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CLASSIC INTERVIEW! Conducted
in March 2000 by Craig Byrne (PlanetKrypton@aol.com) - Originally
published in Krypton Club Newsletter #208 (3/2000)
 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 Nicky 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, 2000, 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://jarrettlennon.com.
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.
Interview conducted via e-mail in March 2000 by
Craig Byrne (PlanetKrypton@aol.com) -
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