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'Alias' Techie Doesn't Need Gadgets
(Saturday, January 01 12:04 AM)
By John Crook

Kevin Weisman still vividly remembers the day he filmed his first stunt on "Alias," which begins its fourth season Wednesday, Jan. 4, on ABC.

The 34-year-old Los Angeles native, who plays technical genius Marshall J. Flinkman on the critically acclaimed series, spends most of his scenes behind a desk. And on this particular shooting day, he suddenly remembers why.

"It was a 175-foot parachute drop, and I had a stunt double, but they were going to let me do it twice," Weisman recalls. "The stuntman said, 'OK, now, here is all you have to do,' and I said, 'Oh, you have got to be kidding.' It was pretty nerve-racking but kind of cool, too, I guess."

Still, he admits he doesn't share star Jennifer Garner's apparent addiction to action thrills. In her role as secret agent Sydney Bristow, the actress spends much of each episode running, jumping, rolling and just generally remaining in intense motion.

"Jennifer is amazing," Weisman says. "She does stunts like that [parachute jump] almost every day. She has a dance background, and I think she just loves the physical stuff. When she came back after doing a movie over the break, she said she was glad to get back because she missed the action so much.

"Me, I'm content to sit at that computer," he finishes wryly.

Not that just sitting at Marshall's computer is an acting cakewalk for Weisman or any of his castmates, who frequently have to react to nonexistent high-tech graphics that drive the plot along and ratchet up the suspense level.

"We shoot those scenes prior to Jennifer even doing her scenes, many times," Weisman notes. "So, I'm reacting to a blank screen with the other actors, and you have to find this fine balance between keeping it real yet giving it some energy without just totally going over the top. And Marshall is supposed to be kind of funny on top of all that, so it does get a little daunting."

Marshall may delight in his gadgets du jour, but Weisman doesn't surround himself with a lot of showy paraphernalia at home, although his "Alias" bucks have financed one indulgence.

"I have a pretty [fancy] TV: high definition, flat screen, surround sound. In terms of my technology, I take my TV and film watching very seriously, as well as sports. I love to watch basketball. I'm a big Lakers fan," the actor says.

He also is a bit of a Webhead, with his own nicely designed cybersite, www.kevinweisman.com, intended to keep his fans updated on "Alias" and his many other projects. There's even an e-mail link for them to contact Weisman.

"I check the e-mails myself," he says. "I've heard from people in England and Australia, which really makes me feel great. It's very touching, and it's nice to be able to keep up with people who want to know more about what I'm doing."

Apart from that, one of his biggest passions couldn't be more low-tech in some respects: real, vibrant, viscerally exciting theater. He and several friends are co-founders of Buffalo Nights, a Los Angeles theater troupe.

"You know, theater in L.A. is really very badly unappreciated, but there actually is some very good work going on. I love plays, the theatrical experience," Weisman says. "We do theater for theater's sake, not as a showcase to get ourselves other work."

Growing up, Weisman got high grades for his schoolwork but low marks for his constant bids for attention from his classmates and teachers.

"I loved imitating the teacher and other people, and when I was in the fifth grade, we did a 'Gilligan's Island' sketch for a talent show, and I played the Professor," he recalls. "Everyone told me how good I was, and I just loved that feeling of being able to pretend and have people be affected by it."

More plays followed in junior high and high school, and once Weisman decided this was what he wanted to do as a career, he buckled down in earnest, studying at UCLA and in New York. When aspiring young actors ask him for advice, he urges them to work hard to prepare for their break -- whenever it may come. He's seen what happens with performers who get thrust into the spotlight prematurely, and it isn't pretty.

"Not to mention names, but I did a show not long ago with a very pretty girl who literally could not walk and talk at the same time," Weisman says. "She was 21 or 22, and I am not kidding, they had to let her just stand still every time she had a line because she could not move and speak at the same time. And here's the sad thing: She was the lead in the show."

His own career apparently is shifting into higher gear these days. In addition to his ABC series and Buffalo Nights stage gigs, Weisman produced and co-starred in a film called "Illusion" with Kirk Douglas, which won a best screenplay award at last fall's Hamptons International Film Festival.

Additionally, he has been touring with his band, Trainwreck, in which he plays the drums, and doing everything he can to raise awareness in the fight against Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

"A little cousin of mine has this, and it's a terrible degenerative disease that only affects boys," Weisman explains. "It robs patients of their muscular capability until they have trouble walking or even breathing, and most of them die by 17 or 18. Right now, there is no cure, but they are making strides. They've located the gene they are missing, and they are trying to explore processes to regenerate that gene."
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