Crazy Freddie: KryptonSite Talks To Rob LaBelle
Interview By Craig Byrne - September 2003

Rob LaBelle played one of Smallville Season Two's most memorable characters -- the "cunning linguist" Dr. Frederick Walden, who was hired by Lex Luthor to uncover the secrets of the Kawatche caves. Of course, those who continued to watch saw Dr. Walden's role in the series change by the end of the season, until he met his apparent doom in "Calling."

You've probably seen LaBelle in many programs ranging from Star Trek: Voyager to Dark Angel and even that previous Superman show, Lois & Clark. Despite that Super connection, it had no bearing on his taking parts in that show and Smallville, even though LaBelle admits to having read comics when he was younger. "I was offered the role, which was really great," LaBelle says of the part of Walden, though he admits, "I was a DC Comic fan when I was a kid, so I read Superman, and Batman, and the Flash … I'm into Spider-Man a little bit now because my son is, and he got into Spider-Man, but I was into DC more than Marvel."

When taking the role of Dr. Walden, he knew he had at least two episodes to look forward to. "I knew that it was going to be two episodes. I wasn't sure what was going to happen once he went into the coma, it was sort of open-ended that, you know, at the end of that where Lex Luthor says the guy's brain is totally fried, but look at all that brain activity, something's really happening. If he wakes up, let me know, because I want to extract his information, so it was definitely left up in the air, and at that time, they hadn't been sure if he was going to be coming out or not."

Who was the biggest joy to work with? LaBelle tells an interesting story from the set: "The show in general was a joy to work with. The whole show was a joy to work on. It was a great cast, it was a great crew. You know, it was really, really a wonderful show to work on. I did a lot of my work with Michael Rosenbaum. A lot of my scenes with him, and I had a gas with him. He's a total kick. He's a great actor. You know, the scenes with him and John Glover were really wonderful, 'cause the two of them, to me, are extraordinary together. I mean, they're both really wonderful. But I had a lot of fun, and in fact, in the first episode, working with Tom, and Michael, and Allison, there was a scene in the cave, it was kind of his first scene, and these guys were all out there at first, and they started sort of cracking each other up, and they were really starting to laugh on set, and I had an entrance later on coming in, and they kept on coming backstage or off the set, 'hi, Rob, we're not normally like this, we're really professionals, don't worry about it,' and they went out there and they kept on going.

"Then I went out there and I got infected with the same thing they had, and we just started, you know, losing it quite a bit. I mean, it was really not a good thing, but meanwhile we're having a fun time, and these guys are the lead actors of it, so I was just caught up."

"And then, you know, when somebody was having their close-up, the other people were making him laugh, and it wasn't good. You know, it was a couple of hours' worth where we didn't get a lot of shots off. But really had a lot of fun, and then it became the next couple times we worked on the next episode, it was difficult with Tom and Michael and I working together, as we would have a tendency to just make each other crack up., What was nice in some ways about that, although I'm sure the producers didn't appreciate the loss of time, was that both of those guys are saying this is great because it brought a different sort of energy to the work they're doing, because at times series work can become… at times repetitious. They're good actors anyway, so they're able to bring it together eventually.

"Overall, Michael being the person I most worked with, I have had a lot of respect for him, and a lot of fun. He's great on set as well. He makes the crew laugh, he's very sharp, he's very on all of the time, and he gets along with a lot of people, and definitely has his opinions about a lot of things."

Being both an L.A. and Vancouver-based actor meant Rob would be working with several crew members he had worked with before. He also had collaborated several times before with Smallville producer Ken Biller, who has been one of his best friends since they both attended Brown University. LaBelle has appeared on several shows for which Biller has been a producer and writer, including Dark Angel and three episodes of Star Trek: Voyager.

"Ken's a great writer," LaBelle says; in fact, Biller wrote "Calling," the episode with Walden's demise.

"He is a really incredible writer. He's also a great director, and he's actually up here directing again now," Rob reveals.

And in case you were wondering, were those contacts worn by LaBelle to give the "cataract" look painful? "It was a different kind of contact, it came completely over my eye, I mean, there's a big thing, and the team -- one woman makes them and designs, and the other guys puts them in and stuff-- were excellent, and they were there, and there was a technician hired who is there with you the whole time. They make sure it works, and it was not a problem. In fact, once it covers your eyes, you can keep your eyes open for a long time, because you have nothing bothering. There's no wind or dust or anything."

He noted the difference between this and a pair of contacts worn on Voyager that simply wouldn't stay in - resulting in him being the first brown-eyed Talaxian.

One of Rob LaBelle's most famous and popular roles was that of "Crazy Eddie" on the sci-fi TV series First Wave, a role that he played for three years. "It's got some hard-core fans," LaBelle says appreciatively. So how was Eddie different from Dr. Walden? "Oh, very different. I mean, they both have an energy at times that can get out of it. Eddie was a paranoid -- I mean, he was a recluse, who lived in his trailer and distrusted mankind and distrusted people. He was out of society, but it was this brilliant computer guy who was trying to rid the world -- or, trying to help Cade Foster rid the world -- of aliens and awaken the world to everybody. So they're different because this other guy's an academic. He has a different kind of confidence about him, and he was confident about a lot of things, but just didn't like to deal with people. This guy probably doesn't like people very much either, but he defintely has a different bearing."

So does that mean Dr. Walden was much more respected? "Well, yeah," LaBelle says. "More people knew him. He was more respected, and was more in the mainstream, and had a different agenda. I think that Dr. Walden is a much more selfish person. Eddie is not selfish. As much as he doesn't like other people, he really was there to help the world. He was always trying to help the world, and help other people. Walden is pretty much just out for his self-aggrandizement, you know. He just wants to make a name for himself, make a lot of money, and he's the best that he is in the world. They're both brilliant guys, they're both at the top of their field, but Walden is not a paranoid, he's not on medication, he's just this arrogant field researcher who's a top academician, but who is a bit of an asshole, and really arrogant. And Eddie's got his own trip. Eddie's just paranoid, on meds, and he's got his own trip. Both have that kind of energy that's a little bit up, but many characters I play tend to be like that."

If Lionel Luthor were to clone Dr. Walden (after all, he has the hand), would LaBelle be willing to come back? "Oh, absolutely, and that's exactly what I've been trying to tell people. Look, there's part of the palm of the hand is still there. He can still be cloned. You know. And I had a bunch of other people on the show that were like 'oh, yeah, man.' Because he's got that part of that hand, they can take that and clone and it and stuff, and so I've gotta have some conversations with people and encourage them (LaBelle laughs), but I absolutely would [return]."

LaBelle is currently filming an episode of a new series titled "The Collector" in Vancouver, where he plays an actuary who has, ridiculously, made a deal with the devil to reduce probability down to certainly and has since become involved with the Mob. The show's lead character has to find a way to get him to redeem himself within 48 hours, or his soul will be collected. "Morgan, the lead character, says, 'You sold your soul to the devil for THAT?' and the guy's like, 'I thought it was a good idea at the time'." LaBelle sounds very excited about the project, which will be airing in Canada soon and may be picked up by an American network such as the Sci-Fi Channel. The show is produced by Larry Sugar, with whom LaBelle worked on First Wave. Sugar was also the producer of the series So Weird.

A film festival favorite starring LaBelle will be hitting theaters in early 2004 as well, if you're aching for your "Dr. Walden" fix. The movie, filmed a year and a half ago, is called "The Burial Society." "We made it and shot it up here about a year and a half ago, I'm the lead in that, and it's sort of an off-beat, noirish thriller of sorts."

"It's been a big festival hit, we've been getting a lot of awards, all over the U.S., and so they should keep their eye out for the Burial Society. Seymour Casell is in it, David Paymer, it's a really good solid cast, and it's a good movie," LaBelle adds.

Rob LaBelle's official website can be found at RobLaBelle.com. You can also read more about "The Burial Society" at the appropriately-named theburialsociety.com.

Special thanks to George Caetano and Rob LaBelle for making this interview happen, and to "SullivanLane" for being the best editor this side of Chloe.

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