Ok, so you probably know him as "Baron von Glower" from GK2. Yes, believe it or not, I conceived an interview with one of the most famous PC game actors in the business! In case you are wondering, I was given him address by Jane Jensen, so this guy is no phony. And, in the interview, Mr. Lucas gives out his E-mail address. Now, he gives it out because he says he loves to receive fan mail, so I would not guarantee that he will answer each and every letter. But if you appreciate the guy (and I know many of you do), drop him a line. So now get out your cameras, ‘cause what’s ahead could easily be a... KODAK MOMENT! Oh! One more thing... my questions are in blue, and his answers are in red (Stop blinding me with the flash!!). And... this interview was edited for grammar and spelling.

 

Q.	First of all, tons of thanks for conceiving this interview with me. As you know, GK2 has made you very famous in the PC game business. How do you feel about your fame?
A.	Did it really make me very famous? I understand that you and [a] few more people enjoyed the game very much. I am very glad to hear that. To be honest, I was not aware about how popular GK2 was till I spoke to Jane Smith Jensen last months.  She told me about the title "Best Villain of 1996" given to me last year by Computer Gaming World. I was very happy about that.  She also asked me if I would like to have the fan mail forwarded to my E-mail address. I said "YES!!!!!!". There is nothing more rewarding then fans who enjoyed our work.
Q.	Could you please give some background on yourself (nationality, past performances on TV, theater, etc.)
A.	I was born in Poland in ... well not long ago. I came to USA 8 years ago. [I spent] my first years in L.A. (Los Angeles) working very hard on my English. My real name is Piotr Andrzejewski. Knowing that I have an accent which is very difficult to place, I wanted to be considered for characters which are [from] somewhere [in] Europe.  It was very difficult with my real name, so I started to use a stage name [,] "Peter J. Lucas", I work mostly in TV. I did shows like "Walker Texas Ranger", "Chicago Hope", "Seven Days", "Soldier of Fortune","Murder She Wrote","Silk Stalkings", "Baywatch ", "Tracy takes on", and "Acapulco Heat".  My movie credits include: "Independence Day" (He played the russian reporter), "Dangerous Cargo" (he plays a Russian consul who falls in love with an older lady), [and] "Mala Sangre" (he is an Argentinian gaucho,the best knife fighter ever,who lived peacefully with his brother until he brought a woman to thier home. Because of her his brother kills him).
Q.	How did you find out about GK2? Were ads placed in a newspaper, did your agent tell you...?
A.	My agent called me for an interview. This is a usual procedure.
Q.	How was auditioning for the role of Baron von Glower? Do you remember what part you had to act out? What was Jane Jensen and the rest of the team looking for in "Baron von Glower?"
A.	During the first interview, they put me on tape, and I hadn’t heard anything for [a] few weeks. I had to prepare a part of the scene in which I was explaining the philosophy of the club to Gabriel. I loved that scene. [A] Few weeks later, I had a callback with the director. I was recorded again and the rest [is as] you know... Later, when I spoke to Jane Jensen, I found out they were looking for somebody like Antonio Banderas in "Interview with the vampire".
Q.	When you saw the script, what did you think of GK2? Did you think it had potential to be a good game?
A.	Script? Well, the story board was about 100 pages. That [is the] usual size of the movie script. We did not get a full script. It was about 700 pages. I think Jane did a terrific job building each character. It was a wonderful story. As you know, you can not do much without a good story. I knew that this one was going to be a good one. It could be a such good movie.
Q.	How were Dean [Erickson], Joanne [Takahashi], and the rest of the cast? What about Jane and Will [Binder, the director]?
A.	Did you ever go on a nice vacation which you [will] never forget? Well, that’s how this project was. People you [are] surrounded with can you make feel great or miserable. I had the most pleasant experience working with all of them. Dean was always very nice, very quiet, [and] incredibly professional. I briefly met Joanne (we did not have any scenes together). Jane and Will made us feel so comfortable.  There were no egos. They are so modest about their work and I think they did a terrific job.
Q.	How was a typical day of shooting?
A.	A little breakfast, get into my wardrobe and wait for my turn, [while] enjoying the company of the cast and crew. If we finished earlier, we would driving to the lake to water ski.
Q.	Did you find the blue-screening process of filming weird or hard to get used to at first? Wasn't it weird knowing that you couldn't be able to move around the stage to enhance your acting because real sets weren't used?
A.	Well, it is different [...] but it is not weird. When you have a scene without any action, it does not matter. Your partner is most important. Though I [do] remember stepping on blue boxes( supposed to be stairs), pulling a stand handle ( that was a door to Gabriel’s bedroom) and so on.... We were able to move, though we were restricted to the room setup(picture), but that would be the same in a normal room.
Q.	Was there any particular scene you found hard to film?
A.	My favorite scene [was] when I explain[ed] the philosophy of the club to Gabriel. [The scene] had to be shot in one day. It was hard to do 25 pages. There were so many lines.
Q.	Could you tell me any funny anecdotes that happened during the shooting of GK2?
A.	Well, the first day I met Richard Raynsford (Baron von Zell), we decided to water ski on the lake in Oakhurst. They did not want to allow us to take the boat to go out and ski without a third person.(You need a driver, a skier and somebody to hold the flag, in case the skier is in the water). We asked a girl sitting on jetty to go with us. She was happy to help us. We started to talk as we got ready for departure. She asked us, "What are you doing in Oakhurst?" "We [are] work[ing] on CD-ROM Interactive movie," I answered. "We play werewolves!" Richard added. She paused for a second and asked, "Can I bring my girlfriend with me...?"
Q.	Just for the record... was von Glower gay?
A.	This has been presumed by the scene in which you gently brush a lock of Gabriel's hair back. So what's the truth? The truth? Von Glover was a man of a lot of secrets and I think we should leave him this way.
Q.	I also heard that the opera scene in which you transform into a werewolf was hard to film. Is this right? If so, why?
A.	Maybe technically. But I enjoyed that a lot. I love the scenes without words.
Q.	Are you familiar with computer games?
A.	I play a Microsoft Flight Simulator and I wish I would have more time for playing games.
Q.	Have you played GK2? What do you think of  it?
A.	As soon as I got a copy, I spent [a] couple of nights playing it. My parents were visiting me and I wanted to play my scenes for them. I was so impressed with the quality and the design. I think everyone from [the] cast and crew did a great job.
Q.	What are you currently working on?
A.	Right now, I am working on a very exciting project. It’s a film for ABC (An American TV station) titled "Into Thin Air-Death on Everest". We are shooting that on location in [the] Austrian Alps. The movie is based on a book written by Jon Krakauer, about last year’s tragedy on Mount Everest in which 8 people died. I play a Russian guide (Anatoli Boukreev) who saved 3 lives in a wild storm. The movie is going to be aired sometime in November 1997 and later will be available on video.
Q.	Would you be interested in doing another PC game like GK2?
A.	After hearing how many people played it and how much they enjoyed it, YES!!!.
Q.	Thanks for everything!
A.	Thank you. If anybody would like to send me an E-mail send it to [the following] address: [email protected]

All of the following came from the Unofficial Sierra Newsletter, issue #21.
My thanks to Andy Bellati for permission to publish his interview here!

Since Jan 2002

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