After a long hiatus, Fox sci-fi series Fringe returned to solid numbers to reign in its post-Idol slot with 10.9 million viewers. It helped, too, that some 10 minutes of American Idol trickled into Fringe’s timeslot.
Perhaps one of Fringe‘s most known actors, 60-year-old John Noble, who plays mad scientist Dr. Walter Bishop, says he feels a connection with the character that he plays.
“I think at my better moments, there is a lot of me in Walter — I hope not including his mental illness — but in the strange sense of humor and the general interest in things,” says Noble, who is best known for playing perhaps equally crazy Denethor in the blockbuster film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Dr. Bishop is a bit on the curious side, often wondering at modern technology and seems to be disconnected from the world. He spent 17 years in a mental hospital, before his estranged son Peter (Joshua Jackson) and FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) had him investigate odd occurrences.
“He gets very thrilled by things. This happens. The ‘eureka’ moments are astonishing,” he says, adding that other than his character’s insatiable curiosity, he also has a sadness borne out of his incarceration, brought back by returning memories.
As a little side note, Noble says that secrets involving his relationship with his son will be revealed going forward.
As for Fringe executive producer Jeff Pinkner, he admires the depth that Noble is able to put into his character.
“He has the ability to play the scientific intelligence and curiosity and also the real heartbreak of the mental illness this character has suffered,” he says. “The danger in a character as broadly drawn as this is, at worst, it could teeter toward caricature.”
– Glenn Diaz, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: USA Today
(Image courtesy of USA Today)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
