From Dreamwatch 42
March 1998
An interview with Ted Raimi
Many thanks to Earl Brown for the following transcript and scans
From Dreamwatch 42
March 1998
An interview with Ted Raimi
Joxers Rap
One of Xena's most faithful cohorts is the ever well meaning Joxer, whose escapades seem to land her in increasing amounts of trouble. Jim Boutillier chats with TED RAIMI about sparring with the Warrior Princess...
"IT'S ACTUALLY THE MOST FUN I ever had doing television--the most fun!"
So exclaims television and film actor Ted Raimi. Best known for his role in the action thriller PATRIOT GAMES, and his portrayal of Lt. O'Neil on SEAQUEST DSV, Raimi is on a wave of success with his most recent role on the fantasy/adventure series XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS, and is more than willing to talk about the fun he's been having.
What started out as a spin-off series is now a popular action-packed adventure in it's own right. "XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS is a spin-off of HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS," Raimi explains. "It takes place in the time of Greek gods and swords, bad guys, kings and terrible tragedies. Xena is this hero who comes to, basically, right a lot of wrongs. She used to be a bad person - she used to sack villages and kill people - but now she's on the side of good.
In the show Raimi comes back to comedy, a genre he's always enjoyed, with his recurring role as Joxer, who Raimi laughingly refers to as "Jockster the Magnificent!" , a wanna-be warrior. "He' thinks he's a great swordfighter but he's really the worst warrior that ever was!"
Luck played a heavy part in Raimi's casting. "I was actually at Universal auditioning for something else and Rob [producer Robert Tapert] stopped me and said 'Hey! I got a part for you, do you want to do it? It's in New Zealand, you play a sword fighter'," and as Raimi admits, "Having no work at the time, I said 'Okay, yeah sure.'" Once he got to New Zealand the producers liked him, and so, "I stuck with that!"
He had gone to Universal to audition for a comedy about two advertising executives, DAVID AND DAVID. He laughs and agrees that he made the right choice: "I like to be very big and very silly, and this character allows me to do that."
What is it like working with such talented and beautiful women as Lucy Lawless & Reneé O'Connor? "That's a refreshing thing," Raimi admits. He laughs and says, "It's nice that they happen to be women..." quickly adding, "...because all the shows I've worked on, most [of the cast] have been men. Besides the fact that you have lines with girls, nothing is different. Someone's a good actor or they're not -- that's the bottom line."
Raimi is the first to say that relations between the cast couldn't be better: "I've been very lucky. They're all wonderful. Lucy is a charming lady and so is Reneé . It's a joy working on that show!"
Not only does he praise the talents of the cast, but in all modesty, he downplays his own role on the show: "I'm just trying, every time I go on set, to make Joxer as clever and as amusing as I can. What's important to remember, and a lot of actors forget this, is that the show is not about Joxer, not about me, it's about Lucy Lawless, and I have to do everything I can to support the story, to support her part in it."
What does Ted Raimi feel that he can particularly bring to the part? "Well, Joxer's a recurring character. Recurring characters don't develop that much, as a rule."
Recurring characters may not become the leads, but Raimi, and his alter-ego, are definitely being put through their paces in this fast-paced adventure. "l'm not much of a physical guy, but in this case, I'm doing all that I can!" Raimi comments about the rigours of his new role.
Just being able to get out of a chair makes a welcome change. "Oh! It's nice being able to walk around. Boy! In SEAQUEST I didn't get up at all." This is emphatically not the case on XENA: "NOW, I'm running around with heavy armour and wielding swords -- it's quite a big difference."
Presumably this means we can expect to see a more healthy and fit Raimi for a while to come? "Either that or it will kill me!'' he laughs.
"They basically pay me to throw a sword above my head and yell 'Run!"' Raimi screams, nailing an imaginary sword in the air. Smiling, he adds, "How can you not like that?"
Although he has been exposed to a healthy measure of success, starting out was rough for the actor, with no overnight fame. "I've never had a breakthrough. It was a slow osmosis of myself on the screen and TV."
Though his fans are quick to attest to his talent, the actor shrugs it off: "oh, I think it's like blind luck, pretty much. It's like any other job. When you start to work you want to basically keep working. Acting was just something I felt I had a talent for that I could make money at. That was really it. I think that I've got something that they're interested in and I try to deliver it as best I can."
With the Harrison Ford action-thriller PATRIOT GAMES and the comic-book villainy of DARKMAN among his film credits, Raimi is clearly pleasing someone. So what compels him to pursue film roles? "The medium is more artistic and there's a great deal more freedom to make pictures than there is in television,"
The difference between television and film, he feels, is, in television one must consider the future direction and concept of the show However, in film the only concern is, "Is the script itself fascinating? In movies whatever's in the script is going to be up on the screen. In film you have more time and so the quality of movies' acting is generally gonna be better than television."
Raimi admits that he would rather concentrate on film for the future, although that's not to say he doesn't enjoy the value of television. "I like anything that has good writing in it. If the writing's good I really want to get in there and do it."
Would Raimi agree that a television career can harm a film career? He doesn't, as a rule. However, "there is a stigma attached to television. If you're a television actor, you're [considered] kind of not in the same acting calibre class as you are in film. It's generally considered a little cheaper. You certainly don't have the time in television to really explore a scene as best you might."
Raimi doesn't believe that being a film actor gives you free passage to television either, but that it, "....shows the producers of the TV show that your not a klutz, that you know how to hit your mark, say your lines and you know set etiquette."
It was on the heels of PATRIOT GAMES that Raimi landed his role on SEAQUEST. "I was in a lull in my career. There wasn't much happening in Hollywood either. They called me to read for it you know, and I was excited to have anything to read for" It only took two interviews for him to be cast, whereas it usually takes an actor five to six meetings: "I went to the director and then I went to read for the producers and I was cast on the basis of that."
In SEAQUEST, Raimi played communications officer Lt. O'Neil, a character he is pleased with. "That was a fun show to do. I think the producers took him to good places."
What does Raimi consider makes good characters? "If they're well written and well conceived, then they are able to go in many different directions. Initially that's my criterion and in this case it was met."
Despite a couple of makeovers, SEAQUEST was canceled, "The show had never really found a voice, it changed from season to season," Raimi explains. "As a result, you can't build a base of viewers." In the end, "...each show was so different that we lost a lot of viewers.''
XENA has brought Raimi a lot of attention, and he is generous to a fault with the fans. "A lot of actors, they forget what they are doing. Your job is to please other people. The fans aren't there to buy your picture, they're there to see you. I'm happy to do that for them it's the least I can do!"
As Raimi points out, it's the fans that make and keep a show running. "[The producers] decided to give Lucy Lawless her own show because so many letters came in." So, what would make Ted Raimi happy as an actor? "If I could do one good movie a year I'll be happy." He quotes an acting instructor who said, 'Love the art in yourself, not yourself in the art, with his own slant: "You're a performer, when you get right down to it!"
DREAMWATCH ONLINE: http://www.dreamwatch.co.uk