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Philly Comic Con: Adam Baldwin Panel

By ComicBooked on | From comicbooked.com

Despite Billy Dee Williams stealing the spotlight as the marquee guest, my favorite celebrity from Wizard World Philadelphia 2011 was undoubtedly Adam Baldwin, a man with a lot of "cred" in the nerd community. Probably best known for his roles as Jayne Cobb in Firefly and Serenity and John Casey in Chuck, Baldwin's impressive resume includes guest spots on shows such as Angel and The X-Files, voice acting roles in Halo 3: ODST and Mass Effect 2, and a supporting role in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. His appearance at this year's Philly Comic Con brought out Firefly fans, known lovingly as "Browncoats," in full force. Baldwin's panel was my last stop at this year's convention and I was not disappointed.After pilling into the panel room, fans immediately queued up at the microphone. A man, who identified himself as a member of the New York City Browncoats, dressed up as Captain Malcom Reynolds, Nathan Fillion's Firefly persona, served as moderator for the session and led us in an impromptu rendition of "Jayne's Song" before the guest of honor arrived. Baldwin arrived promptly at 2 PM and entered the room to a thunderous round of applause. A volunteer put down two healthy cups of beer for Baldwin. He bid us all welcome and sent a special greeting out to the fathers in the audience (it was Father's Day after all). He chatted for a bit, letting us know it was his first time in Philadelphia in thirty years, and shared a story of his last visit, which involved playing a charity hockey game with some of the notorious "Broad Street Bullies" and "gettin' knocked on [his] ass by Dave Schulz." Baldwin let us know that he gives great hugs before breaking into our questions.

Lauren took to the microphone first and asked Baldwin about who he hopes will be a presidential candidate in 2012. [Baldwin run his own twitter account, which he uses mostly as a forum for talking about his personal politics.] Baldwin said that it was too early to say. Lauren also asked which of the Firefly episodes is Baldwin's favorite, to which he responded "Out of Gas," a flashback episode that shows the story of how each Serenity crew member came to the ship; however, Baldwin said that the pilot, "Serenity," is also another one of his favorite episodes. Baldwin also talked a little bit about the development of the pilot. Gail Berman, one of the producers from Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Angel, had recently been promoted to studio executive at FOX; basically, "she was Joss's 'in' at the studio." He got the go-ahead to write a two-hour pilot, which was a risky move. Baldwin said the executives were bored with the pilot, noting that nothing "really happened." Joss and the rest of the Firefly team apparently then had to rush the creation of the second episode, the action-packed "The Train Job," to introduce some action into the series. Baldwin also said there was a lot of uncertainty about which programming slot Firefly would occupy, with the executives ultimately deciding on a Friday night position for the show, known affectionately as the "Friday night death slot," which, of course, doomed the show from the start.

The second questioner, who failed to mention his name, asked Baldwin to elaborate on his experience with Superman/Doomsday, which found Baldwin voicing the Man of Steel, as well as "Dark Superman," a clone. Baldwin said it was rather difficult to find a persona for Dark Superman, saying, "there was no edge, really." Ultimately, he decided on a darker, more mysterious tone, adding, "Oh, I can do creepy." James stepped up next and, while repeatedly exclaiming, "you the man, Adam," asked Baldwin if he had any upcoming sci-fi roles, noting that he felt Baldwin would make a great zombie, a sentiment with which Baldwin agreed. Baldwin said he had nothing in particular planned in the sci-fi genre.Chris asked Baldwin about the differences in doing voice-over work and live action roles. Baldwin joked, "you can do a game in your pajamas." He elaborated, saying that he felt voice-over work was more difficult and "compartmentalized." The major difficulty in doing voice-over work, Baldwin theorized, is that you get no context. He finds it difficult to really find the right emotion for a scene because it isn't playing out directly in front of him. He also said that he felt live action roles give you more prep time and a better way to connect with your character; however, he qualified that by saying that being a guest actor on a series is "tough...you get no respect." Audrey touched on issue that polarizes a lot of fans of the Firefly universe: she asked Adam about the decision to use a different composer for the movie, Serenity. [Series composer, Greg Edmonson, was replaced by David Newman, who chose a markedly different (more sci-fi) music style for the film.] Baldwin chalked it all up to Universal Studios. He said that Whedon really fought to keep the Firefly team together, but some people, Edmonson included, were just outright rejected by the studio. Baldwin concluded the question, saying, "It was above my pay-grade, basically."Danny took

to the microphone and prefaced by saying he felt incredibly starstruck. Baldwin eased him into it, asking Danny, "Where are you from?," to which he hilariously replied, "I'm good." Danny identified himself as a U.S. soldier, which Baldwin thanked him for. Baldwin also asked Danny how he felt about Taking Chance, an excellent HBO film starring Kevin Bacon as an Army officer escorting home the body of a fallen soldier. Danny prefaced by saying that he usually found most military movies to be inauthentic and overly dramatized; however, he found Taking Chance to be very authentic and touching. Danny, finally eased out of his starstruck daze, asked Baldwin what it was like to work with "the sexiest lady on Firefly," - Vera. [Vera was the most prized possession of Baldwin's Firefly persona, Jayne Cobb.] Baldwin said that it was a recycled prop from another movie, and had been cannibalized with all sorts of parts from other weapons. He asked if he could take it home with him after the show was cancelled, but that would've set him back around $10,000. "Besides," Baldwin quipped, "Morena [Baccarin] is prettier."The next questioner, who also failed to mention his name, asked Baldwin if he had any stories about working with Will Smith on Independence Day. Baldwin told us that the first time he actually worked with Smith was on a film called Where the Day Takes You. He said that Smith is "the nicest guy you'll ever meet...very professional...and a talker." He shared a story about of one the shooting days in the desert, which found Smith trying to join in on an impromptu "Jewish Death of a Salesman" performance given by ID4 co-stars Jeff Goldlbum and Judd Hirsch. The next, unnamed questioner asked Baldwin to elaborate on a plot point revealed in the last episode of Season 4 of Chuck, which we're going to omit in the interest of not spoiling the reader base. The same questioner also asked Baldwin, an admitted Red Hot Chili Peppers fan, how he felt about the upcoming album, I'm With You, the first album released since guitarist John Frusciante parted ways with the group. Baldwin said, "I presume it'll be awesome," but admitted to being a blindly devoted fan to the band, a claim supported by his admission that he enjoyed One Hot Minute, an album that typically gets a lot of scorn from fans of the group.Keith took to the microphone next and asked a simple question of Baldwin: "Can I have a hug?" Baldwin joked, saying this would probably be his own personal Weinergate. After the laughter subsided, Baldwin leaned into the microphone and said, "You want a hug, bubba? Come here."

Keith anxiously approached the stand and Baldwin gave him what is quite possibly the biggest, manliest bear hug I've ever seen. James stepped up once the hug was finished and asked Baldwin if he had been asked to reprise his role as Kal'Reegar in Mass Effect 3, to which Baldwin responded that he had not been approached. [Note: The IMDb entry for Baldwin and Mass Effect 3 both list him as being rumored to appear in the game.] Slam, a mother with a daughter currently pursuing a degree in theater, asked Baldwin if he had any advice to give the aspiring actress, to which he responded, "Have another bankable skill." He also posited that being a theater major wasn't the most important thing in being an actor. Baldwin stressed the importance of knowing a lot about the behind-the-camera elements as well, especially writing and directing. "Basically," Baldwin concluded, "learn the ins-and-outs of the business."Another unnamed questioner asked Baldwin, a father, for some parenting advice, asking him, specifically, "When should I chain my daughter up in the basement?" Baldwin laughed and gave some great advice: "Teach her to love to read. That opens the door to honesty." The same questioner asked Baldwin if he'd lead us in a rendition of "Jayne's Song," which Baldwin adamantly refused to do. Someone shouted out that there's a video on YouTube of Baldwin singing the song and the questioner took out his smart phone with the intention of finding the video and playing it into the microphone. Baldwin immediately threatened the questioner, saying, "If you hold that up to the mic, I'll run down there and tackle you." The questioner put away his phone and scurried back to his seat.

The next fan to take the microphone asked Baldwin if he could elaborate more on Jayne's background before he joined the crew of Serenity. Baldwin admitted that he could only speculate, but, based on conversations with Whedon, he imagined Jayne to be a middle-class-guy, from a regular neighborhood, perhaps the product of a broken home. Baldwin said he drew on the idea of adventure being an escape from a life as a middle-class screw up. He said he imagined, at one point, if the show had gone on, we may have met Jayne's mother. At this point, Baldwin went off to talk about the notorious hat. [Jayne received that hat as a gift from his mother in an episode of Firefly. It has since gone on to be one of the most recognizable costume props in all of Firefly fandom.] Baldwin said there were two copies of the hat, one that was kept by the woman who knitted it and one that was given to him. Baldwin then auctioned off the hat for charity and claimed the hat sold for roughly $5000. The questioner asked Baldwin if Jayne was a fighter in the Unification War, to which Baldwin joked, "Jayne was probably a conscientious objector."Another fan asked Baldwin whether it was more fun to play Jayne or Casey, Baldwin's Chuck persona. Baldwin paused for a moment and finally responded, "Jayne...but Casey pays better!" He said he enjoyed playing Jayne because he "was a bull in a china shop," noting that Casey is a bit more reserved. The next questioner asked Baldwin about the product placement in Chuck, whether or not it gets in the way of being able to act and convincingly tell a story. [Chuck, which has frequently been on the bubble for cancellation, has been kept alive by a lot of product placement deals with advertisers, especially Subway.] Baldwin said "it's like Metallica's Black Album - it's a sell-out, but it pays the bills and we embrace it." He said he never felt the Subway placement was too forced - it's easy to sell a sandwich. "It's not like we had to have Casey and Chuck have a scene about tampons or something," Baldwin joked.TJ, who identified himself as the man who dared Keith to ask Baldwin for a hug, asked the actor if he had any great memories from Full Metal Jacket. Baldwin thought for a moment and said, "Beating Stanley Kubrick at chess," a particularly note-worthy accomplishment, as Kubrick was known for his chess skills. Baldwin said he played Kubrick in chess a lot, and the director would always crush him, save for one game, the last time they played together. After losing to Baldwin, Kubrick coldly stated, "The only reason you beat me is because I have so little respect for your game that I blundered." The director refused to play Baldwin in chess from then on out. Another fan asked Baldwin, who is in no way related to other group of famous Baldwins, if he had ever exploited the name for money or a part or if there was a downside to sharing the namesake. Baldwin said there's no real downside to sharing a surname with the famous brothers, "Alec is hilarious!" Baldwin also said that he'd never used the name for his own good, saying that he was fortunate enough to establish a name for himself in the early 80s, thanks to several memorable roles.

Another fan asked Baldwin about a scene in a recent episode of Chuck, that had Baldwin and fellow co-star Joshua Gomez engaging in a particularly challenging, synchronized breakfast scene. Baldwin said a lot of rehearsal was involved, more so than a typical scene. He said it was frustrating to have to put in the extra time, but it was a necessary sacrifice in order to make sure "they were doing it right, not just doing it fast." The next fan asked Baldwin who owns the rights to Firefly, to which Baldwin begrudgingly muttered, "Fox." Rob asked Baldwin if he could introduce him to Firefly co-star Jewel Staite, and Baldwin assured Rob that he would do so. Mike said he noticed Baldwin tends to take roles that frame in a heroic manner, to which Baldwin responded that he tries to play every character as a hero, even the villains.Maureen, building on Mike's question, asked Baldwin to talk about playing Marcus in Season 5 of Angel. Baldwin gave this as an example of playing every character in a heroic manner, saying he didn't play Marcus like a villain, but rather found the positives and brought them through, even if it was in a maniacal, murderous way. Baldwin said a trap for bad actors is to play villains as being angry. Baldwin said working with David Boreanaz was a treat, as he considers him to be a "very dynamic man...very nice to me." Baldwin said he had fun being on the set of Angel, particularly with Boreanaz. He said that his main thought while filming with Boreanaz was "Joss is giving me carte blanche, so I'm just going to fuck with you."At this point, we had exceeded the 45 minutes allotted for the panel and the moderator let Baldwin know this. Baldwin paused for a moment and looked at the line in front of the microphone, which had three people still in it. Baldwin, in one of the classiest moves I've ever seen at one of these panels, smiled and said, "Well, then it looks like we have time for three more questions."The first fan asked him if he would ever play Jayne again, if given the chance, to which Baldwin replied positively. He did point out that he's not willing to quit Chuck at the moment, cheerily reminding us that it's a well-paying gig, but theorized that the upcoming season will be their last anyway. The same fan also asked Baldwin if he would consider a guest appearance on Nathan Fillion's Castle.

Baldwin says that his Chuck contract allows him to do guest-starring spots on other shows and he is absolutely open to the idea, hinting that, if we want it to happen, we should "bother Nathan on twitter until it does." The second fan asked Baldwin, "Do you like comics? DC or Marvel?" Baldwin paused for a second, gave that signature, mischievous smile and said, "Dark Horse!" The room promptly erupted in cheers. Finally, the last fan to ask Baldwin a question during the panel took to the microphone and asked, "Do you like hugging males or females more?" Baldwin, a bit taken a back, said he has different kinds of hugs for different people, saying that the hug he gave Keith during the panel was a "manly hug." He laughed and shook his head for a second, and then concluded, "I'm an Equal Opportunity Hugger!" The room erupted in cheers and laughter and Baldwin gathered his belongings, shouting out, "I love you all!" before leaving the stage.He left to a thunderous round of applause and lots of love. Baldwin's overwhelmingly awesome personality really shined through during this Q & A session. He was hilarious, grateful, sincere, and very charismatic. He left no question unanswered and seemed more than pleased to be able to spend some time with all of us. It's always great to go to a panel with a celebrity who really wants to be there and Baldwin's interest in our session with him seemed genuine. He has loads of great stories that he's picked up from his career in the industry, a career I hope doesn't stop any time soon.That about does it for my coverage of Wizard World 2011. Don't forget to check out my write-ups of the Clare Kramer & Mercedes McNab “BuffyFest” panel and Billy Dee Williams panel. Also, check out more Wizard World articles from Nick Cavicchio (who also gets a shout-out for taking the photos), Jordamus Prime, and CGC Lee. Thanks for reading and stay tuned to Comic Booked!