#77838c #605069
CynbytheSea Interview with Michael Quinn
(Stunt Double for Roy Dupuis)

The members of CynbytheSea would like to thank you very much for the time you spent with us. The details in which you have given us, has allowed the fans more insight than we have seen before, we truly appreciate your answers, and we wish for you a very prosperous future.........
________________________________________

1.) I read in your profile you are an ex-paramilitary operative, how did you end up doing that?

MICHAEL: I can't really discuss that, ...suffice to say that there are direct connections between the Ninja and the Elite Special Forces Units world-wide.


2.) Why acting after that?

MICHAEL: Actually, I started acting at a very young age, when I was just 6 years old. I did mainly stage and a few independent films, but acting has always been there - along with my martial arts job of training military personnel. Acting is a great way to discover who you are inside by expressing yourself as you entertain others.


3.) How was it like to work on the set of LFN?

MICHAEL: It was great! Although very surreal at times to be there amongst all the set-work, props and lighting equipment that made-up SECTION ONE when it was all put together on film. All the people there were fantastic and really personable as well, which made 'getting to know your way around' - a lot easier.


4.) Is there any particularly stunt you remember from LFN that was especially difficult?

MICHAEL: Well I don't want to be misleading here at all, but I'm not really a stuntman. I was hired as an independent contractor because of my Martial Arts skills. I don't do dangerous stunts such as Body-Burns, High-Falls or Car crashes, those things are for experts in those fields, and I was hired to do Stunt-Fighting because of my 30 year background in martial arts.

I usually do about 6-8 hours of choreography with my fight-partners so that the sequences can be blocked out with the camera-director for timing and angulations in order to 'sell the hits'. Then the filming begins - and can take an additional 3 hours or so to get right - with recalls to come-in on following days to do additional shoots for extra footage needed for continuity.

So - to your question "Was there any stunt that was particularly difficult?" ...well, on the first day of choreographing a fight scene between Michael and Nikita for the 4th season opener - the stunt-girl who was doubling for Peta, broke my nose. The poor girl was really upset though - because it was an elbow to my nose - POP - and down I went. I was like "Oh crap - I can't quit now!" - and with that - I grabbed my nose off my cheek and snapped the sucker back into place as I hit the ground. However, the on-set nurses weren't going to take any crap from me - and so they demanded to 'check' my nose. "Oh bloody hell" - I thought. I looked up at Mic Jones (my stunt-coordinator) and he gave me that particular nod that said "Yep - they have to see if you are ok before we can continue". So I did, ...I let go of my nose and consequently redecorated the whole mat area with what I was hiding in my nasal-cavity whilst trying to convince these nurses that I was 'fine'. Yep, red just really doesn't go well with blue training mats. 

Claudia Conde ~ Buenos Aires, Argentina
________________________________________

5.) If you're traveling in some country, do you plan in advance which cities or places you will visit, the hotels, rent car, etc., or is it easier to just buy a plane ticket and go?

MICHAEL: As much as the idea of Spontaneous road-trips sounds fun, yes, I usually do a lot of research on any area that I'm traveling to. I specifically 'Google-Earth' the destination area to the Nth-degree and memorize the streets and locations of emergency essentials such as Hospitals, Embassies, Banks, Restaurants, Hotels, etc, ...because you just never can know enough about a strange land. I can go almost anywhere in the world and know my way around because of the research I do beforehand is so intensive. Knowing the cultural values of the communities you are visiting is something I strongly recommend to new travelers - because you could insult someone merely by looking at or talking to them, so always study your destination and its culture thoroughly first.


6.) Which is the most exotic country you have visited?

MICHAEL: Other than with the Military, that's a strong split between 'County Clare - Ireland', and 'Sante Fe - New Mexico', ...both induced in me an incredible feeling of peace & tranquility that I haven't felt anywhere else. The forests of Ireland are the most vibrant green I have ever seen anywhere in the world and they have real personality, very dark, lush and full of life. Those huge trees seem to speak to you when the wind blows through them. But Sante Fe was so relaxing and everyone there was so personable. The whole community is focused around the Arts, which I LOVE, and the Desert seems to call to you with it's haunting lonely quality - so I believe that I will end up there again someday.


7.) You have almost the same taste of music like myself, very similar, which groups have you seen "live" and which group(s), would you like to see?

MICHAEL: Hey cool - you obviously have great taste then! Haha! Yeah, I have seen David Bowie a few times now - and back when my hair was much shorter, he actually talked to me and said that I looked like his son Zowie. I have also seen Peter Gabriel, The Cure, Medieval Babes, Dead Can Dance, Moby, Robbie Williams, Clannad, Great Big Sea, U2, Loreena McKennitt, and a few more. I really love good performers who can do their job OUTSIDE of the studio because live music really gets me hyped!

I really still want to see; Tea Party, Bjork, Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Dead Can Dance again, ... I can't get enough of them.

Vera Schweinhuber ~ Czech Republic
__________________________________________

8.) Can you tell us about the locations, you have visited, while filming with "La Femme Nikita"?

MICHAEL: Well I only did 5 episodes with the show, and I was there for a few more as a Special Skills performer, ...we did a lot there at the studio - but some of the other locations were downtown Toronto, as opposed to the studio in Mississauga where the set of SECTION ONE was located.

My first gig with them was in episode 111 - playing a Russian soldier at the chemical weapons factory - I was the guy manning the searchlight who Nikita garrotes (chokes out from behind with a rope) around my throat, and then takes over the searchlight from. That was all filmed down at the 'Hearn Generating Station' at the bottom of Cherry Street here in Toronto - in the east end. We did the huge double explosion last - at about 7am when the sky was getting deep purple - about to go blue with the morning sun.

We were working all night for two days straight (the 18th & 19th) with only a small break between shoots to sleep. The temperature was minus -30 degree weather in the middle of February - and we were all going-on so little sleep yet running around with AK-47's all night in lightweight uniforms made for weather suited for about 20 degrees warmer. (I was told that we had the actual uniforms that were used in 007 James Bond's 'Goldeneye' for us to wear - which was all authentic military wear - not reproductions. Very cool looking - but not warm enough!)

We did episode 401 "Getting Out of Reverse" the main fight-sequence between Roy and Peta's characters all next door to the main studio in a huge room that was big enough to park two jumbo jets side by side, and they built this huge set for just MY fight-scene - it cost over a million dollars on just this one set alone.

For episode 403 "View Of The Garden" - we filmed down at the 'Water Treatment Plant' in the 'Beaches Area' down here in Toronto for the Fight / shoot-out sequence with Michael battling the 3 Nikitas. I choreographed all of that and also did the doubling when necessary. The WT Plant was a great set-location choice for "the look", but the smell was AWFUL - it took a few hours to get used to, ...I remember Roy joking with me about the "rich stench" going so well with his morning coffee - hahah!

Episode 404 "Into The Looking Glass" we shot at the 'Royal York Hotel' opposite 'Union Station' for the sequences of Michael's team coming-in to obtain a drug from the safe of a Russian guy ('Dante' I think his character name was?) who was in bed with this younger Brunette girl. I was the guy with the short blond hair who pulled her out of the bed while my team-partner held a gun on Dante so that he would do as he was told by Michael. This is the only time you see ME as me - no make-up or wig doubling as Roy. I played Michael's Team-Assassin who killed the sentry-guard (played by 6'4" Layton Morrison) outside the apartment of the Russian.

In episode 411 "Time to be Heroes" was done around the area of 'Black Creek Pioneer Village' - just under the train-track trestle, and there we shot a great sequence with a few Stuntguys as the Crystal Sky Operatives. I led them down a very steep incline under the bridge - practically running into a frontal Aussie-rappel with one-hand - whilst trying to hold onto the AK-47 with my other hand that Jean 'Frenchie' Berger gave me for the sequence.

After that I did an on-set interview for CBC television about stuntwork and it aired apparently - my friends and students have seen it - but not me yet! ...I wish I could get a digital copy of every show I've been on!


9.) You must have had to work closely with actor Roy Dupuis, to be his stunt double, what requirements did you have to obtain? And how and why were you chosen for this?

MICHAEL: Yes, I worked fairly closely with Roy for the episodes we were on together, which really involved my studying him as an actor, getting to know his natural movement and how his background in Hockey and Tae-kwon-do affected his physical performance.

As for my credentials? That would be my background as a real Ninja; We specialize in Method-Acting and becoming whoever we need to be in order to blend-in and accomplish our goals, and that involves being able to study and effectively mimic any behavior we can observe.

How and Why was I chosen? Well, when 'La Femme NIKITA' was first starting pre-production, I found out where the auditions were being held and brought in a demo-video of my martial arts skills and my resume that included a headshot of me and a brief description of my Paramilitary/Ninja-training and what my skills were - and that was what got me called-in by the stunt-coordinator, 'Mic Jones'.

The call was originally to play a Russian character, so I auditioned my Russian accent to Mic on the phone, and He, Ted Hanlan and David Curruthers liked what they heard and asked me to come in for a "look-see", so I did, but instead of being needed to play 'that' character - Mic started sizing me up for Roy's clothes - and told me that the regular stunt-double was off doing another show, so they needed someone with similar facial-structure to Roy's, to do these complex fight scenes.

So yes, they mainly try to match up body-type and facial-features, but most important to a stunt-double is studying the actor they are doubling for - by copying their body-language and movement quirks. I was working on Roy's character of 'Michael' and so Roy told me; "Michael doesn't need to make a fist when he is fighting - he only does that when he HAS to kill, he usually uses only his palms to strike and he stands proudly when he fights, and he turns his whole body to face you - not just his head!", ...That really helped me a lot.

I could tell that Roy would have loved to do all of his own stunts, but he wasn't allowed for insurance purposes, ...which sucked because Roy is a natural-fighter; he has the graceful movement of a cat and the speed & power of a world-class athlete. He copied everything I taught him easily the first time we trained together, and it only took him all of 3 takes (at the most) to get any scene completed PERFECTLY.

I was mainly called in because they wanted NEW looking fights, not the same old routine crap that everyone spews out now "en masse" with these hand-held close-ups involving 'shaking-the-camera' kind-of garbage - but rather some REAL movie-quality fight scenes. I was told that they wanted some really spectacular NEW stuff that would 'wow' the ratings up for the 4th season opener - so I gave it to them. It was really cool during rehearsal to look up and see most of the cast and crew had come in to watch my fight scene being rehearsed - and they were all standing there watching so intently. I got a standing applause when we were finally done our first run of the basic choreography for the fight...They loved it! (Stunt-Coordinator 'Mic Jones' later told me that he'd NEVER seen them do that before - in the entirety of the show.)

But in the end, unfortunately, the fight had to be edited for time, and all my carefully smoothed out work was butchered in the final cut. The fight ended up looking 'normal' and therefore boring. I was really disappointed. All my students were watching it with me at the time of airing - and we were all like; "What the ???? - what happened to the fight?" ...It was cut from being 4 minutes long - to about 40 seconds or so.


10.) Has your military career integrated with your current occupation?

MICHAEL: My current occupation as a Martial Arts Instructor to certain private 'Teams' is what I love doing very much - but I also love doing the film-work as a Stunt-Fighter. Putting in the hard work & long hours to sell the illusion of violence - without anyone having to actually suffer it, is always great!


11.) Can you describe your upbringing and what geared your interest to do stunt work?

MICHAEL: I had a rough childhood due to 'being different' and having a strange mixed accent (Irish-Canadian with British-Bajan) so I had to learn at an early age to defend myself from bullies, ...so I got into martial arts at age 6, and by age 17 - I was the one THEY were running from, hahah! I became the local guardian of my friends after that, and began teaching them what I learned from my own instructors - which gave me a lot of insight as to how the human-mind learns things from an early age.

I got into stunts when I was a kid because the first time I fell off my bike and realized that if you did it right - it should 'LOOK' dangerous - but you could get up fine afterwards! So that was the beginning for me, then it turned to jumping off roofs, doing dive-rolls over cars, live martial arts demos for crowds of people, and doing fight-scenes in high-school for the stage-plays. So, it was a natural progression for me to get into professional filmwork after high-school.


12.) Are there special impromptu moments you shared while on the set of "La Femme Nikita"?

MICHAEL: Oh yeah! Roy was such a funny guy - as I said before, he could make you laugh with just a quirky a look on his face if he wanted to, ...and he rarely passed up that opportunity. He would often come-up with spontaneous ideas that we knew were in character for him to play Michael as he needed him to be. But the best was chatting privately with Roy about his filming of the movie 'Screamers' where he did a scene where he was shot in the face - and yet he just cocks his head to the side curiously, coughs and spits the bullet out his mouth. His facial expression was priceless when he re-enacted the whole sequence right there for me - he has this funny smirk on his face when he makes fun of something and the laughter it generates on set is absolutely contagious, ...it makes trying to NOT laugh almost impossible when he is backing the camera playing opposite someone who IS on camera.


13.) What was the experience like choreographing in scenes with Peta Wilson?

MICHAEL: Peta is a really driven woman, very powerful physically and she's a Scorpio - so it's in her nature to be strong-willed, and at one point when we were rehearsing our fight-scenes for EPS #401, I was really getting annoyed with these set-guys walking all over the mats we were practicing on - and she saw this and then told the whole cast and crew to "GET THE F%*k OUT OF HERE!!!" ...I was amazed. She did it so that we could concentrate properly and focus on her fight-scene without all the fussing around us. But yes, Peta is actually dangerous, she is very tall (hence her Mega-Long reach), and she's very strong, fast and unpredictable, ...perfect qualities for a Warrior, and I told her that. I think she took it as it was meant - as a compliment from a real-life Ninja.

I ended up coming-up with a system of fight-choreography that works well for most people because it involves only having to memorize 4 movements in a set, which makes for a great fighting-pace - and then we change camera-angles and start a new set, ...so it wasn't hard on Peta to learn how to kick my butt onscreen.


14.) Will you take us INSIDE- SECTION ONE?

MICHAEL: The set designers were absolutely ingenious when it came down to efficiency - every piece of SECTION ONE was designed to come apart and be used in another configuration like several puzzle pieces; Turn one wall around and you could be looking at Nikita's bedroom on one-side, and the other side could be part of Walters' tech-room - for instance.

Some sets were permanent it seemed - and were always together and ready to be shot-with at a moments notice, ...the 'Ready room' where Operations would hold conference over the team before deploying them in the field - was one of these permanent sets. But most of the time you could see the set decorators running around in-between takes to re-design the look of the room that the characters interacted in for the next shot. Everything was mainly made of incredibly detailed paint-jobs on plywood, plaster and foam, ...no real metals or concrete, ....and these set-walls were on very shallow-wheels to make movement easier. I remember Roy walking up to a wall and tapping it and saying "Heh, ..it's not real" to Matt who was playing opposite him in the previous scene. 


15.) Will you please describe a typical day, that the cast or crew has to go through to prepare to film, and what happens from the time the cast arrives to departure?

MICHAEL: Typically, cast-members are picked up by their Driver and brought on-site to their trailer - where usually the staff has someone running them snacks, meals, drinks - you name it. Most of the main actors would be studying their lines in their rooms or trailers until they are called on set to get their make-up/hair done, and then wardrobe lastly before the shoot starts.

Matthew and Don  were always sitting out front chatting with everyone like two normal everyday guys. Matt's enthusiasm towards my Martial Arts skills was a great ego-boost I must admit. He was always there on set when we were doing our fight-rehearsals so he could watch us make it happen, and then afterwards he loved asking me in-depth questions about martial arts.

Filming usually lasts all day long. 1st Unit is usually responsible for the actors themselves; doing close-ups, dialogue, etc, ...but 2nd unit is all the action, and that's where I love to be.

However, several aspects are filmed out of sequence and are put together in post afterwards. As a stunt-fighter, my job was to stay on-call for the whole day for whenever they needed me to double for Roy doing something like diverolls while firing guns or simple things like running through a door-way with someone on my shoulders dressed as Peta.

18-22 hour days were not unusual on shows like Nikita, and Mic Jones, who was my stunt-coordinator - was easily doing the work of TWO stunt-coordinators!! He worked so impossibly hard all the time and yet he was still polite and professional, and therefore really inspiring to me. He's a true gentleman.

Cynthia Wilkerson ~ Texas, USA
_________________________________________

16.) With which personage (historic or still living) you would want to talk and why ?

MICHAEL: Wow, that's really not an easy answer for me to single down to just ONE person, but if I had to:

Bruce Lee, my personal longtime hero, he was such an incredible philosopher and is rarely known for that at all, I can picture hanging-out with him - chatting about anything & everything, and then both of us suddenly jumping up to train together on some advanced principles of Martial Arts - that was always a longtime wish of mine while growing up.

17.) I read that the LOTR (book and movie) trilogy's are some of your absolute favorites.....which of the main characters would be your favorite to act or serve as a double/stunt?

MICHAEL: Heheh, yeah, it's absolutely true - Peter Jackson is amazing! His work on those films blows my mind - if you think the regular films themselves are good - you should really get the DVD extended versions and watch all the behind the scenes stuff as well - then you will KNOW what I am saying. You get to really see how much work and coordination it takes for a team of people that large to get things done properly, on time and within budget! It's really hard to stick to - believe me!

Unfortunately, my favourite LOTR character didn't make it to the silver screen - and that's "Glorfindel - the Elf Warlord". I was expecting to see some really incredible fights with him involved. Oh well. I would have loved to play him onscreen!


18.) Did Roy Dupuis also do stunts himself, or was he doubled for in every dangerous scene?

MICHAEL: Roy LOVED to do his own stunts & fight-scenes whenever they let him, but as soon as it proved possibly dangerous to his life - the stunt-guys are called in to do the professional stuff . If he ever got hurt doing something other than acting on set - it would have been disastrous with him being the leading male role, and if he was severely injured or worse, killed, that would be it for the whole show. 


19.) Why is "Koyaanisqatsi" one of your favorite movies? It is known that Roy Dupuis also has listed this as a favorite film of his.

MICHAEL: Wow! ...really? I had no idea that Roy liked that movie too. That's pretty cool. I loved it because it clearly reflects the position of humanity as just having a brief stay here due to our self-destructive manner. The film depicts time itself being shred away to reveal the ongoing cycles of human movement within the society's we have developed. It's beautifully made in such a way that you feel hypnotized - unable to look away, especially when it has these amazing scenes of exotic places world-wide, all set to this incredible music - yet with no dialogue. This sets the film apart from everything else done before, because it broke the language barrier.  There are other films by the same Film-Maestro "Ron Fricke".  'Baraka' & 'Chronos' are two others, and there are a couple more done by his protégés as well.

Gabi Robel ~ Dinslaken, Germany
___________________________________________

20.) I'd like to know why you call yourself 'Archangel Michael" ...Can you explain?

MICHAEL: Hahah, well, my mother named me for the Archangel Michael, and she also grew-up in St. Michael's Barbados, which is where I was raised for the first few years of my life. Coincidentally, I was born at St. Michael's hospital in Toronto. Interestingly enough - my military 'call-name' was also "Archangel". Also, I really DO aspire to the symbolism of what being 'Michael' entails - as a Noble Knight.


21.) Your webpage says you like spontaneous road tips and world travel. Where have you been as on holiday, not in a military way?

MICHAEL: I've traveled to only a few cool places so far - but the travel-bug bit me really good within the past few years. Recently I've been to England, Scotland, Ireland, France, California, New York, Philadelphia, Florida, New Mexico, Colorado, and The Grand Canyon, via the Colorado River.


22.) What would be your ultimate road trip? Where to where and how long?

MICHAEL: I wish that the political situation around Egypt and Iraq wasn't so dangerous right now for a male my age to be traveling around. I have been studying both Egyptology and Ancient Persia since I was about 9 years old - something about the Deserts call to me, ...even though the sandflys constant biting is a severe irritation.

I would LOVE to try the path through the Anvil of the Sahara, equipped with only a camel and my water, just to push myself and see what I can endure before having to break out a cell phone to call for help - hahah! I love dry heat! In Barbados, we wear long pants in the sun, and it's over 35 degrees everyday, so I'm quite used to it.

I really want go for a LONG trip to New Orleans, ...in the Garden District of StoryVille - to visit all the locations from Anne Rice's books, because as a method-actor - I have wanted to play Lestat for a long time. So, yes, if it's a roadtrip - then going down to New Orleans for Mardis Gras and then going back towards Sante Fe would be amazing. I would take as much time as I could get away with!

Warren Stewart ~ Perth, Australia
________________________________________

23.) Has there has been an episode particularly difficult or risky to turn?

MICHAEL: Honestly - No, I only did 5 episodes, the freakiest situation was the main explosion of the two large chemical gas-tanks on Eps #111. It was the loudest sound I have ever heard, and even though we were all wearing FULL ear-protection, when the shockwave hit us, it just made you sick to your stomach! That ball of fire went up about 200 feet or more, and yet - even being over a hundred feet away - the heat was so intense that it practically burned my face, even though it was -30 out there that February morning!


24.) What was it like working with Roy Dupuis and Peta Wilson?

MICHAEL: They were really cool! Roy and I had a few things to chat about with his 'movement' onscreen as Michael. And as I said; he really is quite personable, very relaxed and fun to chat with. He really liked how flowing my personal-system of Ninjutsu is, and expressed genuine interest in studying it. It would have been cool to have him as a student.

Peta was really dynamic and friendly too, she would say things like - "I can't wait to get out of here and go dancing - Wanna come?" Haha! And before she and I had even met - she learned that her stunt-double had broken my nose, so Peta made a point to come to me & asked me; "You ok, mate?" ...even though she didn't really even know me yet. She may be tough as nails - but she's really sweet too.

Hildita ~ Italy
______________________________________

25.) You were a stunt double for Roy Dupuis on La Femme Nikita, did you do stunts for any other stars or scenes on that show?

MICHAEL: Sorry, but no, ...not on that show.


26.) Exactly "which" stunts did you do for Roy Dupuis?

MICHAEL: I did the opening fight-scene at the beginning of Eps #401 between Peta and Roy in the Training room, and in #403 - I doubled for him in the fight-sequences with the three Nikita's in the Water-Treatment Plant. The other episodes were me doing additional stunts, and Special Skills work on-set. I mainly did a lot of the Fight-Choreography, ...not the Stunt-Choreography, that was Mic Jone's job.


27.) According to your bio, you are very adventurous, would you like to be in a movie of this nature?

MICHAEL: Oh yeah, that would be really cool for me, I would have the opportunity to finally show the world how we REALLY move as Ninja. No pretty fights with people flying around on wires, just hardcore "finish the job quick" kinda stuff. No camera tricks, and no computer-graphics, just real combative martial arts showing what it really was designed for. Easy to use, fast as hell, and completely combat-efficient. A hand-to-hand combat engagement should only last 2 seconds TOPS. Most of the techniques I teach are over within one second. I want to show the world what real Ninjutsu looks like, because so far, I haven't seen anything to-date of the sort. Most of the public Ninjutsu schools teach play-stuff, not the hardcore aspects that I use.

Sandy Meridith ~ Kansas, USA
________________________________________

28.) I see that you like a wide range of music. Is there one type of music you work out to?

MICHAEL: Yeah, mostly stuff like Prodigy, KidneyThieves, Crystal Method, Dust Brothers, you know, ...I need the fast beat to help get me going faster than I already am - I try to punch for every beat I hear - and kick for every two beats - it makes for a hell of a workout!


29.) What Actor if there is one, would you have liked to work with?

MICHAEL: I could end up writing far too much on that one - however, almost anyone with Shakespearean training, due to their fine craft of body-language and mastering tone of voice.


30.) In the Movie of his life {Bruce Lee} did you have any part in that?

MICHAEL: No - I wish I did, ...that would have been such an Honor to do - especially because he's my longtime personal hero.


31.) Have you ever had the chance to work with Brandon Lee?

MICHAEL: No, and unfortunately now I will never have that chance. Brandon was awesome, and I followed his career since he was a kid, watching him grow-up in to be a fine young man. Sadly, on Wed, March 31st, 1993 - a stupid mistake on-set; a prop-gun that was earlier used for a close-up to show that it was loaded with bullets - was NOT emptied properly, and later-on, the head of one of the dummy-bullets became lodged in the gun, so when a blank was then later inserted into it for the next scene involving Brandon - the exploding gun-powder from the blank acted as a propellant to the lodged dummy-bullet. It ended up with Brandon suffering a REAL and unfortunately fatal gunshot-wound to the mid-region of his body. It was a horrible freak accident, but that's all it was - a mistake - not a family curse.

Thank you again, Next time I see an action Movie, I will definitely be looking for your name.

((Heh - yeah, you and me both! Cheers!))

 Deb Schwartz ~ Michigan, USA
______________________________________

32.) Did you sometime consult with Roy Dupuis about the stunts you were performing?

MICHAEL: Absolutely every time I could get a chance to talk-with and work-with Roy - I did. We spent quite a lot of time getting the body-language part worked out during Michael's fight, because you see, I naturally get quite low to the ground when closing the gap to my opponent, but he wanted me to stand-up straight - again, the concept of 'Michael' being like a noble Knight.


33.) Do you like to do any sports as a hobby?

MICHAEL: No, I feel that most sports encourage people to compete against others - rather than their own limitations. I try to break through my own limitations daily in order to grow & evolve, and I feel strongly that everyone should do this continually. I used to be a gymnast, but a car-crash took that dream away from me at age 17.  C'est la vie.

 Dana Vrajitoru ~ Indiana, USA
_____________________________________

34.) Do you have a favorite actor, or stunt double, one you admire in his/her work?

MICHAEL: Yes, ...Bob Anderson - Swordmaster / Sword-teacher of 'Lord of the Rings' is a longtime hero of mine - I have followed his career since Star Wars in 1976, and he is the best in the entire world.

Here locally in Toronto is a bunch of Stunt-Personnel that I met on Nikita, Forever Knight, and Kung-Fu - and are the local stunt-coordinators in Toronto and surrounding area. (Mic Jones, Rick Forsayeth, Brian Jagersky, Steve Lucescu, Ken Quinn, Shelly Cook, Branko Racki, Alison Reid, Bryan Renfro, Ron Van Hart, ...there are also the other Ex-Special-Forces personnel that I met while on-set, ...and a bunch more Stunt-Personnel that I have forgotten to list at this time, and really deserve acknowledgement as well. My apologies to those I have missed. I want to do a new demo-reel with Hakan Coskuner as well, because he & I know how to play off each others skills to sell the scene, so it will benefit both of our careers - but we are always so busy that our schedules don't always line up.


35.) What makes you choose a part, in a movie or show?

MICHAEL: As an actor: A role I can believe in - no silly 2-dimensional roles. The character must be fully developed - or else 'I' will be the one doing the character-development for them, and then they have to go with what I have come-up with. However, I am NOT going to do love-scenes of any kind, that is a personal-relation reserved for ONLY my real-life Lover - and her alone. Story-line be damned.

As a Stunt-Fighter - I'm not too fussy.  I want to be able to control my own action - not be told 'how to move' by some amateur guy who doesn't know what he's doing, ...oh, and give me a nice paycheck. 


36.) In the episode "Gates of Hell", there was a scene where "Michael" was on a motorcycle and slid under a truck, was that you?

MICHAEL: No, that was season 3, ...I mainly only worked on season 4, so I'm not sure who did that stunt. Sorry.

Chrissy ~ Leiden, Netherlands
_____________________________________

Thank you for enlightening us with this interview.

37.) May I ask, what extra precautions do you take to maintain such a soft complexion and handsome face when performing stunts? Most stuntmen I've seen are very rugged, you're obviously very good at what you do...

MICHAEL: Thanks! Yeah, I swear by drinking LOTS of clean water, eating right, regular exercise and using Noxzema for sensitive skin as a moisturizer, ...trust me - it's way better than any other products. Even during the dry winter air of Canada - my skin is safe from chapping.


38.) Are there any certain type of stunts that you have declined? If so, could you please share your experience with us?

MICHAEL: Well, only one scene where they wanted me do a jump from a wet metal pipe to another wet-metal pipe in the middle of the fight between Michael & the REAL Nikita on EPS #403 at the Water-Treatment Plant. Wardrobe had me wearing these bloody dress-shoes that had absolutely NO tread underneath - they were completely flat and slick! They were given to me to be Michael's "double", except I wasn't there as just his 'double', I was his STUNT-FIGHTER!! I NEEDED to be able to move properly and that entails my having a good grip on the surface I am moving to, or from, without danger to my life! We were 40 feet up with no safety-lines or drop-safety equipment of any kind - so I said NO until they let me put my own shoes back on - which looked just like Roy's anyhow. Voila - done.


39.) Could you please share a stunt that you've done that you may have feared for your life?

MICHAEL: Hmmn, well, not a 'stunt' really, but being involved with some lads on the way to 'the Gulf' back in late 1990.

Thank you for your time Mr. Quinn.
May God Bless you and keep you safe always!

((Thank you love, ...many Blessings to you as well.))

Susy ~ Texas, USA
_______________________________________

SPECIAL COMMENTS: (MICHAEL QUINN)

It has been great to do this for the fans of LFN!

However, ...Now I have some reading to do - and catch up on what "I" didn't know about the show. Hey - No better website than right here - right? ;)

Blessings to all, ...cheers!
~Michael Quinn

Back to interview overview