Hal-Con 2012 Q&A with Brian Downey

What an absolute delight it was to meet Brian Downey who played Stanley H. Tweedle on Lexx. One thing we had to know was about the early use of CGI in a TV show that started in 1997, way before other shows started using it. Not just that, the entire show was pretty much filmed with CG. He replied:

"There was more CG in Lexx than an entire season of other shows."

Not only that, the longer the show went on, the CG got more intensive over a time. The show began taking six months a season and later on it was more like a month per hour.



I was happy to see Lexx represented at the con with these original costumes on display for sale. One of them was almost entirely made of non-slip rubber matts!



It is clear just how much Brian loved being a part of Lexx. When asked what his favourite moment being on the show was he answered:

"My favourite moment? Was going to work every day."

Although perhaps not the day he had to jump into fish batter. He was supposed to sink but the batter kept pushing him to the surface. He eventually had to hold on to a bar at the bottom of the vat to keep from floating. He ended up with lumps of glue in his ear!



I was so excited to get my photo taken with Brian and have a chance to speak with him a little about Haven. During the Q&A he had said that a good crew was essential and if you are not part of the team, you might not get hired again. Which sounded awfully familiar. In fact, John Dunsworth had said a similar comment. No tolerance for troublemakers, I love it.

Brian also revealed that after playing Sal Fortuna on the episode Resurfacing (which happens to be one of my favourites), it aired while he was driving back home to Newfoundland! What a difference from Lexx. Amazing.

Lexx was a very racy show which kind of always kept me from falling completely in love with it. I was so relieved to hear Brian say that any inappropriate behaviour around the actors was not tolerated for one second. So now I can fall in love with Lexx completely.


The Disappeared



I was absolutely engaged when Brian talked about the film The Disappeared. A story about six guys, the ocean and the sky with no score. He said it was the last movie to use film, the last movie to be film processed.

When he described what the weather conditions were like, it sounds like they were hit with just about everything Mother Nature could throw their way. Going from scorching heat to snow. It does not appear to be paranormal but I must admit, in this case, I don't care. It sounds like an absolutely compelling story and Shannon, I know you love all ocean movies! I think we are going to have to watch this one.

Brian was an absolute delight and quite the card. A fascinating human being and totally down to earth. It was an honour to meet him.