An Interview With Actor Marc Singer

by A. Jaye Williams

He's played both the hero and villain, but has always come across as a strong and charismatic figure on screen. As the hero, he's slain evil sorcerers with a sword and fought against invading aliens from another world. As a villain he's come very close to putting an end to immortal Duncan McCloud's life during an early run of "Highlander: The Series."

Actor Marc Singer is both a big man with a big list of credits and a big heart. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Marc Singer actually grew up in Corpus Christy, Texas, in the Dallas area of the State, until around the beginning of high school. Then he moved to Portland, Oregon, for the remainder of his high school years. He then attended Indiana University and the University of Washington after high school. "I sort of traveled all around the United States," Marc happily reminisces. He then elaborates about his education, saying "I studied acting at Indiana University and then transferred to the University of Washington, where they had a professional conservatory program set up, and began my work in stage performing." This was mostly taken up with classical theater, like "King Lear" and "The Merchant of Venice." "And then I went on from there to be on the 'legitimate stage,' as they say," where he continued on with more Shakespearean performances.

His first exposure to the acting bug goes back to his high school days: "Oh, that was way back in high school, just by fluke. The Drama teacher tapped me for the lead in the high school play, in my junior year. I did that. Then in my senior year I also participated--I played the lead in the last senior play--and it was pretty much a forgone conclusion the minute I put foot on the stage that that was what I was going to be interested in for the rest of my life." Professionally speaking, Marc's first acting gig goes back to stage again. "That was at the A. Conservatory Theater in Seattle, Washington. . . . It was repertory theater in the summer, and I was doing . . . 'The Royal Hunt of the Sun,' in the evenings, and other plays, which escape my memories right now. And then in the mornings, I was part of a children's theater group. . . It was pretty rigorous work for the Summer. Those days, it was not unusual to carry about 3 or 4 plays at any time in your head because you were often called upon to have that kind of schedule." However, those classical performances are over for Marc nowadays. "The closest I come to anything classical these days is sitting at my piano and hammering out Beethoven and Bach."

Marc comes from a musical family, where both his parents were extremely proficient musicians. But for Marc, his destiny was more situated to an artistic expression that mixed both art and action. As an actor, he has grown much since his early days performing Shakespeare on stage, to his latest role of playing Dartanus, in the third season of the BeastMaster television series. "I think every actor will probably tell you the same thing, that the acting profession really allows you the opportunity to be, on the one hand, introspective about the growing process in life, and, on the other hand, extroverted about expressing these things in your performances. For me, there's been hopefully a kind of maturing process which includes a kind of broadening of my own personal view of the world, and the application in the roles of how I portray them."

Marc firmly believes that you can't separate the actor from the life he lives. They are not two entirely separate aspects of a persons life, but rather two integral parts of the whole. "It used to be a misnomer that acting was a part of an actors life, and that real life was another. But I think more than anything . . . film work has come to supplant that idea, and the acting profession has become more of a unified, cohesive expression of a persons life." And that art of expressing the human condition within Marc Singer has come across impressively with some of his most important and varied works. For Marc, he recalls specifically the likes of "'The Taming of the Shrew,' which I played Petruchio, for PBS at the American Conservatory Theater. . . . I would say also, on television . . . 'Something For Joey,' which was a biographical piece back in the 70's, and then I would say 'The Beastmaster,' in the theater, and 'If You Could See What I Hear.' Those are probably the stand outs in my mind." However, Marc can't help but truthfully admit, as most all actors do, that it's often the next piece that they happen to be working on, that is also an important part of their repertoire.

The range of characters that Marc has played has been extremely diverse and ranging. As an actor, Marc knows exactly what he likes to look for in a role he is offered. "I think the thing that every actor looks for is that part of the character's humanity that the actor can identify with, that the actor can have the most fun portraying." But when asked if he prefers the part of hero or villain, he is just as honest and forthcoming, "Actually I prefer playing good guys as they are generally written . . . because good guys are usually carrying some sort of implied virtuous ethical standard . . . and that carries in and of itself a kind of balance between the realities of the world, on the one hand, and the moral rectitude that we all wish we could attain on the other. Whereas if you're playing a villain, the villain has very often in the broad sense forgone any moral restraints and is simply given over to the dark-side. I will say, in playing villains I like to try and find that part of their humanity which suffers by way of being a lost soul. And to give that voice, I think there's a nuance there that is . . . inherently poignant." Marc sights the character he played in an episode of "Highlander: The Series," in which he portrayed an evil immortal that was cursed with being just who he was--bad to the bone, whether he liked it or not. The character, knowing full well that he was immortal, comes to realize that his "soul was tainted." In a sense, there was nothing he could really do in life but honestly live by expressing and representing himself as he truly was. In essence, he couldnÕt pretend to be or live the life of a good guy--like Duncan McCloud--because he knew that wasn't what or who he was or ever could be. Marc can even look deeper into that particular role, as he says, "I think there's a really poetic metaphor there for the dilemma that many of us feel in noticing the difference between what we wish we were and what we actually are."

Though Marc has guest-starred in a number of television projects, like "Highlander: The Series," "Murder, She Wrote," "Dallas," "Hawaii Five-O," and many others, he is by far best known for his role as Dar, in the original "Beastmaster" movies. Back in 1982, he first appeared in theaters as the sword swinging and loin-cloth wearing warrior that could communicate with animals. Following the footsteps of Schwarzenegger's "Conan the Barbarian," Marc successfully capitalized on the sword & sorcery genre with a very well produced and well written genre piece. And though he wasn't a big as Arnold, he had clearly conditioned himself to a chiseled muscular form, more reminiscent of a lithe Tarzan than a bulky Conan. His physical build was very impressive, and he literally owned the part of Dar. However, preparing for the role was no cake-walk. "In those days, I was a much more avid practitioner of Kung Fu. . . .The main conditioning that I did for the first 'Beastmaster' was to stand out in the rain and wind as much as possible wearing nothing but a pair of shorts; because in order to play this role in front of the camera in the middle of winter, when we filmed it, there was no question that I was going to have to be endured to the elements in some real sense. That was my major training, to be outdoor with the elements with no protection as much as possible." His dedication and preparation for the film showed every bit on screen. One can't help but admire and respect his commitment to the film and his physical conditioning and the methods he went to in order to achieve his look for the role of Dar. Just as impressive, was his swordsmanship as well. "My sword training is my own. I bring to the sets, as a matter of fact, a system of swordplay which is--I don't know if it's unique, but it's one I haven't encountered often." That swordplay, once again, has come into action.

As if coming full circle, Marc has returned to the world and characters of the Beastmaster. On the television series, Marc joined the third season of "BeastMaster" in the recurring part of Dartanus--a name he had a hand in--the mentor to Daniel Goddard's Dar. "I had a number of episodes to act in and develop the character . . . and to bring into play this growing style of swordplay, and introduce it to the set, and in fact experiment with it on film. And then, as well, I directed an episode (called 'Destiny'). . . . So I had a chance to take the knowledge that I had as the originator of the BeastMaster and share that, hopefully to some benefit with the other actors." His reasons for returning to the world of the Beastmaster are also very personal. He feels very protective and has a lot of affection for the character. "I feel very connected and, in some ways, possessive about the project itself. It was a very fun and wonderful experience when I first originated the role. And the thought of coming in as a kind of 'uncle' of the project is always fun. The role was an excellent role. The role of Dartanus as the mentor was a terrific role because he's the man who is, on the one hand, seemingly in control of the situations that he puts Dar through. But on the other hand he himself is at the mercy of his own fate." And Marc can't help but relish that poetic theme of whether or not we have any control of our own fate and destiny.

Marc's other best known role to date has got to be that of Mike Donovan from the highly successful NBC miniseries' "V." For that role, he recalls very pleasantly that "I met Ken Johnson, who was the originator. He was in fact the producer, writer, and director of the original 'V.' I think I was pretty well his first and most hoped for choice. So we had a good relationship on the set all the way through the filming, and, in fact, remain good friends now." Though there are no plans at this time to do another "V" movie or series, Marc does remain optimistic, if not hopeful. "Hollywood is a never say die town. Everybody lives on hope. And not only that, we've seen 17 remakes of John Ford's classic 'Stage Coach.' . . . So, there's always talk here and there about reviving 'V.' It's just up to time and tide and see what really prevails." However, it is clear that if "V" returns as a weekly series, it'll have to take on a new and different direction the weekly series did back in the '80's. After the first two highly successful miniseries', the weekly run was much less appealing, losing both ratings and viewers as the shows aired. Marc says, "I think it didn't carry its intellectual responsibilities through the second and third offerings. Kenny Johnson had left the project and was the guiding intellectual light, and creative light. And I think the second installment of 'V' was a sort of paste up of . . . what the script had developed to at that point. And then the series itself . . . basically turned into a kind of sci-fi adventure as opposed to staying with the original concept, which had to do with how society might become subverted, and how people react in those societies when military and social pressures begin to unite to destroy them." Also lacking in the weekly series were the ecological and political issues that were so prevalent in the first miniseries, and which lessened during the shows run.

By the end of the first--and last--season of the weekly "V," it no longer had the same spirit, responsibilities, and life force of the original miniseries'. It didn't become horrible, it became mediocre--and in some ways, that can be just as bad. The filming of the show, however, was a totally different experience. "We had a blast! Everyday going to the set was more fun that the last. There were always car chases--for me, it was like a big playground: car chases, gun fights, fist fights, rolling in the dirt, and jumping over things, running and hiding. It was just a big child's game!" And all this 'playing around' didn't come without a few bumps and scrapes along the way. "Always! I mean it's impossible after a while not to accumulate a few lumps and bumps. I got, as I recall, a broken rib in one episode."

Having played two very solid and heroic roles in the science fiction and fantasy genre, Marc believes that the continued appeal of science fiction specifically are two fold: "Number one, I think the Earth has been used up. The frontiers have been defined on this planet. The wild west no longer exists. . . . And (two) I think the big, continuing frontier is outer space. And all the 'cowboys' . . . can ride in outer space forever." Having been in the acting business for many years, Marc's proud to say that he's worked with the likes of such great actors as Henry Fonda, Olivia DeHavilland, and Burt Lancaster in his career. Still, he finds it hard to name just one or two of his favourite actors, because, simply put, he's had so many wonderful experiences working with a number of actors over the years--though he will admit to being inspired early on by much of Sir Laurence Olivier's Shakespearean roles. Currently, Marc is working on some new projects, both behind and in front of the camera, wanting to add writer to his vast resume. Marc Singer has already proven to be a consummate actor, a professional worker, and a very committed performer. He's done stage, is a classically trained pianist, and is a true gentleman with a philosopher's ideals of the world we all live in and the people who inhabit it. If you only know Marc Singer from the heroic roles of Dar or Mike Donovan, then odds are you actually know a good part of him as well.