Were you aware of Torchwood before signing up for Miracle Day?
"Not really. When I was approached about the role, they sent me five episodes and I watched them all in one sitting. I fell in love with the show, and then I met with [executive producers] Russell [T. Davies] and Julie [Gardner], and I fell in love with them! So now here I am."
What can you reveal about your character?
"My character's name is Rex Matheson. He's a CIA agent, pretty rambunctious in his own way. Basically he gets injured, and he's on the case to try and find out what this whole phenomenon about nobody dying is all about. He's doing his own investigation, with his assistant Esther (Alexa Havins). Gwen and Jack's names come up, and then I'm compelled to go to the UK to extradite them back to the United States, so that the CIA can interrogate them and find out what the devil's going on here!"
What were your first impressions of the Miracle Day script?
"I loved it. Being that the BBC has partnered up with the Starz network, it does have a lot of edge to it. Starz is one of our premium cable networks in the States, so it allows us to have a little bit more leeway when it comes to the characters, the subject matter and the things that the audience will see."
Torchwood is known for killing off lead characters. Are you nervous about Rex's fate?
"No, not really. They've written basically the whole season, and I haven't been killed yet! We'll see what happens, but I'm having a great time, I'm loving the character and I'm loving everybody here. It's exciting to finally shoot here in the UK. I've never shot here before, so this is a great thing."
Did you have to train for your action scenes on Torchwood?
"No, I didn't have to have that. I've done that many times with other films and on television, and then I myself go to the gun range back in California. So I know how to shoot guns!"
Will we see a romance between Rex and Esther?
"I think she does have a little bit of a crush on me! I do have another love interest that I deal with - Dr. Vera Juarez (Arlene Tur)."
What is Rex's relationship like with Jack and Gwen?
"Well when I first come, they hate me, and vice versa! I don't like them either. But then something happens when we get back to the States that forces us to become a team and my character becomes a part of Torchwood ultimately. We're all working together to figure this whole thing out. That's the development of the characters - we get to like each other more and more. I haven't read all the scripts, but I've seen in some of the scripts that we spend a lot of time together."
Are you aware of Torchwood's cult following - the conventions and so on?
"That's fine. [A convention] seems like fun, and if I get to go with this bunch, it's great! I love all of these guys - they're all really nice people and welcoming. I've never been to a convention, so that would be pretty interesting, to see people dressed up in costume and asking you all kinds of questions you don't know the answers to!"
Are you a science fiction fan?
"I do like sci-fi, absolutely. I've watched everything from Star Trek to Star Wars to Terminator - the list goes on and on. But I'm a fan of good material, good acting and good company."
Have you seen any Doctor Who?
"I haven't, but Julie [Gardner]'s going to get me a whole DVD boxset! I asked to see when John's character [Captain Jack] comes on there, to get to see that development of who he is, and Eve's character [Gwen] as well. I look forward to it!"
How long was the break between finishing on Lie to Me and starting on Torchwood?
"I finished Lie to Me in May. It's cancelled now, but I'd [already] decided now to come back for the third season. Then I did two films back-to-back, and [Torchwood] came up about 3 weeks after my last film. I knew I was going to be on the show before the Christmas break, so it was nice to know that I was going to be coming into a job and working with some great people."
How does working on Torchwood compare to something like Lie to Me or ER?
"Well, they were all great productions, and this is another great production. This is big though. We're doing a lot of big stuff - helicopter chases, bazookas, car chases. [There's] cars crashing into buildings, and people fighting and getting killed! It's just different. I've never done sci-fi on this level, especially on television, so it's definitely an interesting process."
Would you be interested in returning to Torchwood or is this a one-off?
"No, I would definitely be interested. It's a great show. We also shoot a lot on the Warner Bros. lot, which is where we used to shoot ER. We actually shoot on the same stage where we used to shoot ER, which is really ironic. It's not too far from my home and it's always sunny, so it's a great place to be."
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