From "Lost's" Matthew Abbadon to "Fringe's" Agent Phillip Broyles, Lance Reddick has a history of playing very serious characters, shrouded in mystery. He pulled back the veil a bit with us this week to talk about his career and what we can expect on "Fringe" this season.
 
How did you get hooked up with "Lost"?
     
I'm not sure exactly how that came about. I do know that the executive producers of "Lost" were big fans of "The Wire." I actually got the offer to do that role while I was still doing the last season of "The Wire."
 
Any chance we'll ever see Matthew Abbadon again?
     
Ahhh ... no.
 
Have you kept up with "Lost"?
     
No, not really. Believe it or not, I actually don't watch much television.

What drew you to "Fringe"? Did J.J. Abrams ask you to do it or did you have to audition?
 
It was a little bit of both actually. When I was first seen for it, they were actually calling people from a short list of people they knew that they wanted and then over time it became kind of a general audition process. But originally I didn't even go in for Broyles. The producers wanted me to go in for in Charlie (Francis). The casting director thought I was right for Broyles so I ended up reading for both. And then they passed on me for both. A month later they call me out of the blue and I had the job.
 
How would you describe Agent Broyles?
     
Well I think he's a really good soldier and a natural leader who out of necessity has become good at playing the game of politics.
 
The science of "Fringe" may seem out there but it's all based in actual research. How much of it do you buy in to?
     
Well the science on the show really stretches itself theoretically to the limit. As far as things like alternate realities go, I go back and forth about it probably because I go back and forth about the notion of free will itself. Every choice we make is the building block of the future and given that all our choices are connected creating one dynamic series of events, I believe its entirely possible that there infinite universes within the same time continuum.


 
One of the great things about "Fringe" is its cast. How amazing is John Noble?
     
John's an interesting character. First and foremost, he's a great actor. He's very smart, very intellectual. He's an actor's actor. He's a guy who comes from the theater. One of the things I really want to do on the show is have more scenes with him.
 
I know you have an album out. How long have you been making music?
     
I was actually a musician first. I never thought I'd be doing this for a living. I kind of just fell into acting. I grew up studying classical music. I started singing in the choir when I was 7. I started playing piano when I was 6. I went to conservatory for college. I thought I was going to be a classical composer. But then I left musical school realizing I didn't want to be a classical composer, I wanted to be a rock star. I started acting in college for fun but it was nothing I took seriously. I started acting really because I thought it would help my music career and then it just sort of took over my life.
 
Speaking of music, the April 29 episode of "Fringe" titled "Overture" is a musical episode. What's that all about?
     
Wow, yeah it's a pretty off the wall thing. First off, Fox is doing a thing that week called "Fox Rocks" incorporating music in to all its shows. The episode revolves around Walter telling Ella, Olivia's niece, a bedtime story. It kind of turns into all the characters becoming these extreme distorted surreal versions of themselves. It kind of becomes almost this film noir detective story
 
How was that for you getting to use both your loves in the same episode?
 
Believe it or not, I was in the same boat as everybody else. I was really nervous having to do this on camera. But it turned out to be a lot of fun. The thing that was scary for me was that they wanted me to play the piano and sing at the same time. So I really had to practice that and be ready to do it.
 
So we have to know, what was with that kiss between Agent Broyles and Massive Dynamic's Nina Sharp?
     
The truth is I don't know. We won't learn anything more this season. The one thing I can say about it is that that has more to do with the dynamic from our relationship before, um, well from years ago, before Broyles was even married.
 
What can fans look for as we approach the season finale in May?
     
Man, the universes are really on a collision course and the last moment of the season finale will be a jaw-dropper.