Chris Potter on Yahoo/TVGEN Chat
Transcript from September 9, 1998
| TVGEN: | Welcome to the TVGEN/Yahoo! Chat Auditorium. Our special guest tonight is Silk Stalkings star Chris Potter. Thanks for joining us! |
| Chris Potter: | This is always a fun experience. "Hi" to any fans of mine out there, and if you are not a fan please log off! Let the questions roll! |
| calmath98: | What can we look forward to on Silk Stalkings? |
| Potter: | At the end of the 12th episode of the season, we have ten shows left in this season, and I think the last two shows will be a two-parter. Other than that, I never know week to week what we are going to see. |
| timsmajamieb76: | Will you be directing any more episodes of SS this season? You have done an outstanding job on the ones you have directed. |
| Potter: | Yes, I will be directing in about three weeks. |
| ritam1127: | Thought you were great in the TV movie The Waiting Game. Any other TV movie planned soon? |
| Potter: | I have no plans at all right now for the future. My contractual obligations are finished with Silk Stalkings this year, and we'll have to see what the future brings. |
| CP_Crazy_Girl: | Chris, do you ever miss filming Kung Fu? |
| Potter: | No, Kung Fu was a great time in my life for me, and a wonderful group of people, and I'm proud of what we accomplished, but it's in my work history now. I certainly enjoyed it while I was doing it. |
| gilmourfan93: | Any celebrity hockey games in the near future...preferably in upstate New York? |
| Potter: | I think they are talking about one coming up, but I'm not sure when that's going to be. |
| KayDeeKay: | What is a normal daily routine like for you? |
| Potter: | I have a 12-hour turnaround, so I always start work 12 hours after I finish. And, as a lot of people know, I have four children. So, at the end of the day, whenever that is, I start my routine at home. So my wife and I usually finish at 10, 10:30, and start again hard the next morning. My wife is very busy! And I do that even months of the year, I'm on that schedule, and after that, I have some more free time to spend with my family, friends, and at the bar! |
| TVGEN: | What was it like to do the cartoon voice of "Gambit" for the X-Men? |
| Potter: | It was sort of a life experience, I did it for five years, I'd like to do more of that in the future. It was a whole different genre of entertainment, that's for sure. |
| ritam1127: | I really enjoy watching you on Silk Stalkings. How do you like living in San Diego versus Toronto? |
| Potter: | Well, we miss Toronto dearly, but I think the reason for that is that everyone we know lives there. Friends and family. We miss them terribly. But I tell you, there couldn't be a better alternative than San Diego, California, and particularly La Jolla, where we live. |
| KayDeeKay: | Do the writers allow you much input on the character of Tom Ryan? |
| Potter: | None. The writers have never talked to me about my character on this show, Silk Stalkings. |
| gpepsiman: | Hey, Chris, how well do you and Janet Gunn get along together? You two really look like friends. |
| Potter: | We have a wonderful working relationship. I think, as in any business where you spend 12 hours a day with a person who is not your spouse, that's not a person that you tend to spend time with at the end of the working day. But I mean, as two professional actors, we really work well together. |
| LadyJade900: | Tourmaline is fantastic! Any plans for another CD? |
| Potter: | Thank you very much for that, but it was really designed as an offering to fans and friends. I have a whole arsenal of songs that I'll probably eventually record, but I don't have any plans for a CD right now. |
| dawn_sinclair: | How long have you been acting? |
| Potter: | I started as a kid in theater, and I did musicals from the time I was 8 to 18. I spent years doing amateur theater. And I started professionally as an actor ten years ago. |
| DixieChicks97: | Are there any actors, writers, etc. that you would like to work with that you have not gotten a chance to? |
| Potter: | Absolutely. There are hundreds. I can't name names particularly. |
| MSztybel: | How long does it take to complete one episode of Silk, including post production? |
| Potter: | It's usually about three weeks to air, right now. |
| CP_Crazy_Girl: | Chris, what's your fave song on the CD? |
| Potter: | "Tourmalaine." |
| TLeCates: | Do you miss live theater, the energy of the live audience as opposed to a camera? |
| Potter: | Yes, I do. I think more important than the feeling of a live audience was the feeling of being a teacher or a professor, and I had an audience that was hearing me, learning something. I was making people think and feel right then and there. That's not a feeling you get from TV. That's what lured me to become a professional actor, that feeling of contributing to a group of people. Whether the words were written by someone else didn't matter, it was knowing that people were being affected somehow by the performance, or the lesson of that evening. |
| Space_Weevil: | Did you or any of the cast members pull any practical jokes on the set? |
| Potter: | Well, they sure did on Kung Fu. We used to have a blooper reel about a mile long. On Silk, it's not quite the same that way. So the answer is No, not enough. |
| cpofc: | Would you consider doing a comedy series? |
| Potter: | That was the first series I did. I was doing a lot of comic work in theater, and I did a sitcom for three years, which was my first TV job. I enjoyed that and I would love to do that again. Of course, there is humor in all the work you do as an actor, and it's important to find that first before anything else. |
| ritalee_97: | Do you get to see much of the sights of San Diego? |
| Potter: | When you have four kids, and you have relatives from Toronto, yeah, I've seen every sight there is to see in San Diego, and then some. We get lots of visitors and we're expected to entertain them. |
| dedcpald44_98: | Which character do you most enjoy playing: Peter Caine or Tom Ryan? |
| Potter: | I can't answer that question. These are completely different worlds, so it's not a question of which character I enjoy more. The job as a lead actor on a one-hour series is usually more a question of working conditions and surviving the hours than it is about what you like about your character, or which one you like most. Frankly, the most fun I had playing a character was on Lonesome Dove. |
| fengguan: | Mr. Potter, did you study martial arts, or is everything we've seen just acting? |
| Potter: | No, I've never studied martial arts, everything you saw was making it up and getting injured to prove it. But I did all of my own fighting on that show. |
| KayDeeKay: | What's the weirdest experience you've ever had with a fan? |
| Potter: | I don't have enough time. I haven't met anybody who hasn't been sincere, that's for sure. There have been lots of crazy encounters. Everyone means well, I know that. |
| MSztybel: | I heard you wrote a script to Silk Stalkings. Will we ever get to see it? |
| Potter: | No, I've never presented it to them. There is not a lot of opportunity here for that type of communication, so I've never presented it. |
| kylenolan: | Can you tell us about the Halloween episode you will be directing? |
| Potter: | No, I don't know anything about it. I haven't received a script yet. |
| irishman_17: | Where are you from originally? |
| Potter: | I was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. |
| zcn23: | How did you get into directing? |
| Potter: | I was basically asked, flat out, by the producer of Silk Stalkings, if there was an interest on my part. And I declined originally, only because as the lead actor I didn't feel I would have the time to prepare. But eventually I decided that maybe I should do it, and I've enjoyed doing it. |
| dedcpald44_98: | Is life very different in San Diego, as compared to Toronto? |
| Potter: | Yes and no. Most of my life is surrounded by my family here, which it was there. So we can be anywhere and life would be pretty much the same. But as far as the surroundings, there are some major differences between Canada and the United States, and we really enjoy it here. |
| timsmajamieb76: | About how long before you begin directing an episode do you get the script? |
| Potter: | When I'm acting, I usually get my scripts the day before we start to shoot. When directing, I'll probably get the script two weeks before, and have one week to prep it. |
| kylenolan: | Who has been your favorite guest star(s) to work with on Silk? |
| Potter: | I can't think of one in particular. I enjoyed working with Tracy Scoggins. There are a lot of great guest stars. I enjoy being around anyone down here who is a guest star, it's great to have a new face on the set! |
| ritam1127: | You were very good as a villain on Lonesome Dove. Do you especially like playing the villain? |
| Potter: | Yes, it depends on how well it's written, but it's a fun turn for me, somebody who is usually cast as a leading man. It's nice to be cast as a leading villain sometimes! |
| OlenWhitaker: | I heard a rumour that there might be a Kung Fu:TLC movie coming up? Is this true? |
| Potter: | I've never heard that. I would doubt that is true. |
| Teacher_Peggy: | Who is your favorite hockey player? |
| Potter: | LOL! Retired, I'd have to say Gordie Howe. Currently, oh, man, I don't know. Just anybody who plays for the Leafs, I still love the Leafs. |
| cp_freak: | Whatever happened to The Counselor, the movie you were planning back in Toronto? |
| Potter: | Oh, like most, you know, film projects, it just fell by the wayside without financing. It's a long, complicated story, and one that any actor with ambitions could tell you. |
| irishman_17: | How did you get the role on Silk Stalkings? |
| Potter: | I put myself on tape for the movie for Zorro, Speed 2 and Silk Stalkings, in the same hour in Toronto, and my agent sent the tapes out. And I got a call from Zorro and Silk Stalkings. And Silk Stalkings was going to be a longer job and more money, so I took it. It's as simple as that. I had never heard of the show or seen it when I took the job. |
| lmb73: | Who's your favorite rock 'n' roll group? |
| Potter: | Oh, man, I have millions. Jazz, classical, rock, and pop music. I've always been a Todd Rundgren fan. I love Miles Davis, Coltrane, Dave Brubeck. I love music and I love musicians, so that's impossible to answer. |
| lise713: | What was it like working with Doug Gilmour on the KF:TLC episode Shaolin shot? |
| Potter: | Oh, he was great, fantastic. He was shy. And he owes me five bucks, because I beat him in a shoot-out. |
| dedcpald44_98: | How long have you been with the Celebrity All-Star Hockey Team? |
| Potter: | About six years — maybe longer. No, six years. |
| CP_Crazy_Girl: | Chris, what's the strangest or scariest thing that's ever happened to you while filming? |
| Potter: | I'd say a number of different accidents have scared me pretty good. Last year I had a bad fall resulting in a concussion and I had a seizure, I had hurt myself pretty good. In Kung Fu I hurt myself pretty often. Usually back injuries and head injuries scare me. It's a contact sport, this TV. |
| kylenolan: | Do you ever visit your fan web sites or Silk Stalkings web sites? |
| Potter: | Sometimes I am a fly on the wall. |
| brigit27: | Who do you give most of your credit to as an actor? |
| Potter: | My wife gets the checks! |
| KayDeeKay: | TVGEN quoted Ms. Gunn as saying "This is my last season." Is this true? If so, would "Cassy" be recast, or would Tom get a new partner? |
| Potter: | No one has ever spoken to me about that situation at all, ever. So I truly don't know what happened. |
| ritam1127: | Do you ever get to see or talk to David Carradine since KF:TLC stopped filming? |
| Potter: | Yes, we stay in touch. |
| KayDeeKay: | How alike are you and Tom Ryan? |
| Potter: | We both like to get off work early! |
| Sloanville: | Hey, Chris, belated birthday greetings! What did you do for your birthday? |
| Potter: | I spent it in an emergency room with a very good, close friend of ours — in an emergency room — who unfortunately was having a psychotic episode. I was the only one he trusted. |
| TVGEN: | Chris has to go finish filming an important scene.... |
| Potter: | Let's do this again sometime! |