During Highlander DownUnder 1, Carmel had the opportunity to have a 30 minute discussion with Peter Wingfield. What follows is a summary of that discussion.

On Peter's new series

Peter is very excited about the new series he is in called Noah's Ark which revolves around a veterinary practice. He described himself as a "briefcase/mobile phone carrying vet."

Highlander: The Series, Season #6

There will definitely be another 13 episodes with an option for another 9. Peter's new vet series, Noah's Ark, precludes his being able to be in the first three episodes, so the writer's had to madly re-write. He'll be in at least six episodes of the thirteen. Season six will try to go in a slightly new direction; more focus and involvement of "non-Adrian" characters. These thirteen episodes are set in France, mostly Paris.

Marathon

He was particularly pleased and proud of his achievement in the recent London marathon where he recorded a personal best and spoke of the pressure of pushing himself harder and harder to achieve this, and the exhilaration when he did. He said that three weeks later he was still recovering and that his regenerative capabilities were letting him down!

On preparing for the Methos Role

Peter drew on two major sources:-

1. "Father Begley, an old priest who had a 'cow-like stare', a crooked smile, and could sum you up in seconds and find a great deal of humor at your expense. I think Father Begley was a teacher.

2. "Galen, from PLANET OF THE APES, who was so much more than what he appeared to be. You thought he wasn't listening or paying attention; he'd be tilting his head sideways, but he was taking it all in, just like Methos."

On Methos as a mate!

When asked whether he'd give Methos a beer, he agreed, laughing, that he would, but that he wouldn't take his eyes off him and wouldn't trust him! Methos hasn't survived 5,000 years without being pretty slippery.

Adrian's excellent Florence adventure

Peter didn't know that Adrian had written up the few days he, Stan, Elizabeth and Adrian had spent holidaying and visiting Adrian's relatives in Florence in early January. Those who read the article in the latest PEACE NEWSLETTER will remember that Adrian wouldn't reveal who sat where on the trip to Sienna, but gave a strong impression that Peter/Methos sat exactly where he wanted. Peter confirmed that, yes, he sat in the front, "but only because I've got such long legs!"

On Adrian being a hard taskmaster when he's directing?

"Adrian's a pussycat! Seriously, he's a very good, very talented director. He has a very delicate eye for visuals, images and has the ability to change the entire feel and look of a scene, depending on the story. He expertly changes the framing, the way the camera moves, depending on the feel. He's a very, very good director."

"I've been in three of the four he's directed and every one has been completely different. The Modern Prometheus even differs within itself as it changes from the flash back to present. Flash backs are soft; present is very jerky, very 'rock video'. Adrian works extremely hard and he doesn't ask of anybody anything that he doesn't ask of himself. He's harder on himself than anybody else."

Peter occasionally has to tell him when he's pushing too hard; but very occasionally. Adrian would then get what Peter called Adrian's "somebody just ran over my puppy dog" look, then you would just have to say "No". (Peter obviously enjoys working with Adrian and was very complimentary of Adrian, Ken Gord and Highlander generally in terms of its creative freedom.)

On colors in Revelation 6:8

Adrian wanted Revelation 6:8 to get darker and darker as apocalypse approaches. There were only two colors in the episode: Cassandra's red pullover and the stained glass in the church. Adrian wanted a subliminal feel, not an 'in your face' approach.

Getting into the character and love of music

Peter spoke of using music that is particularly meaningful for him in order to emote himself into a scene ... of Revelations 6:8. Loves flute and sax but hasn't played for a long time. When asked if we would ever see a Methos/Joe jam session, he said that he love to jam with Jim Byrnes' band one day. He's done some 'roadie' work for Jim, carrying equipment etc, and loved it. Jim is an extremely good musician and Peter was particularly complimentary of Jim's bass player - "awesome". Peter said he'd be too embarrassed to jam with him and would need 2 years to prepare himself. He reminded us that the saxophone is particularly "hotel room unfriendly" and since he's only been home about two months in the last twelve months, he doesn't get much time to practice. His wish is for a sound-proof room!

Favorite actors

He enthused about Al Pacino, and Richard Burton particularly. Burton's work in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and Cleopatra, and his ability to reach into the inner recesses and dark places of his soul and bring those to life on the screen. He felt that even though Pacino has done some average films, he was and is always outstanding and has that ability to find that something special within the character. "He's become less a caricature of himself. He's always honest."

On writing and directing

He finds writing therapeutic and would like to find the time to write up a screenplay of a piece of work done by a friend in the UK, and he would also like to direct this particular piece, but apart from that has no particular aspirations in this regard.

On his most satisfying roles

He always looks for variety in his roles and spoke of a recent drama in which he was a Welsh poet - very introspective, gentle. Peter added that the best thing about acting is that it gives you an opportunity to live different lives and this is like therapy.

On Methos and Amanda

Well, he hedged on this, but definitely saw possibilities (he said very tongue-in-cheek). "Elizabeth and I have spoken about this" ... "After all, Amanda's over 1,000 years old, and MacLeod's just a kid really!" Peter definitely gave an impression that Methos' extra experience might be worth Amanda's cultivating. He was forced to reveal, however, that he really had no idea what the writers were up to.

On creative freedom in Highlander

Peter was very enthusiastic about the amount of room to grow as an actor he is given in Highlander. In Highlander the telling of the story comes first and whilst he has no direct input into the writing, he is able to concentrate on the character and the story, rather than be directed or constrained in terms of the technicalities of where to stand, hitting the right location mark, etc. This creative freedom with developing and interpreting Methos means that the writers seem to keep picking up on new aspects and dimensions.

Originally Methos was due to be beheaded in Finale 2 but by then everybody realized that he was too interesting a character to let go and Peter's freedom to develop the character has resulted in the writers thinking differently as well. Listening to Peter talking left me with a strong impression that everything you read about the interactive/intuitive/symbiotic relationship between cast, crew and production people is absolutely true. Peter obviously thoroughly enjoys working on Highlander.

On Methos

Peter finds Methos a "most interesting" character and said that despite all we've seen concerning him, there is still nothing in there, one way or another, about whether he's an all-round good guy, or the most devious son-of-a-bitch you've ever seen! Both readings are possible. This makes the character very interesting and exciting, both to act and to watch. "You think you know where you are with him, and then the ground is pulled out."

Whilst he would give Methos a beer he wouldn't turn his back on him and would definitely take his wallet with him to the toilet.

On Flashbacks

Peter would love to do an Egyptian flashback just for the fun they could have on location! He humored us with his effusiveness for also doing an Australian flashback, but I pointed out that with his coloring he would find it hard to keep a low profile amongst the Aboriginal Australians, who were the only known inhabitants until 1788.

On animals

We told Peter that we'd heard that horse-riding was not his particular forte, and he agreed. He said that for Comes A Horseman he used a technique of trying to get the horse to really like him; that if the horse had to have anybody on his back, he'd rather have Peter! This was the theory anyway, right up until the day of filming, when they gave him a different horse! Valentine (Kronos) is a very skilful rider and his horse kept spooking Peter's. But it was all fun.

On sword fighting

Peter was effusive concerning F. Braun Ash's skills, "very, very scary!". He said that not only is he highly technically competent, but that he is also a consummate choreographer and will always find just the right moves and techniques (scenes within scenes ... layers upon layers) to integrate the action sequences so that they're an integral part of the story.

On Kronos and those chains

When asked to further enlighten the audience on just what Kronos was doing with those chains in Comes A Horseman, Peter, laughing, said he really had no idea except that, like all actors, he had to do something with his hands! "Why do you think we all spend so much time with our hands in our pockets?" "I thought the chains were a little camp, frankly," he laughed.

On Methos' just meeting Cassandra in the Dojo

Peter was asked to clarify Methos' ambiguous response to Cassandra, ie: "It wasn't me!" Did he mean, or could he have meant that Methos was saying, "That isn't who I am today." Peter laughed and said, "It was a straight-forward, non-complicated, lie. He's just bumped into someone from his past whom he hadn't planned on running into, and he says anything just to get out of there. He's just lying."

Well ... so much for ambiguity, eh!

On Comes a Horseman and Revelation 6:8

Peter said that he was thrilled when he read these scripts and saw what they'd done with Methos and MacLeod. The episodes are multi-layered and he felt that they'd offered him a very challenging and stimulating opportunity to develop his own acting skills as well as the character he is portraying.

In summary

Wow! Can you believe all the above in just thirty minutes!! Peter was very relaxed and gracious. He was patient and humorous with our initial technical difficulties. (Picture, dear Reader, sixty people rushing as one amoeba-like blob, hands cupping ears, from one speaker at the front of the room to one speaker at the back of the room, and all without a sound so we wouldn't miss one word!) Fortunately, the equipment sorted itself out early (thanks to Peter Budd!! Sonja).

He was genial, humorous, engaging, intelligent, and we all had a ball.

What is it about this show that spawns such great characters, actors ... and we fans of course!