‘Fringe’: Seth Gabel talks Lincoln Lee, Season 4September 19, 2011 9:00 am
"Fringe" returns Friday night after a summer of hanging questions. Has Peter Bishop been erased from history? How will the two universes’ Fringe teams interact? Whatever happened to Amy Jessup, that new FBI agent they introduced awhile back? If any show is good at keeping its secrets, it’s "Fringe." Though one welcome spoiler did slip out over the summer months: Seth Gabel is moving from guest star to cast member in time for Season 4. That means we’ll be seeing more of Gabel’s character, Lincoln Lee.
When I chatted with Gabel about the promotion, I asked if it came with any hazing. Did John Noble make him do key stands? Clean his trainer? “It’s actually the opposite.” Gabel laughed. “John is a very protective person. He realized I was stepping into a new situation; he took a parental approach. Actually, I had to show him after a while that I was OK. When we went to Comic-Con he was introducing me to people saying, ‘This is Seth. He plays Lincoln Lee.’ I had to let him know I could handle it.”
Fans of "Fringe" know exactly who Lincoln Lee is. Besides having one of the coolest names in television, Lincoln is also a key member of the other universe’s Fringe team, which made him very prominent last season. It's been a big leap for a character who was originally planned for a one-episode gig. “My first introduction to the show was very unpredictable as far as how I’d be involved in the future of the story. I was just signed on for one guest episode. It was very open-ended on whether or not I’d even survive, but as we were shooting it, Akiva Goldsman, who was the writer and director of that episode, kept on putting in little hints that my character would be much more involved in the show. I started to get very excited, but I had to wait a whole summer if, in fact, I’d be back.”