Sam was gracious enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer questions asked by his fans. The following is the property of Sam Witwer Fan Site. We're more than happy to share, just please credit us!
Was
acting always the main career choice for you, or did you have other plans?
When I was a kid, I was pretty convinced I was gonna be an actor. Later, I grew up a little and switched to a more realistic career goal – Rock star. Then I got swallowed up by this theater school (quite by accident) and boom. Actor.
How did you get involved in acting? Were
you in drama in high school, or was it something in to which you fell?
I did some plays in high school. Yes. Never took it that seriously. My parents, however, wanted me to go to College. My grades weren’t exactly spectacular so they figured acting might be a necessary back door into some school. They kinda convinced me to audition for several. Problem was, my marks were so poor that only one school took me and that was Juilliard. They’re the only school that didn’t look at transcripts.
Can’t say I’m proud of the grades thing.
Julliard – what was it like? Was it the
right choice for you?
It
was kinda the only choice for me (see above). As for how good a fit it
was, well… it could have been better. It could also have been much
worse. I’m extremely lucky that my first real exposure to the world of
acting was at a place where the standard for the art form is extremely high.
Have you ever done any commercials/print ads?
My
first job, actually, was a
When you made the jump to
I auditioned for nearly a year and didn’t book anything. The good
news is that apparently the casting directors liked what I was doing so those
auditions kept coming. Eventually I booked a 2 line role on a show called
JAG and sloooowly the parts got bigger and better.
I’m very thankful that I had to appreciate how difficult the business is before I had any kind of success.
To your fans you're "Sam Witwer" but you're still "Stew"
to the people with whom you've remained close friends since school in
I keep to myself a lot, so it’s pretty easy. I also have some great friends here. There are good people here, you just have to find them.
Is there any desire to do any behind the scenes work - writing or directing
or anything?
Oh yes. Very much so. I have some specific things I’d like to do so we’ll see how that all pans out.
Your character on BSG was totally underutilized. How did you feel about the
lack of screen time that Crashdown had?
I felt that they should kill him and get their money’s worth. Really, and more accurately, I was desperate to either work on that show or get off it.
My history with Battlestar is that I saw the miniseries, loved it, had my agent call Robert Ulrich (their casting director) and tell him that I wanted to guest on the show. Robert’s always been very good to me so I thought it was worth a try.
Next thing I know I auditioned and was cast as a series regular on the show. That was a real surprise. Having won the role, I then felt it necessary to ask, “well, before I saw yes, what IS the role? Who’s Crashdown and what will he be doing?”
This is where it got a little messy. Somewhere there was some miscommunication between the business guys and the creative guys and Crashdown was sold to me as something bigger than what it was. The truth was that it had the *potential* to be something bigger but that wasn’t set in stone. After all, there were like 12 other regulars competing for screen time, all of which had been established in the miniseries.
So
long story short, I was frustrated. I was on a show that I loved,
but I wasn’t being allowed to do what I wanted to do in the first place which
was creatively contribute to that show. Fortunately David Eick and
Ron Moore were not unsympathetic to my situation which led to a meeting where
David and I shook hands on the idea that either Crashdown would be used more in
season II, or we’d give him, as David put it, a glorious death.
Operation glorious death was put into motion and the best part for me was that they wrote some really difficult material for Crashdown. I had a wonderful time on those season 2 episodes and left having gotten what I wanted – The opportunity to contribute.
Since then I haven’t missed an episode.
Oh, and I am the final Cylon.
"Ron D. Moore admits that killing off Crashdown is something that hurts
him. Hypothetically, if they'd asked you to return as a Cylon, would you have
said yes?"
I just told you, I’m the final Cylon.
But if I were lying, I’d put it to you this way. I’d love to work on ANY BSG related project… provided I get to work ;)
You have done tons of guest spots – which one has been your favorite and
why? Which one was the most challenging, and why?
Oh wow. There have been several that I’ve loved. I really enjoyed working with James Woods on Shark. He was extremely cool to me. Said a lot of very nice things. Perhaps my favorite would be Dexter. I had a recurring role on that and it’s helped me immensely.
At one point people were convinced I was 7’1 and could only play a thug with an occasional nice guy or boyfriend thrown in. Then I shaved my head and they were convinced I was the go-to military guy. Dexter, thankfully, opened up the casting thing quite a bit because they hired me to play a little, squirrelly computer nerd.
…Well, and then that guy became Kevin Spacey from Seven, sorta. I don’t wanna spoil anything, but there are a lot of dimensions to that character. I loved that. I also loved that they treated me like an actor and hired me with the expectation that, while I am a very different type of person than what they needed, I could deliver a performance that might convince you otherwise.
Ever since then I’ve been going out for absolutely everything. Good guys, bad guys, little guys, big guys… In the Mist I got to be one of the least aggressive people in the show. In Star Wars I get to be the iconic hero, and in Smallville I get to be both the sweet guy and the devil. …So thank you Dexter for giving me a chance to crack open the casting expectations a bit.
Do you enjoy playing the villain type?
I wouldn’t say I enjoy villains as much as I enjoy creating a character that believes that what he’s doing is reasonable. Many people make the mistake of having too much fun with villains, I think. My take is that I don’t think these villains themselves are having ANY fun. I think it’s an unpleasant place to go, psychologically.
The
fun is in watching, from an audience perspective.
Do you prefer acting in movies or TV shows?
Whether it’s tv or film, if the material is good and challenging, then I’m happy.
How did the role on Smallville come about?
Uh, weirdly enough, they offered it to me. I was called in to meet with the producers and they pitched me this really cool story about this guy. I liked the story, I liked the guy, and I liked the producers.
It also seemed like it would be something difficult to do, so that’s always attractive.
I’ll have more to say as we shoot more, but so far everyone is really great. Nice people.
Also,
it doesn’t hurt that I was a big Superman fan as a kid.
Did you have any reservations about making the commitment to be a regular on a
series?
Some,
yeah. That’s mostly because of the travel (it shoots in
How did you get the gig for the SW game?
Amy Beth Christenson is this amazing concept artist over at Lucasfilm. When it came time to hammer out the visual concept for the character, they went to her and she created this painting. The painting was me. Same look, same type of face, same haircut.
My good friend David Collins who is the audio lead on TFU was at the big company meeting when they unveiled the concept of the Apprentice. He knew right away that he was gonna slip my headshot in the pile. So he did.
Apparently, it made it’s way to the top of the pile quickly, which is probably in no small measure due to the fact that my headshot looked just like their concept art. Next thing I knew I was asked for my reel and some other materials.
A month or two later I was called in for an audition where they made me perform for… uh… well… a long time. A typical audition is about 3-6 minutes of acting and then maybe some talking afterward. This audition was 45 minutes of acting. In that time, I showed them every conceivable iteration of what I thought this character could be.
A few months later it was official and now I guess I have an action figure.
The Force Unleashed – how great was it becoming a video game character?
Kinda the best thing ever. I’m a gamer and a huge Star Wars fan so this was definitely for me.
What was your most memorable experience during the creation of The Force
Unleashed?
Ya know, staying in
Actually, David Collins and I talk about this a lot. We talk about how lucky we are to get to go off and *make our own Star Wars*. We got to play in that universe and do things the way we thought they should be done. Haden Blackman ran the show with an incredible clarity of vision, Darragh O’Farrell knew his stuff, and everyone just had a great time. Well… ok. *I* had a great time. The others had a great time and worked their fingers to the bone under the stresses and pressures of delivering a wholly unique product on an impossibly tight schedule.
But they did it.
Oh… and on a slightly different note, I got to do something else in Force Unleashed besides just play the Apprentice. Something I REALLY wanted to do. That was memorable. You’re gonna have to wait til September 16th to find out what, though. Sorry.
You are a self proclaimed Star Wars Geek. Did you bring back any souvenirs
from your adventures in the Star Wars Universe?
Oh yeah. Too many. See, I thought I was a Star Wars geek… but now I realize that my geekdom has achieved new levels.
Just ask the Darth Vader Helmet that’s perched on top of one of my studio monitors.
As a fan of Star Wars, what did it mean to you to get the opportunity to
become a part of the universe?
It means quite a bit to me. When I was a kid I’d swing imaginary lightsabers around and now I’ve had the opportunity to get paid for it.
But really, I love Star Wars because that myth is a wonderful tool to teach children a basic morality. For that reason I think it will continue to maintain it’s relevance and justify it’s existence. So to contribute in a tiny way to that cause feels good.
How did The Crashtones (the greatest band of all time) come about?
I’ve
always written and recorded music in my spare time. It’s part of what
keeps me sane in
Well, I suppose you should be careful what you wish for because I took him up on his offer and made that poor guy walk a thousand miles with me. Many many late nights. Many stays at his house with his family. Many a frustrating, “My god, Sam’s crazy” moments. But we got through it and finally I had an album.
And I should say that was one of the best experiences of my life. For a few weeks, me, my close friend Patrick Hallahan, and buddy Tim Hibben slept at my cousin’s studio. In the 2 years afterward I’d continue to work on the album in my apartment or in San Fran at the studio as I played the majority of the instruments on the album in addition to the vocals. …It was a running project that I fit in between acting gigs. Really great to finish it.
Sometime
afterward I decided I wanted to play the songs live. Problem is, I
can’t play all the instruments myself, so Patrick grabbed his guitar,
Tim flew out with his drums, and we added Demetri, Brian Taylor
(co-writer/co-director of Crank) and Glenn Howerton (Always Sunny in
What direction are you headed with band?
World domination.
The band has developed quite a following on MySpace – any chances of a new
CD coming out any time soon, and if not soon, when?
Oh
boy. Okay. Forgive me. Here’s how this goes… I have
something like 16 half finished songs on my hard drive. I’m trying to
finish them but things have never been busier for me on the
What I can tell you, though, is that the accessible stuff is more accessible, and the weird stuff is more weird. I can also tell you that there will be more involvement as far as having the live band play on the album.
Colorful of the Stereo is a fantastic CD is there any possibility of a second CD
- this time with the live lineup?
Yes.
See above.
You’re MySpace page says the band is Indie/alternative/metal – have you
considered doing anything more “mainstream” and exposing yourself musically
to a wider audience?
There will be one or two songs you could reasonably show your grand-parents. Maybe more. We’ll see. I’ve not written all the lyrics yet.
You wrote or co-wrote everything on colorful? Where do you find your
inspiration?
Oh wow. I dunno. I can say that the more time I spend alone, the more I seem to have to say.
Will we be seeing any music videos?
You never know. One of my guitarists is a feature film director, after all.
16 17
I really liked your play on the word Jack ... insinuating a (John / cuckold) and
Jack as to strike ... very cool.
Thanks!
But what I don’t understand is how the Silence of the Lambs quote fits into
the song (rubbing the lotion and doing what it is told – I mean the girl was
being held in a well like hole by a transsexual sociopath)?
HAHAHAHA!!! That’s great! That’s a great question. I can answer that question. I absolutely can. However, SHOULD I? Am I not destroying your experience or possible interpretation of the song if I tell you what I think it means?
The best answer is the one you come up with.
The majority of the songs are concerning relationship experiences with a
tragic undertone ... how come?
Umm… hmm… I’m really not a dour guy. Honest! For whatever reason, those stories have fit well for me within a musical framework. I do like maintaining some anonymity about those stories, however, so I won’t be blowing the whistle on which ones are “based on a true story” if any are.
I
will say that a lot of these songs have a common theme. “Don’t be an
asshole.” It’s sometimes more interesting to write it from the asshole
perspective. I hope I’ve pissed some people off.
All things considered – DJ Headstabber being part of the Crashtones live
line up, just how challenging was it to get a role on It’s Always Sunny in
Philadelphia?
Oh, they saw hundreds of people and there were 8 callbacks… er… oh wait. No, they just called me up and said, “we want you to do something.” Originally, I was gonna be a McPoyle brother, but we couldn’t make it work with scheduling because I was shooting The Mist.
The sci fi genre usually has some pretty hard core fans. How do you feels
about the fans? Is it strange or do you appreciate it?
Being a Sci Fi fan, I feel a certain kinship with others. As for their devotion, there is no more devoted fan community than the Sci Fi community. That’s a great thing.
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