Erik Knudsen:

“Jericho” Teen

by Lynn B

This fall on CBS, a small Kansas town will be engulfed in a mystery. In “Jericho”, townspeople see a mushroom cloud bloom on the horizon and know their world may never be the same. What happened? Is it war, a sloppy, horrible mistake, terrorists, trigger happy scientists? The show’s creators and stars hope you’ll tune in to find out.

In addition to acting heavyweights like Gerald McRaney, Skeet Ulrich, Pamela Reed and Ashley Scott, there are a few teens in “Jericho”. Among them is Dale Turner, a 16-year-old outcast trailer park kid who might just turn out to be a leader when the lights and communications go down. Erik Knudsen, 18, who co-starred in Saw II, The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio and Perseverance and, on TV, in “The Guardian” plays Dale and he plans to give teens a voice on the show. We caught up with the cute, curly-haired guy in Pasadena, California recently and got the scoop on this fun, new Fall drama. Picture him in trendy black and white graphic art tee and matching black tie.

AGW: Is your character Dale the only teen in town?

Erik: There’s going to be another one. She’s being cast right now and her name is Skyler. Maybe there’s a love interest there. I’m sort of the outsider from the trailer park and they make fun of me, she makes fun of me but we grew up together and I’m trying to do my best and help her out.

AGW: Do you think the teens in the show will have as much weight as the older characters?

Erik: I think so because we’re trying to hit a broad viewing range. We want to get people from teenagers to the elderly. I think it wouldn’t be as exciting to just watch the elder characters. You want to see the kids do something too. Maybe my teenage character would think of something an adult wouldn’t think of so I think that’s a point too.

AGW: Are the writers and producers open to you making suggestions for your character?

Erik: They’re very open. Stephen (Chbosky, Exec. Producer and co-creator) wrote a book called “The Curse of Being a Wallflower” and it was a fantastic book about teenagers; sort of a “Catcher in the Rye” kind of thing so he’s brilliant at writing teenage parts. All my dialogue is so brilliantly written. He knows exactly what teenagers go through so it’s awesome. He’s very open.

AGW: What kinds of shows do you watch on TV?

Erik: Personally, I like comedy. I also like mystery. I watch “Family Guy” and “24”. I watch a little “Lost” too. My show is being compared to “Lost” a lot but the difference is that “Lost” is about strangers. We know each other. It’s a mystery. It’s a question. People are going to return to watch to know what’s going to happen in the next episode. I would definitely watch this.

AGW: What attracted you to the part?

Erik: I got a synopsis of the plot and read it and my manager got me the audition. There’s so many television shows that humans can’t relate to. This is something everyone can relate to. I grew up in Toronto, Canada and we had that big blackout. For three days the power was out and people were going nuts, stopping traffic trying to help people. It was amazing to see people cope. I think that’s so cool, the personal connection how people are strangers and then how they cope with other people and how people that know each other cope and help each other. Reality TV is so huge right now. This is like reality but it’s not reality TV. It’s like a movie. It’s about real, human instinct. That’s what attracted me.

AGW: When you hang out, what kind of music do you listen to?

Erik: Death Cab for Cutie, The Shins, Broken Social Scene, a Toronto band. I like the classics too like Pink Floyd.

AGW: Do you play instruments yourself?

Erik: I used to be in a band. I took drum lessons for eight years. I also brought my guitar to L. A. [where Jericho shoots] with me and I play a little bit of acoustic guitar.

AGW: What kinds of girls are you attracted to?

Erik: [smiles] Right now, I have a girlfriend. She’s amazing. She’s not in the business. We’ve been going out for only seven months. She’s up there and man it’s hard. I miss her very much be we’re getting through it. I like unique girls. There’s a charisma to them, so much to them and you just want to look at them. Beauty is honestly nothing to me but what’s inside, their personality. I like uniqueness and a sense of style.

AGW: Would you eventually like to be a director too?

Erik: Yeah. It’s always been my dream to direct. I do some small films on my own with my own camera. I really want to try it so I’ve been making my own movies and hopefully that will work out.

AGW: What do you think of the L.A. lifestyle for young people? Too weird?

Erik: I’m not into it. I’m a homebody. When I’m done with work, I don’t like to go party, big social events. I don’t drink. In Canada or Toronto anyway, the legal drinking age is 19 and I’ve never drank or done drugs. I’m strong on not doing that but it’s just my own personal opinion. I can’t let my family down. I just come home and watch TV and call my friends.

AGW: Favorite movie you’ve seen recently?

Erik: Lost in Translation is my favorite movie. I love that.

AGW: It’s an actor’s movie. Any advice for teens who want to act?

Erik: Yes. There are so many people who want to be actors to be famous. They want people to admire them. If you are in it for that, don’t do it. There are so many people out there. It’s frustrating. When you’re doing an audition you see like eighty kids. The key to success is not to give up. If you want to do it for art, if you want to succeed at acting, just stick to it. It’s impossible to fail if you just keep doing it. I’ve been acting for eight years and there’ve been people who say ‘you’re not a good actor’ or ‘that’s wasn’t good’ but if I took that to heart, I’d be nowhere and right now I’m working on a show on CBS.

AGW: How did you get into acting in the first place?

Erik: When I was in grade 5 I used to do the lead in plays then high school plays. My teacher said I should try acting. I liked hockey and sports and I thought ‘maybe’. I told my mom and she said ‘okay’. I gave up hockey and tried Second City, the improv group. I was up there [on stage] with 20-year-olds. I was doing that for a while. My teacher at Second City said ‘you’re really good. You should talk to my agent’ and now she’s my agent. I started with commercials and did that a long time and then some Canadian shows, then movies then I was in Saw II also a show at CBS called “The Guardian”. I was like ten when I did that. Now I get to play closer to my age.

We wish you luck at solving the “Jericho” mystery.

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