Tin Man's Wyatt Cain (Neal McDonough). Photo copyright of SYFY.
In today's Sci-Fi Blast From the Past, I take a look back at my on-set interview with Neal McDonough about playing Wyatt Cain in the 2007 SYFY miniseries Tin Man.
No matter what a person’s age, he or she is likely to be familiar with L. Frank Baum’s children’s story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its whimsical characters, including the Tin Man. With his funnel-shaped head, silver face and squeaky joints, this metal man is in search of a heart, and together with Dorothy Gale, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion, reluctantly battle the Wicked Witch in the hope of ending her reign of terror in Oz. In Tin Man, the Sci Fi Channel’s re-imagination of this timeless tale, Neal McDonough plays the title role, but unlike the original Tin Man, his character does not sport any metal attire.
“I called my dad when I first got this job and told him, ‘Guess what, I’m playing the Tin Man,’” recalls McDonough. “He said to me, ‘Wow, that’s going to be hard.’ When I asked him why, he said, ‘Well, not only do you have to get into all that make-up every day, but then there’s the tin suit.’ I explained to him, ‘Oh, no, Dad. This character is the Tin Man because he’s the sheriff and wears a tin badge.’ Dad said, ‘Oh, that sounds much better.’ As long as I get the thumbs up from my father that’s all that counts,” smiles the actor.
With his piercing eyes, matinee-idol good looks and, of course, talent, McDonough has become an audience favorite through his performances in such feature films as Angels in the Outfield, Star Trek: First Contact and Flags Of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood. On TV, the actor has guest-starred on a variety of TV shows including Quantum Leap, JAG and Third Watch as well as had regular stints on three series. It was his work as Dr. Stephen Connor on Medical Investigation that led to his casting in Tin Man.
“Steven Mitchell and Craig Van Sickle, two of the writers on Medical Investigation [and Tin Man executive producers/writers], wrote this character with me in mind,” says McDonough. “They said, ‘We’d love you to play the Tin Man.’ I read the script and it was one of those times where I started turning the pages and chuckling with glee that I’d be playing this fantastic, juicy, old-school- type character who is so grounded in realism. Those are the kinds of roles I tend to gravitate towards, whether they’re good or bad guys, as long as they’re based in realism and truth.
“And with this character it’s simple; he’s locked in a pod for eight years after his wife and son are killed, and he eventually gets out and seeks revenge. However, by the end of our story he realizes there are more things greater in life than revenge. It’s a beautiful story and a great arc for Wyatt Cain, my character’s name, or the Tin Man, and to be able to play him for the Sci Fi Channel is terrific because a lot of times nowadays we don’t make entertainment that’s suitable for the family. I’m guilty of that myself. Actors don’t always have the freedom to choose what they’d like to do, and now to get to do something that my kids will be able to sit down and watch is, to me, a wonderful thing.”
Paying homage to the classic 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, Sci Fi’s six-hour Tin Man miniseries has its heroine, a motorcycle-riding Midwestern waitress named DG (Zooey Deschanel), swept up from her humdrum existence by a menacing tornado that is barreling through rural Kansas. The young woman ends up transported to a place called The O.Z., or Outer Zone, a land of muted colors and extraordinary characters, including an evil sorceress, Azkadellia (Kathleen Robertson), who, with the help of her leather-clad minions, keeps a tight rein on The O.Z. and everyone who lives there. Among those who have faced her wrath is McDonough’s character of ex-cop Wyatt Cain.
“If Azkadellia really wants to torture you, she doesn’t kill you, she places you in a pod and continually runs a hologram of the worst day of your life for you to look at,” explains the actor. “With Cain, she imprisoned him in a pod for eight years and during that time he’s been forced to watch a hologram of his wife and son being tortured and killed. So when they [DG and Glitch, a version of the Scarecrow, played by Alan Cumming] find Cain’s pod and open the door, they discover a guy with a beard halfway down his chest, his hair halfway down his back, and someone who is basically a wild man because the only thing he’s seen for eight years is that hologram.
“I can’t imagine what it would be like to go through that in real life, but as an actor I have to,” he continues. “The toughest part is to keep my emotions in check and not tip it too much because if you become too emotional then it takes away from the real heart of the story. If you’re always emotional it’s not as enjoyable for the audience to watch or doesn’t tell as good a story as if you’re seeing a person who’s teetering on the edge of losing it. Cain is just holding on and on, and at one point he does ‘lose it.’ Certain events happen where he can no longer hide from his heart anymore, and it’s moving, emotional stuff. The Tin Man’s situation in the original Wizard of Oz wasn’t quite as raw, so to speak. In Tin Man you just need to look at Wyatt Cain’s face and you can see his pain.”
Some people say it’s the clothes that make the man, and that was certainly true with McDonough and his work on Tin Man. “Sir Laurence Olivier used to put on different noses with each new role, which is how he got into his characters. For me, it’s definitely a question of, ‘What does this guy wear? He wears this because he’s from this place, or because he’s gotten to this point in his life,’” says the actor.
“With Wyatt Cain, once I put on the cowboy hat, the old coat, the boots, everything else, that was the character for me. He’s an uncomplicated guy and his clothing is uncomplicated as well. It’s what he had on the day he was taken away and locked in the pod. Cain has been wearing this same outfit for the past eight years. It has the dust of his past on it, and Cain carries his past with him wherever he goes.”
On this chilly evening in Vancouver, McDonough and the rest of the Tin Man cast, including Deschanel, Cumming and Raoul Trujillo (who portrays Raw, a half-human, half-wolverine) as well as crew are at one of the city’s most often used TV and movie filming locations, Terminal City. They are preparing to shoot a scene in which DG and company descend into the depths below The O.Z. and the subterranean Realm of the Unwanted. Ducking into a warehouse and sitting down in front of a portable propane heater to warm up, McDonough takes a moment to praise his fellow castmates.
“Raoul is a guy who goes through two-and-a-half hours of make-up every day. Two rules of thumb I have for any movie I do – no prosthetics and no tights,” jokes the actor. “When I did the Borg thing in the Star Trek movie I sat in the make-up chair for six or seven hours and almost went bonkers. I can’t do it. My hat is off to Raoul; he literally never complains and is incredible. With Alan Cumming, you couldn’t work with a more professional guy and someone who is a pleasure to be around. If there’s a dull moment, Alan will spark it up with a joke or do something funny or regale us with one of his wonderful stories. It must have to do with the Scottish accent that makes everything sound a little bit better,” says McDonough with a smile. “As for Zooey, she’s gold. She is perfect for this role and brings an up-to-date urbanism to the DG character. Then to have Richard Dreyfuss here for a few days was the icing on the cake. He played the Wizard, or Mystic Man, who is hopped up on ‘Witch’s fumes’ as they call it. Richard showed up on day one for his first scene and just let it rip. He held nothing back on any of his takes and was a real joy to watch.
“Of course, we’re all lucky that Nick Willing is our director. He knows this story inside and out and has such incredible vision and patience. Nick never gets ruffled and always has fun. He’s like a little kid in a candy store, and it’s nice to be part of his candy, if you know what I mean.”
It was back in 1996 that Neal McDonough took his first, and to date only, trip aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise playing Lt. Hawk in the big screen’s Star Trek: First Contact. “My first day on the set I showed up three hours early so I could sit there by myself and just absorb the whole feeling of it,” he enthuses. “One by one all the other actors came in and I met them and it was fantastic. Of course, I was the brunt of their jokes being I was a ‘red shirt’ in the film. I had an absolute ball working with that cast and crew.
“Five years later when I did Band of Brothers it was very funny. The first night I got into town it was St. Patty’s Day and a couple of the guys and I went to a pub. We were sitting there having a beer and after a while the bartender began staring at me. I thought, ‘What did I do?’ Then little by little, I felt eyes on the back of my head. I turned around and there were more people staring at me.
“All of a sudden I looked up and there was an Enterprise mobile hanging from the ceiling. I saw another one and then another and this big First Contact poster. The pub turned out to be England’s national headquarters for Star Trek fans. Talk about a surreal, bizarre and fantastic night. Everyone was just excited that Lt. Hawk was in the bar. It was very cool.”
While his Tin Man alter ego might keep his emotions under wraps, that is not true of McDonough. He is a warm, down-to-earth individual and a man who is obviously happy in his profession. “When I was struggling in the very beginning I figured I’d have a great time enjoying each step, but even now at this point in my career I still enjoy each step; it’s not any different or less invigorating,” he muses.
“I love acting along with the camaraderie of a set as well as really delving into a rich character and being part of a wonderful story. That never changes.”
Steve Eramo
