David Orth (back right) with his The Lost World castmates. Photo copyright of Coote/Hayes Productions.
In today's Sci-Fi Blast From The Past, actor David Orth talks about life in a prehistoric world as Ned Malone in The Lost World.
As a battlefield correspondent during World War I, The Lost World’s Ned Malone got his fair share of scoops while trying to stay alive in the midst of all the fighting. Not, by nature, a brave man, it is a part of his past that he would sooner forget. So it is surprising when, a few years later, he volunteers for an expedition to the Amazon being led by Professor George Challenger. In doing this, Malone hopes to impress the woman he loves and, perhaps, come back with the story of a lifetime. However, the young reporter and his fellow travellers get more than they bargained for when they are marooned on a Plateau high above the Amazon in a land where dinosaurs, demons, aliens and a host of other creatures co-exist. Such surroundings have helped make a “new” man out of Malone, much to the delight of his alter ego, actor David Orth.
“For the first two seasons of The Lost World, Ned Malone was the guy who got hit on the head a lot and was always making statements without coming to any conclusions,” notes the actor. “In my opinion, the character simply wasn’t written very well. There wasn’t much to him and it got to the point where it became boring and a bit depressing to play him. However, there have been some changes with the writing staff over the past year. Please, don’t get me wrong. We’ve had great writers on-staff at all times. The problem was they weren’t always allowed to do what they do best, you know?
“Happily, that’s not so this [third] year. As a result, Malone has gone from a guy who never made conclusions to someone who’s finally starting to evaluate situations. As a writer he really should’ve been doing that all along. He’s become ‘deeper,’ and the writers have done a fine job of showing some of his other sides to the viewers,” says Orth. “My character is no longer just a prep school guy who joined Challenger’s [Peter McCauley] expedition in order to impress his girlfriend. Malone has grown and matured. He’s more aware than ever of his capabilities as well as his weaknesses and is learning to live with them. I’m enjoying the part so much more now.”
A native of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, Orth was an eighth-grader when he made his acting debut on-stage in a school musical. “I had a ball and it [acting] seemed to come naturally to me,” he recalls. “I continued doing plays up to and throughout high school but I didn’t want to become a starving actor. So I went to university and began studying English, general business, etc. However, after a year I started to wonder, ‘Maybe there’s some sort of creative urge in me that’s far more important to satisfy than simple sustenance and owning a house with a white picket fence.’”
Orth worked for the summer in a Kitchener factory and spent most of his weekends hanging out in Toronto with an actor friend. It was his friend’s agent who suggested that he read for a part on a popular Canadian police TV series called Night Heat. “I did and was cast as a gang member,” enthuses the actor. “David Carradine [Kung Fu] played a martial arts guru who was training this group of vigilantes, so I had the chance to work with him and another talented actor named Don Francks [La Femme Nikita]. I’ve got to admit that to go from not really ever dreaming about acting to actually being paid to do it was a thrill for me. I not only learnt a great deal while I was working on Night Heat, but while we were shooting I found out I got a lead role on another show that I’d auditioned for. You could say it was a pretty heady time in my life,” laughs Orth.
Along with several made-for-TV projects, the actor has also guest-starred on such programmes as The Hitchhiker, Friday the 13th, My Secret Identity, Robocop and Traders. Longtime fans of The Lost Worldmay remember that he did not appear in the original pilot for the series. Someone else played the part of Malone. While the show’s producers were impressed with that particular actor’s performance, they felt it was too similar to Will Snow’s, who portrays Lord John Roxton. So the role was recast and Orth tried out for it.
“I read for the part and then went home and forgot all about it, which is what you have to do with most auditions,” says the actor. “About a week-and-a-half later my agent called and said, ‘It looks like you may be going to Australia.’ I had always thought that in order to get a role on a series you had to go through at least eight auditions, take a blood test and know your grandmother’s maiden name,” he jokes. “Well, it wasn’t like that with The Lost World. I auditioned just once, and I must have done something right that day because I got the job. Talk about a lucky break.
“My early days on The Lost World set were exhilarating andterrifying,” continues Orth. “Malone was a complete mystery to me. I’m not sure whether or not they sent me a complete script before I arrived in Australia, but I had no idea how I was supposed to play Malone. Was he a hunter? An adventurer? I hadn’t a clue. When you’re doing a guest-spot you more or less know your place. You come in and you’re there to kind of facilitate the story line, make the other actors look good if you can and, hopefully, do a couple of good scenes to put on your demo reel.
“It’s different when you’re part of an ensemble cast because then the weight rests on you. You’re one of the people they’re aiming the camera at and are worried about making look good. So it was overwhelming and pretty mind-blowing at first, but at the same time exciting. As an actor, you’re just aching for a regular gig to develop your craft as well as put some money in the bank, which can be a rare thing for most of us in this profession.”
Along with the brainy Challenger and adventurous Roxton, Malone has spent his time on the Plateau with the smart, beautiful and enigmatic Marguerite Krux (Rachel Blakely), and the scholarly Arthur Summerlee (Michael Sinelnikoff), who wanted nothing more than to discredit Challanger’s claims that The Lost World exists. However, this proved to be rather difficult given the fact that since arriving in this strange land, the group’s greatest ally has been the loincloth-clad Veronica (Jennifer O’Dell), who grew up on the Plateau.
“Initially, the writers were toying with the idea of a romance between Malone and Veronica,” explains Orth. “However, that’s turned into more of a friendship with just a hint of sexual tension, which I like. With Challenger and Malone it’s very much a father/son relationship. Both men are fairly analytical, but where my character is more emotional and tries to get to the heart of things, Challenger is first and foremost interested in the facts. Malone thinks of Roxton as a big brother and deep down longs to be more like him insofar as being a man of action. This season, we’ve seen a greater level of respect between them and they’re on more of an equal footing in their relationship.
“Marguerite is a mystery in almost every sense of the word and Malone never knows quite how to take her. Their relationship was fairly volatile during the first year-and-a-half because he didn’t understand that she acted out of a sense of self-preservation as opposed to maliciousness. They’ve since become friends and Malone is actually learning a lot from her. Marguerite is cagey and she thinks ahead, which is something Malone should try to do a bit more of as well,” laughs the actor. “As for Summerlee, he was a friend and kindly grandfather figure to my character as well as a real shoulder to lean on.”
Steve Eramo
As noted above, photo copyright of Coote/Hayes Productions, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
hi iv watch the series i don.t how many times it has bening on
our screen but iv really engoyed the show espically David orth i was hoping
that they be a little romance between molone character an veronica
it was a great show still showing our screen today
Posted by: esther | 06/27/2012 at 07:19 PM