*** Michael (MichaelMcManus@npfl.zpyz.ztlb.tmdq.this.chat.server) has joined #auditorium

LOTSA HI MICHAELS...
[ Moderator ] We'll be starting in 2 minutes... So I'll close the floor now
*** Moderator sets mode: +m
*** Moderator sets mode: +v Moderator
*** Moderator sets mode: +v Michael
[ Moderator ] Michael... are yoy there?
[ Michael ] tup
[ Michael ] yup
[ Moderator ] Cool
[ Michael ] very
[ Moderator ] Hi everybody I'm your Moderator Ben Trumble and I want to welcomeyou all to SCI FI's very special chat this evening with actor Michael McManus, Lexx's Kai, the last of the Brunnen-G.. Before joining Lexx Michael appeared in the critically-acclaimed film Thye Squamish Five, and his performance in Atom Egoyen's Speaking Parts won him a Genie Award nomination for Best Actor.
[ Michael ] in toronto

[ Moderator ] Brief word about the drill - This Is A Moderated Chat -- please send your questions for our guest to me, Moderator, as private messages. (To send a private message, either double-click on my name or type "/msg Moderator" on the command line - only without the quotes.) Because of the popularity of this chat, we would like to ask that each of you send only one question. I'm sure that Michael will answer asa many as he can in our hour.

[ Moderator ] First question...
[ Moderator ] [Indigo]: MM: Do you find it frustrating when people want you, the actor, to be like Kai; only living?
[ Michael ] no
[ Moderator ] Hmmm...long answers!

[ Moderator ] [B5Mage22]: Is there anything you'd specifically like to see happen with Kai?
[ Michael ] oh
[ Michael ] at the end of the series....???--i would like to drift off into a black hole and never be heard from again.
[ Moderator ] Michael. At the end of answer could you type GA ...for Go Ahead... Here's another
[ Moderator ] [Catarina]: Hey, Michael. Good to see you. I was just wondering, what do you want for Christmas? It's most creative one I could come up with. Later.
[ Michael ] ok.ga
[ Moderator ] Did you get that last question?
[ Michael ] i want...god....i want...gosh I've been GOOD this year, so--
[ Michael ] i'll say that I want lexx to be starting at least by then
[ Michael ] or a porsche. ga
* Bouncer uses dried komodo dragon as nail file ...
[ Moderator ] Avery politic answer :)

[ Moderator ] [WhiteTiger]: Michael... you said once in an interview being in front of a camera was uncomfortable, as opposed to theater. In what way is it uncomfortable?
[ Michael ] I find my comfort zone performing in front of at least 600 people and there are rarely that many in a film crew. ga

[ Moderator ] [Pandora]: Good evening and thanks so much for joining us, Mr. McManus. My question (one of many ) is "How did you first prepare for playing Kai in Series 1? Did this preparation change any for Series 2 and 3?"
[ Michael ] Ah. well, i dressed for three or four shooting days before I shot the scene with thodin.

* Bouncer croaks "Send flooding complaints to me."
[ Michael ] by the time i shot the scene i was so happy to be strutting my stuff and of course I had to hide it being kai, and that sort became the basis of something that has continued to be more or less of a pleasure to do except on bad wig days. ga

[ Moderator ] [Astartae]: Please, please ask my question so I can faint away into a bliss... "How has playing Kai changed your life? For better or worse?"
[ Michael ] playing kai gave me a chance to catch up on many overdue bills....
[ Michael ] and the travel has been wonderful, ie berlin shooting terms....

[ Moderator ] ready for another one?
[ Michael ] on the down side, i have to a certain extent in the role become somewhat boring even to my slef during the 14 or longer hour days, and that is a serious hazzard but when I think of my bank account it helps me to overcome that little problem
[ Michael ] ga

[ Moderator ] [lunatic]: Hello Michael, did you have as much fun and challenge playing the "live Kai" in Gondola as you did playing psycho Kai in WTD?
[ Michael ] "live kai" --PRINCE, was very controversial on the set, but the kyodo skills that I learnt rather well and quickly will be always with me.
[ Michael ] the costume tended to fall aff every three or four minutes and that was a drag. ga

[ Moderator ] Michael several people want to know about "Bad Wig Days?"
[ Michael ] have you ever had a bad hair day?.....
[ Michael ] multiply by a factor of 3
[ Michael ] ga

[ Moderator ] [Joanie]: Is it difficult to always play the "dead man" erm.... I mean the "straight man" in the series? That being said, have you ever just cracked up during a scene?
[ Moderator ] A reminder, we're chatting with Michael McManus, Lexx's Kai. This Is A Moderated Chat -- please send your questions for our guest to me, Moderator, as private messages. (To send a private message, either double-click on my name or type "/msg Moderator" on the command line - only without the quotes.)
[ Michael ] i think to myself when I am feeling the strain," how hard it must be to be stanley tweedle every day. ga

[ Moderator ] [kaisquared]: As many of the attempts to destroy you involve spectacular special effects,how do you keep the excellent non-emotional emotional responses in sync with the action?
[ Michael ] well, kai to the power of 2--my main film technique for this part is well suited to not changing a thing under any "normal " circumstances.
[ Michael ] think john wayne in outer space. ga

[ Moderator ] [Ariel]: hi....in which direction would you like to go from here as an actor? comedies, film, romance? If you had a variety of choices....
[ Michael ] WESTERNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ga

[ Moderator ] They're about due for a revival!
[ Moderator ] [Kari]: The US hasn't seen Series 3 yet :((( but I have seen pictures on fan web sites. Lex G. said in a recent interview that a certain Series 3 plotline was an excuse to get you naked. (We know better than to take the beans seriously, though.) Did you ever feel exploited?
[ Michael ] NOOOOOOOOO!
[ Michael ] FAAAAALSE!!!!
[ Michael ] He's just jealous because we're the same age and belive me, lg naked is not something I like to think about.
[ Michael ] it was a frankenstein reveal that I consider to be very daring and a completion of the tease that my character has become. ga

[ Moderator ] [MSunnynum1]: Hello, Michael. I understand you sing a bit. Have you ever done any stage plays w/musical content , or plan on doing any in the future, (if you find the time from Lexx , of course)?
[ Michael ] sing a bit is exactly what I do. and I have done a fistful of plays with music and even very recently a light opperetta written by my friend alan cole. ga

[ Moderator ] [Joanie]: In your opinion, what is it about your character that makes him so attractive to female viewers?
[ Michael ] my mother has five sisters, and they have been attracted to me since my birth. I assume it is the same alchemical thing. ga

[ Moderator ] Many people wonder if you were a fan of science fiction before Lexx
[ Moderator ] and if so, what?
[ Michael ] science fiction\romance has always been attractive to me
[ Michael ] however, pure science fiction no. ga

[ Moderator ] [gabriel]: gabriel wanted to thank you very much for doing this chat; i wondered if you could touch on your experience with Atom Egoyan?
[ Michael ] OH.
[ Michael ] I consider his films to be autuer driven works, and i approached working with him as an employee.
[ Michael ] it was a fine experience but the character is so effeminate that I have a hard time watching it and always have. ga

[ Moderator ] [Pandora]: Pan smiles... me again... I and many of my friends here at the SciFi/US BB really enjoyed "Wake the Dead" and "Twilight" since these episodes allowed Kai to be more of a dynamic character but did not compromise the basic premise (of him being dead, unemotional, etc.). Did you have any input into these episodes?
[ Michael ] sort of.
[ Michael ] after the eight original hours, the writers jh and lg were bemoaning the fact that my character wasn't "going anywhere".
[ Michael ] talking to them one night in berlin they were very aggressively trying to turn me into spock of whatver.
[ Michael ] but pd and I agree that the premise of unchanging and uncomprimised lack of motivation is more original and interesting and that the problem has to be dealt with in another way.
[ Michael ] at the end of this night, i suspect that they were 'forced' to resort to other means to develop an understanding of what kai IS]
[ Michael ] and the idea that an atmosphere or a technological mistake could turn the toasdter into a fridge is to my mind the correct and I agreee, very interesting solution.
[ Michael ] jh wrote wake the dead, lg wrote twilight! ga

[ Moderator ] A brief pause for station identification here at the halfway point. We're chatting with Michael McManus of Lexx. If you have a question send it to me Moderator as a private message
[ Moderator ] [LexxKaiCB]: Hello Michael, my name is Charmaine, thanks for being here tonight. What part have you enjoyed the most in your career?
[ Michael ] tom in glass menagerie, playing opposite martha henry as amanda. ga

[ Moderator ] It's hard to beat a Tennessee Williams part...
[ Moderator ][Xev]: Michael, you have a lot of fan web pages out there, for you as an actor, and the character Kai. Dose that bother you at all? Do you find it creepy that these people spend so much time createing something that just about you? Or do you think it's flattering?
[ Michael ] I think it would be flattering if offers were pouring in as a result of these pages, and the last I checked it was a free world and I was an actor in it.
[ Michael ] what do you think we're trying to do anyway? HIDE???? ga

[ Moderator ] [Akasha]: I would like to ask Michael if he has ever read a book in which there was a character he would like to play if ever it were made into a movie? If so, what book and character?
* Bouncer drinks Jell-O from cup made of human skulls. Lime Jell-O.
[ Michael ] the guy in "IN the skin af a lion" by ondatjii. ga

[ Moderator ] [Jennix]: hi michael, was it a different experience for you to shave off all your hair for K-town and Gondola??
[ Michael ]no, I'd done it already for speaking parts. I'm a pretty hairy guy. ga

[ Moderator ] Many people wonder what career you might have followed had you not becom,e an actor?
[ Michael ] i considered music, math, dance, liturature. ga

[ Moderator ] [BlackStormCloud]: Does Michael ever intend on bringing his considerable talents to New York theatre? For his New York fans?
[ Michael ] that's definitely easier said than done.....
[ Michael ] i got my union card an a show that didn't quite make it there. but as rats do, I also love NY! ga

[ Moderator ] Michael many people want to know how you got your start in acting? Where you studied?
[ Michael ] I consider my starting point performing with the st michael's choir.
[ Michael ] I went to that vocational school, then I did musicals in highschool and then when I discovered that I really couldn't do ANYTHING, i determined at the tender age of eighteeen to become an actor.
[ Michael ] ga

[ Moderator ] [HappyBunny]: My question: I've read that you've worked in the UK. Did you enjoy working here and have you any plans to work here again?
[ Michael ] I think workiong in the UK is marvellous the audience is so sophisticated and generous.
[ Michael ] I can't imagine myself setting in London again as I found it to be a little bit too english for me. ga

[ Moderator ][Kais]: Welcom Lord of th Lexxians.We've been asking each other for the past few hours so I think it time we asked you,whats YOUR favorite episode of Lexx, and why?
[ Michael ] I'm very attaqched to wake the dead because it was a perfect experience, by which I mean that me and jeff and paul fought a lot of opposition to make that happen.
[ Michael ] but my all time favourite, and I think it will last, is the number 4 movie because it really emotional developed everything that has to exist between kai and zev. ga

[ Moderator ] Many people want to know about the status of a 4th Season? Will it happen?
[ Moderator ] A reminder, we're chatting with Michael McManus, Lexx's Kai. This Is A Moderated Chat -- please send your questions for our guest to me, Moderator, as private messages. (To send a private message, either double-click on my name or type "/msg Moderator" on the command line - only without the quotes.)
[ Michael ] WELLL, the fine people at scifi are the determining factor, and they are dragging their heels, and I am no longer commited on option, as my option has expired and so if I should happen to luck into work before the powers that be make up their mindcs, then the lexx will be happening without ....me. ga

[ Moderator ] Another frequent question is whether you will be attending any LEXX conventions in the near future?
[ Michael ] I have no policy yet re lexx conventions, but if you are referring to the Un convention that is happening in august the answer is no. ga

[ Moderator ] [MissJean]: As a Brian Downey fan (aka StanFan) I must ask... Do you ever wish you had a role that combined the facial/vocal expressiveness with the chance to developp the character over such a long haul?
[ Michael ] I occasional get voice gymnastics envy, but then along comes an episode like tunnels, and the envy dissappears. ga

[ Moderator ] [strawberry72]: Michael if ever given the opportunity to write for lexx would you? What type of episode would you write?
[ Michael ] I would write three episodes, called kai stan zev.
[ Michael ] they would overlap and not make a stick of sense until you'd seen all three. ga

[ Moderator ] [Kari]: I want my friends to love Lexx as much as I do, but I can't get them to even watch it. I must be the worst Lexx ambassador ever. How would you describe Lexx to someone who'd never seen it?
[ Michael ] "you only have to test it for a minute and if you don't like it you probasbly never will". I have no problem with people not liking it because the pleasure of it is such that some and even many must hate it. like comic books from rene tremblay"
[ Michael ] ga
[ Michael ] (sorry)

[ Moderator ] [kris]: pretty please with cherries on top... hi micheal i was just wondering how you think Lexx differs from any program made in the United States?
[ Michael ] Ah, formula answer:
[ Michael ] lexx at bottom is negative about human potential, and america doesn't often go there especially when they have the utopic possibilities of science fiction in there grasp. ga

[ Moderator ] Kind audience...as hour is nearly over, please, no more questions...
[ Moderator ] [ozzie]: I know part of LEXX is filmed in Germany, so in short, do you speak much German?
[ Michael ] I have spent two years learning german and I give myself one more year to achieve fluency.
[ Michael ] if I can learn it in three years, next I'll take on SWEDISH! Ga
ATTENTION SWEDES!!!!!-----------------------------]

[ Moderator ] [Surio]: please, please surio what is it like working with zev?
* Bouncer thirsts for blood of flooders and pingers. And Lime Jell-O, in cups!
[ Michael ] working with both zev and xev, is always a fine pneumatic experience that most people will never have. ga

[ Moderator ] [Pyrrhus]: Hopefully at least this question will get through... Michael, how do you feel about the differences in Censorship between the US and Europe? Is there a lot of things we don't see that Lexxians overseas do?
[ Michael ] Well, in europe they are naturally much more afriad of violence than they are of the female body.
[ Michael ] in america people seem to think a nipple is a scandal.
[ Michael ] so I would have to say that in america things on lexx are a tiny bit more violent, and things in europe are just a bit sexier. ga

[ Moderator ] Michael, our hour is about over. You've been a wonderfully patient guest.
[ Moderator ] We always ask this question as a closer... What was the best advice you ever got as an aspiring actor? Advice you would pass on yo others?
[ Michael ] a drunk, and blousy woman in Fran's all night diner said to me at the end of a party when I was young,
[ Michael ] "You'll never make it!" stumbling, she left the party, she clearly had never made it. that is to me, wisdom of the ages. ga

[ Moderator ] Michael. Thanks for taking the time to join us! Any final comments before we let you make your escape and we open the floor?
[ Michael ] IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE, AND LET'S ALL DO IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR!!
[ Michael ] bye

[ Moderator ] Thanks again for chatting Michael.
[ Moderator ] Have a great night
[ Moderator ] We hope to see you again soon
*** Michael (MichaelMcManus@npfl.zpyz.ztlb.tmdq.this.chat.server) Quit ((signed off))
[ Moderator ] Bye
*** Moderator sets mode: -m

AND THE MAYHEM STARTS ANEW...