Feb-21-2000
The Province
Smoking guns
The men behind the Lone Gunmen, that trippy trio from The X-Files, are getting their own Fox pilot. TV writer Dana Gee gets the straight goods from the Vancouver actors — along with a few new conspiracy theories
Tom Braidwood, Bruce Harwood and Dean Haglund make up the Lone Gunmen.
Look out Hollywood, the Lone Gunmen are taking aim at prime time TV.
Those wacky, paranoid geeks that help Mulder and Scully crack conspiracies are spinning off into their own show.
It was confirmed recently that The X-Files’ guy-in-charge-of-everything, Chris Carter, will produce a pilot based on the Gunmen.
That’s great news for the three Vancouver-area actors who portray Byers, Frohike and Langly: respectively, Bruce Harwood, Tom Braidwood and Dean Haglund.
As is the norm with anything to do with The X-Files the lid is on pretty tight. What we do know is if The X-Files does not return for an eighth season — don’t hold your breath — the show will air in September. If Fox can work out new contracts with Carter and star David Duchovny, an eight season will likely hit the air and the Lone Gunmen pilot will show up as a mid-season replacement sometime in January.
We tracked down the trippy trio and got them to dish on the show and life as the wildly popular conspiracy guys.
Dean Haglund A.K.A. Langly
Q. Where’s the pilot going to be shot?
A. In Vancouver, since we were all starting to look too sexy with our buff bodies and tans that we were getting in L.A.
Q. You’re not afraid of rain these days, are you?
A. Only acid rain and what happened to that? I thought David Suzuki said the Gulf Islands were supposed to be dead now unless we took drastic actions! Did we take them?
Q. What do you think the show should be called?
A. Hmmmmmm. How about, I Told You If You Make that Face it Will Stay That Way?
Q. What will your own show mean to your popularity?
A. The show will mean, when entering a large event, I will no longer be asked, “Are you with the band?”
Q. Will we see you walking next to Bruce Willis or John Travolta down a red carpet at a movie premiere anytime soon?
A. Yeah, that’s right. I am starring in a picture with John Travolta and Bruce Willis called That Long Haired Guy Killed the General’s Daughter and He Can See Dead People.
Q. What’s in your new contract?
A. Well, I fought hard, it was quite a battle with Business Affairs, but I worked it so I only have to mention my last name at the security gate to get in.
Q. How would you describe your personal style?
A. Biker from Mensa.
Q. What are some traits you and Langly share?
A. Unkempt hair. Unclean linen.
Q. Will you do nudity?
A. Only if nudity will respect me in the morning.
Q. What is the weirdest thing someone has written about you in say an Internet chat room?
A. You want weird? YOU WANT WEIRD? Oh, baby, you don’t know the meaning of weird until you have seen the things I have seen. Thus, I can’t really judge what the weirdest means anymore.
Q. If you could start one rumour about yourself what would it be?
A. That I am that deep voice you hear when you dial the wrong number.
Q. What rumour would you start about the other two Gunmen?
A. They are the women’s voices that say ‘Telus’ and ‘Next stop, Metrotown.’
Q. What’s your favourite conspiracy theory?
A. That Monica Lewinsky was a CIA operative on a mission to distract the public from the fact that the government was completely useless.
Q. If the moon walk was staged, how do you explain pictures and film footage of the astronauts experiencing weightlessness?
A. They turned the camera upside down. Try it at home.
Q. Is it true that, in the pilot, there will be a strong female role, a theorist who stimulates your intellects as well as your . . .?
A. As my what? Could you finish the question please. I am bad with double entendre. I can barely handle single entendre.
Q. Any idea on who will play that role?
A. I think I will. It’s a chance to expand my acting range to play a woman who I lust after.
Q. Who else would you like to play that role?
A. I think we should rotate the entire cast of 90210 through the part. They’ve got the time.
Q. Finish this sentence: If I were Chris Carter the first thing I would do is . . .
A. Go surfing!
Tom Braidwood A.K.A. Frohike
Q. Shooting The X-Files in L.A. hasn’t made you afraid of the rain, has it?
A. I’m born and bred in the rain. I’m a water baby.
Q. What’s the show going to be called?
A. Don’t know but I think The Lone Gunman would be good. Our name is originally singular whose mythology derives from the lone gunman referred to in the Kennedy assassination.
Q. What did you do to celebrate when you found out the show was a go?
A. I called my wife at home, sat on the balcony of the hotel in L.A., watched the sun set and went to bed at 10 p.m.
Q. What’s the difference between Hollywood you and Vancouver you?
A. About a two-and-a-half hour plane ride.
Q. Will we see you walking next to Bruce Willis or John Travolta down a red carpet at a movie premiere?
A. I don’t think so. Maybe we’ll be hired to clean the carpet if we’re lucky.
Q. What is one trait you share with Frohike?
A. Bad taste in clothes.
Q. What’s one trait you don’t share?
A. I’m better looking than my character.
Q. Will you do nudity?
A. Pity the poor viewing audience . . .
Q. What’s the weirdest thing someone has said about you or Frohike in, say, an Internet chat room?
A. Don’t follow the chat rooms much. But a young female fan at one of the conventions wondered if I wore boxers or briefs.
Q. If you could start one rumour about yourself what would it be?
A. That I can act . . .
Q. What rumour would you start about other Gunmen?
A. That they think I can act . . .
Q. What’s your favourite conspiracy theory?
A. Gas prices . . .
Bruce Harwood A.K.A. Byers
Q. When you heard about the pilot, did you do anything wild and crazy to celebrate?
A. No. A pilot is a pilot –which is good — but not a series. I take it one step at a time.
Q. Are you now considered A-list party material?
A. Nope.
Q. Will we see you walking next to Bruce Willis or John Travolta down a red carpet at a movie premiere anytime soon?
A. Nope.
Q. What will be in your new contract? A bigger trailer, champagne? What do you get now?
A. Sorry, private information.
Q. How would you describe your personal style?
A. Well, I don’t wear suits (like Byers) if I can help it. I prefer relaxed and pretty unstylish clothes.
Q. What’s one trait you share with your on screen persona?
A. Bookishness.
Q. What is one thing you and your character don’t share?
A. Extreme paranoia.
Q. Will you do nudity?
A. Why would anyone want me to?
Q. What would surprise an X-Files fan to find out about you?
A. X-Files fans are hard to surprise!
Q. If you could start one rumour about yourself what would it be?
A. That I was taller and better looking.
Q. What rumour would you start about your other two Gunmen cohorts?
A. That they said I was taller and better looking.
Q. Who is funnier, Jerry Lewis or Jim Carrey?
A. Robin Williams.
Q. What’s your favourite conspiracy theory?
A. That the JFK assassination was a suicide.
Q. If the moon walk was staged, how do you explain pictures and film footage of the astronauts experiencing weightlessness?
A. Invisible strings.
Q. How do you explain crop circles and Ricky Martin?
A. They both describe concentric circles.
Tags: bruce harwood, dean haglund, lone gunmen, tom braidwood, x-files