   | August 2008 |  | Eureka fans were stunned on August 19th, 2008, when popular character Nathan Stark died saving all of time, and his love - Allison Blake. Knowing what was just around the corner, our very own Robin Nason spoke with Ed Quinn, who has portrayed the character since the second episode of the series, via phone call on August 1st, 2008. We are pleased to now bring you this VisitEureka.net exclusive interview in which Ed discusses his departure from the series. If you're a Nathan Stark/Ed Quinn fan, this is an interview you cannot miss!
Comments from Managing Editor, Ian Mullen:
I cannot thank you enough, Ed, for what you have done for me. Inviting me to join Jordan, Erica and yourself for the weekend in London was very kind and generous. I say what I sadly did not have the chance to say to you the last time I saw you. Thank you, my friend, and goodbye...for now. You will be missed on Eureka, but we'll be watching you elsewhere.
Comments from Co-Editor and Interviewer, Robin Nason:
Thank you, Ed, for your hard work with Eureka. Your commitment to excellence combined with your talent to provide the perfect head of Global Dynamics. Thank you for talking with me and for your ongoing interest in Eureka. I will continue to hope that Nathan Stark does return one day.
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Thank you so much for sharing with us! I truly enjoyed talking with you and wish you all the best.
VisitEureka.net - Well, all I can say is wow. You have knocked our socks off. The season started out great, but now you have gone and died on us!
Ed Quinn - You know, I think it's good for the show. It's a good thing. The character pretty much was done. The character's purpose on the show had reached an end and the show really changed between Season One and Season Two and I think the show needs to be shaken up a bit. Just adding characters and other storylines is one way to change a show, but another way is to let go of the past and the old mythology. That is what Stark represents. So I think it's really a positive thing for the show in moving forward to lose a character like this.
VisitEureka.net - I can't guarantee that most of our fans are going to agree with you on this; we have some pretty die-hard Ed Quinn fans on here. So tell me, what part did you play in this decision? Whose idea was it to remove Stark?
Ed - It was kind of an organic process. The show changed considerably from Season One to Season Two. As you remember, Stark was not in the Pilot. Stark was created for two purposes:
The first purpose was to create conflict:-
For Carter, Stark is the ultimate antagonist. Carter is the protagonist; he needed a foil ... and that was Stark. Not only was he a foil for Carter being able to do his day-to-day job, he was also a foil for Carter's possible new love interest. Stark became the perfect adversary for Carter because he was not a "villain" ... just a rival ... and that created some great chemistry between the two characters
Stark also created a lot of conflict for Allison; her past, her trying to move forward into the future and for her being the DOD liaison and having to balance out the two. For Henry .... Well, Stark was Henry's prize student; his greatest accomplishment, a Nobel Prize-winning mathematician ... but he was nothing but a constant source of frustration and disappointment because of his unbridled ambition and moral ambiguity. As for Fargo ... Stark just scared the crap out of Fargo, but drove him to do his best. So when you look at it, that is what the character was brought in to do and I feel really proud of the fact that it was so successful. Colin Ferguson and I developed a great chemistry on screen. Stark really became a viable rival romantically in scenes with Allison. I was really, really proud of that. But shows change and this show changed considerably after Andrew Cosby's departure ... suddenly there wasn't much need for conflict ... not much need for that kind of dynamic between the characters.
In addition, Nathan Stark was created to carry the serial aspects of the show ... the mythology.
With all of those story lines ending or being abandoned (The Consortium. The Artifact. Kevin. Global Dynamics as a somewhat dark, somewhat sinister and secretive research facility) With all of that changing, Stark really didn't have much to do anymore but stand around with a clipboard, apologizing for his past behavior.
VisitEureka.net - He was almost de-fanged.
Ed - He was. He was almost de-fanged. There's another analogy we can use, but de-fanged is probably the best one. (laughs) We'll leave it at that. So looking at that, it was challenging but we got through Season Two and in looking at Season Three, there was a lot up in the air on what was going to happen. Were they going to reinstate Stark the way he was in the first season, (which was at one point a possibility)? And then I got wind of the fact that no, they actually wanted to bring in new characters and Stark was not only going to remain the same, he wasn't even going to have a central story line for a couple seasons ... kinda become a secondary character. Well, I loved Eureka more than anything I ever worked on; I had the best experience but there was absolutely no hesitation in requesting Starks exit. It was time; the character was done. Eureka has been so good to me; the fans have been so good to me that my stock has kind of risen. There are great opportunities out there; great challenges that are presenting themselves. So to just hang around and be a periphery character on the show--it wasn't right for the character, not for Nathan Stark. He's at his best when he's stirring up trouble ... doing his best Darth Vader. (laughs)
VisitEureka.net - This is true. You've explained it well and while there are fans that are still rooting for you to take over, I appreciate you explaining that. But that brings me to another question--how does it feel to be famous?
Ed - Gosh, I don't know. . .That kind of fame we're talking about, working on a show like that. . .it's flattering and really affirming. You know, you go and work pretty hard and people show up and they love your show. People invite you into their house once a week. They have a lot going on and they want to sit and laugh a little bit. So when people choose what to watch for that one hour and they choose your show and you make them laugh and they write about it or you run into somebody on the street and they say, "You know what? I just love your show and I love your character (or I love to hate your character); but if you see their smile and the light behind their eyes, it's wonderful. But understand there are so many different levels; there are some people running around who are famous for being famous. I don't know what they are doing or why they would want to do that, and then there are people who are just trying to work under the crush of fame ... it's all consuming ... you just have to deal with whatever level you're at.
VisitEureka.net - But you do see people coming up to you on the street and saying, "Wow."
Ed - It's twofold. Yes, I do and they're nice and wonderful and flattering. But a lot of people don't recognize me. I'm much different on the series than I am in real life. When I'm Nathan Stark, it's almost a different persona. It's like they think. . .well, I don't know what they think. I have a neighbor who came down and to see a bunch of work I did on my house; he's lived down the street for four years. He was in my back yard checking out all the work I did and he asked, "What do you do, Ed?" "Well, I'm an actor." "Really? Anything I've seen?" "Umm, I'm on this TV series Eureka." And he looked at me like, well, I thought he might fall down. He got so confused; it's like his brain kind of froze for a minute. And he goes, "You're. . . you're Nathan Stark!!! That's my favorite show!!!" He lives right up the street from me and he couldn't get his mind around the fact that I was Nathan Stark. So some people recognize me immediately, but others, I blow right by them. It's really cool and really funny.
VisitEureka.net - That just sounds like fun. Is there any possibility that they will bring you back in a future season?
Ed - I don't know. I don't think so. A part of me hopes not and only because I want the show to do well. I want them to be successful. They've committed to other story lines and a different mythology and if they needed me to come back, it would almost be like it didn't work as well and that would be a disappointment with how hard everyone is working to make that show good. And also, what would the character come back to do? Marry Allison a Third time? The whole reason, the point. . . I wanted to be killed; I could have disappeared into some kind of a time portal or I could have left the town with the option to come back but I think there's something wonderful about closure. The finish is spectacular. Thania did an amazing job; Thania St. John wrote my finale. It was phenomenal. And I reappeared in the next episode and it was wonderful as well as very heartfelt. And there is something to be said about having that finality. There was a beginning to that character in Episode Two and an end in Episode 31. It's something wonderful that with the DVDs; the way we shot it in hi def; the show's going to look good and last forever. That performance will always be out there; I think it's a perfect arc. The conceit of the show is that Carter and Allison need to find their way back together and the survival of the show is dependent on them redefining the show and recreating the mythology. Stark was the elephant in the room. He represented all of the old. With him gone, the show can move into something different.
VisitEureka.net - After two and a half seasons on Eureka, which episode or scene did you find to be the most rewarding or challenging for you to do?
Ed - Well, for me, it would have to be Right as Raynes. It was a Stark episode; it was challenging; it was wonderfully written by Johanna Stokes. It was the first time we saw a different side of Stark; a more human side, but there were a lot of scenes. . . I've always loved the episode Purple Haze and the episode Dr. Nobel. There were a couple of scenes with Allison and Stark; I love the scene where she handed him the divorce papers at the beginning of Primal. There was a musicality to it that is wonderful. You know, Colin and I worked really hard together to set each other up; there are some great jokes and funny moments that built our chemistries. There were a lot of little beats and moments that were really funny because of some great ad-libs, lines and jokes that we worked out. It was a very generous show to work on that allowed us to showcase different talents.
VisitEureka.net - I love the way that Eureka made Stark a three-dimensional character. The ending of Right as Raynes was incredible.
Ed - Yes, we were doing beautiful stuff. You have to earn that, though. You can try to write scenes like that all day, but that scene only lands because of the character the writers created from the previous four or five episodes; that entire script led up to that moment. I mean, there was so much that led up to that scene and you're right--that moment was beautiful-- but it was the creation of the characters, of the mythology, of the relationships, and that's where you get those payoffs. That scene was amazing, but that scene had been earned because people didn't like Stark; he had been so mean; there was so much tension because of the parallel story (Carter and Zoe and her running away). Probably one of the best scenes of the whole series was the electric fence scene; the magnetic fence scene. (Another Johanna Stokes Homerun) Once again, that is a great scene as it is, sure. But it was those previous five episodes that are leading up to that--all the looks, all the laughs, all the flirtation--that led up to that scene and that's why that amazing scene resonated with audience so much. It's interesting when you work on a show like this and you see what works and what doesn't. We think something is going to be amazing or incredible and then find out that maybe we didn't get the audience to the point where they were going to be on board for something like that. Little simple scenes, simple moments really pay off when the work to build up to that moment has been done. They've been really great at Eureka to earn the moments that land with the fans.
VisitEureka.net - This shows with the ratings that you have pulled this season.
Ed - This is true. And how good are our press campaigns? Has there ever been a show that has had better press campaigns?!
VisitEureka.net - I just want to know if you were allowed to keep the ice cream truck.
Ed - Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get down there. But I heard that Colin hijacked it for a while and ran it around town. But the musical, the PSA's last year, the Made in Eureka-- you know, I think the press campaign might be better than our show. The artistic creativity that went into that was just unbelievable.
VisitEureka.net - The musical was marvelous.
Ed - Beyond genius. And what you have to realize is that we had been working 15 days straight. The cast was so tired, so haggard and had wrapped the night before at like one in the morning. It wasn't like the cast came in and took it over. No, we limped in on fumes and these guys just had this concept and everything put together and they were able to slide us in seamlessly. It was just so impressive. But that is synergy--it's Sci Fi, it's NBC/Universal, it's everybody working together to make a good product, to deliver to the fans. When the advertisement is as fun as the show, you know you have something special.
VisitEureka.net - When I saw crates of Degree antiperspirant being pushed through Global Dynamics and then to hear that there is going to be an episode devoted to it, I thought that was rather bizarre.
Ed - I wasn't around for the filming of that episode, but it is what it is. It is always the marriage of art and commerce. Any way that they can figure out how to continue creating a great product like Eureka, you have to risk it; you just have to. I thought it was kinda funny and tongue in cheek; rather than having Carter grab Degree antiperspirant. Let's just accept it, get it, commit to it and have fun with it. And it works. Boy, they're getting their money's worth; it is a talking point. You love it, you're gonna buy Degree, you hate it, you're probably still gonna buy Degree. There's no middle ground. It's very, very funny and it's working well and kudos to Degree for committing to Eureka.
VisitEureka.net - You made a comment to Ian that you were going on to bigger and better things, or to the unemployment line. Do you now have a role that you are moving into?
Ed - Ah yes, the life of an actor. Good times. (Laughs) Well, I'm in a wonderful position right now in my career; Eureka did great things for me and there's a lot of opportunity out there. It's a situation I've never been in with my career where I'm really looking at material with long term aspirations. People are very excited to work with me and I'm very excited to work on great material; and the great material is being made available. So it's flattering and now it's kind of a tough decision; to find something special, to find that next great step after Eureka. I think I may have found it; I will find out in about two hours.
VisitEureka.net - In two hours? Wow! Are we talking television or movies?
Ed - We are talking television and then two amazing films that are in play for late 2008 and early 2009. Great roles in great films. Granted, there's a long way to go, but again, I am in a wonderful position to be able to hold out and go for the right one and hope it all works out.
VisitEureka.net - This is excellent! It sounds like your whole world is just opening up in front of you.
Ed - Exactly what it's doing. It's just amazing and humbling... of course, it could all be deceiving and I'll be Landscaping your backyard in about 14 months. (laughs)
VisitEureka.net - I would like to ask you about your work with the Jimmy Miller Foundation.
Ed - I would love to talk about it. When Eureka finishes, it is right about the time that they wrap up work with the Jimmy Miller Foundation. He was one of my best friends. He passed away a few years ago. He was an unbelievable waterman, a life guard and life guard coach. We met up at Berkeley and became best of friends and surf buddies from Berkeley. His parents Jim and Nancy and his brother Jeffory started the Foundation working with a couple of Jim's friends. There's a girl, Carly Rodgers, who's developed a program called Ocean Therapy, which began just working with kids--foster kids and abused kids. Bringing them down to the beach to give them surf lessons. And more than just surf lessons, but how to have a fun day and hang in the water; also relating their experience of being able conquer their fear of the water. Some can barely swim and here we have them out there, in the ocean. Riding waves, riding waves all the way into the beach. . .being able to use that experience to relate to the other challenges they have in their life; the hardships at home, the hardships on the street; the pitfalls of their environment. Giving them the belief and empowerment to overcome these. Then last season, we began working with the Wounded Warrior program down at Camp Pendleton, which just blows you away. These guys are soldiers, but they're kids. They've come back from Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of them are beat up physically and some really need to decompress. They're here doing physical therapy, coming from surgeries or being rotated out and they need a way to let off some steam. They have this amazing resource; they have these beautiful beaches just north of San Diego and we take them surfing. For some of them it is the first physical activity they've been able to do outside with the exception of physical therapy since they got wounded. For some it's just the attempt to reassimilate into society--coming from Afghanistan and suddenly in sunny San Diego. Sometimes it is the guy that didn't get wounded for whom it is the hardest to reassimilate. These are Marines. They want to get back. They are dying to get back. They can't believe that they are here and that their friends are still over there. They want to be back with their unit, back with their family. That's what they believe they were born and bred to do, and they are just such noble and amazing young men and women. So we go down and work with them. To give them a moment to decompress, have some fun, learn to surf and have a new adventure and they can do it all together. There's fifteen to twenty of them, laughing. And by the way, these crazy knuckleheads are from all over the Midwest; I don't think some of them had ever seen an ocean until they came to Camp Pendleton. But these guys follow directions like no other human beings on the planet. You can say to these guys, "Okay, you're gonna paddle and pop up. . .you gotta stay low, you gotta look forward. . ." and they are sitting there nodding, nodding, looking kind of bored. You take them out, the first time you push them into a wedging wave and bam! They're up and surf all the way to the beach. As I swim all the way to beach after them I'm mumbling "I see why you're a Marine." A kid who has never seen a board and the first time up and he surfs all the way to the beach despite his inexperience and battle wounds. I have never been more tired than when we do the Wounded Warrior program! These guys never quit.
VisitEureka.net - Being Marines, they are the first ones in.
Ed - Yes, they are the first ones in and they see it as their calling. They are just wonderful young men and women. It's so rewarding to see them having a great time and they will share their experiences immediately, like any twenty-year-old will talk about what they did last weekend. It's pretty sobering.
(Learn more and donate at www.jimmymillerfoundation.org)
VisitEureka.net - It is so good to hear you being involved in different programs and opportunities to make a difference. I noted that you worked with Celebrate Life, which I believe was to help prevent suicide.
Ed - There are all kinds of opportunities to get out there and help bring awareness to different situations. That is one of the perks to the business, if you have a bit of a higher profile; you can lend some time, have some fun, have some laughs and do some good. Everybody gets benefits from it; it's definitely the nice side to being on a TV show.
VisitEureka.net - Well, thank you so much for taking this time to talk with us, and I hope this project works out.
Ed - If it isn't this project, it will be another. It isn't like back in the old days when you'd say, "Oh, I've got to get this job!" Now it's like, "Uh, maybe I'll get it. Maybe I don't." It sounds awesome; I'd love to do it but if it doesn't work out, there will be something else. I am just so blessed right now. It's a wonderful situation to be in.
VisitEureka.net - I hope you will keep us posted on what productions you will be in, honestly, the Cadillac commercials just don't fulfill the diehard Ed Quinn fans.
Ed - (Laughs), Well, I think it's on YouTube now.
VisitEureka.net - I will post the information, since our forum will sit and talk about them.
Ed - Really? Well, I did two commercials and six radio spots for Cadillac. It was a wonderful little job. I was with feature film director Joe Carnahan; it was a lot of fun.
VisitEureka.net Note - Here is one of the commercials:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02Rg1H70KM4
VisitEureka.net - Thank you again for talking with me and congratulations again!
Ed - Thank you for your time and thank you for VisitEureka.net. You guys have been a wonderful, wonderful asset to the show. And thank you to all the fans; without you there is no show.
Yours, Robin | |
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 | 301 - Bad to the Drone
Written by Robin Nason
You know, I understand why they have to show scenes from previous episodes. What with the way each episode builds on another, it only makes sense. But I have to confess that being a vigilant Eureka fan, I wish they could can those. Now to the premiere episode!
Jack is openly having angst about his little girl growing up. Waitressing at Café Diem is a big step in his opinion, and he doesn't hesitate to hash this out with Zoe. He contends that the Café isn't safe. The ... READ MORE |
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 | 109 - Primal
Written by Robin Nason
Jack and Jo are walking through Global Dynamics with an injured LoJack. Jo is carrying the dog and they assure the dog that he is going to be fixed up. Apparently his tendency to run in front of cars has finally caused him to get hurt.
Dr. Stark is in his office with Fargo. Fargo has created the "Mental Mouse," a device that transmits thoughts directly to the computer. Its only evidence is a small glowing button behind Stark's ear. Stark comments that it looks like a melanoma. S... READ MORE |
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 | 309 - Welcome Back Carter
Written by Ian Mullen
TEASER
FADE IN
EXT-LOS ANGELES, CAL., USA
[We see an aerial shot of the Los Angeles office of the Department of Homeland Security]
DHS MAN: This is a very impressive resume, Mr Carter.
INT-DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
[Carter is in a job interview]
DHS MAN C'TND: You've had a long career in law enforcement.
CA... READ MORE |
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