffdSo far, Roswell has been a treat. Hopefully, whatever project I take on next, whenever that is, will be with people I think are interesting and, hopefully, it will have an interesting story.\ufffd<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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