We've managed to find that Gene was born on December 16th of an unspecified year. He and his brother were born in New York as can be guessed by his accent, in a relatively tranquil Brooklyn. Of his youth, mostly he was interested sports such as football. He wasn't born with the vocation for acting, he initially trained and worked years as a stock market trader on Wall Street. Then opened to a new facet in life, he studied a year at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts where he became a method actor, his first break came when his father showed him a job ad as a dinner cabaret actor and he started on his first acting job. To support himself, Gene worked many types of odd jobs, from taxi driving to waiting tables, the real life of many a struggling actor, then decided to move to Los Angeles in the early 1970's to find more work. He worked much in theatre in L.A., and was always offered roles as a the bad guy, but his first television appearance was on Quincy , M.D. , and his first co-starring role was on Charlie's Angels.
He went on to parts in many films over the 1980's and the 90's, he comments that his favorite role was in 1987's Hollywood Shuffle by Pete Townsend, where he played five different roles. His most well-known part came when he tried out for the role of Operations of La Femme Nikita in 1997, he says of the audition that he really tore up the scenery, but he got a call back and the producers asked him just to be still and emote the role with his eyes…. The scary man of Section was born and he started filming in Toronto in 1997. He says he already had known Alberta Watson (Madeline) for 15 years, but that soon after meeting everyone on the cast who were new to him, the group developed a special feeling together. In interviews he often mentions the wonderful working relationship among the cast and crew of the cult series. He says he couldn't keep a straight face when working with Alberta and the two were often cracking up lines, even rolling on floor to the director's chagrin. He says in real life that he is totally opposite the character of Operations, he is easy going and quick to crack jokes, instead of his lines, which he felt were absurd at times. He says of his acting that he was initially a method actor, but that he's learned to let go and see what happens spontaneously more and more. He says an important lesson was learning that everything you do has to have a frame of reference, a logic within which to work and that once you have that frame to support you, you can do anything, be anything…
When preparing for shooting the series, the studios asked him for his ideas on the character of Operations and he based the persona on 7 or 8 different POW's that he had talked to, Operations was to have been a POW in Vietnam who had survived and gone on to slowly gain power within the halls of Section, wresting control of the organization from its founder, Adrian, becoming one of the most powerful men in the world, who kept the president, entire countries and the most potent world organizations in the palm of his hand. This ruthless character does have feelings, but he cuts them off from sight in order to function in this devious world, in several episodes he shows more of his human side, regarding his son and Madeline, but in all he remains a rather enigmatic character, not evil, but ruthless in achieving the desired results by any means. His character was written out of the series in the last episodes of the fifth season in a noble and altruistic manner, attempting to save the life of a child. After the end of LFN, he returned to LA again with his wife, Brioni Farrell, to be close to his grandchildren and finish work on his house. Recent films have been "New Blood", a public service announcement for the United Nations, roles in series such as E.N.G. , Dark Justice and more recently, Mutant X, Area 23 and the innovative Joel Surnow- written show , "24".
Brioni Farrell, his actress wife who also played a role in LFN and who was the inspiration for his platinum hair look, says he's a real homebody and relaxed at home, where he likes to do woodworking projects, down-to-earth gardening and even loves cooking. Gene is a Vietnam veteran and is fascinated with the subject of POW's, he has done extensive research on this question, even interviewing ex POW's in order to write a planned work on the subject, he says he has written the beginning and the end, but the hard part is the middle! But for most fans, he will always be our Operations, the enigmatic man of steel, ruthless defender of justice on a world scale through every means possible.
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