As said before, this is just my reorganizing the information into "questions" and writing
down Peter's responses. Thanks to Steven Eramo for the interview.
Peter McCauley, the brilliant Australian actor who plays Professor George Edward Challenger,
has been performing from an early age. After he graduated from the National Drama School of New Zealand, he worked there
for a while before going to England to be a film editor for the BBC. He has been in several feature films, including Bridge
to Nowhere and The Interview, as well as several made-for-TV movies and roles in Phoenix and Shortland
Street, and has guest starred in several series such as Tales of the South Seas, Hercules, and Xena.
Professor George Edward Challenger, the character that Peter plays, is a man ahead of
his time, and that's had unfortunate consequences for him and his companions. He is a brilliant man, but his time on the plateau
has somewhat mellowed him. With a wife back in England and a reputation to prove, every day he works to learn about and understand
the wonders of the plateau, and perhaps find a way to get them home.
What is Challenger really like, and how has he changed?
Challenger did start out as a pretty pompous and arrogant intellectual. However, he's become more
compassionate over time and now his eccentricities are coming further to the forefront. My character has learnt tolerance,
I think, as well as an appreciation of other peoples' points of view...To misquote Shakespeare, "There are more things in
heaven and Earth than you and I ever dreamed of." It's taken him a while, but Challenger is finally beginning to realize how
true this is.
What did you do before acting?
[Well], my parents were publicans and my first public performance was singing Irish ballads on top
of the bar when I was around four years old...[but became a teacher]...I wanted to try to change the world-at least in some
small way-and thought I could do that through education. Well, after teaching for a year I found that I wasn't going to move
the Powers That Be.
How did the focus change?
I guess I didn't want to be in the mainstream. I'd been involved in amateur dramatics as well as
studied drama at university, so I thought I'd become an actor and eventually a writer/director...I still write for my own
enjoyment. I've written the odd children's play and some poetry. I also have a few film scripts sitting in the bottom of a
drawer...For now, though, I'm an actor, and I'm quite happy doing that.
What do some of the fans think of Challenger?
This past Christmas I received a card from a gentleman in Pensacola. He was a grandfather because
he wrote about his 4-year-old grandson knowing...who Challenger was...This man went on to say that I was his favourite pompous
intellectual in the show's first season, followed by a concerned fellow adventurer in year two, and a mad scientist so far
in the third season. That's his perception of the character and it's a pretty good one.
How did you get the part of Challenger?
I auditioned extensively and remember later being told by the executive producer that they really
were quite committed to getting an actor from Los Angeles...However, when they couldn't find anyone they gave the job to me,
which was quite flattering indeed.{chuckle}
What did you think of The Lost World?
So many pilots are made and never go anywhere...Thankfully, The Lost World has escaped
the executioner's block and I'd like to think it's due to the veracity of our work and, of course, the support of the viewers.
What is Challenger's relationship to the other explorers?
[Besides] the connections that go back to before the expedition was even mounted, specifically involving
Marguerite, Roxton, and Challenger, Challenger has always had a fatherly relationship with Veronica, one of mutual respect
with Roxton, and, I suppose, sees Malone as a bit of a protege. As for Marguerite, well, everybody is slightly suspicious
of the dear woman but at the same time can't help but love her. We've also got a new character now, called Finn. She's slotted
in just like one of the family, which is wonderful.
What is working on The Lost World like?
Hungry dinosaurs, ill-tempered tribesmen and restless spirits are just some of the dangers Challenger
and the others have faced...Living out these adventures in front of the camera had been anything but boring...One of my more
memorable experiences is of being tossed about in a whirlpool. {laughs} There are trained stuntmen constantly watching out
for your safety, but you still tend to get a bit nauseous.
Anything else about working in the area?
We work in all sorts of environments, often very beautiful and sometimes dangerous. There was one
scene where three of us had to do a short run across a rocky slope and our finishing point happened to be the home of
a black snake [one of the top ten venomous snakes in the world]. When we came to a halt, Rachel was actually standing on top
of the log that the snake was underneath. Thankfully, no one has been bitten by a snake or seriously injured. We're often
sporting bumps and bruises, but...thank the Lord that's about all. They say that a lot of film work is about sitting
around and waiting. That's not the case [here]. We always seem to be doing something and that's part of what makes this
job so much fun.
What is it about being an actor that you love?
It's pure bliss when you get a scene right. There was a scene we did in which Veronica is
placing flowers on the gravesite of someone who was obviously very dear to her. Roxton, Marguerite and Finn are in the background,
and I walk into the shot carrying a couple of cornflowers. I give one to Marguerite and one to Finn, and when Veronica
gets up and walks away from the grave we move forward saying our lines. At the end of the scene, Marguerite plces her flower
on the grave with the rest. It may not sound like much but it was one of those poignant, sublime moments that just worked.
So these are the real rewards, when everything comes together for all to see.
Thanks so much for the interview, Peter! You're the best!
