Nice Boy of the Week: Nelson Lee

We felt that this week’s Nice Boy should be Nelson Lee, due to the fact that Louise actually spoke with him, and found out for a fact that he is a Nice Boy. Born in Taiwan, and raised in Canada, Lee is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the University of Toronto. You’ve seen him in shows such as Law & Order:SVU, Oz, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Blade: The Series. He recently starred in the Fox pilot Virtuality, playing Kenji Yamamoto.

A huge fan of the creative team behind the project, and of the science fiction genre in general, Nelson brought a sense of reality to the role, giving his character rich sense of history.

Beyond that, he had two of the Nice Girls laughing as we conducted a brief interview before that screening. It quickly devolved into giggles as the double entendres started coming out about how the crew might be forced to interact. A note to all the male actors out there–make a Nice Girl laugh and you’ll have an in for Nice Boy of the Week.

NGTV Guide: Friday, June 26

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s a little movie called Virtuality airing tonight.

Virtuality – Fox 8/7c
A spaceship from Earth is equipped with a virtual-reality device to help those aboard cope with their 10-year mission. But when the system malfunctions, it puts the Phaeton’s crew—and the fate of their planet—in jeopardy. Pike: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Parsons: Clea DuVall. Goddard: Sienna Guillory. Directed by Peter Berg. Read Rueben’s review here, and catch up with the cast with Louise here.

The Journey Into Virtuality

The Journey into Virtuality is one of lush, green fields, breaking away to two Yankee soldiers from the Civil War peering over a hillside into a Confederate campsite. The dialogue is hushed as the two softly move toward their small band of soldiers, who are ready to advance against their Southern enemies. Before they climb aboard their steeds and proceed against their foes, the commander is surprised to see an unfamiliar face within the ranks. There is no time to account for this unknown presence, as their attack on their foes is eminent. They ride toward the impending battle, but quickly realize it is nothing more than a trap set to ensnare them. As the commander watches one after another of his men shot down, he speaks to “Jean” – an unseen entity – to stop the playback and the action – save for him – is frozen in time, except for the unfamiliar face within his “regiment”. That ‘man’ advances toward the commander and shoots him at close range. As you see the commander gasps his finally breaths, you are transported back to his actual body abroad what appears to be a spaceship. The commander removes a set of virtual reality module glasses and speaks to Jean, the ship’s onboard computer. This is when you realize you aren’t in Kansas anymore, Toto, and this 2-hour movie (as touted by FOX) isn’t going to be your grandfather’s kind of science fiction story.

Virtuality, the latest sci-fi vehicle by FOX, is the creation of Battlestar Galactica impresario Ronald D. Moore and writer/producer Michael Taylor set aboard the Phaeton, Earth’s first starship, which is on a ten-year journey to explore a distant planetary system. The team on the Phaeton is comprised of Commander Frank Pike (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – New Amsterdam), Jimmy Johnson (Ritchie Coster – The Dark Knight), Rika Goddard (Sienna Guillory – Eragon and Inkheart), Sue Parsons (Clea DuVall – Carnivale and Heroes), Dr. Roger Fallon (James D’Arcy – An American Haunting), Dr. Adin Meyer (Omar Metwally – Munich), Manny Rodriguez (Jose Pablo Cantillo – Standoff), Valentin “Val” Orlovsky (newcomer Gene Farber), Kenji Yamamoto (Nelson Lee – Blade: The Series), Alice Thibadeau (Joy Bryant – Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins), Dr. Julius “Jules” Braun (Erik Jensen – CSI and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2) and Billie Kashmiri (newcomer Kerry Bishé).

Each member of this 12 astronaut team has a unique specialty that is the key to their very survival. Commander Pike has the astronomical task of being in charge of the starship, overseeing the entire crew and making sure they complete their years-long mission for the Consortium, the earthbound business which is offsetting the cost of the expedition. His second-in-command, Engineer Jimmy Johnson, who is a quadriplegic, and Pilot Sue Parsons (a former Marine) are in charge of making sure they get to their destination Epsilon Endiari.

Botanist and Microbial Exobiologist Rika Goddard oversees the elaborate greenhouse aboard the starship and her husband Dr. Roger Fallon is the Psych Officer (Psychiatrist) and Reality Show Producer (more on this aspect of the show is to follow). Also on hand are Computer Scientist and Reality Show Host Billie Kashmiri, Astrophysicists (and married couple) Kenji Yamamoto and Alice Thibadeau, who have decided to forego having children while on the mission (this decision plays out within the 2-hours); Medical Doctor Dr. Adin Meyer, who has, what could be a devastating ailment, that will greatly affect not only himself but the entire crew and Dr. Julius “Jules” Braun, the mastermind behind every last inch of the Phaeton starship. Rounding out the remainder of the crew are married couple Manny Rodriguez, a mathematician, and Valentin “Val” Orlovsky, a geologist.

Their work, as you can imagine, is very intense and vital, as Earth – as it is known in their time period – is on the brink of disaster with storms and plagues wrecking havoc. Their mission will essentially end up being one of finding a new home for all of mankind. The twist to their tale are the ever-present cameras scattered throughout the ship, as the

Consortium has turned their exploration in space into a reality series that is viewed by an average of 5 billion viewers every week on the future version of the FOX network (irony is not a lost art where the network is concerned). To find a reprieve from all the cameras, the crew often escapes into their “virtual reality” headsets (or virt mods as they are called), which allows them to interact – sometimes in surprising ways – in fantastical settings. But there seems to be a problem within the computer software (a virus in the form of “the green-eyed man – played by Jimmi Simpson – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) that supports the virt mods. Neither Computer Scientist Billie nor the onboard computer Jean are able to subdue or correct this anomaly, and in lays one of the major obstacles to the crew.

Deftly directed by Peter Berg, this 2-hour movie is a unique combination of Star Trek, Doctor Who and Firefly. Virtuality will air on FOX tonight (June 26) from 9 to 11 p.m. (8 to 10/CT). Watch and judge for yourself.

Chatting With The Cast of Virtuality

Before a screening of Fox’s newest television movie (or back-door pilot as Michael Taylor hopes it will be), Virtuality, NiceGirlsTV had a chance to talk to a few of the cast about the project, how they came to this project and some general questions about the genre.

First up was Eric Jensen, who plays Dr. Julius “Jules” Braun, the ship’s designer. Faced with the potential end of all of Earth, he explained that the show centers around twelve astronauts who are on a mission to save the planet. On a ten-year mission, the ship’s crew must rely on virtual reality modules to help alleviate the stress.

Jensen thought this show, unlike some other science fiction shows, “isn’t about the things that go bump in the night…I believe this show, like great science fiction, isn’t about outer space, but inner space.” These personal demons, he went on, are what drives this movie—how we deal with personal trauma, both created before and during the show, came through after watching it.

Braun, he went on to say, is “an agent of order”—the one in charge of keeping the ship running, while Dr. Jimmi Johnson, played by Ritchie Coster, is “an agent of chaos.” However, it became apparent after viewing, that those roles can be easily reversed between these characters.

Next up was Nelson Lee, who plays astro-biologist Kenji Yamamato. Yamamato, married to another crewmember, Alice Thibadeau, has an interesting relationship—all explained and developed outside of the script. Lee talked about the ways in which Taylor allowed the crew to work outside of the script in order to flush out their personalities. The details given about Kenji included being estranged from his parents, long before marrying his African-American wife, even though none of the specifics were seen.

Drawn to the project by the creative team and the premise, he found that some of the most rewarding parts of filming were also the hardest—the block shooting. He also cited director Peter Berg’s influence as one of the rewarding aspects of the shoot.

Following Lee, Jose Pablo Cantillo jokingly refused to describe his character in under twenty seconds, after finding out that we here are a little snarky. Happily, he went on to say that Manny Rodriguez “is a mathematician who specializes in string theory,” before going into less germane facts. In case you were wondering, Manny’s a Pisces, which then devolved into a conversation about the changes in astrological signs, which then went into a discussion about his race changing with that same shift.

He came to the project because of his previous work on Fox, as well as a need to balance out his acting chops after playing a Shield-like character. Finding the role to be more like himself than some of his other roles, he had little to hide behind, “pulling off his own layers.”

Sienna Guillory came up during this interview, as Cantillo was bemoaning the very tight space suits they each had to wear.

After Cantillo left, Guillory chatted about her character. For Rika Goodard, the ten year mission finds her in a loveless marriage to the ship’s psychiatrist, using the virtual reality to roleplay what she truly wants out of her life. Submissive around her husband, she’s dominant in the reality she creates each time—even with additional parameters.

Guillory believed that Goodard would be happier with her plants and test tubes than with her husband—a point made very clear by her interactions with another member of the crew (tune in to find out which one).

Describing her character as an over-sexed sexually repressed woman, she found that some of the duality allowed Goodard “to be confident in some areas” and not in others. Because of that duality, Guillory found herself thinking more about her character and writing things down in which to better explain the role.

Unlike Guillory’s Rida Goodard, Clea DuVall’s Sue Parsons shows off her strength without the help of her virtual reality. The ship’s pilot, and self-described “bad-ass”, Parsons, DuVall explained, has had to go through many hoops to get to her position. One of those obstacles was easy to see as the movie progressed.

After a horrible audition, she came back into the process and finally landed the role, unlike any of the other cast members interviewed. Unlike some of her previous roles, she found Parsons to have more humor than her previous work. When asked about her favorite science fiction show, Duvall promptly said The X Files, but after getting into the acting profession, she was unable to work on that show.

DuVall enjoyed the block shooting that was employed by Berg, but was also very relieved not to have to wear one of the tight fitting space suits.

Last up for the evening was Gene Farber, who plays Val Orlovsky, the lone geologist on the ship. Before entering into a conversation about his character there were a few funny moments, most of which overshadowed the actual content of the interview.

Farber has had the most attention due to his character’s homosexuality, which he chose not to approach any differently than any other role. As for a difficult shooting moment, he found one of the moments in the climax most difficult, in part because the scene had to be shot without the air running on the stage, and in part because of the nature of the scene.

Before entering the screening, it became clear that the cast and creative team all have a vision for what Virtuality could be as a series. Virtuality airs tonight on Fox at 8/7c.