New ‘Knight Rider’ Star Paul Campbell Re-Imagines KITT & Stardom

By Julia Diddy
Fancast.com

Starting September 17, Fancast will begin showing the premiere of NBC’s new series ‘Knight Rider,’ which was re-imagined following the ratings success of last February’s ‘Knight Rider’TV movie. To celebrate this special preview, Fancast spoke to Knight Rider star Paul Campbell, a classically trained actor and veteran of the Sci Fi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica who plays KITT’s technical whiz Billy Morgan. Paul took a break from tinkering with one of the most famous custom cars of all time to discuss the upcoming season of the show, as well as other shows he watched when he’s not brushing up on quantum psychics or thinking about his dream roles.

So, your character Billy is the head research technician at Knight Industries, is that right? Does this put Billy one step ahead of KITT, or is that not possible?
Billy’s job in a nutshell is taking care of anything to do with mathematics and physics of what KITT is doing. I think we’re finding as we go that we’re teaching KITT certain things, but KITT is teaching us things. KITT is learning as he goes. He grows more and more intelligent. I wouldn’t say that Billy is a step ahead, because KITT is much, much stronger! KITT definitely has the edge there.

Can you describe your character Billy a bit in terms of what his good points are, and what some of his less endearing qualities or quirks might be?
His qualities are all very endearing – they don’t all necessarily work in his favor though. He’s incredibly intelligent, but that can also work against him – like a lot of intelligent people, he probably missed out on developing a lot of the social skills that tend to help out in life. He’s constantly putting his foot in his mouth as a result. He’s a lovable guy, he means well, he is completely dedicated to his work. He’ll pretty much put himself on the line for anyone he works with. He has a tendency – or should I say I have a tendency - to be a little annoying, a little defensive, but he’s really exuberant and his geek qualities shine through on a regular basis. I love the comedic timing, always saying the wrong thing. I love it.

What’s Billy’s relationship with the other characters? Does he relish his role as the smarty pants, or is there more of a cooperative family dynamic?
There’s a real family dynamic – to be honest we’re just kinda starting to figure that out more and more. As we get into the middle episodes, we get to focus a bit more on the characters and round them out a little bit. Everybody works together, everyone gets along really well – at the end of the episode, everyone sits around talking about their day……… it’s the family dinner, if you will.

In your own opinion, with a show like this that was a big hit from another decade, do you think it’s easier to start from scratch and draw in brand new fans, or is it easier to play on the appeal of the original and try to reconnect with old fans?
I think what we’ve done is started from scratch and created a whole new show – with huge expectations. There are so many fans who are waiting to love it, and there are many out there who are waiting to hate it. I found this too with BSG – I’m kind of becoming the king of remade 80s series - there are people who are just waiting to hate it….you try to live up to the expectations, but you don’t set out to remake the original show – why would you? It was done well. It’s being remade because it was a timeless idea. I think that’s where [producer] Gary [Scott Thompson] has done so well. He said, we’re not trying to make the original - that’s just insulting. Hopefully we have succeeded in bringing something new to a great premise.

What is your biggest challenge as an actor on this show?
The biggest challenge for me is probably the fact that I have so much tech speak on the show. The only way to really do that convincingly is if you know what you’re talking about. So I talk to the writers and producers about what exactly it is I’m supposed to be talking about. For instance, in the current episode we’re working on audio fingerprints – how you can pull apart sound waves, identify people…I knew nothing about that going into it, of course, and now I’ve learned a whole bunch. It took me a week of studying just to know what I’m talking about! I’m not a computer guy – I can send emails and use iTunes, but beyond that…Also, we’re kind of inventing what [Billy] does as we go. We’re using a lot of similar systems they used in Iron Man. We’re kind of just making it up – it’s fun but challenging at the same. Because we’re making it up as we go, you don’t know when you’re doing it wrong….but you don’t know when you’re doing it right, either!

What’s the atmosphere like on the set?
It’s fantastic. I feel like I say that every single time on the job, but it really is – when you work on a show with a good sized budget, and a creative team that is so amazing, and you have a big network behind you, then you can just play – you’re just playing, being creative, not waiting for the ax to fall constantly…and that’s when the great stuff really works. We’re doing between 10-15 hours a day on this show, and I’ve yet to hear one complaint. I think you can really tell when people are having fun on their job, whether it’s a serious drama or not. It shows. It makes a difference. And we’re having a great time.

What will make Knight Rider stand out from all the other shows that are out there? What would you say is the big selling point that will pull an audience in?
I think the big thing is going to be bringing the big screen feel of Iron Man and the Bourne Identity movies to the small screen. There’s nothing else out there that has that feel, the energy and creativity, and the stunts are just amazing……. when KITT goes into turbo boost, it’s just incredible…I enjoy movies like Transformers, but probably not as much as the next guy, and yet even I can say it was amazing! There is genuinely nothing like it.

What TV shows are you a fan of – either current ones, or favorites from the past?
My new favorite right now is Mad Men, which is absolutely fantastic….I almost wish I hadn’t discovered it until later, and could just get the whole season on DVD in one shot, because waiting each week for new episodes is painful. For comedy, I’m a huge Arrested Development fan, even though it’s no longer on. And Flight of the Conchords on Showtime! Those are my go-to shows right now.

What’s your dream role? What kind of role would really knock your socks off someday?
I would love to do Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Broadway. I studied theater, but I haven’t been back on stage since. The reason I fell in love with acting in the first place was because of theater. Unfortunately there’s no money in it. If you want to support yourself without having to get a second job, film and TV are where you can make a living. But I would love to play Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on stage.

Who would your leading lady be in that production?
I don’t know – wow. There are so many great young actresses out there….I’ll have to think about that one…..

Well, now you have time to come up with your casting suggestions, for when the time is right…
Right!

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Knight Rider premieres online tomorrow on September 17th, and will race into living rooms Wednesday, September 24th at 8/7 c! With such an action-packed thrill ride awaiting you, you can’t get too much of a good thing………………