'V' Star Scott Wolf Gets Info on Need-to-Know Basis, Like Fans

Congratulations on the ratings!

"Thank you so much! It's nice to get off to a great start."

How excited was the cast when they heard the response?

"Pretty excited. I think we all believed in the show and have loved being a part of it, and you know, I've said to some of the other cast members, there have been a lot of things that I've been a part of that, even if things are going well, it's sort of hard to see. It's just hard to sort of see off into the future. And with this show I just, from the minute I jumped on board with it, I've just really been optimistic about it. I feel like it's such a fun story. And people are really ready for just a fun, great story. And I think the numbers showed that. And you know, I think everyone knows well enough that it's one great week, and we could not have possibly gotten off to a better start, but there's a lot of work to be done to keep our audience. And to keep telling great stories so they have great stories to watch for a long time."

Your character makes a decision that "doesn't show him in a positive light". So do you think he's a good guy?

"You know, it's funny. I think as actors, we always have to seek to understand out characters and to find the good in them, and to justify their behaviors. So I don't look at Chad as a bad guy. I look at Chad as a guy who is incredibly ambitious. But there is such a thing as good ambition. We see it a lot of times in an ugly way. But ambition doesn't have to be a terrible thing. I think he believes himself to be someone who is talented and has been sort of held back, and so for him, he's just looking to get to the place where he believes he deserves and belongs. The problem with his is that he's so focused on that end, that the means to the end are less important to him. But I don't see that he's a bad guy. He's potentially dangerous in that he's so focused on the prize that the things he might do to get it could be harmful."



I know you guys are going to run four episodes and then take a break until after the Olympics. Morena (Baccarin) said you guys are filming again in January. Have you seen any of the scripts yet?

"We've not. We made these first four and we've gone down...we pick them up the third week in January. And frankly I can't wait. I mean I'm going to miss being on set, but it sort of feels like waiting for Christmas morning. I feel like that first script to come in is going to be awfully fun to read. And we've left off, in our fourth hour that will finish off this initial chapter in November, is going to be chock full of really juicy and intense cliff hangers. And so, you know, funny enough, the audience is sort of hanging from the cliff, but so is the cast, because we have to wait to see where our story is taking us next too."

So they haven't discussed with you where your character is going?

"No, you know, they've given us...we've had sort of general conversations about what's fun about each of our characters, in terms of a big giant story arc. Where does the person's life take them and how does their particular journey serve this story? So it's been in general terms. So there's really nothing specific. You know, I have to say, our story is fun and it's mysterious in it's own way, and suspenseful, but it's really straightforward. And so, you know, as intriguing as it can be, moment to moment, our audience kind of knows everything that our characters know. And same goes for the actors. We get our information on a need-to-know basis."

Were you a fan of the original series?

"I was. You know, I have kind of vague recollections of it. I was pretty young. I remember kind of getting my parents to let me stay up and watch bits and pieces of it. But when I first read the script, I barely remembered the original. It was kind of a cool experience. I knew that there was really a ground breaking story, and that it was a re-imagining of something that had been a momentous landmark event on television, but then again, I was sort of reading it as if it was the first time I had ever heard it, and so, I kind of had the best of both, and really just got drawn to these characters. You know, the fact that the story is kind of taking a look at what life might look like today or tomorrow morning if alien ships arrived, was really compelling to me."

Remaking a series that was so beloved, I'm curious about some of the iconic moments that they might give a nod to. Have you filmed anything yet that pays homage to the old series?

"Yes. Yes. I won't give away when, but it's in the first chapter of the show. It's in this first batch of episodes. There is a major wink and major nod to a major iconic moment from the original. It was kind of thrilling to read it, and I'm excited for the audience to chew on it. It's one of those things where the writers and producers have to find ways to...you can't just wink and nod for the sake of itself. You have to have it fit within our story. I think the writers found some really cool ways to explore some of the things that made the original so memorable all these years later."

People have been wondering if any of the stars of the original series would be in the new ones. I've interviewed Robert Englund and Marc Singer, and they both expressed interest. Do you know if there are any plans? Or has anyone been back?

"They...I...no one has been back yet. But I personally would kill to have either of those two guys. I'm a huge fan of both, and I know I speak for the rest of the cast when I say it would be a blast to have this connection between these two incarnations through the return of certain actors. Not necessarily as the same characters, but I just think it would be fun for all of us. I think it would be really intensely great for fans of the original. And it's flattering that cast members of the original would have interest in our story. I think there's no higher compliment we could receive."

So you just had your first child this year. Did that affect your decision to do another television show?

"You know, I'm sort of constantly diving in and out of my work life, and I've been lucky to be able to do that. It's a difficult business in a lot of ways, and it doesn't necessarily encourage people to come and go. [laughs] But I'm grateful that I've had that opportunity, and that when I feel like I need to go live my life and be away from it for a little while, I can. And I'm grateful that I've had opportunities that allow me to come back in. I would definitely say that having my first child and looking down at this tiny face and knowing that I would do anything under the sun for him and, you know, that feeling of, it's not just about me, or me and my wife. Now there's a family to take care of here. So it definitely lit a fire under me a bit, and made me...sort of increased my drive to get back. To find work to do. But you know, I could not have...honestly, I'm pinching myself because, I had sort of a check list of things I was hoping for in a new show, and this has all of those things, and things that I couldn't have even hoped for. It's just kind of perfect and you know, it's going great so far. I hope our audience stays intrigued by our story. I think they will. I feel like what's going on with V right now is a testament to, I think, how passionate the people behind it are and the creative team is. But moreover, it shows how much hunger there is for just good, fun storytelling. And I think our show is just that. It's a blast for the audience. And it's smart enough and mysterious enough to keep people thinking. But it's a fun way to spend an hour."

So I heard that you're a big sci-fi fan. Did you want to be an alien in the show?

"Did I want to be an alien? [laughs] You know, I feel like there's fun for every character in our show, whether you're an alien or a human. But quite frankly, I'm not even a hundred percent sure I'm not an alien. [laughs] It's one of those things where, you know, I think...at the core of the show, one of the most fun mysteries, is who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, and who's who? The aliens look like humans. So any cast member we meet within the story could be either. And that includes Chad Decker. I'm pretty sure he's human. [laughs] But you never know."

Can you give us a peek into the next episode?

"Yeah. Obviously it's moments after aliens have arrived on Earth. So these really sort of deep and intense questions of what are they doing here and are we safe, are the main things we are focused on. So we see Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell) and Father Jack (Joel Gretsch) have gotten themselves involved in the beginnings of what looks like a resistance. They're trying to try to piece through information and trying to get to the bottom of whether these aliens are actually good guys or bad guys. I think one of the intriguing things about the first introduction to our story was this relationship between Chad and Anna (Morena Baccarin), and the power that media plays in our society. She knows, even being a visitor and an alien, that if she can ingratiate herself and come off well in the press, that goes a long way with human beings. And she uses Chad to accomplish that. When we find them again, Chad realized that...he's licking his wounds and immediately trying to turn the tables back on Anna. And I think he's out to prove to her that she needs him as much as he needs her."