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	Printed Articles & Interviews Touchstone Website August 1995

Bruce Greenwood's
Reflections of Nowhere Man

When asked to describe what "Nowhere Man" was about, Bruce Greenwood, the star of Touchstone Television's new one-hour psychological suspense drama premiering Mondays this fall, on UPN, reflects, "That 's a good question. On the surface, it's about a man, Thomas Veil, who's had his identity stripped away by God knows what. It could be a cabal of sinister scientists who have just turned him into a rat in a maze and are watching him out of sheer clinical curiosity. It could be some governmental cell that's decided he has hidden information that it wants so they can't afford to snuff him out; they've got to keep him alive and follow him until he leads them to whatever that information is. The problem being...that even Tom doesn't know what it could be."

"But the show is about more than that," he continues. "And I believe it'll be observed on many levels, depending on the individual. Generally though, what is so exciting and provocative about it is, that as horrifying as the idea of anyone losing his or her identity may be, many people will watch what happens to Tom and wonder if maybe it's not just possible that the same thing could actually happen to them."

Greenwood goes on to say that, "As more and more people look around, they see something going on in our world that is increasingly disturbing; something that has become pervasive, and that is the Big Brother syndrome and the fear of it. People are becoming hypersensitive to the reality of electronic surveillance to such a degree tha the fear of losing our freedom seems to have seeped into our very mainstream to the point that people are beginning to wonder how much 'They'--whoever 'They' are--know about us, and what they're going to do with the information. So to some degree, each of us is a prisoner of that quiet fear. 'Nowhere Man' touches on that in a big way, and that's part of what makes it so compelling."

Speaking of Thomas Veil, the documentary photographer that Greenwood plays in the series, he becomes more specific. "Way down deep," he says, "I think one of Tom's most profound needs is human contact -- and who doesn't need that? But he can't trust anybody, not even his wife. So every time he sees someone who appears to be trustworthy and couldn't possibly have anything to do with the terrors he's having to endure, his natural inclination is to reach out and make a connection. But his suspicious nature, which for good reason has now been pushed into overdrive, makes him say, 'I can't take a chance. I can't afford to care. I can't afford to be vulnerable with anyone. So where in my soul do I live? Where do I find my hope?"

Along with his identity, Tom's hope could be stripped away. But Greenwood's Tom is strong, and whereas a different kind of person might just end up collapsing in the face of what's happening to him, Tom won't. He's of a different mettle, and what is happening to him only ignites his passion to find out who is behind it, and why.

Greenwood laughs, "Tom is very unlike me, by the way. If I was in his shoes, I'd just curl up, roll over and play my guitar until they carted me away."

Greenwood's enthusiasm for "Nowhere Man" is palpable. He became almost childlike when he said, "The whole thing about this show is that often actors come into work on a pilot and they know that the chances are that the plot's not going to go anywhere, so they just come in, do their stuff, and try not to get too excited about it. It was different with 'Nowhere Man.' Every actor, everybody connected with it really seemed to care. Deeply. There was an enthusiasm and spirit around the set that was -- well, rare."

"Nowhere Man" is a Lawence Hertzog Production in association with touchstone Television. Lawrence Hertrzog is the executive producer, Peter Dunmne produces and Tobe Hooper directs.