Hurd, Biehn reunite for new Adventure
by Kate O'Hare
Tribune Media Services
Together they've saved the world from a robotic menace in The Terminator, baffled murderous space parasites in Aliens, discovered a spaceship beneath the sea in The Abyss, and dealt with teens who could freeze time in Clockstoppers.
Now in their new venture, the syndicated television series Adventure Inc., producer Gale Anne Hurd and actor Michael Biehn are ready to have some fun. "1t's a very physical role," Hurd says. "but Michael's in great shape. I think he adores it, absolutely adores it. He's the first person on the set and the last one to leave."
Told that, the 46-year-old actor laughs. "I was at the beginning because I was concerned about everything. After three or four weeks, I realized that the people working on the show all seemed to have the same idea. Now I'm trying to get them to develop the other characters so I have some time off."
Filmed in Toronto, France and England - and produced by Tribune Entertainment and Fireworks Entertainment - Adventure Inc. stars Biehn as adventurer Judson Cross, a character inspired by Hurd's long - time friend, treasure seeker and explorer Barry Clifford. Cross heads up a three-person crew that solves historical puzzles and present-day mysteries, brings villains to justice and finds fabulous lost treasures, all from a headquarters aboard Cross' expedition yacht, the Vast Explorer, moored in the fictional town of Beau Harbor, S.C.
Helping Cross are the beautiful, enigmatic Mackenzie Previn (Karen Cliche), who has expertise in weapons and survival from her military background; and Ivy Leaguer Gabriel Patterson (Jesse Nilsson), who has abandoned his education for some real-world experiences.
After careers in the movies that stretch back decades - to the '80s for Hurd, and to the '70s for Biehn - both were ready for a new challenge.
It's not the first time Biehn has lone a series. He starred in CBS's "The Magnificent Seven" in 1998, but Hurd is a TV newcomer.
"TV's a lot more fun," she says, because the producer's in charge. I've created a couple of concepts for the episodes. In concert with the writers, we're the ones who stay with the show, and the directors rotate through."
For Biehn, it was a chance to lighten up. "It's a fun character. I've always been so identified with these really intense, tough, macho guys. I'm always in the military, or I'm a cop.
"But this whole show, it's got a different feel to it. Although there's a lot of action - there's still a lot of fighting and running around and jumping, and sometimes shooting and stuff like that - but it's a lot more fun. The character sees the bright side of everybody and everything, enjoys life and doesn't really have any big problems.
"He has no haunted past, nothing like that. He's just a fun-loving, charming guy who loves adventure, loves to go out on his boat, loves to go treasure hunting and finding things, usually has a smile on his face. "It's almost the opposite of all the other characters I've ever played. My mother and father will be very happy, and all my relatives. It's taken 25 years in the business until I'm finally playing a character that my family sees as being more like me.
As for romance between Cross and Mackenzie, Biehn says, "My guess is it wouldn't be for a long time. It isn't that kind of show. And they're such knock-around buddies that, in my heart, it feels wrong. And she's very young. She's 20 years younger than me, at least."
But, Hurd says, "There's certainly respect; there's certainly trust. I think they're jealous when the other is flirting with someone of the opposite sex. There's always that. But right now, they're too good friends as well as professional colleagues to go to that next step."
What's also nice for Biehn is that, for once, he's not always the one with the gun. "As far as me being the action-hero guy," he says, "although I do a lot of that, she's the real brawn of the threesome. I'm basically this experienced archaeologist, oceanographer, blue-collar guy who didn't really go to school, just learned it all on his own, a self-made explorer."
As for the mission statement of Adventure Inc., Hurd says, "It's not what you find, it's what you find out. That's also one of Barry Clifford's mottos. There's always something behind every adventure that they take on. There's either a twist in terms of people who aren't who you think they are, either the people who've hired them or people they encounter on a mission."
© 2002 Tribune Media Services
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