***This article appears in its entirety in issue #81 of THE ZOCALO Babylon 5 online newsletter.
"I really didn't take Babylon 5 seriously at first. I figured, 'Syndicated SF show, we'd be lucky to last a season or two as most do, or my character would get killed off.' I didn't know about the conventions, the loyal fan base, the opportunities for travel that B5 opened up for me. I thought, 'Film this show in LA until May -- didn't want to spend the winter in NY anyway -- take the money and head back to NY, do some rep theater.' Things turned out slightly different from my initial plans."
On the difference between playing a recurring role and guest-starring:
"You don't get to know a character as well as you do with a regular role. You're with a character for five years and you read some dialog that someone says Dr. Franklin would say and it doesn't ring true ... the alarm really goes off. When you're a guest star you don't have the ability ... you take the words, create the character and just kind of fly by night. There's a good and a bad to that... In a guest-starring role you're willing to take more risks. You're flying blind so there's more opportunity for things to happen. The bad is that you don't get to know the character as well ... be comfortable in his shoes, as I am with Dr. Franklin. I really feel at home in that Medlab, I really feel like a doctor because I've put myself in that position for so many years."How much of Richard Biggs is in the character of Dr. Franklin? "Dr. Franklin is extremes. He's extremely dedicated, extremely self- disiplined, very hard on himself, he's the best there is. I'm not as extreme ... not a workaholic like the doctor. I don't have to be right all the time. I don't tie my self-esteem to my work like Stephen does. I try to have a little balance in my life. I have a personal life, Dr. Franklin doesn't. As for similarities ... we aren't that similar. He's always very serious, I like to joke around, have some fun. I'd have to sit a while and think if we have any similarities. I'm always noticing the differences."
Does Joe Straczynski tell the actors how to deliver their lines in crucial scenes? "Joe pretty much lets us interperet the script. There are times when I've got some self-doubt about a scene -- especially when he makes me stretch emotionally, verbally. When he gives me a challenge I tend to go into his office and tell him how I see the scene playing out and try to get some feedback from his side -- how he wants it to go. He never comes right out and says, "This is the way I want it." He tries to leave that to the actors."
Differences and similarities playing a 23rd-century
doctor vs. a 20th- century doctor? "The similarities are you're a healer ... your number one
focus is to heal and fix the patient. The differences are you're dealing
with things that don't exist. You're dealing with aliens that don't exist
and ailiments that don’t exist, words that really don't exist. On "Days
of Our Lives" and "The Garry Shandling Show" I was dealing
with terminology that was real...it was difficult to say but I could define
it...look up the definition. Once I knew what the definition was then I
could remember and memorize it and understand it. The difficulty with the
information I get as Dr. Franklin is that the words don't really exist, the
definition doesn't exist except as something Joe or some other writer made
up. Therefore it's harder for me to memorize something because I can’t really
define it concretely. It's a word that doesn t really mean anything."
When Richard started playing the character of Dr. Franklin, he thought the
character was very together, with it, right on top of things. Always in control. By
the third season, BAM, drug addict. Did he do any research into addiction? "I
did a lot of reading. I hung out with a couple of people who had problems
with drug addiction. I tried to define it, get the definition of how people
felt who actually had that problem. I talked to counselors, sat in on meetings
with people who had the problem. I just did a lot of research, a lot of
reading. I wanted the addiction to be gradual...I didn’t want to hit anybody
over the head, I wanted it to be a secret that Dr. Franklin was trying to
keep. Because of how intelligent this character is, he would be able to keep
the secret for quite some time. I didn't want the audience saying, "Doesn't
so-and- so see that?". So it had to be a subtle change for the audience
so that they would believe that none of the characters could see any difference.
Then there were the times as the story moved forward that I had to slip and
be blatant with the stim use."
Do you watch your own work when it gets to the finished
episode? "Rarely. There
are episodes where I'm stretching, when I'm trying something new, I'm thinking, "Y'know,
this is not safe." I'm taking a risk, I’m trying something different...
Then I’ll try to watch it see if I got what I wanted to or if I fell on my
face."
Do you watch the dailies or the complete show? "I never watch the
dailies. I always rely on the director and me to work it out. Whatever
we do, there it is, y'know." Upcoming Franklin-heavy episodes? "The
next three episodes (starting with "Walkabout") are really going
to flesh the character out. You're really going to understand more about
the character and why he does what he does. He finds himself and why he
has this addiction and he calls himself on some of the bullcrap that he puts
out there for people to believe. What he hides behind. Joe really did a
great job of fleshing out the character. By the end of season three you
understand the doctor a little bit more. That's what I like about Joe. He
easily could of had me just be the doctor and he didn't allow that to happen. I
could have been the guy who comes in, says the medical stuff and leaves."
Is the family atmosphere still prevalent at Babylonian
Productions? "I've
never been on a show where everyone seems to be happy. And I think if a
spin-off ever happens, or a movie happens you’re going to see everyone go
right along with the new show. There's not going to be anyone that's unhappy. Which
very rarely happens on other shows. You've always got someone who's got a
gripe. "I want more screen time..." or whatever. It's quite
a feat for Joe to be juggling nine...ten characters and all of us are happy."
This concluded the private interview. Below are some excerpts from Richard's
Starcon stage talk.
What's the strangest question you've ever been asked
at a convention? "Strangest
question ...? In Boston, some lady asked me if I had ever been sexually
attracted to any of the aliens. I immediately asked for the next question."
A friend sent a convention report from Texas and that
got me wondering if "Rochelle" was
going to reclaim her title of Miss AggieCon in 1997? "Um, well, y'see,
Miss AggieCon was a beauty contest they were running at this convention and
I was supposed to judge it. I got carried away, competed in it and won! But
if I go back to that con, I’ll definitely try to reclaim my crown.”
What's the funniest thing that's happened on the Babylon 5 set? "We had a director, a cameraman, John Flinn III, who was directing an episode. At 12:30 in the afternoon, an hour before lunch, he pulls out a banana. Every day...like clockwork...12:30...pulls out a banana. So one day, Claudia brings 60 bananas and gives one to every person on the set. 12:30 ... the director pulls out his banana, 60 people pull out their bananas. He looks up and sees nothing but bananas... Jerry and Claudia will crack you up in any scene, no matter how dramatic or how serious. They are there to make us laugh."
Who do you like working with the most on Babylon 5? "I like to work with Mira and with Andreas. They are both serious and very focused actors. They are willing to risk, gamble, try new stuff. Great to work with."
Will they bring Franklin's father back into the storyline? "I don't know, but with Babylon 5 having broken away from the Earth Alliance and his dad being such a big in the EA, plus the conflict they've had in the past. I think that'd make a great story. I went to Joe with that idea and being the evasive guy he is, he shrugged his shoulders. I certainly would look forward to working with Paul (Winfield) again, he's a wonderful actor. I used to watch him as a kid and it was just great to have him on the set. I'd get to work early while he was there. Just kinda hang around and follow him around...ask him questions. He was like, "Get away...!" I hope they bring him back because I do like to work with him."