January 2002

Times Picayune

New Orleans

A response to a fan's letter

"Enterprise” actor has beamed around

I am enjoying the new Star Trek series “Enterprise” on UPN.

I especially am impressed with the British actor who plays Lt. Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating) on the show.  I was wondering if you could possibly print a photo of him and any background info, such as TV or movie credits.

-N.J.

Dominic Keating, born in Leicester, England, holds a bachelor’s degree in history from University College in London, where he acted in university productions.  His feature film credits include “Jungle 2 Jungle”, starring opposite Tim Allen and Martin Short, and he’s set to appear in upcoming “The Hollywood Sign”, opposite Rod Steiger, Burt Reynolds and Tom Berenger.  On American TV, he’s had guest appearances on “Special Unit 2”, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Poltergeist: The Legacy”.  Keating lives in Los Angels these days.

Dominic Keating Interview

by Cyndee Rowe

Interview

In her own words, Cyndee Rowe is "a freelance writer, who loves sci-fi, fantasy and a lot of really cool indie films. Okay, okay. I admit it I am a rental movie junkie! There, I said it. I have a very understanding husband, three high-spirited children, a greyhound, a siamese cat and two birds and we all live peacefully, in spite of the two year old yelling, 'mine! mine!' in our house in Texas."

She spoke to Dominic Keating via telephone about two weeks after the San Antonio convention.

Were you always interested in acting?

I was about ten I think, when the school I was at decided it was time to put on a play. My mum had been an actress, so I guess it was in my genes, my blood. But it was never talked about in our house. My father had rescued her from the devil's jaw, if you will. Well, as I say, this English mistress auditioned for this school play. I went along because all my mates did, and she went and gave me the lead part, and I loved it. I don't remember very much about it. I remember on the first night having my make-up applied behind the scenery, backstage and her telling me I had impossibly high cheekbones, and I liked that. And I guess my fate was sealed. I went to another school, a big school that had quite a theatrical tradition. Then I went to University in London at University College and they had a West End theater at their disposal, so I did a lot of plays there. But it was quite a while after I left university that I pinned my flag to the acting mast. I was a bit nervous, given the education that I'd been afforded. They weren't being paid to tell my parents that their son had to be on stage, if you know what I mean. I was meant to be a lawyer or an accountant or you know, go into advertising or something. So I battled that for quite a while before I found myself at the age of about 24, sort of washed up and unemployable in my mind. And I just thought, you know what? I really want to act. And that's how it started.

What made you decide to move to the U.S.?

Fame and fortune and uhm, I suppose I'd met a girl too. I had finished a show I had done at home for five years. I did a half hour sitcom at home called Desmond's. I came out here on a holiday, actually to Northern California. I had some friends up there and their brother was getting married. We had a bachelor party in Vegas, and I ended up in L.A. after that for about a month at Christmas. Christmas of 1993, and I met a girl of course. I had been hanging out at Dantana's on Santa Monica Blvd meeting quite famous people and they all thought that I was terribly funny and I thought I should give it a shot. So, I went home and I started, you know, opening my big mouth about moving to America, and I rented out my apartment and I sold a car that I had and God knows, eight years ago that was now in January.

What's the biggest difference between working in America and working in England?

(Laughing) You get paid a lot more money!

It seems that there is a lot more emphasis on the theater in England…

Only in as much as there is more theater and an actor starting out can get their licks and chops sharpened in pub theater. People do, at least they used to… I don't know what attendance is like now. But I think that people in London do tend to go to the theater probably just as much as they do in New York. Los Angeles is a film and television town, it's just that simple. You don't come here to do great theater, so don't imagine that you're going to. That's not to say that there isn't a live and thriving theater community here, 'cause there is. But I think, a lot of the time, you know ask any actor quite honestly and you know, they want to be doing film because you get paid and you get recognition. I've done some of my best ever work and three hundred people have seen it over a five week run. Now I'm doing Star Trek, I did an incredible episode two weeks ago and you know what? Millions and millions of people are going to see it. You know that's a buzz! So that's why I came here to L.A. I tell you what I really thought, I wanted to do movies. Still do. I've done a couple along the way here. At the time England just wasn't making any films. Merchant Ivory was the only group going through London with a movie about every eighteen months to two years. I nearly got cast in plum roles two times running. Both those guys that actually got the jobs in front of me became movie stars. I got impatient, I didn't want to wait around. I thought, you know what? I'm going to go to L.A. where they make movies and try my luck. I was 32. I was single. I had some money in the bank and I thought if I don't do it now, I'll never do it. And thank God I did.

Do you like working in the sci-fi genre?

I do, you know a lot of the stuff I've done here on television has been that genre. I've done Buffy, Poltergeist, The Immortal, G vs. E . . . You know if you throw a stone at sci-fi shows, you're going to hit one of them. It's not that I've made a conscious decision, it's just what you go up for. What you get until a certain point in time where you might start to try to pick and choose a bit more.

Do you have any favorite films or television shows?

I loved a lot of The Sopranos. And favorite films, what have I been watching? I often don't go to the movies a great deal. Not a lot of time at the moment. Amelie is wonderful, well worth seeing. I don't like, what I'm not a big, huge fan of is these big blockbuster, blow 'em up, shoot 'em up. I can't care less about things like that. I don't mind watching them on cable one Friday night when I just happen to be in and I want something to chew my eyes out. But I don't make a point of going to see films like that. I need some characters and I need to have some empathy with these characters in order for me to watch a movie and go, "that was really good."

Do you have a favorite actor or director that you would like to work with?

Well, you know, a lot of them . . . I guess that Soderburgh fella is pretty hot right now (laughter). One would always like to, you know, be in that gang, the number one gang. You know, given the break I reckon I got the talent if you know what I mean. It's just a lot of . . . it is luck, you know, they happen to be in the right place at the right time, any one of those actors. What I feel with this gig is that the door has opened up and I'm looking through it right now. It could just be that I become, you know that Star Trek is my professional life now for the next ten or eleven years if we do the movies. And that fortunately or unfortunately the business won't allow me to do anything else because I will be so associated with it. And if that's the way it is, that's fine you know? I would love to be uhm . . . to have the luck to be an actor that can span, . . . to have that notoriety, that he is just a good actor, and that we want him to do this as well as he can do it. It could just be that the business doesn't allow me to, I'm ready for that too.

Is there more pressure with being involved in a potentially long-term series?

Well, in as much as that . . . you know it's got two edges to the sword. One is, it's the only job in town that's virtually guaranteed you a seven year gig. That is incredible as an actor. You can actually make plans, you know (laughing) buy a dog, and have a life like normal people. Not worry whether or not your show is going to get picked up. Can I afford that car? Shall we go for that house? You know this is a fabulous opportunity to uhm, you know, I'm a cancerian. There is nothing I like better than security, let me tell you. It's incredible that I chose to be an actor in the first place! The other edge of the sword is that it stamps you completely with the insignia of only that and no one can really see past or beyond it. So, you have completely null and voided any opportunity to do anything else. You know I am at an age now and a place in my life where I don't care quite honestly. (Laughing) I've been through the rigors and outrageous fortunes of this game. I am very, very happy that this has come along right now.

Do you have any desire to direct?

I actually do. I've already started that wheel rolling. I'm doing a directors course at the L.A. film school here. I have to follow in the footsteps of Roxann Dawson and Robbie McNeill. I talk to LeVar Burton quite a lot on the phone. So, yeah I would love to add that little feather to my cap.

Do you think Lt. Reed will get to have a romantic interest?

It's feasible, I wouldn't rule it out, I don't know. They're not going to make him the first gay character on Star Trek like I read in the tv guide. (laughing) They said that I would be the first gay character on Star Trek. And I like… What!!?? I'm playing another poof, I can't believe it. Will this follow me around for the whole of my career? Not to say it disparagingly, but I have played a lot of gay characters cause I'm good at it I guess. But no, I don't think he is going to be that. And, seven years we've got to go and I would imagine they'll have us run the whole gamut.

If you could play any character from any Star Trek series who would it be and why?

Well, I'm not that familiar with all the incarnations but hmmm… I think I'd make a pretty good Data, Brent Spiner's character was a very interesting character and a wonderful acting challenge. I actually just met him the other day for the first time. I was on set on the movie that they're filming right now, Nemesis. Yeah, it's either that or Patrick Stewart's character, just cause it's a hell of a part and he's the captain and he plays it so well. He is a charming man, I met him for the first time too. I'd been making fun of him since I got this job. Just saying that as an English actor we all looked at him when he first came over to do Star Trek. Throwing our arms up in the air, oh why, oh why Patrick? You could be playing Mistress Quickly at Leatherhead right now! (laughing) So yeah, one of those two.

I think for me, Enterprise seems a little closer to a more believable time.

Yeah, it definitely has a human element that you can accommodate. It's funny and it's more dramatic dare I say? There's more room for drama. And there is a lovely chemistry between all the characters and as actors we all get along so well. You know I've been in two shows, long running shows. Well, this I hope is going to be the second. When I was in Desmond's at home in England, right from the read through, from the first table reading there was a simpatico between all the actors that sat round that table. And sometimes the scripts weren't great. But you know? It didn't matter, because the chemistry between all of us as we rehearsed and as we shot came through on the TV screen. That is what really made that show run. People liked tuning in and it never felt, it wasn't, it never felt anything but easy to watch. And I think that Enterprise is going to be the same. Characters you feel comfortable watching, I hope this is going to be the same with us. And with Scott [Bakula] at the helm, he's comfortable, he's so comfy to be around. He's a great guy, he truly is, a top-notch geezer as we say in London. (laughing)

A lot of fans can be very detail oriented . . .

(laughing) The "Techie Trekkies" I've nicknamed them.

Has that caused you to research some of the technical aspects of the scripts?

Yes and no. I mean I'm learning, it's all pretty simple to be honest, once you . . . it's not, it isn't rocket science and it does make sense when you read the scripts. It truly makes sense what they are talking about. You don't have to be a complete physicist to understand the concepts that they are outlining. And as an actor, why wouldn't I want to know exactly what it is I'm saying? It lends more credulity to what I'm doing. It's not that I'm rushing off to buy Star Trek encyclopedias and bibles. But I'm surrounded by it on a daily basis, now at the production office and at Paramount, and even just talking with you guys. I'm learning all the time and it's not water off a duck's back, it is all being absorbed and integrated.

There are a lot of different types of people who attend the conventions . . .

Yeah, it crosses the gamut. When I saw my first pack of portly Klingons waiting at the stoplight to come across the street to the convention. I look out the window of the car and I go, "there are my peeps!" It truly is interesting, you get the mother of two young sons and then you get the nineteen year old babe who is just into sci-fi. It really is an extraordinary demographic.

In fact, I saw you at a convention in San Antonio . . .

Oh, you did. Isn't that a beautiful town? We had such fun there. You guys that come to those conventions. I have a quiet moment in the airport as I come away from them to get on the plane and go home. There is a great sense of thanks in my heart. You know without you guys, the people that come to the conventions and those fans that truly love the show. You know none of this would have been possible for me. I am eternally grateful, I really, really mean that.

I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me, and I want to wish you the best of luck. This new series has definitely held my interest . . .

Yes, it's got something about it, doesn't it?

_________

I had a lot of fun talking to Dominic Keating, he is a very amusing, charming man. He obviously loves what he is doing and this made for an easy interview. It is always nice to talk to someone who not only likes what they do, but they don't mind talking about it as well.

Dominic Keating has his own official website, www.dominickeating.com. It is full of all sorts of information and a message board for visitors.

Submitted by Kasia

From: http://startrek.about.com/library/weekly/aa011002.htm

January 14, 2002

SyfyPortal.com

Keating to try directing?

"It's been a long road" might be the opening line to the "Enterprise" theme, but it also could be applied to actor Dominic Keating. From his television bow as Tony in the British comedy series "Desmond's" in the late 1980s, to an unsuccessful attempt at a guest role for "Star Trek: Voyager," and finally as Lt. Malcolm Reed on the latest Star Trek series airing on UPN, Keating has traveled the road that many actors have tried to traverse.

And now that he is attached to one of the most successful franchises in television history, Keating said that now's the time to really achieve some of his dreams, including some that went unrealized until his arrival on the "Enterprise" set.

"'Desmonds' was a half-hour show on Channel Four, and we enjoyed big success," of a TV star in some capacity, but when I came to America [in 1994], I spent a bit of time out in the cold. About two and a half years ago, a bit of momentum started to show through, doing some guest stars and getting regular work, and I could consider myself a working actor again."

Keating said his first run-in with Star Trek wasn't the kind most actors hope for. Two years ago, he was auditioning for a guest role on "Voyager," an audition that may not have given him a chance to work with Kate Mulgrew in company, but one that had future implications.

"The audition went real well, and I thought I was going to get the part," Keating said. "When I didn't get a call back, I was thinking that I'll never audition for them again. I don't like to put words in [co-creator] Rick Berman's mouth, but after he had seen me audition, I think they sort of earmarked me in some capacity. They brought me in for the first audition [for 'Enterprise'], and they went pretty swimmingly. I was the first one cast."

Through the first 10 episodes, Lt. Reed was more of a background character as Enterprise's weapons officer. But Keating said he has no qualms about the focus on Scott Bakula (Capt. Jonathan Archer), Jolene Blalock (Sub-Cmdr. T'Pol) and Connor Trinneer (Cmdr. Trip Tucker), especially since some of the first season's finer moments are expected to come by way of Reed.

"It's really started in the last few episodes, Malcolm Reed has had the light shone on him," Keating said. "Brannon [Braga] did warn me about it that their initial thrust at the start of the series would be on the captain, Trip and the Vulcan. I just turned up every day and did the best I could with what they gave me to do, and trusted with what they told me was true."

And Braga has stayed true to his word, because Keating said he has heard quite a bit of talk about one episode that will air on UPN Feb. 13.

"There's an episode coming up called 'Shuttlepod One,' and it's one of my most exciting and most memorable acting experiences, whether on stage or on the camera," he said. "What a fantastic piece of work we turned.

"It's between me and Trip, the engineer. We think we're marooned alone in space on Shuttlepod One. You could put this on in an off-Broadway venue and have it staged as a one-act. Rick is very pleased, and he just said some very complimentary things about it yesterday. I know that for the directors that work on the show, if you don't get a phone call from Rick, you've done real well."

Not getting that phone call from Berman is something Keating hopes happen if he ever makes his directorial debut on the show. Like Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Rene Auberjonois and Robert Duncan McNeill -- among others -- Keating said he is hoping to one day have a shot sitting in the big chair for an episode.

"I've already embarked on a directing course at an L.A. film school that Roxann Dawson (Lt. B'Elanna Torres, 'Voyager') had given me the number for," he said. "After I took the course in directing, I've noticed that my interest piqued more than ever in how each shot is being mapped out. I never had taken that much of an interest before as an actor, which usually was to just put me on the mark, tell me which way to turn, and I'll act it.

"But I've noticed that in the episodes that rolled by, my interest is a lot keener, and I can see myself definitely directing one of these episodes, and direct other stuff in the future. Of course, I haven't approached Rick or Brannon about this yet. They hired me as an actor, and I'm putting my two peas [ed: "2 p" (pence)] in at the moment."

The Paramount lot is bustling with Star Trek activity right now with not only a hit UPN series, but the tenth motion picture of the franchise as well. Having the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" hanging around has been exciting for Keating, he said, especially in getting his chance to finally meet Patrick Stewart. And with a lot of talk focusing on "Star Trek: Nemesis," Keating said he hopes that his crew of the starship Enterprise might get their shot on the big screen some day.

"I would love to do [a movie]," he said. "I think they are filming 'Nemesis' around the corner from us. And by all accounts, this is the fourth movie for them, and this really might be it. I don't know, maybe Paramount might feel they have another one in them, so it's just a question on when they get us to do it. Will they wait for 'Voyager' to have a shot, or are they going to pass them by?

"If they did do a movie, would we all want to do that? Scott [Bakula] has a young family, and he's keen about spending as much time as possible with them. But it's probably a few years off yet, and maybe after seven years, if we did a movie once every 18 months or two years, that would be fantastic."

But in the here and now, "Enterprise" is just 10 episodes in with UPN beginning new episodes next Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. Of course, that hasn't stopped some fans from recognizing Keating on the street.

"I was recognized in the post office this morning, and that's the first time a completely random guy has come up to me like that since the show started," he said. "I was posting some fan mail to some guys in Europe, and he came up and was so thrilled to see this guy from 'Enterprise.' I shook the guy's hand and introduced myself, and he introduced himself, I think his name was Jack.

"It was a good experience, but the funny thing was, I was standing in line wearing my scruffy old sweatpants and wasn't looking my best. I thought to myself that there was a pretty girl in front of me, and there will come a time when I wished I would've dolled myself up."

Keating pauses a moment, and laughs a little.

"My girlfriend is going to shout when she reads that. But we all carry a little vanity with us, and the time will eventually come when I can't leave the house a complete mess. But you know, who cares, maybe I can. It's certainly only a TV show, and it's not like we're saving the world . . ."

Jumping into character for just a moment: "Oh wait, captain. We are!"

From: http://www.syfyportal.com/article/?id=540

Author: Michael Hinman

Submitted by Kasia