|
 SOAPBOX - Bruce Boxleitner Gets The Last Word
You may know him as Tron or Captain Sheridan from Babylon 5, but his role on Scarecrow and Mrs. King is what made him a (hard-to-pronounce) household name in the '80s. Now he’s back on TV as a shady governor on the newest season of Heroes. We turned the tables on the super-spy and got him to divulge top-secret info on his Scarecrow days, Kate Jackson, his new role and his wife Melissa Gilbert
I’ve played the president a couple of times, senators, governors—I’ve got that look down—so I just put on my suit, auditioned for Heroes, and I got it. All I can really tell you—because I don’t know a heck of a lot even though I’ve followed the series myself—is my character is one of the Machiavellian people in the background trying to manipulate things. It will be a brief stint but, of course, you never know…Tim Kring and company keep it very secret which is kind of fun. On Babylon 5 we had a very similar thing. I didn’t want to see the script before we were doing it. I wanted to be surprised.
I have no political aspirations myself. None whatsoever. My wife [Melissa Gilbert] was president of Screen Actor’s Guild and I got a good taste of politics then because I served on the board with her and that was a tough four years. Melissa has a very big gay following. She’s doing Little House On The Prairie on stage right now and she’s being very daring going out and doing musical theater. She’s really challenging herself and putting herself out there because there will be people who say, “Oh my God, a TV actress…” But she’s going to be great.
I am very proud of the fact that I’ve been doing this for so long. It’s bizarre because I see the same guys I saw back then out on auditions today. When you get older, you’re not the focus of TV shows and movies. That’s just the business. And guys my age are kind of secondary except, of course, if you’re going to be on Law & Order! I had my turn. I was the young guy once and I had a good run of it. Now I get to play the people in power, the father…and that’s fine. That’s just evolution.
I’ve met so many fans over the years—every kind, gay and straight—and I love it. I really do, and I’m appreciative of all of them. I was at Comic-Con last year and they played a trailer for Tron that surprised the fan base. Disney later contacted me and wanted to know what I was doing in February 2009. So I can only put two and two together here, and this is something that has been rumored for more than twenty years!
Scarecrow and Mrs. King had a sort of whimsy that TV shows today are missing. You know I looked at a few episodes the other day, and I thought, Wow! Who is that guy? It feels like a long, long time ago. You can’t find [Scarecrow] on DVD, which is so strange to me! Every show of that generation is out on DVD, and we were certainly a worthy show. I mean we weren’t a screaming, over-the-top hit but we were a good, steady four years until Kate became ill and I think we probably would have gone on a couple of more.
I loved that show. It was my first big-time break. I kind of stepped out with Scarecrow. I was on a series How The West Was Won in the '70s, and I had Tron in 1982 but with Scarecrow and Mrs. King people began to recognize me.
I’m very proud of the chemistry Kate and I had. I remember having to audition for that role and I was just one of several guys they met with. It started to get narrowed down, and then Kate, God bless her, did some scenes with me and eventually it came down to me and one other guy—and I don’t know who that was—but we read for the network, Kate and me. We did our thing and we had them laughing! With Kate it really was just one of those magical things and we really didn’t have to work too hard at it. We both just really took these characters in and once the series got going, they started writing for that.
We really liked each other, too. We fought like the dickens sometimes, but that’s because it was four years where we spent 14 hours a day with each other. It was never anything over-the-top like we used to hear about with Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis, but you know, you’d have your tensions. I’d walk in one day and she wouldn’t be talking to me and I’d have no idea why. It was like being married. Katie and I might have butted heads, but when we were rolling, when we were Scarecrow and Mrs. King, we were there and we had the best time with it. I think we had a great supporting cast with Martha Smith and Mel Stewart—God bless him, he’s passed on now—he used to make me laugh until I cried. Mel was the funniest man. He so enjoyed doing that show. And Martha was the crazy blonde and she was hilarious. And Beverly Garland—talk about another one who had me in stitches constantly—she hasn’t changed a lick!
I’ve been asked about a Scarecrow reunion for years, and I think there was a time when we almost came close eight or nine years ago. I’ve always said to everybody, “If there’s a fun script, I would love to see where these characters have gone.”
I’m personally of the opinion that if there’s a role that’s your signature role, my God, embrace it. It’s wonderful to be remembered for a role you’ve played. What could be better for an actor?
I mean Melissa is in that same boat, too. She knows she’ll always have that from Little House On The Prairie. That was 10 years of her young life, but that’s a marvelous thing! Now we have a family of our own—four sons—and we’re happy. We’re great. Scarecrow and Laura Ingalls have a wonderful life, we really do!
--
Heroes takes flight September 22 on NBC. Get more info about the 25-year reunion event on October 3 for Scarecrow and Mrs. King at smkanniversary.com
|
Instinct Online 
written by Walter T on October 02, 2008
What a wonderful surprise to see Bruce Boxleitner in your magazine. I have loved him and his work for more than 20 years. Thanks for spotlighting him... I'm so glad to see him speaking freely and openly in a gay mag. That's good stuff.
written by Stephen on October 09, 2008
I LOVED this show when I was a kid. So surprised and so AWESOME to see him in Instinct.