THE GAZEBO INTERVIEW Lee Murphy interviews Babylon 5's Mira Furlan
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r. Sheldon Cooper of Big Bang Theory fame famously hates the show, but Babylon 5 has endured within the sci-fi world and induces the sort of fan loyalty and fervour which other shows can only dream of. The day job put me in touch with Mira Furlan, the actress who played Delenn, future wife to John Sheridan. Let’s see what wise words the Minbari leader had to offer us. Lee: For those readers who might not be overly familiar with the story of you leaving Croatia, would you be comfortable in giving a short lesson in history?
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I was proud to be a part of a show that corresponded with my own ideas about the world, a world where all races and ethnicities can live together in peace and where the differences between them mean less than the similarities."
Mira: A digested version of a long and dramatic story is that I was deeply opposed to nationalism and the ethnic hatred that ruled our world at the beginning of the nineties. From 1986 onwards I was living between my hometown of Zagreb and Belgrade, where my husband studied at the film academy. Our utopia of living in both cities ended when the war started. We didn’t see any other solution than leaving the country, which was now torn by hateful war propaganda and which used me as a target in order to scare the citizens into silence. That’s very much a shortened version; a longer and more thorough one will be available in the book I’m in the process of writing. Lee: With George Martin’s Game of Thrones becoming one of the must-see TV series of recent years, it seems as if Croatia might prove an attractive location for any number of projects. Care to comment?
Lee Murphy Lee Murphy is Croatia's foremost Irish journalist. That he is also Croatia's only Irish journalist does not weigh heavily on his fragile, fragile mind. When not reporting from the Croatian parliament, or being mistaken for Grammy award winning rappers, he can be found chasing cats around Dubrovnik.
Mira: I’m sure that’s great for Croatia. There are truly spectacular locations there, especially at the magnificent seaside.
most favourite of Croatian (or Yugoslav) films ever? Reviewers have often looked at some of the region’s offerings when it came to the horror genre, but not enough attention at other genres.
Lee: Could you tell us about your
Mira: That’s a hard question. One
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of the last great Yugoslav films was certainly When Father Was Away On Business written by Abdulah Sidran and directed by Emir Kusturica, in which I played alongside the aforementioned Miki Manojlovič, Mirjana Karanović and Mustafa Nadarević. It was a great cast and a great film. And then it all went to hell. You talk about horror. What happened in Yugoslavia was pure horror. Our people showed a great talent for that particular genre. Lee: The show for which you are best known is Babylon 5, the premise of which is that in the future there is a place where all the species of the known Universe could meet to share experiences and culture, so that war might once and for all be abolished. How much of that main tenet was obvious when you agreed to take the role of Delenn? And if it was obvious then did it have any resonance with you personally?
Mira: It was thrilling for me to be a part of such a project after everything I’ve been through. Joe (J. Michael Straczynski, the Producer of Babylon 5) heard my story and used it in his writing. He is a very observant writer and did the same with other characters as well. I was proud to be a part of a show that corresponded with my own ideas about the world, a world where all races and ethnicities can live together in peace and where the differences between them mean less than the similarities. Unfortunately, that world seems to exist only in certain TV shows, definitely not in real life. Lee: Babylon 5 created more than a few memorable characters, and some quotable quotes, and it’s clear that these likeable characters had a major part in the show’s enduring appeal: from the hapless bumbling of Vir, to the Daffy Duck-loving Garibaldi, to the monosyllabic Kosh. That being said it’s no secret that the world of sci-fi and fantasy has a fiercely loyal following and, doubtless, that can be stressful in its own right – as parodies including Saturday Night Live, Galaxy Quest, and as Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner can testify to. How easy, or how difficult, has the convention circuit been for you? Mira: It took me a while to get used to that world; so foreign to everything I grew up with. But once I realised how loyal and intelligent the fans are, I was delighted to enter that family. The cons became a part of my life. I am very grateful to the fans for staying faithful to all of us. Their loyalty is priceless. Lee: Finally, we can’t leave without
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mentioning Lost, which you also starred in as Danielle Rousseau. With so many characters named after famed philosophers (Locke, Bentham, Hume, and Burke to name but a few), we would wonder whether you can tell us as to what Lost was really about? In the words of Monty Python, it seemed as if J. J. Abrams was making it up as he went along. Mira: That I couldn’t tell you, but what I can tell you is that I loved my part and was very sad that it never got the life it deserved. Lee: Thank you very much for your time and patience, and we look forward to seeing you tread the boards in the future. CREDITS EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
Anita Murray & Noirin Curran DESIGN & LAYOUT
Cian O'Sullivan PROOF-READERS
Charles Dunne & Sarah Condon