411Mania Inteviews: Joel Gretsch
Posted by Al Norton on 11.02.2009
411's Al Norton sits down for an exclusive interview with Joel Gretsch, star of the new ABC series V
Joel Gretsch is best known for his starring as Tom Baldwin on USA's Emmy nominated series The 4400 and while he has done quite a bit of television (Taken, Journeyman, United States of Tara), he has had some notable roles on the big screen as well (National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Bagger Vance, Minority Report). He currently stars in ABC's V, premiering tomorrow night at 8 pm.
Al Norton: How familiar with the original V were you before you took the job?
Joel Gretsch: I saw some of it but I wasn't all that familiar with it. A lot of it freaked me out so back then I didn't want to watch the whole thing. I was sort of familiar with it.
Al Norton: Any temptation at all to go back and watch?
Joel Gretsch: You know I am in the midst of the re-imagined version so not right not but maybe sometime I'll go back and take a look. I am somewhat fascinated by it. What they did back then was genius; it resonated with so many people. The amount of fans from the original is incredible, and that they're still so passionate about it shows that they really tapped into something.
Al Norton: What drew you to your character?
Joel Gretsch: You don't really see a Priest in such a pronounced part on a TV show that often. He's man of faith – his whole life is faith – and then these V's show up and that throws him. You see in the pilot he's having a hard time reconciling how aliens and God can co-exist. There is nothing in the scriptures about it and there is a lot of conflict over that. Also, he's been told by the Vatican that they're all God's creatures and that he should be accepting of the V's but he's a skeptic, something he is not used to being at all. There is a lot of conflict going on inside him which makes him a great character.
Al Norton: Did you have any hesitation at all about doing another science fiction series?
Joel Gretsch: No, I really didn't. Somebody asked me about being a genre guy as far as acting roles but I don't think of that way at all. I think it's really strong storytelling. The great thing about sci-fi is that it has both, it has sci-fi and it has characters with very human wants and needs. With good sci-fi you have that interesting duality. It's great storytelling. Sci-fi makes you think, "what if"? "What if this happened?", and you have to think about it, and I love that ride.
Did I have any trepidation? No, I was more excited about it because Scott Peters did The 4400 and he's also running the ship on this one and I am obviously familiar with how great Scott is. I knew I was going to be in really good hands and a lot of time us actors, when we get jobs, we don't know who we'll be working with. This situation was ideal.
Al Norton: Plus sci-fi may be the single most loyal fan base there is.
Joel Gretsch: That is true. The fans are extraordinary. The passion is really quite something. I've never had that passion about watching something and it's amazing to see.
Al Norton: You were in high demand for the conventions even before V, let alone now. Is that something you've done before?
Joel Gretsch: Other than doing Comic-Con with the whole group I did one in London with Jackie McKenzie from The 4400. I had never been to London before and she and I had so much fun. The fans were great and I got to see London. It was terrific.
Al Norton: In The 4400, and V, and Bagger Vance you play very strong, moral characters, and in Taken and in those couple of 4400 episodes where you were evil Tom you seemed to have some real fun with those more villainous roles. Do you have a preference as to what types of people you play?
Joel Gretsch: I used to always love evil characters (laughing). There is a certain liberty, a certain sense of freedom to do anything you want because the characters are so sinister. Playing roles like that can be fun because it's an exaggerated version of how l think people are in real life, that there is more than meets the eye. People say nice things to your face but what are they really thinking and doing. Those things define us more than what we say and as people we are all complex. I think most actors will tell you that playing bad guys is more fun.
I have found recently that there is real level of complexity to playing someone who is well intended. I used to think more evil but I have to say I am really enjoying playing a Priest who has the best of intentions.
Al Norton: I've got to ask – what are your thoughts on the concept of other intelligent life in the universe?
Joel Gretsch: I remember when the movie Contact came out and Jodie Foster's character says, "if there isn't other life out there it would be a real waste of space" and I really agree with that. If you listen to astronomers and to scientists who have gone into space and they talk about how vast it is and how minute we are. We can get obsessed with the minutia of life, with the most ridiculous of things, and if you just look up you can see there is whole bigger story there. There just has to be life out there. And we're finding water on different planets so there is starting to be some science to it, too. It's pretty narcissistic of us to think we're the only ones in the universe.
Al Norton: Has being a Dad affected any of your choices? Maybe roles you would have taken before that you wouldn't now?
Joel Gretsch: Not really. I think it's informed me as an actor, that's for sure. I don't know that it's stopped me from taking any roles although there are some things I wouldn't let them see (laughing).
Al Norton: The huge promotional push that ABC is putting behind V must feel great to the cast and crew.
Joel Gretsch: It's fantastic. One of the great things as an actor when you're working really, really hard is that it's nice to have people able to see your work. ABC and Warner Brothers have been amazing getting behind the show because they know it's something special. We know it, too. We knew it the first day on the set. To be taken care of that way is really a nice vote of confidence that tells us they feel as strongly about it as we do. It's a really good show and we're going to entertain a lot of people.
Al Norton: Fans of the original are going to tune in, as are folks who consider themselves science-fiction fans, but give me a few reasons why people who might not think this would be their type of show would want to give it a try?
Joel Gretsch: It's routed in character driven stuff, sci-fi is just the backdrop. It's got that duality – it's not one or the other – and I think it will hit a chord with all of us. It's post-9/11 and the world has changed. People's guards are up so much more; who are the people around you and what do they want? The show is definitely routed in present time.
It's also so much about relationship conflict. There is a whole story about the character of Erica, who is a single Mom who works and she's trying to find out how to find the time to spend with her family while doing her job. The question of what ramifications does working too much have on your kids is something that everyone can relate to. That's just the one story but you can go across the board with all the characters; the arrival of the V's makes them look at what they were doing with their lives before. We've got an ensemble cast that does a terrific job with that.
Don't miss the series premiere of V, Tuesday at 8 pm on ABC.
