July 2001

Dominic Keating Interview

Dominic Keating is about to become a multi-millionaire TV star - but you have probably never heard of him. Keating, from Leicester, has landed the lead role of Lt Malcolm Reed in the new Star Trek prequel - Enterprise. He started filming 26 episodes last April and the series is certain to be re-commissioned by Paramount.

He told TV Plus: "I took a photograph of the first cheque I received from them. It was the biggest cheque I'd ever received for acting.

"The contract I signed after doing the final audition was massive. I've no idea what it will work out to be. But it is multi-million and if we get the movies, multi-multi million."

Keating will follow in Patrick Stewart's footsteps, as Stewart came to fame as Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Dominic said: "I have a couple of figures batted around for his new movie Nemesis and I think it is $10-12 million. I met him the other day, he's a thoroughly nice man.

"He's a lovely actor and a good mate. He told me to have fun and that's what I want to do in the role."

Enterprise will take the Star Trek franchise on to a new level, Keating believes.

"You can shoot a drama and not know what you are doing but when I saw the premiere it suddenly struck me that it was mesmerizing. I thought this is a good film.

"I had never been a fan of sci-fi fodder. It's different from Star Trek and the name is not in the title for a good reason."

From: Teletext.co.uk

Submitted by Kasia

July 2001

"The final frontier has a new beginning."

Lt. Malcolm Reed: Dominic Keating

Lt. Malcolm Reed: British, male, late twenties. Armoury Officer. In the new age of humanity's enlightenment, Reed is a bit of a throwback. He's a 22nd century 'soldier', all spit and polish and by-the-book. He maintains a rigorous daily schedule; when he isn't on duty, he's working out on a futuristic exercise apparatus he keeps in his quarters, or toiling in the munitions lab, perfecting

some new kind of torpedo.

He's the antithesis of our Chief Engineer, Charlie Tucker, who is undisciplined, a 'rebel' of sorts. The two men are frequently at odds. Reed is always trying to expand his weapons inventory, storing munitions in parts of the ship designated to Engineering. Tucker is constantly finding photon grenades cluttering his Jefferies Tubes. There just isn't enough deck space for both men.

Reed is filled with contradictions. Despite his near-obsession with regulations and munitions, he's also soft spoken, shy, and awkward around women.

--From the Official Enterprise Bible

Dominic Keating plays munitions expert Malcolm Reed on Enterprise, the guy responsible for watching the backs of the crew. Reed also goes down in the history books as the man who developed the first hand Phasers for the Star Trek universe. If Keating's face looks familiar to genre fans, it should: the actor has racked up an impressive lists of credits over the past few years with appearances on The Immortals, G vs. E, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Special Unit 2 and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Early one recent moment, trekgalaxy.com caught up with Keating in his Los Angeles home, where the easily-likeable actor shared his wit and insight into this next leg of the Star Trek adventure.

You have a very solid background in the science fiction genre.

It looks that way now, doesn't it?

Can you talk about your relationship with Science Fiction, and how it led you to your role as Malcolm Reed on Enterprise?

It is strange when you think of how much science fiction I've done in recent years. My manager pointed that out to me when we were in the middle of the audition process for Star Trek. He said to me, 'you're so right for this! You've done The Immortals, you've done Poltergeist and Buffy.' I thought, goodness, I suppose he was right in some way! It's not that I specifically set out to do only Sci-Fi, or even Star Trek. It was just another acting gig and another character. But having said that, yeah, I'm perfect for Star Trek when you look at what I've done in the past. I just hope there's a life after Star Trek - and a life in Star Trek, that I'm not just a Sci-Fi actor and that's all I'm going to ever do. 

What is life on Enterprise like for Dominic Keating?

It's very fun. I just love going to work there. It really is the best. I love it all. I came away from work last night, walking through the corridors of Paramount between the stages, and saw the sun setting on the Paramount sign and the famous water tower, and I just had to pinch myself.

So who is Malcolm Reed, and how much of him is Dominic Keating?

Well, ultimately, it's all you, isn't it? (Keating laughs) It's always extensions of you. And yes, I'm taking Malcolm Reed under my wing at the moment, because they haven't quite decided where he's going to go, and how dimensional he's going to be. As he was described in the breakdown when I first heard about the part, I actually thought I wasn't particularly right for it because he was written as being bookish, button-down, a real proper Brit, shy around women. And I'm certainly not shy around women. (Keating laughs) That's really not me. I was talking with Rick Berman when they offered me the part and we were discussing how Malcolm might be and sort of the avenues he might take. I mentioned that when I was in my boarding school in England, at around the age of 17 or 18, I was thinking at that time about not going to University and joining the army. My mother had come from an army family and I'd been a member of the cadet force at my school for several years and had really liked it. Then I told him that soon after that, in training, I drove a tank in Germany - and crashed it!

It's a good thing they didn't make you the pilot on Enterprise!

(Keating laughs) No shit. So that's who I'm taking Reed out of at the moment, me when I was going to join the army. Malcolm is an army man. He's a gun man, and as for the other stuff, the shyness - it's funny when somebody says they saw something of that in you, and if you're truly honest, you can own up to it and say, yes, I can be that way. That's what I'm doing at the moment. It's a very subtle osmosis, where you just start to 'chameleon' into the part. While seeing some of the rushes [daily takes] on the pilot episode we shot, I could sense it. I could see it in my eyes. That's me on the screen, but it's not me.

Can you explain the events that led up to you winning the role of Malcolm Reed?

My manager rang and told me what the part was the night right before the first audition. I'd been playing this very funky role on a new series coming out on Showtime, my hair was all chopped up and sort of funky-punky, and it had just grown out to the point that I could slightly sweep it back a bit. I put my hair back into more of a Star Trek style, put on this little costume that I thought I would wear to the audition - a black v-neck with black pants and a pair of those space-age molded boots that are hip now. And I called my girlfriend through to the bedroom and said, 'look at that - I look very Star Trek.' She went, 'you do!' I kind of got the feeling then.

That's when I had the mental note to tell myself that I could get this. Sure enough, I went in the next day and met Rick and Brannon and the word came back literally the next day that they really liked me for this, and that if I got any other offers for roles, I was to let them know first immediately. It was what they called a 'watch and advise', which got me excited. 

I went in a couple of days later to meet Jim Conway, who was going to direct the pilot, and I think I'd left the office twenty minutes when they rang up my manager to find out how much I cost. I had one more audition with the network. It was pretty painless. I had three auditions in all - it happened in ten or twelve days. There was a brief moment of heart-in-the-mouth, because when I went for the final audition to meet the Paramount execs, as we were walking out of that office, Rick Berman looked at me and said, 'So, Dominic, are you ready for the next seven years?' I went, 'Woah!' then I waited a week for them to contact me. Ron Suma had sort of intimated that I'd gotten the job, but he said it wasn't official until Business Affairs called through to carve things in stone. A week went by where there was some sort of machination at the higher level because the deal between UPN and Paramount hadn't been set [regarding which network would pick up Enterprise]. That was a hard week, I can tell you. Your mind plays tricks with you - like did he really say that to me? Did he really look at me and say seven years? Those seven years are going to go fast!

Yes, I can tell. We're already on episode 4, and it's only just started. 

Just what is happening in the fourth episode of Enterprise?

I can tell you that Trip, the Engineer, is getting pregnant! Make of that what you will. (Keating laughs) The makeup people have already been forewarned. They've been told that he has to have some sort of pregnancy appendage on the side of his torso. Some reptilian species impregnates him, and he's to be the carrier of their alien child. After reading what Charlie Tucker III is like in the series Bible, it doesn't sound like something he's particularly going to enjoy! No, God bless him! (Keating laughs) He'll have breasts on his forearms. The guy will never want to go out of the house again! Previous Starships were armed with photon torpedoes and Phaser banks. 

- Enterprise is outfitted with missiles?

You're asking the wrong person - I just press the button! (Keating laughs) I don't know if they're photon torpedoes or a different kind of missile. I knew it was going to come to this - you've found me out. (Keating laughs). They're gray, and yes, they're actual projectiles. Remember that we're going back in time with this series, so we're shooting missiles. They're actual metal projectiles that come out of torpedo tubes on the ship. But of interest, I have the supreme Honor of actually introducing Phase pistols for the very first time in the pilot. They have two settings - stun and kill - and it would be best not to confuse them! For the rest of history, you will be the guy who created Phasers! Tell me! It's very exciting.

There is a really creepy villain introduced in the pilot 'Broken Bow' called the Suliban. What can you tell us about them?

They can seep through anything, as it were. You know, I never actually saw one of them, now that I think of it. I did fire at an 'imaginary' one on the planet Rigel in the pilot episode while rescuing the captain, but it was added in later as special effects, so I never actually got to see one. I've read in the script, though, that they have the ability to be like chameleons, to take on backgrounds that they're standing in front of our clinging to, whether it's fabricated metal or balsa wood or whatever it may be. And they can seep through anything - literally - air ducts,

keyholes, whatever.

So they are a mix of live action actors and special effects?

They have actors playing them. But the Suliban's antics are computer generated.

What would Star Trek fans be surprised to know about Dominic Keating?

I watched the original series as a child growing up in Leicester, and I loved it. I have lasting memories of the fried eggs falling on Spock's shoulders [in the episode 'Operation: Annihilate!']. Those episodes were fabulous. I did look at The Next Generation a little out of professional interest, because it had a British actor,

Patrick Stewart, who came to America to do it. Also that I'm an absolute golf freak. I adore golf. I live for golf. And now I live for Star Trek - which will allow me to play golf for a very long time to come!

I hesitate to use the term typical, because how many people get the chance to spend a day in outer space, but what is one of your days like on the set of Enterprise?

As an actor, it's a typical day on the set in a way. Being on a set is like being in the army. It's very regimented. It has a certain way and an only way of doing things, and therefore, everybody knows that they're all on the same page when they are doing what they are doing on a film set. There is that aspect of it. It's exactly the same on any film set wherever you go in that you know exactly what to expect. Now, with a Sci-Fi show like Star Trek in a franchise as powerful as it is that has the money it has to create a playground for actors to act in, it's second to none. It's extraordinary. The first day that I stood on the bridge set of the Enterprise, as I took a step up, I let my foot hover just momentarily over it because it was going to be the first step onto that playground. I let it all just soak in. The sets are amazing. I was on Stage 8 yesterday - I wasn't even in this scene, but the others were on this Nirvana planet, and in four days, the set designers completely changed Stage 8 into something complete with redwoods and trees and grassy brooks and I just had to walk through it for myself. It was really another

world on a soundstage at Paramount Studios.

Star Trek sets are amazing!

You should see my armory. When I walked onto that set, it really touched me that they spent all this time and money building this space for me.

So is the Armory your main hangout on the ship?

Actually my main hangout is on the bridge. I'm there making sure everything's going swimmingly from my command post near the captain. But yes, you'll find me in the Armory over time, because they wouldn't have bothered building this beautiful and extensive set for just a few scenes. That's where the gray missiles are housed.

At this early stage, what is your relationship with your fellow cast mates like?

They suck and I can't stand them. (Keating laughs). I'm not kidding! And you can quote that. No, they're fantastic. We've all gelled very quickly. I'm sure we'll be friends forever. We have a very good understanding that if you've been with each other for five days and for fifteen hours every day solid, perhaps we don't want to call each other on weekends right now. But when we're actually there, we just have a ball. We are laughing all the time. It really is fabulous. And I'd like to give a heads-up to Scott Bakula, because as our captain and as the star of our show, he really has unwittingly set the precedence of being a terrific gent on the top of the show. That's got to have a really good trickle down or rush down effect on the rest of us. Scott doesn't even know that he's such a nice guy and such an actor's actor. He is there every step of the way. He's not a starry star who withers off camera, the kind that won't read lines with you. He's a proper guy.

Isn't he amazing in that he can jump from being a time-traveling scientist on Quantum Leap to the gay next-door neighbor in American beauty to being the captain of a starship so effortlessly?

He's an actor's actor, that's what I say. He has to have a time machine or some painting up in an attic somewhere that's getting very old because he looks better now than he did ten years ago on Quantum Leap.

He's extraordinary, isn't he? He's a very handsome man. I was watching a Quantum Leap the other day. You can discernibly see that there is some aging process that's happened with him, but it's not that he's older. He's more knowing now. I don't know how old he is - he's over forty - but he looks damn good for it.

Maybe Star Trek has something that injects youthfulness!

It might be that we all know we're going to be employed for seven years! That will take a few stress lines off you! I know I'm a lot calmer than I used to be. (Keating laughs)

So who is the clown of the cast?

I guess that would be me. We all have a good clown-around. We all egg each other on. The first couple of weeks, the thing that got us howling was the 'shaking' when our characters went through meteorite storms or were hit by some other projectile. Some of us shook better than others, let's say. 'What are you doing over there? Are you shaking, or do you have to go to the Loo?' (Keating laughs). Jolene [Blalock, 'T'Pol'] set herself up as the ace-shaker, but she was shot down in flames, let me tell you.

Jolene Blalock is a hoot - and she's lovely.

Yes, she's adorable.

Now that Enterprise is the lone standard bearer for the Star Trek franchise, are you aware how critical its success is, and what do you plan to do to make it unique?

Yes, I am aware. I got up to speed on the Star Trek franchise when I was cast and have a good sense of what mantle it is we're carrying. You know, Rick Berman and Brannon Braga are very smart, and just the very fact that they haven't put Star Trek in the title of this series is really smart, that they are now preparing an audience, and a loyal audience, for the fact that the franchise is moving on. And although it had its roots way back in the original series, it's now becoming its own life form. It's now becoming just Enterprise. You know, if one word could say Star Trek as well, that's it. I would imagine that the next seven years after our seven years won't have anything to do with what's come before.

But it will have a harking back to what we're doing now, and everything that's already been done. What can I do to insure that? To show up every day knowing my lines, having thought about how creative I can be today, and to not take any of it for granted. The minute you show up to work on a show thinking that you know it all and you have it all down, you're lazy, and I think audiences can see it. It has to be fun for us as well, and I really can't see when it won't be, even after seven years. The writing is so new and fresh - I don't know how they come up with these ideas. Even to put Trip in a pregnant position is perfect! I mean, the minute you hear that you say, 'well that's just fucking fantastic!' And high marks to them. It makes my job easy. But that's my commitment, that I keep it fresh so the audience will enjoy Enterprise.

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Submitted by Kasia

July 2001

Interviewer: What was your reaction when you got the part?

Keating: Yes! [throws arms up in air] Pretty much that. I was surprised actually initially because it's the old actor thing, I didn't think I was particularly right for the part when I read the breakdown. But Rick said he saw something that, I think he said, I think he told me that he'd . . . I'd auditioned for him about two years ago and he remembered me and he was toying it around in his head for me for Reed for quite awhile. So I didn't make too much of a mess of it when I was at the auditions. But I was very excited to get it. Yeah, I was just walking down here actually, it was about, it was a little bit earlier than this, about 5 o'clock in the afternoon and the sun was on my back. And I came out of the last audition with Ron Surma, the casting director, and Rick Berman had said something very cryptic like, "So are you ready for the next seven years Dominic?" I'm like . . . and then he went off down the stairs and way out the door. And there I was with Ron Surma and I said, "So did I just get that or what?" "You didn't hear it from me Dominic but [does a thumbs up]"

Interviewer: First impressions, how did the filming for Broken Bow go?

Keating: It went really well. Yeah, there was a certain amount of trepidation, you know, the first look at a new series and them getting everything in place. Setting precedents], so there was, we were on the edge a bit. But all in all [. . .] And the cast, we just all gelled really well. The chemistry was great from day one. We're gonna have a right good ride with this. I can tell.

Interviewer: Thank you very much and good luck.

Transcript from: http://www.dominickeating.cjb.net/

Submitted by: Kasia