“The Invisible Man's” Mike McCafferty talks nepotism, strong chicks, and how “Star Wars” just makes no sense.
by Adelheide
In June of 2000, a new television program premiered on the SciFi Channel: “The Invisible Man”. Now, I remember the 70's series of the same name, featuring a post “Man from U.N.C.L.E.” David McCallum. Plus “The Gemini Man”… I had a serious crush on Ben Murphy. (And, before you ask, yes, I saw all these in first-run. I'm old. Shaddup.) So I decided to have a look at this modern take on an old chestnut, and I was immediately taken with the latest offering's quirky sensibility and offbeat humor. It delighted us with pathos in one scene, snarkiness in the next. Oh, I liked this.
I began watching regularly. Heck, Friday night was turning out to be one of the best nights of television. Okay, the WB's late, lamented “Buffy:TVS” and “Angel” Tuesday still had all the other nights beat, but for me, Friday was close on its heels. We had “The Invisible Man”, followed by the epic “Farscape”, then a jaunt over to Showtime for “Stargate:SG1”. Friday nights became a reason to gather folks together, get out the good snacks, hunker down and enjoy.
Of course, all series have a rough first season. It's the shakedown cruise where the bugs are worked out, and everyone figures out what they're doing. There are hits and, boy, are there are misses, but eventually, a series finds its legs and, if it's any good, hits the ground running during its second season. “The Invisible Man” (or I-Man, to its fans) was shaping up to do just that. Starring Vincent Ventresca (“Prey”) as the unseeable dude in question, veteran character actor Paul Ben-Victor (seen as Tooms' third hot lunch in “The X-Files”) as the resident "bi-polar James Bond", Eddie Jones (Pa Kent in “Lois and Clark”) as the manipulative, mysterious man known only as The Official, and Australian actor Shannon Kenny (“Purgatory”), steely cool as another puzzling character, The Keeper, it boasted an impressive, well-rounded cast.
And that wasn't all it had going for it. The show was blessed with excellent writing, innovative special effects and terrific character interplay. There was plenty of male eye candy to ogle, a strong, competent woman to cheer for, a boss you loved to hate, and - last but certainly not least - an office flunky to outdo all office flunkies. That's Eberts, The Official's right hand and number cruncher extraordinare. The man with every conceivable plan. Copied, collated, and bound in a spiffy plastic cover.
For a while, Eberts hung behind The Official's shoulder, parrot to The Official's beaurocratic Black Beard, but fans quickly warmed to this nebbish with a heart of gold and an answer for every question. Eberts began to move into the forefront more, and though still a supporting character, he was finally introduced in the second season with his very own clip in the opening credits. I-Man fans everywhere were thrilled.
Not the least because Mike McCafferty, who plays Eberts, has become well known and loved by the fans that frequent SciFi's maddening bulletin board system. Every Monday he posts "The Eberts Files", where he gives everyone a behind-the-scenes scoop of the show. His posts are always enlightening and funny, and I found I began to look forward to them every week; indeed, I decided to seek further info. I paid a quick visit to mikemccafferty.com, and since I've always had a soft spot for bookish types, I liked him more.
I liked him so much so that I up and decided to ask him for an interview. I'm really not sure what possessed me. I've never interviewed anyone in my life. But Mike just came across as such a nice guy and I figured what the hell? To my surprise, I got a quick "Sure" in response. Okay, I thought. He is either a very trusting soul, or he wants to get as much information about me as possible in case I start stalking him.
Which I would never do. Oh noooo…
E-mails and phone calls ensued, until, at long last, both Mike and I were able to come up with a date that worked for us both. So I settled in, hung a "Go away—I'm busy" sign outside my cubicle, and we launched into a nice little chat...
Adel: Thanks for taking the time to chat with me.
MM: No problem.
Adel: You're from the Midwest, aren't you?
MM: Correct. I'm from Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Adel: And you're a big Science Fiction fan?
MM: Absolutely, ever since I was a little kid. “Star Trek” would come on, you know, insyndication. It came on right after “Petticoat Junction”. For a little kid, that show was amazing to look at, it is so based in vivid colors and forms. I guess it would be like “Power Rangers” is now for kids. Fortunately it had more depth than “Power Rangers”. And I saw “Star Wars” nine times as a kid. Maybe there's a Science Fiction gene: you either get Science Fiction or you don't. There are a lot of people who don't understand it, but that's okay. We get it.
Adel: Any tales of fandom you can share?
MM: Not like joining a fan club or anything like that. I watched “Star Trek” religiously. The independent channels would broadcast the episodes at three in the morning, and me and a couple of friends would watch it all the time, even though we'd seen these episodes a million times. From the Midwest, there is not cynicism or sarcasm like you get in other areas. We were able to look at it all fresh. Being from the pragmatism of the Midwest, I understand that the Gorn ["Arena"] was a guy in a green rubber suit, but I was able to suspend my disbelief and go along for the ride. I never really got involved in anything organized, though. It was just my friends and I, having fun.
Adel: Is that the side of fandom the side you were attracted to?
MM: As a kid, you don't really think that way. As you grow up, you start seeing more of that. I was totally into “Star Wars”. I cried when the last movie came out and I saw it. It was like losing your own friends! But, as I got older, the more I thought about the plots, the more they didn't make sense. I mean, Luke and Leia were brother and sister? I mean, he was attracted to her!? He kissed her a couple of times! That was weird. Then I did some research and found that George Lucas didn't really know how “Star Wars” movies he wanted to make, and when he made the first movie, he didn't know how far it was going to go. So, it made more sense to me then. Of course, you have these hardcore fans who think that George Lucas is God and infallible. And I can see that he isn't. I mean, there was a “Star Wars” Christmas special! Bea Arthur was singing! Princess Leia sang the finale! Chewbacca's family was all there. I still love “Star Wars”, but I can look at it all with a more critical eye.
Adel: Some of the best-realized female characters are in science fiction. Why do you think this is?
MM: I can see Gillian Anderson as the poster child for this. Claudia Black is great. I guess I'm split on this idea. The two women on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”...the doctor and the counselor? I thought they were pretty weak characters. And Seven of Nine! I like her as an actress. But her reason for being there became obvious with her costume selection. I'm spilt on this. Some are well written and some are not. There is Buffy, though...
Adel: Do you have any science fiction heroines?
MM: Sigourney Weaver set the benchmark for strong women in science fiction. As far as strong, well-rounded women in sci-fi. She set the bar for that. She really defined something unique and different. Linda Hamilton brought that up as well. Showed a woman could be tough, sexual, intelligent, and thoughtful, instead of 50's stereotype of screaming and fainting. I really liked Diana Muldaur. She really stirred the pot on “Star Trek: Next Gen”. But then they got rid of her and the show got more cerebral. Shannon Kenny, of course. I think she is a terrific actress with a great character to play. Brandy Ledford plays a real ass-kicking babe.
Adel: When was the moment that you discovered that you wanted to be a performer?
MM: I'd always kind of been the class clown. I would always get in trouble for that. Nothing bad, but funny and disruptive. When you're from the Midwest, you think it's such a far-fetched thing, going from Michigan to Hollywood to be a star. I went to college for biology. I did a musical and loved it, but I thought I would get my biology degree and that would be that. I thought I would work in a lab and do theater as a hobby. But, I got a D+ in my first biology class...not that I didn't know the material, but I was in a play that semester. On one hand, I'm rehearsing, singing, acting, doing all this stuff that I love and getting recognition for it. On the other hand, I'm cutting up a pig. I wasn't getting applause for dissection, but I was in these plays. People were coming up to me, saying, "That number you just did... that was great!" and "Hey Mike, you're really funny!" And I start thinking, "Yeah, I am!" It was more the path of least resistance than anything else.
Adel: How the heck did you get from Michigan to California?
MM: I really took off with the theater stuff in college. Plays, musicals, children's theater... and forensics team. I was always involved in music so I formed an a capella quartet. I got together with three other guys in choir and we started making money, singing and making money and getting more shows. After 3 years, I said, "You know, guys, I really want to go to California, just to see if I can make it." I wasn't sure the guys would want to go. I mean, they have their lives, but if you don't try, you'll never know. But when I asked them, they all said, "Yeah", and we spent a year saving money. At that point, our group was pretty popular, we were making as much as $1000 per appearance, so we got our money together, packed up, and we moved out here [California]. We were here for six months, then two of the guys got into a fight and moved back home. So I went back to acting after that. But the ends justified the means. Because it got me out here to San Diego.
Adel: Tell me your stories as a tortured, starving actor.
MM: You know, I've been really lucky. I've never been to the point of my last dollar and living on the street or working as a waiter. In college I decided to stop performing for free. At a certain point, you have to decide as a professional actor, "No. I need money". I wasn't afraid to take anything that was loosely related to acting. I worked at theme parks. Dinner theater. I sang for a living. I've been very, very lucky in that I've never been out of a theatrical job. They didn't pay much, and people may snub their noses at them. But you know what? It paid the rent and I was doing my craft. I think if I had ever really struggled, I would have decided to find a new career.
Adel: How did you land the gig on “The Invisible Man”?
MM: It's a long and complicated story. The easy answer is that I got the job through my wife [Sarah McCafferty, casting director for Stu Segall Studios]. But, in the beginning development of the show, she wouldn't let me audition for the part. This was her first big casting assignment and she was leery about using me. It presented a conflict of interest for both of us. Sarah would be ten times more sensitive about submitting me for a part. The first go round, she wouldn't let me look at any of the roles. Then she finally said, "I'll let you read for one of the scientists" (from the pilot). I remember looking at the breakdown of characters, and I saw Eberts. It was listed as "possible recurring character. Mousy, Smithers-like character". And I thought, Great! What a fun character this would be! So I asked Sarah and she just said, "You aren't right for it." But, after a while, she relented. "You can read for the technician, but you can go also ahead and look at the role of Eberts".
Adel: And how did the audition go?
MM: Breck Eisner [one of the series' original producers] was conducting the audition. I read for [the role of] the technician and he said that was good. As I was leaving, Sarah asked him if he wanted me to read for the role of Eberts. She didn't tell him that we were married or even knew each other. At first, Breck said no. Then, almost immediately, he said, "Oh, why not?" I read, it went well, they put me on tape. And I didn't hear anything for six weeks. Finally, Sarah said they had cast someone in LA, they said it was a "name". Okay, so I didn't get the part. I went to LA to talk to my agent there, and she told me that I'd got a commercial. This was on a Wednesday...I was ready to go shoot this commercial. Then Sarah called: "The guy who was going to do the part can't now. Matt Greenburg [series creator] looked at all the tapes and likes you. They shoot on Friday". So I had to choose between the [“Invisible Man”] pilot, or the commercial. Commercials pay more, but I really liked this part, so I cancelled the commercial and really pissed off my LA agent. But Matt Greenburg was the nicest guy and kept telling me how great I was doing. And things progressed from there. For me, it's a sensitive subject. Both Sarah and I want to be recognized on our own merits. It would be easy for people to say, "Oh, you got the job because your wife works for the studio, nudge nudge." I usually over-explain this story because we both want to be able to stand on our own feet.
Adel: What got you started on The Eberts Files?
MM: Well, there were two thoughts behind it. One is trying to make a connection with the fans. You know, if they like my character, that might provide longevity for him. The other is to keep people in the loop about what's going on. I wanted the show to work more than I wanted me to work. I care about the show so much that if Eberts had to be sacrificed to save the show, that would almost be okay with me. I also wanted the fans to be able to relate to us. So we could reach out and say, "What do you think? Tell us what you like and don't like." It's good to keep the fans involved. We get good feedback from them. And it helps us make the show better.
Adel: Are we due for another Eberts-heavy episode?
MM: I don't think so. Not really. Sometimes, it depends on the shooting schedule. They really haven't gone back to the Eberts well this season. We have that Eberts trilogy, the "boxed set": "The Importance of Being Eberts", "Johnny Apocalypse" and "Going Postal". Vince would look at me during that filming and jokingly asking, "Whose show is this?" But they do that with characters. They bring them out then tuck them away. "Germ Theory" is as close to Eberts-heavy as we get.
Adel: Tell me about GEMS.
MM: It was started by someone with the handle of spud. It stands for Get Eberts More Scenes. They are a great group. There is an e-group and website. Extremely flattering. I don't know if the producers know it exists, but it makes me feel good, as far as ego inflation.
Adel: You've been getting a lot of fan recognition. All this attention happened really fast for you.
MM: Yeah, it's happened fast. In just a little over a year. Sarah's handled it well. But it can be a little much sometimes. When we went to dinner with some fans, she says she could have been on fire and no one would have noticed. Everything I said was so funny. It's tough to have one half of this team get all this attention. It's been fun, though.
Adel: What is it like, working in a genre of which you're such a fan?
MM: I guess it didn't hit me until half way through the first season that I was doing what I always wanted to do with my life. This is as close to doing everything I want to do. It's science fiction, comedy, and drama. This show especially allows for a lot of ad-libbing and just going for it. This is the best time of my life. I'm having a great time. I wish it had been a little more hard core sci-fi. That would have thrilled me to tears. We aren't wearing space suits or flying ships... If I could, I would do “Star Trek” or “Farscape”. But, for right now, this is a good as it gets.
I would like to extend special thanks to Mike McCafferty for his participation, and the organizers at Comic Con 2001 who made him sign autographs for over four hours, thus delaying this interview for several weeks. Really. Thanks a bunch.