Interview: David Krumholtz By Brian Z. FilmForce.ign.com
Nov. 28, 2oo5 Film fans may recognize actor David Krumholtz from small roles in such films as Addams Family Values (as Christina Ricci's love interest), Slums of Beverly Hills (as one of Natasha Lyonne's brothers), the Santa Clause movies (as Bernard the Elf), and most recently in Serenity (as uber-hacker Mr. Universe). On TV Krumholtz hasn't had much luck, until this year's Numb3rs. Prior to starring in the Friday night CBS hit, Krumholtz appeared in a number of short-lived TV series, such as Chicago Sons, The Trouble with Normal, and The Lyon's Den. Airing at 10pm ET/PT on Fridays on CBS, Numb3rs provides a unique twist on the crime genre: showing how math can be used to predict criminal behavior and track & find criminals. The series follows Charlie Eppes (Krumholtz), a brilliant math professor at the fictional Cal Sci University, and his brother, FBI agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow). Don often taps his brother for help on big cases, as Charlie is registered as a consultant for the FBI and NSA, amongst other various government agencies. While Charlie works out a problem, he's often running it by his friend and fellow college professor Larry Fleinhardt (Peter MacNicol), and his father, Alan (Judd Hirsch), who lives in his house. IGN FilmForce got a chance to talk with David Krumholtz last week, just before the Thanksgiving weekend. He discussed the tremendous response he's seen from fans of the show, working with Morrow and MacNicol, and more. Krumholtz has been pleasantly surprised by the strong fan reaction that Numb3rs has received. "What's great is that because math is such a universal language, really, our fans come in all shapes and sizes, all ages and genders and races and backgrounds and cultures. "It's just awesome to meet so many varied kinds of people. First and foremost, the show is on Friday nights, so that's not a school night, so a lot of younger people than would be watching the show on a Tuesday night or a Wednesday night are able to watch the show and they like it very, very much. And so, I've been more than thrilled to meet a lot of younger people, even as young as 6 years old, who tell me they're inspired by the math and they just think it's a really cool concept. I've met elderly people, I met a 90-year-old woman, I meet a lot of African Americans, a lot of Asians, It really covers the entire spectrum. Now, this season, recently, a few months ago we were released internationally and we're doing very well in New Zealand and Australia. The response by countries like Germany and France and South Korea has been really strong. "It's really cool to know that you've put something together that isn't for a particular audience. It's so often that a TV show can really only speak to one sect of the population, and this really is something that appeals to a worldwide fan base. People who are into the pursuit of knowledge. Their reaction has meant the world to us." Krumholtz said that Numb3rs has also been warmly embraced by the math community itself. "Instead of being scoffed at, we've been praised and we've been welcomed into their good graces. Institutions like Cal Tech and MIT have come out and shown their support for the show. Texas Instruments has this whole nationwide course going on, where teachers can order Numb3rs DVDs and play scenes from the show in their classrooms, and then the students have worksheets to work off of, using the math that was used in the scene. That's reaching, we're told right now, if you can believe it, it's reaching 2 million kids. So, it's really had a far reaching effect. It's really awesome." Numb3rs has two leads who share the majority of screen time – Krumholtz and Morrow. Krumholtz talked about working with Rob Morrow, an experienced TV actor who starred for six seasons on Northern Exposure. "There's a wonderful co-lead thing going on, because while he and I do work a great amount of time and much of the pressure and responsibility is shared, and oftentimes when there is something that I don't understand on the show or some weight that I need to carry that I don't know how to go about doing that, he's there to sort of either pick up the slack or teach me just how to carry. And I hope I'm there for him to do the same, as well. We have a great relationship, so it makes it easy, I think, on both of us. That we're both on each other's side and whenever we agree or disagree, it's respectfully done and there's just a lot of diplomacy to being a co-lead on a show. It filters throughout and it makes it a very pleasant working environment. "You know, you hear horror stories about lead actors on shows that are absolutely just, you know, send shivers down your spine because you're thinking, 'How can that go on, on a set identical to this?' You realize that both sets aren't identical, because the precedent had already been set that that actor was going to be difficult, and so those people knew going in. In this case, we've set a precedent of just collaboration and fun and family, and our set is a really enjoyable set for that reason." Krumholtz's character, Charlie, has a great relationship on screen with physics professor Larry, played by Peter MacNicol. The two actors, like their characters, look like they truly enjoy being together onscreen, something Krumholtz affirms. "Peter's really a wonderful guy. ... He's never at a loss for something incredible. He's always offering up some piece of whimsy – he's quite a character himself. He makes it so much fun to go to work everyday, to look forward to working with a guy like that, who has sort of a fancy free attitude about his work. It just makes it so much fun. It becomes like kindergarten. Also, it's highly efficient. He and I, we just bang it out. We don't waste time. We know what we're there for. The work, or at least the memorizing of lines, is secondary. The fun that he and I have together is what's primary for both of us. I'm glad that comes across." Krumholtz talked about what's in store for the rest of the season. "I think there's more of an effort going to be made right now, in the next few weeks. I'm learning more about the other characters on the show. I think it's high time we really sort of get into Peter MacNicol's Larry Fleinhardt's past, Judd Hirsch's character's past, and even a couple of the FBI agents. We've yet to really find out about who they are, what their sensitivities are, what they're thing is. Then, I think the show is going to sort of swing back towards healing Charlie's old wounds. I think we haven't completely completed the circle on the whole deceased mother issue. "Of course, there's that issue of the guy [Charlie] hasn't had a date in a while and he certainly could use one. He could use a bit of love and care and compassion, because he's often quite stressed out. He works so hard and he's so passionate about what he does. He could use a bit of distraction. I don't know in what manifestation they're planning to give me a love interest or whatever, but I believe that's in their plans. I'm anxiously awaiting, just like everybody else, just to find out exactly when and how that's going to manifest. We'll see soon enough, I'm sure." This season Numb3rs has a full order of 24 episodes – up from last season's 13, when they were a mid-season replacement (the show premiered in January of this year). They're currently working on episode 11 of this season Krumholtz says it's "quite a long haul. We shoot from mid-July to May 9th. I've never done a job that length, so kind of mind-boggling. I'm not tired, I swear it, I'm not tired. I'm still having a lot of fun." Those readers with either younger siblings or kids of their own may think of Krumholtz as Bernard the Elf in the two Santa Clause movies, arguably the best part of that series. With The Santa Clause 3 shooting now, we asked about his involvement with the film. "I desperately wanted to be on the show, but unfortunately I don't think Disney was as desperate to have me in the film. So, I'm unfortunately not in the film ... They've started filming and they've gone ahead without me, so no Bernard in The Santa Clause 3, but that's just the way the Christmas cookie crumbles, I guess." // go back // |