Malcolm Reed To Step Into The Light

In a Trek series, it's usually the Captain who attracts all the attention. But Dominic Keating revealed today Enterprise Armory Officer Lieutenant Malcolm Reed is also about to step out of the sidelines a little.

"It's really started in the last few episodes, Malcolm Reed has had the light shone on him," Keating told the SyFy Portal. "Brannon [Braga] did warn me about it that their initial thrust at the start of the series would be on the captain, Trip and the Vulcan. I just turned up every day and did the best I could with what they gave me to do, and trusted with what they told me was true."

"There's an episode coming up called 'Shuttlepod One,' and it's one of my most exciting and most memorable acting experiences, whether on stage or on the camera," Keating explained. "It's between me and Trip, the engineer. We think we're marooned alone in space on Shuttlepod One. You could put this on in an off- Broadway venue and have it staged as a one-act. Rick is very pleased, and he just said some very complimentary things about it yesterday."

It isn't only in front of the camera that Keating's aspirations for Enterprise lie. "I've already embarked on a directing course at an L.A. film school that Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna Torres) had given me the number for," he said. "After I took the course in directing, I've noticed that my interest piqued more than ever in how each shot is being mapped out. I never had taken that much of an interest before as an actor, which usually was to just put me on the mark, tell me which way to turn, and I'll act it.

"But I've noticed that in the episodes that rolled by, my interest is a lot keener, and I can see myself definitely directing one of these episodes, and direct other stuff in the future. Of course, I haven't approached Rick or Brannon about this yet. They hired me as an actor, and I'm putting my two peas in at the moment."

Being part of a high profile series with a large fan base is also starting to affect the actor. "I was recognised in the post office this morning, and that's the first time a completely random guy has come up to me like that since the show started," he said. "I was posting some fan mail to some guys in Europe, and he came up and was so thrilled to see this guy from Enterprise. [...] It was a good experience, but the funny thing was, I was standing in line wearing my scruffy old sweatpants and wasn't looking my best. I thought to myself that there was a pretty girl in front of me, and there will come a time when I wished I would've doled myself up."

More from Dominic Keating, including how he got the part of Reed, reflections on his acting career so far and thoughts about an Enterprise movie, can be found in the full interview with the actor at SyFy Portal.

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