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#4238 -
The Nonduality
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“I don’t
think we need to extinguish our desires. Perhaps just to turn
around and ask ourselves, 'who is it that desires'?”
Being Erica
interview
Beccy Kennedy talks to Michael Riley who plays Dr Tom about
Being Erica and just being
from http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/Entertainment/Television/Being-Erica-interview
E4’s Canadian, semi-sci-fi dramedy – Being Erica –
has returned for its third season. The Toronto-centred tales of a
thirty something ‘underachieving’ woman, Erica Strange,
who’s seeking transformation in her life through therapy,
has an international, cult following.
The programme's
distinctive charm perhaps comes from the fact that Erica's
therapist allows her to time travel into her past so she can
physically change her regrets rather than just talk about them.
This gives her character the capacity to be less like Bridget
Jones and more like Doctor Who.
Here, award winning
Canadian actor, Michael Riley - who plays Dr Tom, Erica's learned
and somewhat transcendental therapist - chats about
thirty-something crises, what it's like being in the show and,
well, a bit about the nature of 'being' itself.
BK: If you weren't in Being Erica, would you watch it?
MR: Yes, even
though it could be described as a show which is aimed at women,
it is much less predictable than that, with a broad demographic.
I like the therapy and the time travel aspects of it which make
it unusual and interesting.
BK: Do you think
there should be more programmes - like Being Erica - which tackle
the circumstances of thirty-something lifestyles in the 21st c?
Most programmes are aimed at teens or twenty-somethings or middle
aged people with families. I ask this as a thirty-something woman
who hasn't subscribed to the expectations of ‘must have a
marriage/kids/career by this age in order to be happy.' I liked
the fact that at the end of season two Erica had lost both her
boyfriend and her job but when Dr Tom asks her how she feels she
replies that she feels strangely OK, reassured in herself.
MR: I liked that
episode too and that's what makes it different as a show. It
considers things on a more philosophical level. Yes, I think it's
important to write about the challenges which face
thirty-somethings but also to address whether fulfilling
society's expectations actually makes a person happy.
There are people who
appear to have perfect lifestyles: the big house, white picket
fence, marriage, kids, but actually they don't feel happy or
fulfilled. Part of this is about wanting things but those things
never living up to your expectations. You really want a big, fast
car; you get it and you're happy for a week and then it wears off
and you have to strive for something else. That want, that lack,
cannot be filled with material goods and part of the problem is
in the wanting itself.
BK: Like Buddhists
believe that desire causes suffering which needs to be
extinguished?
MR: Yes, Buddhism
addresses this - and other philosophies, including non-dualism.
BK: So how do you
think we can extinguish our desires?
MR: I don't think
we need to extinguish our desires. Perhaps just to turn around
and ask ourselves, “who is it that desires”?
BK: How do you prepare
for playing Dr Tom? For example, did you find it necessary to
research into psychotherapy?
MR: Psychotherapy
is absolutely something which really interests me but it's such a
complex topic it would be hard to do it justice without a full
discussion - the kind I'd have over a bottle of wine!
BK: There's fanfic
on the internet around Erica and Dr Tom's relationship. A regular
theme - also acknowledged in interview by the writer, Jana Sinyor
- is the idea that Erica and Dr Tom are romantically inclined.
What are your opinions on this?
MR: Jana Sinyor,
Erin Karpluk [who plays Erica] and myself have seen some of these
comments on fan sites and we were tickled and intrigued that
people view Dr Tom's and Erica's relationship in this way.
However, there is definitely nothing romantic there.
It is more a
father/daughter kind of relationship, if anything. They do care
about each other though. The relationship between them is very
deep and very complex. And because of this, the chemistry between
them can often become misconstrued. I have always taken it as a
compliment of the truth and dimensionality of the relationship.
BK: How do you get
out of character after you've finished for the day? Do you get
home from acting Dr Tom and someone asks you if you want a cup of
tea and you furrow your brow and give a little quotation about
Confucius and the art of tea making and then think...hang on a
minute, that's Dr Tom, I'm back to being Michael now?!
MR: It's an
occupational hazard with any job. You have to take that
transition to unwind, but, no, I can definitely have my tea and
cookie without doing Dr Tom! However I do have to get into the
metabolism of the character.
Some actors can be on set
and do a credible job after they've just been talking about
hockey. For me, I can't do that. I need to put the blinders on. I
use the metaphor of having your car in idle all day but not
gunning it until that scene is being acted. Part of the job
description is steeping into a territory emotionally. You have to
go there, but you have to know your system well enough. Music is
good for me. I have a playlist for each character which I might
play in the car on the way to work. It's about concentration and
getting out of the way to give yourself unto it.
BK: Lastly, do you
think Being Erica has a message?
MR: I always think
that Being Erica isn't about being Erica. It is about being.
Being Erica is on E4,
Sunday at
~ ~ ~
Being Erica
DVDs on Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=Being%20Erica&tag=internetmovie-20&index=dvd&link_code=qs