Below is an extended version of the interview with "Illusions of Grandeur" guest star Jarrett Lennon, including questions regarding his "Freaks and Geeks" appearances which were not included in the Krypton Club Newsletter.

JARRETT LENNON INTERVIEW
By Craig Byrne

Hundreds of actors came and went through the 4-season run of "Lois and Clark," but only a select few of the guests could lay claim to having seen the show from a younger perspective.

Jarrett Lennon appeared on the first season episode "Illusions of Grandeur" as young Nick Collins, kidnapped by a magician (played by Penn Jillette of "Penn & Teller" fame). Having had the chance to guest star on "Lois & Clark" meant Jarrett got a chance to experience more interesting locations (by the end of the show, most everything seemed to be on the backlot), as well as a good general mood on a still-new show.

Since "Lois & Clark," Jarrett has appeared in several shows and movies, including "Promised Land," "City Guys," and, more recently, a recurring role as "Colin" on "Freaks and Geeks." When he's not acting Jarrett enjoys video games, and has a web-designing company (more on that in the interview).

"Illusions of Grandeur" airs again on TNT on the morning of Friday, March 31, at 9AM Eastern time. Here is the interview...

CRAIG: How old were you when you filmed your episode of "Lois & Clark?"

JARRETT: Oh, jeez... well, it couldn't have been January of 1994, as I recall, since that was the infamous Northridge Earthquake. Um... lemme calculate it a different way... okay, it had to have been the end of 1993. I remember that I worked with a kid named Chris in the beginning of the episode, on the first day. He was a fan of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, and was explaining some of the details to me, as I had only just become interested in it (side-note: don't ask me why, but I'm now one of those insane adult Power Rangers fans... you know, the kind you laugh at a lot). The events he described were at the end of the first season, which I believe was in 1993, if I calculated the 7 seasons right. So I was 11 at the time.

CRAIG: Where were the exteriors shot in the scene where your character entered the "magic box?"

JARRETT: Oh, I loved that place. Such an incredible house. I believe it was in Pasadena, in one of the highly exclusive areas. That house was absurdly huge. It was a ton of fun working there, as I had never been inside what can truly be called a mansion. Unbelievable.

CRAIG: Were you there when Teri did her "slide fall?"

JARRETT: Hahaha... the infamous slide shot. No, I was not in the room at that point, though I can remember many comments floating around the set about that one. I believe they use that in commercials, as well.

CRAIG: Can you remember the hypontizing words that kept your character entranced in the villain's lair?

JARRETT: Hmmm... I was going to say that it was probably either "The moon and the stars" or just gibberish, but "You are watching the magic channel... you are watching the magic channel... etc." just popped into my head. I guess it was just hypnotic enough to burn itself into my memory. Funny how it popped in there just as I was typing the first words.

CRAIG: Were you allowed to hang around the set anymore after your scenes were done? What kinds of impressions did you have of the different "Lois & Clark" cast members?

JARRETT: Yes, I did get to hang out on the set, and I had a lot of fun. I can honestly say that there wasn't a single actor I didn't like. I got to work with virtually everyone, and enjoyed the experience a lot. Dean was really fun, and just starting to get used to the fact that he was now an actual name... and was making money, too. It was really funny, actually. It didn't go to his head, it was more of a running joke he'd use. Teri was really sweet. Typically, from her image, you expect something along the lines of a stuck-up babe type of personality. She's much closer to how she is in those Radio Shack commercials... just kind of goofy and fun. I also have the interesting experience of having worked with two first-season-only actors... the original Jimmy Olsen, and Cat. Michael (Jimmy) was really cool, and we hung out a lot the times we worked together. I was sorry when he was replaced. Cat (I forget the actress' name) was also nice, though I didn't get to work with her very much. The mastermind behind the whole crime, "Constance" (Marietta De Prima) was wonderful, and is now starring in The Hughleys! Probably the highlight, though, was working with Penn Jillette. I had always been a fan of Penn & Teller, and working with him was a dream-come-true. He was a fun, down-to-earth guy, and had no problem chatting with on the set. I remember him asking me if he'd lose any points by me by not performing his own stunt (jumping off a ladder from the top of the stage wall). I of course told him he would not, as I'd much rather he live and continue his act, than die and look cool doing it.

I ran into Teri a year or so later, and she was friendly as ever, and remembered me quite well. And Dean a few years after that.

CRAIG: Was it at all trippy to have "Jan Brady" playing your mom in that "Lois & Clark" episode?

JARRETT: She did? Hahaha... I don't actually remember who played my mom... it was "Jan Brady?" Hahaha... that is SO funny.

CRAIG: When did you start acting?

JARRETT: 14 years ago, at the age of 4 (let's see... 14 + 4 = 18, in case anyone reading was wondering). It started with a commercial for "My First Transformers," continued with a lead role in a mini-series called "Nutcracker," and went on from there.

CRAIG: How have you enjoyed your experience on "Freaks and Geeks?"

JARRETT: I enjoyed it a great deal. The pilot was the best, as Jake Kasdan directed, and everyone was in the absolute best of moods. The creative juices were flowing non-stop... I remember how much control they gave the actors. Jake Kasdan and Paul Feig (creator/producer/writer) were on the set every moment, talking to us, asking us for input, messing with the script... things changed SO much between that morning and that evening... the script was only vaguely similar.

I hate to be the one to break this to you, though, but today Freaks and Geeks was cancelled [this interview was conducted on March 21, 2000]. It has been taken off the air, and no more episode will be on. It breaks my heart, not only as one of many actors who got to be a part of it, but also as a regular viewer and fan.

CRAIG: Are any of the people from "Freaks and Geeks" anything like the ones they play on TV?

JARRETT: Well, let's see... of the ones I worked with...

John Daley isn't really his character at all. He's not shy in the least.

Samm Levine: Mostly, yes. A really cool guy... and the only person on the
set who I can honestly say is probably more of a cyber geek than I am (and
that is saying a LOT... and it's also a compliment in my book). He was very
cool to work with, and he's a really intelligent, funny guy.

Martin Starr: Almost. The only similarity, really, is his dry demeanor.
That doesn't mean he's not a nice guy, he's very nice, and very funny... but
he has that dry delivery, even in our world. It's actually really cool.
But he's not at all slow or dumb.

Chauncey Leopardi (Alan): I've worked with him in the past, so I know him
well. He's a cool guy, and only like his character at his nicest.

Sarah Hagan (Millie): She and I share the same manager, and I'm the
webmaster of her official web site. She's not at all like her character,
really. She's a nice, fun person, and not at all the quiet prude Millie is.

Natasha Melnick (Cindy Sanders): Like her character? Only barely. The
only attribute they share is that they're both extremely sweet, happy,
caring people. Natasha is not even slightly cheerleaderish... she listens
to Punk Alternative! She doesn't have that almost grating
happy-go-luckiness that Cindy often has. She's more of a down-to-earth type
of person. She doesn't have the oblivious, innocent naivete of Cindy, she's
really quite brilliant and has a fantastic sense of humor. A real treat to
work with, and I would consider her one of my best friends.

CRAIG: Would you consider "Colin" to be a geek, or just a normal guy who
cares about what happens to the geeks?

JARRETT: Somewhere between, really. Colin's not the geek's-geek, but he's certainly not at all a normal guy. He's geeky, but sees himself as more of an observer of geeks... he can almost laugh at them, though he'd never come right out and do so. I'm sure he had it rough when he was the age of the main geeks, but he's kind of forgotten some of that, and uses the rest as kind of a background understanding, but not for sympathy. I think he kind of got off-track a little in the second and third episodes... I still see him as he was in the the pilot. But everyone needs an outlet, and the theater-geek was a good one for him. I think that in that sense, he was the most like Paul Feig himself. Paul was the (self-admitted) theater-geek, and I drew off of some of Paul's energy and notes for that.

CRAIG: What is your favorite role that you have played so far?

JARRETT: Well, Colin [on "Freaks & Geeks"] was fun, though a little too detached for me. I think my favorite was "Mouse" in Promised Land. He was a little more of a stereotypical geek, but lovable, and knowable. He was very intelligent, and unconventional. One of the problems with geeks is that they have fantastic ideas... but usually they're only good in theory. Mouse always had tons of "stuff" with him, and so he decided to use a luggage cart to carry around his briefcase and backpack and other stuff. It never occured to him that he looked totally stupid rolling a luggage cart around with him, plus it was terribly awkward... always getting caught on things, etc. He was always inventing really cool gadgets, though, and that was fun. He had one to set off the fire alarms (only so he could get away from the bullies), one to patch into the school's PA system, and a tracking device so he could save the girl he loved from the srping dance date he had warned her was trouble (he was right). He was just a really nice, kind of real (I was working on that), lovable guy.

CRAIG: What show would you like to appear on, past or present, that you've never had a chance to be on?

JARRETT: Well... that's a hard one. I've had the luck of doing some truly great stuff. Um, current shows I love, and would love to be on: Dharma & Greg (almost made it to that... but they picked someone completely different at the last minute), Sports Night (the only show I can say truly rivals the incredible quality of F&G), The Practice... I don't know. It's really hard to say. I suppose if I had the real power to choose, I'd choose to bring Promised Land back. That was probably the most enjoyable job I've ever done, with the best people I've ever worked with. Second choice might be to have a more frequent role on Freaks and Geeks, if that was brought back. And third would be Sports Night, though I'm not sure how someone my age would fit into that.

CRAIG: I read on your website that you played Scott Hayden on the "Starman" pilot. Was this in a flashback scene; how did that happen?

JARRETT: That was so beyond long ago, and they cut out my part when it aired, that I don't quite remember. But, yes, I think it was a flashback... I remember something about a car going off a cliff... I think my mother died in a car crash, or something... it's vague, and I don't remember actually filming it... just a slight fuzzy memory of the set.

CRAIG: What projects do you have coming up?

JARRETT: I wish I could tell you, but I don't even know! The hardest thing about this business is the waiting for work. With Freaks and Geeks over, I can't expect to be brought back on that. There is a Saturday morning sit-com called City Guys which I've guested on 3 times in the past. Production starts up again next month, so they might bring me back sometime this year. That's a really fun show to work on, 'cause I get along well with the cast and crew, and it's really easy work for me. Sit-coms are a lot of fun for me, becuase I usually just know what to do. I play them for what they're worth automatically... I'm good at "performing."

CRAIG: I've been told that you do webpages on the side, including for some of your co-stars. Would you like to tell the Krypton Club Newsletter readers about that?

JARRETT: My company, 3XVISION, does web site designing. We've designed the web sites for several actors, a movie, and a well-known hair stylist. Please check out our work at http://jarrett.nu/3xvision . We specialize in actors' web sites, but we'll do just about anything. Our rates are very competitive, and we truly do great work. I'm a perfectionist as an actor, and that comes through here, too. I don't let any web site go up until I'm 100% sure it's perfect.

CRAIG: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

JARRETT: Um... Freaks & Geeks fans, please voice your support! NBC dropped the show, but they're allowing other networks to pick up the final 6 episodes. In theory, if it did well on another network, they could pick it up for another season. Though another season is highly doubtful, at least we might have a shot at seeing those last 6 episodes! The two most likely networks are the WB and FOX. WB probably wouldn't go for it, as it's the total opposite of their teen dramas, so FOX is the best bet. Write to both of them, though, and tell them how much you want to see them take over the fantastic legacy of Freaks and Geeks. Don't let the show go up in smoke.

Return to interviews page