'Fringe' stars talk past, present & future

'Fringe' stars talk past, present & future
May 18, 2011 ι Jarett Wieselman

Last night Anna Torv & John Noble were honored by The Paley Center for Media as the organization presented An Evening with "Fringe" -- where the stars talked to a rapt room full of actors and show devotees about their experiences on Fox's sci-fi phenomenon.

But before they took the stage, Anna & John exclusively talked to PopWrap about the season three finale, what they think it means for their characters and where they hope things go in season four!

PopWrap: Congratulations on a truly incredible season finale -- what did you think of it?

John Noble: I loved it. The script was evolving as we were doing it too – in particular, the ending with Peter evaporating. That was kind of a light thought that came in at one point and just made everyone say, “whoa.” But scripts often evolve like that, especially as they built the trilogy of episodes at the end of this season. So many things were happening, it was kind of mind boggling and very exciting, but kind of insane.

PW: Do you understand what happened?
Anna Torv: I do, but I’m not quite sure where it’s going.
John: At a psychological level, I absolutely understand it. For Walter/Walternate, I see them as the same man, so psychologically, I do understand. In dreams this happens, in other mental states this happens. So it doesn’t concern me that we do a literal representation that’s in another mind dimension, we all have those things.

PW: What excites you about the potential this universe bridge opens up for season four?
Anna: So much! I don’t know for sure, we haven't talked to the showrunners yet, but I would think this obviously means her baby doesn’t exist. I'm also curious to the concept of, "How much pain has Peter caused Olivia over the last three seasons?" Now, who is she without ever having experienced that? What kind of shifts will the characters make without Peter in our lives? But simultaneously how are we going to find him?

PW: I would imagine it also means you'll be playing both versions of your characters a lot more next year.
John: I think so too, and that is such a gift as an actor.
Anna: I love it. I’m also excited because we seen a lot of interaction between the characters, which we will now that they’re in the same world. Also, with Lincoln too! I know Seth [Gabel] is coming back!
John: Oh, he's so great!
Anna: It’ll be fun to see him on both sides as well.

PW: That could get messy for Fauxlivia!
John: Well she hasn’t committed to him yet!
Anna: That’s true! Maybe Olivia will get her back and date Lincoln! She needs some love too [laughs].

PW: Tonight is all about the actorly part of "Fringe" and obviously these dual performances are an excellent example of that. How have you approached it?
John: I’ve always seen these characters as the psychological parts of the same man. It’s that melding together – now the pressure is on enough that they have to stop compromising and come together. Because, and this is my personal opinion, but to survive this situation, this man needs to be his very best and that’s a combination of Walter and Walternate. That’s the approach I’m taking to it and it seems to be working. But we'll know for sure on Thursday, when we talk to the showrunners about season four.

PW: Oh man, you know that fans are going to be stalking your life on Friday now!
Anna: [laughs]
John: They’ll tell us just enough to keep us tantalized – that’s what they do.

PW: What are you hoping to talk about?
Anna: In that last speech where Peter talked about who brought the parts back – Astrid or Ella – I’m interested in that. I wonder if we’ll do more back and forth with the future.
John: I’m excited to continue with the different universes, I like that they’re going to work together. That’s always something we’ve wanted to do – not show a black and white world. This way you don’t automatically choose one side. We work really hard to humanize both sides.

PW: Back to the alternates, do you prefer playing one more than the other?
John: I do. I enjoy Walter more because he’s so random. And as an actor, that means I can do whatever I want and get away with it, whereas Walternate is so stitched up. Walter is a lot more fun.
Anna: It changes, I vacillate. When Faux-livia first came about I was thrilled not to be in the suit, but then I played Olivia Over There and I loved her during that period. It changes.

PW: Favorite episode this season?
John: I loved the one with Christopher Lloyd. It was such a joy to work with him and he was so good in the role.
Anna: I actually think “Entrada” – I enjoyed that because I had so much fun stuff to do,. You’re always biased towards things like that. It was my favorite episode to make, I don’t know how it would be watching it.

PW: And lastly, this show has really lived and died by the fans -- a very fickle community, it should be said. What kinds of comments have you been hearing from fans?
Anna: One of the things I love about doing the show is that anyone who stops me on the street, always asks “what’s happening next?” To be a part of something that’s bigger than you is fun because it means that the show you're making is the star.
John: That’s true. When people stop me on the street, it’s so generous and then “what do you know?” [laughs]. We have incredible fans.

"Fringe" airs Fridays at 9pm on Fox -- and for more information on The Paley Center for Media, click here!

Source:nypost.com

Fringe Panel: Anna Torv & John Noble [Paley 2011]

Here's a better quality video from the Paley with Anna Torv and John Noble.

Fringe - Noble Intentions: 322 "The Day We Died"

John Noble discusses the Season 3 finale.

An Evening with Fringe-In NY and LA

An Evening with Fringe
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
6:30 pm ET
New York
In Person
Anna Torv, “Olivia Dunham”
John Noble, “Dr. Walter Bishop”
Additional panelists to be announced.

Fox’s Fringe, recently renewed for a fourth season, just gets better with age. After starting out as an X-Files-derivative series about an FBI division specifically charged with investigating paranormal mysteries, Fringe (created by J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci) has evolved into a uniquely sublime blend of mind-bending story lines (parallel universes, doppelgangers, a guru who operates out of a bowling alley, etc.); inventive, ambitious artistry (including, most recently, the integration of chunks of animation into an episode—fitting for a series so decisively influenced by comic books); and powerful character drama that, as the A.V. Club has pointed out, infuses the series with “unexpected soulfulness.” The cast, led by Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, and John Noble, is masterful. Join Torv and Noble for a screening of the finale, followed by a Q&A.

Presented with SAG Foundation

Tickets on sale to Members now; on sale to general public on Wednesday, May 11 at noon.


This Event
Members: $15
General Public: $20


An Evening with Fringe
Thursday, May 19, 2011
7:00 pm PT
Los Angeles
In Person
Anna Torv, “Olivia Dunham”
John Noble, “Dr. Walter Bishop”
Additional panelists to be announced.

Fox’s Fringe, recently renewed for a fourth season, just gets better with age. After starting out as an X-Files-derivative series about an FBI division specifically charged with investigating paranormal mysteries, Fringe (created by J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci) has evolved into a uniquely sublime blend of mind-bending story lines (parallel universes, doppelgangers, a guru who operates out of a bowling alley, etc.); inventive, ambitious artistry (including, most recently, the integration of chunks of animation into an episode—fitting for a series so decisively influenced by comic books); and powerful character drama that, as the A.V. Club has pointed out, infuses the series with “unexpected soulfulness.” The cast, led by Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, and John Noble, is masterful; join them for a screening, followed by a Q&A.


This Event
Members: $15
General Public: $20

FOX All Access: John Noble Discusses Season Finale

John Noble spoke with Fox All Access, in a two-part interview. In part one, John talks about the Fringe season finale, and why Walter = Walternate. In part two, he discusses about filming the season finale and what prop would he take from the Fringe set, followed by a strange "trip".

Fringe: "The Future Is Now" Video

Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Jasika Nicole, Anna Torv, and Lance Reddick talk about the Fringe season finale episode the "The Day We Died". They do explain a little about what happened to Peter at the end of "The Last Sam Weiss", so proceed with caution if your are trying to avoid any spoilers.

FRINGE - Fans Ask Fringe (Part 3)

Here is part three of the Fox video series "Fans Ask Fringe", featuring fan questions answered by the stars of Fringe.

In this third edition, we get two question answered by Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, Blair Brown, Lance Reddick, and John Noble:

• What is the best prank or joke that has been pulled on another cast or crew member?
• Does the cast watch the show as it airs on TV? How different is it from what they expect after filming it?

'Fringe' interview:My lunch with John Noble

‘Fringe’ interview: My lunch with John Noble
Andrew Hanson
April 29, 2011 9:00 am

When you sit down to speak with John Noble, you almost expect to be having lunch with Walter Bishop. Walter is one of those television characters that almost seems real. Sure, he’s usually pulling giant worms out of people or breaking holes in the universe, but Bishop also struggles with his own frailties, his own mistakes. After watching him every week on "Fringe," you feel like you know him. Like he’s a normal human being. A lot of that has to do with the writing and direction of the show, but even more comes from John Noble himself.

I’ve spoken with Mr. Noble before, but only for phone interviews. Once you get past the Aussie accent, you hear a lot of Walter in the actor that portrays him. They both speak with a calm intelligence, but at the same time they can get caught up in their passion for the subject. Almost to the point of giddiness.

Yet meeting face to face is quite a different story. Instead of the hunched, insecure scientist wracked with guilt about his past, you get robust, confident John Noble. A man who, even though he was coming off a daunting shooting schedule and flights crisscrossing the globe, warmly sat down with me to talk about the third season of "Fringe" as it comes to a close.

“It’s like an endless stage play.” Noble told me. “The first few seasons were about the audience getting attached to these characters. Then the funny thing is, this season was about creating a whole new set of characters. What an extraordinary risk to take! We’ve got these characters that people like. They’re developed. OK, push them aside.”

“Our big challenge was if we could get the audience to care about the people on the other side,” Noble said.

Not an easy task. Season 1’s finale gave us a glimpse of the parallel universe. A quick visit to William Bell’s office on that side’s World Trade Center. Then throughout Season 2, the only visitors we encountered were the shape-shifting soldiers from another dimension. Then building to last year’s finale, Walter’s other-world counterpart Walternate appeared to take back Peter, the son that was stolen from him.

“It would have been easy to make Walter the classic villain,” Noble explained over coffee, “but he could be much more if we could humanize him. No hurry, but every now and again sneak in a moment where it’s ‘Oh, I do understand why he does that.’ ”

In Walternate’s world, he is the hero. His son was stolen by invaders from a different world. Invaders who broke holes in reality and caused horrible blights. “I don’t have an issue playing Walternate in almost anything he does because as the key decision maker in the land of the other universe, he has to make some tough decisions. But he’s probably the sort of bloke you want in charge.”

Walternate is willing to use the Amber to seal up weak spots in his universe, even if it traps innocent bystanders as well. He brainwashes Olivia into thinking she belongs over there in order to find out the secret of moving between universes. He is bent on defending that universe at any cost. Well, almost any cost. Unlike our Walter, Walternate has a steadfast rule against using children. “He discovered that in himself after his son was stolen. In his fury. In his rigidness. He really made this a national rule. That crimes against children were a top priority. He’s made it the law of the land.”

Our Walter’s Cortexifan experiments on Olivia and the other kids in Jacksonville show that he had a much looser ethics code when it came to younglings. “In ‘Subject 13’ he was being pushed and pulled by different forces,” Noble explained. Walter was trying to make soldiers to defend us against invaders from the other side, even if it meant turning a blind eye to the home life of little Olive, but Walter lived up to his doppelganger’s example. “I was very pleased in the final outcome of that, that Walter came to save the Olivia from her stepfather, which was something we discussed as well. It wasn’t in there originally, but if you paint this man as oblivious to the children, then you’ve lost two years of development.”

“I find these characters particularly interesting in that these two, Walter and Walternate, are essentially the same person. Changed by events. Whether you’re Jungian or Freudian, you can see how they’ve developed,” Noble said. “The war between the worlds exists because of fathers’ instincts. One who stole a son and one who’s had one stolen.”

Each of the "Fringe" regulars got to play characters in both universes. Except, of course, Joshua Jackson. “He tried to protest,” Noble joked. “Everyone else has a double, except poor old Lance. Loved his alternate character, but they killed him. He was so upset.”

As the rest of the cast had two different characters this season, Noble’s costar Anna Torv had three. Olivia, the other universe’s Fauxlivia and Olivia possessed by Leonard Nimoy’s William Bell. “She has been wonderful, hasn’t she? I’m so proud of her,” Noble beamed. “She’s just gotten richer, better and taken the risks you have to take as an actor. If you don’t take risks as an actor, you’re going nowhere."

“When Anna first found out she was going to play William, we talked about it a lot. I knew the Bill character and I knew the relationship that Walter would have had with him. It was just having fun with my old mate, and she responded amazingly.” Noble reminisced. “I was truly thrilled with Anna’s courage to just go with it.”

Noble felt that Bell’s reappearance was necessary. “We’d set the character up so strongly in Season 1. There had to be some moment between" Walter and Bell. That moment came during an animated trip inside Olivia’s head. “When that script came up, I thought, 'That’s going to take someone six months. But we don’t have six months. We have three weeks. How will this happen?' But that’s the sort of things that happen all the time with ‘Fringe.’ Impossible things.”

In that moment, Walter confesses that he thinks he needs Bell to be his balance, but Bell tells Walter he’s ready to go on alone. “The writers told me earlier this year that would be a crucial point. Walter would have to accept that he has everything he needs. A lot of people go through their lives thinking, ‘If only I.... If only had this. If only I had that. If I just get a little more plastic surgery. If I change something, I’ll be something.' ”

“It’s what propels Walter forward to the finale of the season.”

I confessed then that I always love "Fringe" finales. How Season 1 left us in William Bell’s alternate realty office. And Season 2’s reveal of Olivia trapped over there. They always have the ability to leave me simmering all summer long.

At that John Noble grinned. “This one will make you simmer too.”
Source:latimesblogs

Universes collide in Bishops' world on 'Fringe'

Universes collide in Bishops' world on 'Fringe'
By Bill Keveney, USA TODAY
Unlike their father-son Fringe characters, actors John Noble and Joshua Jackson are hardly universes apart.

"We're best friends," Noble says as they discuss the mind-bending Fox drama and the three-part season-ending story (Part 2 Friday, 9 ET/PT).

Their mutual trust makes it easier for them to take the relationship between the Bishop boys, father Walter (Noble) and son Peter (Jackson) to some very dark places.

"We wanted to make the relationship as real and bloody and wonderful as it is," Noble, 62, says.

"To make it honest, not to knock the rough edges off it," Jackson, 32, says. "After you've gone through the ugly portions of the father-and-son relationship, then once you get to places of happiness and joy or any beauty, you've earned them."

Their connection during a recent joint interview is apparent. A conversation with the Bishops at times turns into a conversation between the Bishops as Jackson and Noble play off each other's comments, compare notes on favorite episodes and address their answers to each other.

The complicated Bishop relationship is a cornerstone of Fringe, which follows an investigative team that seeks to solve seemingly unexplainable mysteries, including those involving two universes that are nearly mirror images. Walter caused an imbalance between the two when he took the alternate universe's Peter to replace his own son, who had died.

If that sounds complex, that's just the start of it. A few weeks ago, Walter, Peter and FBI agent Olivia (Anna Torv) turned into cartoons during a journey through Olivia's mind.

"It's unusual. It's bizarre. It's Fringe," Noble says.

The show's demanding mythology may have cost the show some viewers, Noble acknowledges, but he says it also earns the series intense devotion from others. "People use it as a conversation piece to discuss all sorts of metaphysical facts of life," he says.

"The vein they tapped creatively caught on with a very specific and very rabid base who use it as a launching-off point for the rest of the conversation," Jackson says.

Fringe also doesn't make it easy to choose between universes, between Walter and Olivia in this universe and so-called Walternate and Bolivia "over there" in the other universe.

"The most difficult thing we faced was getting an audience to accept that there's no good or evil, because people want to take sides. It was our challenge to get our audience to accept those folks on the other side," Noble says. "I think we actually achieved that. We got people to kind of like the people on the other side and realize they were human beings."

The devout base helped Fringe earn an early Season 4 renewal. Even though it averages a modest 5.7million viewers a week, it scores particularly well in DVR viewing.

In last week's Fringe, the first of the three-part finale arc, the universe started to come apart after Walternate turned on a doomsday machine. Peter may be the only hope of stopping the machine, but he becomes injured in his effort to do so.

The story will "show the world what Armageddon is like," Noble says. Someone will die in next week's finale, Jackson teases: "We can tell you who, but it won't matter by the end of the episode. That's not a spoiler. That's a good tease," he says, turning to Noble. "No? That's a spoiler?"

Before next season's shooting starts, Noble will spend time in his native Australia "and learn to be an Australian again," while Jackson just landed a role in a Stephen Frears film, Lay the Favorite.

As for off-work hobbies, Noble enjoys music and painting. And Jackson says, "I drink and chase my woman (girlfriend Diane Kruger) around the world." Adds Noble, "He has a young man's version of mine."
Source:usatoday.com

Fringe Noble Intentions: 6:02 AM EST

In this episode of "Noble Intentions", John Noble discusses why Walternate is willing to sacrifice his only son, and what Walter would be willing to do to save his.

Fringe Interview: John Noble Conference Call

John Noble (Walter Bishop) spoke with reporters via conference call yesterday, and without revealing too much, discussed tonight's Fringe episode "6:02 Am EST".

Fringe - John Noble Interview [Spoilers 3x20]

John Noble talks to FoxAllAccess about tomorrow's episode. This video contains spoilers.

SAG Live Streaming Interview with Joshua Jackson and John Noble Tomorrow!

Screen Actors Guild Foundation
Conversations with FRINGE - Q&A with Joshua Jackson & John Noble
Thursday, April 21 2:45-3:30 pm (PT)

•Joshua Jackson
Well known as the fast-talking, self-deprecating “Pacey Witter” on “Dawson’s Creek,” Joshua Jackson has been working in front of the camera for almost 20 years.

Jackson’s feature film debut was in Michael Bortman’s “Crooked Hearts.” He has since appeared in the “Mighty Ducks” trilogy, “Cursed,” “Gossip,” “Apt Pupil,” “Cruel Intentions,” “Digger,” “Andre,” “Aurora Borealis,” “Bobby,” “Shutter” and “The Skulls,” as well as in Rose Troche’s critically acclaimed “The Safety of Objects” and the film version of Moises Kaufman’s groundbreaking play “The Laramie Project.” For his work in the Canadian feature film “One Week,” Jackson received the 2010 Genie Award for Best Actor. He has also made cameo appearances in Steven Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s 11,” “Scream 2,” “Urban Legend” and “I Love Your Work.”

Additionally, Jackson enjoyed a successful run on London’s West End starring in “A Life in the Theatre” alongside Patrick Stewart. The acclaimed comedy was written by the Academy Award-nominated and Pulitzer Prize- and Olivier Award-winning David Mamet.

•John Noble
John Noble’s newfound popularity with the international television audience comes after more than 30 years as an acclaimed stage actor and director and distinguished character actor in film.

Noble, best-known worldwide for his award-winning portrayal of “Denethor” in “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” began his career on the Australian stage, where he was a leader in the country’s cultural expansion of the 1970s and 1980s. As Artistic Director of the Stage Company of South Australia for 10 years, he produced and directed more than 70 new plays, spent time in London directing “Sons of Cain” in the West End and produced “Percy and Rose” for the Adelaide Festival of Arts.

His most recent television credits in the U.S. include “Journeyman,” “The Unit,” “Stargate SG-1” and a season on “24” as Russian Consul “Anatoly Markhov.” He has appeared on Australian television as “Captain Blackheart” in the children’s series “Pirate Islands: The Lost Treasure of Fiji.”

Noble’s film credits include “One Night with the King” opposite Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif and “The Last Airbender,” as well as the upcoming “Risen,” the story of a featherweight boxing champion overcoming a tragic injury. Noble lent his voice talents to the soon-to-be-released video game “L.A. Noire.

Event moderated by Jenelle Riley

To submit a question for today's panel:
•Send an email with your name, city and question to LiveStream@sagfoundation.org.

•Tweet your question to @SAGF_Live or use the hashtag #SAGF
Source:sagfoundation.org

FRINGE - Fans Ask Fringe (Part 2)

The cast of Fringe answers your questions.

Fringe Noble Intentions: Bloodline

John Noble discusses why Walternate covertly accelerated Fauxlivia's pregnancy.

New Cast Interviews

John Noble, Jasika Nicole, Blair Brown and Joshua Jackson had a chat with CityTvVancouver and they talk about this season and the possiblity of have an episode directed by Blair Brown.

Fans Ask Fringe, Part 1

Fox has a new video series featuring fan questions answered by the stars of Fringe.

The first video asks the question "If there really was an Alt. universe, what would you like to think that the other you was doing with their life?", and is answered by Jasika Nicole, Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, Blair Brown, Lance Reddick, and John Noble.

Trust in the 'Fringe' Universes is a Fragile Thing

TRUST IN THE ‘FRINGE’ UNIVERSES IS A FRAGILE THING In the world (or should we say worlds?) of “Fringe,” trust is a precious commodity. With universe-hopping spies and allies who harbor deep secrets, it becomes difficult for the character to have much faith in anybody else. No relationship has been taxed more by trust issues than the one between Walter and Peter Bishop. After Peter learned that he was actually born in the alternate universe, meaning “our” Walter was not his real father, things got pretty strained, and they have yet to fully recover. John Noble, who plays Walter, tells Fox All Access that he’s really impressed by the way the writers of “Fringe” deal with the delicate dynamic of trust on the show.
[Source: Fox All Access]

John Noble and Jasika Nicole Wrap-up From Emerald City Comic Con

Someone named 'vengeancebuiltmehastily' put a nice recap on tumblr regarding John Noble and Jasika Nicole's comments this past weekend at the Emerald City Comic Cion in Seattle, Washington. (You can see their 1 spoiler comment in the 'spoilers' section.)

► tagged fringe jasika nicole john noble Fringe panel write-up (if I remember anything else I’ll post it later)
•First and foremost, both John Noble and Jasika Nicole were warm, genuine, friendly, and totally awesome to listen to. They really were incredible.

•John and Jasika both agreed that “vagenda” is one of their favorite Walter quotes but said they couldn’t pick only one because they loved them all.

•One time when they were filming Jasika had to work with live leeches in jars. They kept falling out so she’d reach down and pick them up off the floor. Anna kept telling her she’d stepped on them, even though she hadn’t, to freak her out. Jasika referred to her as a “butthole” because of this.

•John loved working with Leonard Nimoy and called him a very professional man. Jasika, on the other hand, didn’t have any scenes with Nimoy, so her only memory of him is walking by his trailer and awkwardly saying, “Hi…”

•John also thought Chris Lloyd was great to work with and said he did an awesome job on his episode.

•John raved about the performances of Little Peter and Little Olivia in Subject 13, saying he “never did this kind of thing” but that he had actually gone out of his way to get their addresses and written them letters telling them how amazing he thought they were. (Cue the “awww”ing.)

•When asked if they had an on-set nickname for Alt!Astrid, like Fauxlivia and Walternate, Jasika replied, “Kickasstrid.”

•When asked if she preferred working with John Noble or Antonio Banderas, Jasika laughed and said, “No question at all. John Noble.” John looked momentarily stricken, laughingly saying, “I didn’t know who you were going to pick there!”

•John and Jasika both love filming scenes in the lab along with Josh Jackson. They both said they have a ton of fun. John said Jasika and John were always joking around, but Jasika retaliated that he was projecting.

•Apparently, Lance Reddick can’t do scenes with John because he always cracks up. John, of course, tries even harder to make him laugh because of this.

•When asked how much influence he has on Walter’s character, John says he occasionally writes the execs in LA when he feels like they put something in the script that would be out of character for Walter. He added that the beginning of season three he said, “I think Walternate should have a mistress, and so then Walternate got a mistress! And it was Joan Chen. (big smile)”

•Jasika, when asked this question about Astrid, said she didn’t write to the execs ever—except for once, during Brown Betty, when Astrid wasn’t going to get a song. She said she wanted to sing because she had a musical theater background so she wrote them about it. They put a song in for her

•John likes playing Walter more than Walternate because he’s played lots of strong, silent, stoic characters in his career and Walter (particularly in his humorous moments) is more challenging.
Source:tumblr.com

Win Tickets to see John Noble in Paris

The French Fringe website SerieFringe.com is having a contest to give away two tickets to the Sci-Fi Convention in Paris on April 16 and 17th.

One of the tickets is a "Premium Ticket" (135€ value), which includes meeting John noble, plus you'll get an autograph and photo taken with him.

The other "Weekend Ticket" (50€ value) only gets you access to the convention, but you can buy tickets to get an autograph or a photo for 20€ each .


Of course transportation is not included, unless you live in Paris, or are willing to travel there on your own dime, there's not much point in entering. But we know we have some French Fringe fans out there, so to them we say "bonne chance"!

FYI, the contest site is only in French (you can read the site in English through Google Translator here), but the Sci-Fi Convention website is available in French or English.