About.com: Victor Webster

Interview with "Mutant X's" Victor Webster
by Rebecca Murray

While at the World Premiere of Jim Carrey's feel-good comedy, "Bruce Almighty," "Mutant X's" Victor Webster spoke briefly about the upcoming season, and about his guest starring role on "Sex and the City."

VICTOR WEBSTER ('Brennan')

What are you doing in "Sex and the City?"
Kim Cattrall (laughing).

Are you going to be a recurring character?
No, no, no. I go back to doing "Mutant X." The first episode starts shooting at the beginning of June, so I can only do one episode. But I had such a great time.

What was it like on the set of "Sex and the City?"
It's really comfortable and really mellow. There's no attitude. Everybody was just extremely professional and fun. It was a pleasure.

What's happening with "Mutant X?"
We start shooting the first week of June - the third season. I don't know what's going to happen. They are kind of keeping us in the dark. I know there's a bunch of changes with a lot of cool stuff going on so I'm looking forward to reading that first script.

So you have no idea what your character's up to this year?
I have no idea. I just know there's a lot of things happening this year. They don't want to tell us anything. I think they have a brief idea but I don't think they have it all plotted out yet. I'm looking forward to getting that script and seeing what's up.

They are keeping it everything top secret?
I guess so. I'm a big blabbermouth, I guess (laughing). Maybe everyone else knows stuff (laughing).

© About.com

Comics Continuum 9/10/01: Victor Webster

Mutant X's Victor Webster

Victor Webster, who stars as Brennan Mulwray in the upcoming Mutant X television series, told The Continuum he does his own wire work and fight scenes for the show.

"I think the fans really appreciate when they see the actor's face spinning and it's not some guy covering his face," Webster said. "It's a very physically intense role, and I really enjoy it."

Webster, a huge action movie fan, said he has been training since he was 9 years old and sported an undefeated record as a kick-boxer. Mutant X allows him to takes advantage of those physical skills.

"We trained for three weeks of intensive wire work training, and stunt fight choreography and gymnastics - for three weeks before and we continually train now that we're shooting," Webster said.

Of course, one thing Webster isn't doing that his character does: shooting electricity with his mutant powers.

Webster, who played Nicholas Alamain on the NBC soap Days of Our Lives, called Brennan the "rock 'n roll bad boy" of Mutant X.

"Brennan is a smart-ass," Webster said. "He's very well bred and intelligent in a street sense. He's not a scholar, like an intellectual, university scholar, but he's extremely smart in the ways of the world. He's been a criminal and lived on his street smarts since he was out of high school.

"He hid his mutant abilities from everybody even until right before joining Mutant X, when he was exposed by a Judas, somebody that he worked with that exposed him because of the competition factor."

And although Mutant X has a lot of action, Webster said there's more to the show than that.

"The cool thing about the writing and the scripts that we're doing is that from the beginning they had a chance to feel us out and put our characters on paper before we were even cast," he said. "And the very interesting thing was that when they cast us, how similar our personalities to our characters are. Now that they've seen us in action and seen us speak the words that they've written, we've really kind of melded and kind of gelled together with the characters, and we're really making them our own.

"That's what makes it so much fun. You get a sense of comedy. You get some one-liners, some smart-ass cracks here and there. You get some very intelligent dialogue. It's a mixture. You're not going to sit there and watch all technical jargon. And while there's a lot of action, you're going to get a little comedy thrown in and you're going to get some character-driven drama as well as you're going to get some relationships between characters. It brings a lot to the entire show."

Webster has been a reader of comics and counts Green Lantern, Batman, Justice League of America, Spider-Man and Groo, The Wanderer among his favorites. He said he feels that Mutant X captures comic-book sensibilities without becoming campy.

"I don't want sound cocky in the fact that I am so happy to be part of this show, but there's no hoping or guessing for me: I know people are going to enjoy the show," Webster said. "I've been in the crowd. I've been watching action movies you've never heard of, comic books, everything since I was a kid. For me, this is a dream come true. And if I wasn't part of this show, I'd still be watching every single week."

In other Mutant X news:

The series premiere is titled "The Shock Of The New." Here's how the episode is described:
"On a mission to protect the unwitting subjects of a covert human genetics program gone awry, Adam (John Shea) and his Mutant X team set out to find these new mutants before the organizaton that created them can hunt them down and exploit their special powers."

Tribune has released an image of Victoria Pratt as Shalimar Fox from the first episode.

Look for more on Mutant X very soon here in The Continuum.

© Comics Continuum

Excerpts from Visimag's Cult Times 2/02: Victor Webster, on Pink Hearts: V.W.M.X. *Property of the former Pink Heart website

I'm X-Static!
Superhero star Victor Webster takes time out to discuss the many ways of discharging with your hand as the electrically empowered Brennan Mulwray in the hit show Mutant X!

by Steven Eramo

Most children fantasize about what they want to be when they grow up. Victor Webster's dream was to become a superhero. "That's what more or less fuelled my desire to study martial arts," he says. "I wanted to have the ability to save someone's life."

The actor had no idea that his wish would one day come true, at least on the small screen. He is currently playing the super charged Brennan Mulwray on the hit syndicated action/adventure TV series Mutant X. His character is, in fact, a new mutant whose body can generate enough electricity to light up a small city.

Brennan is recruited to join Mutant X, an elite team of crime-fighters, all of whom possess unique abilities. Their mission includes, among other things, stopping fellow new mutants from being caught and neutralized by Mason Eckhart, security chief at the biotech firm Genomex. Brennan may never have been on the FBI's most wanted list, but his shady past makes him reluctant to accept an offer by Mutant X's leader Adam to become part of the team.

"In his younger days, Brennan was a loner and a man of criminal intent," explains Webster, relaxing in his trailer after an early morning shoot on the Mutant X set in Toronto. "He secretly used his powers to commit crimes in order to get whatever he wanted. However, he eventually became tired of being a rogue and an outcast. He's now reformed and is paying his dues by doing things for the benefit of humanity. Brennan is really a good-natured person but he can also be a little sarcastic at times. He loves to fight too. He doesn't always depend on his powers because he doesn't have to. My character would rather beat the hell out of a guy than shoot him across the floor with a bolt of electricity.

"Although he's now part of a team, Brennan feels that he can get up and leave any time he wants. If he needs time to think, he'll go off by himself like the Lone Ranger. He's used to and is very comfortable with being on his own. At the same time, Brennan has found a home and a family, so to speak, and he doesn't want to do anything that might jeopardize his place on the team.

"This is the first time I've played kind of a bad boy, and I've got to tell you, I'm having fun," smiles the actor. "The challenge for me so far has been trying to find the balance between being cheeky and hostile, you know? There are times when he can act like a smart ass and it can be annoying. Other times you can throw out these little one liners and they're funny. It's learning where to draw the line. Up to now I really haven't had to rein Brennan in so I guess I must be doing okay."

Born on 7th February 1973 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Webster has only been acting for a little over four years. "Before that I did just about anything you can possibly imagine," he says. "I owned my own import/export company, was a stockbroker, a bodyguard, a delivery guy, a construction worker, I sold ladies' shoes and even taught martial arts for a while. One day I said to myself, 'What am I doing? This isn't what I want for my life. What I want is to be able to pretend to be all these things and more.' So I moved to Los Angeles, started taking acting classes and gave it everything I had. Four years later, here I am. It all happened very quickly for me and I'm still working hard at getting better at [acting]. I mean, Mutant X is certainly the best job I've ever had, but it won't be my last."

© Cult Times

People Magazine: Victor Webster Interview, on Pink Hearts V.W.M.X.. page 2 *Property of the former Pink Hearts website

Victor Webster: Actor

Age: 29

Height: 6/5"

Status: Never married

Residences: Los Angeles and Toronto

Education: San Clemente (Calif.) High School

The scoop: He was a stockbroker, model, commercial actor and soap star (NBC's Days of Our Lives) before winning the part of superhero Brennan Mulwray on the syndicated sci-fi TV series Mutant X. Now Webster, a black belt in tae kwon do, gets to "fly around, do backflips off walls, shoot people with electricity, do my martial arts, be the sarcastic bad boy and make money," he says.

In his own words: "I talk to everybody--man, woman, and child--at the coffee shop, the line at the grocery, everywhere."

The ideal woman: "I want to ride my Harley and have her wrap her arms around me, hold on tight and kiss the back of my neck and mean it."

What a catch: Says his mom, Roswith Baughman: "He was a charmer from the age of 3."

© People Magazine

Excerpts from Starlog 6/02: Victor Webster Interview, on Pink Hearts V.W.M.X., page 2 and page 4 *Property of the former Pink Hearts website

Electronic Cool
With martial arts moves and special powers, Victor Webster electrifies the screen on Mutant X.

by Peter Bloch-Hansen

It's a cold winter morning in Toronto, but inside and empty brick warehouse near the frozen waterfront, it's surprisingly and comfortably warm. A theatrical light, three feet in diameter floods the dusty space with harsh, silver-white radiance. Off by himself, tall, slender, and in his character's trademark black, Victor Webster goes through a series of stretches in preparation to battle his mortal enemies, the faceless agents of the GSA. The actor has been here since 6:30 am and now he's ready to begin another day of shooting on Mutant X.

"They want us to come in even earlier for fight rehearsal," Webster grins, "I came in yesterday and worked for an hour, but I don't like training the day we're shooting it. I look at fight scenes like spaghetti sauce: they're much better the next day. You look at them, and overnight you think about them and do the moves in your head, and the next day you come in and refresh your memory. Then you go."

Webster's calm and relaxed, clearly looking forward to the physically demanding day ahead of him. "I've studied a plethora of martial arts since I was nine," he states. "I started with judo, moved into karate, wrestled in schoool, did movie Western-style boxing, all kinds of stuff. I have a black belt in tae kwon do and I've taught martial arts for about five years. I pick things up really quickly. I would stay in a martial art for about two years, learn as much as I could, and then move on.

"Today, I'm fighting with three or four people and doing some wirework. I don't do crazy stuff like Shalimar [Victoria Pratt]. My wirework just enhances stuff that you can do as a normal, athletic person: instead of jumping four feet in the air, they make me jump six. But that's going to change. You're going to see my character get more end stuff to do. He finds new ways to fight and, well, let's just leave it at that.

Mutant Action
Nine months of acrobatic fighting and wielding electric bolts as the mutant action hero Brennan Mulwary have brought Victor closer to his character. "Brennan is very much like me," he says, "He understands fighting. The way that I speak and the way that they write him are very similar. The sarcasm that he spouts off all the time is definitely me--with different intentions--which is cool because I just eplore myself and have fun with it.

"Brennan never knew about all the other new mutants who were out there in trouble," he explains. "He only knew about his own mutation, and maybe a couple of other people like that. To see the grand scale of this thing--the GSA's threat to society--Brennan had to find a greater good, rather than just trying to backing himself and stealing things to make himself richer. Brenann has now been exposed to people in need of his abilities who don't have the street sense, the strength or the power--the ability to fight back. The writers have shown a much more creative, caring side [to Brennan]. He now listens to spreading himself out to help people rather than being such a loner. Still, he's always going to have some of that [loner] mentality, but he has found a team, a family unit that he was missing. That is comforting and nurturing to him, and it gives him the chance to build up structure and have fun and aid people.

"Brennan has a specific place on the team," Webster adds. "He knows that he's going to kick some butt, and he knows hat he can take out four GSA agents at a time. He has a street sense. He's good at the bars, and good at getting the word out on the street or ground level. He has his finger in the dark, sleazy side. He's not like that himself, but he knows where to go and who to talk to because when you steal stuff, you've gotta have people to sell it to. So he has all these connections. And Brennan's always sent out when it's time to kick ass, bcause he enjoys it so much. He's aso capable of doing it.

"Everything that Brenann does has to involve fun. He loves adventure, so he always wants to participate. It's not just kicking some guy's butt or punching them; he has gotta do something flashy, something cool. He finds interesting ways to live. There's a way of sarcasm and verbally hustling other people--even little one-liners to the GSA. Everything is done with a fun attitude. It's cool."

Mulwary's fondness for the female sex hasn't changed, but now he has other obligations that keep his nightlife busy. "Brennan likes women. He likes to check them out and he likes to flirt, but that's all it comes down to, now that he has found a purpose," Webster states. "Before, when he was killing time, he probably went out and grabbed a few drinks and--you know.

"I had a love story in "Deadly Desire," where I'm actually in bed with a woman. When you have major romances like that [in real life], you just completely throw everything away. You're not thinking about anything except what the other person is thinking and feeling. Nobody sees what you're doing. But on a set, you have 30 people standing around watching you. So when you're [filming a scene] with a woman in bed, the way that you would normally speak, the things that you would normally do, don't necessarily sound so good on camera. You have to be conscious of everything, to worry about the sheet coming down too far, to make sure that you're doing everything on cue. It's not a turn-on at all because there's just so many things to think about. It's really kind of damaging more than anything else. When I'm fighting, I'm used to being in a ring at a gym in front of hundreds of people, but being intimate--sharing that soft, sensitive side of yourself that most men don't like to reveal--is a little unnerving."

The first year's shooting now almost behind him, Webster's min preoccupation is with the possibilities of the upcoming season, "Things are changing on the series," he spies. "They're getting darker, and I think in the action sequences, instead of just fighting, we're going to be challenged more, take more hits, more impacts. We're aiming for a different target audience."

© Starlog Magazine

TV Guide: Victor Webster, on Mutant X Bookcase

Victor Webster: Marvelous Mutant

Former soap stars turn up in the oddest places! You'll find a bevy of suds buds on Mutant X, a syndie action series based on the Marvel comic book. Definitely the hottest among them is ex-Days of Our Lives looker Victor Webster. Along with co-stars Forbes March (ex-All My Children) and Victoria Pratt (ex-Guiding Light), he's had some laughs about the surrealness of soapdom.

"At fan events, some of the women feel like you belong to them," Webster tells TV Guide Online. "They see you five days a week on Days, so you're their guy. They don't separate it from reality. They'll come right up and try to kiss you or grab you and start walking away with you! Or expect you - when there's a line of 500 people behind them - to stop and have a 15-minute conversation. "It turns into a competition between the ladies," he says, "and it starts getting really strange sometimes, like they're actually going to brawl! I've always wanted girls to fight over me, but come on."

Work is calmer and a bit more satisfying on Mutant X, where Webster enjoys playing more than just "beefcake sexy." Besides practicing martial arts onscreen - he's an expert in real life - he says: "I shoot electricity from my hands!" And he promises the show's fight sequences will start looking less silly come season two. Watching this year's dancy battles, one couldn't help but think of the fleet-footed face-offs in West Side Story!

"I've spoken to the fight choreographer and producer about it," he reveals. "The action's going to be less perfect, much grittier and dirtier. My fighting style is going to be more street." - Daniel R. Coleridge

© TV Guide

Excerpts from Visimag's Xpose #67: Victor Webster, on Pink Hearts V.W.M.X. Pages 1, 2 and 4 *Property of the former Pink Hearts website

Live Wire
Mutant X's Victor Webster tells Bryan Cairns why he doesn't want his character to become a sex symbol. Some hope!

Unlike his Mutant X co-star Forbes March (Xpose #64), Victor Webster is a bit of a comic fan. "Ever since I was a kid, I was into Mad, Archie, Groo the Wanderer, Spider-Man, Batman, and Alpha Flight," he says. "I was huge into comics. I used to love them! I would buy a whole bunch of them so I had something to read at school, slipped in between my books. Then I would draw a lot. My notebooks were covered with doodles."

Some things don't change. As he sits on the sidelines of the Mutant X set while his co-stars take their turn in the limelight, Webster is engrossed in the comic book The Tenth. In fact, his backpack is full of four-color titles. This is obviously a guy capable of reciting the Justice League of America roster from A to Z or distinguishing Black Canary from Black Widow. This passion for the superhero community not only makes Webster a shoe-in for his charged-up character but also gives him some insight into what fans want--and what works onscreen.

"This isn't a comic book script," he says about Mutant X. "It is very dramatic in its approach. It's more of a serious, darker show. It can't be too comic booky because I don't think the appeal would be that broad. The action has to be comic booky because that is what people are looking for, an escape from realism, but the actual drama has to be something that people can relate to."

Drama such as the dark past of Webster's character Brennan Mulwray, who can pump out enough electrical juice to keep Disney World alight and manifests his talent in the form of lightning balls, streams of electricity and high voltage currents through metal objects. But Brennan did not always fight for the side of good....

...career. Ranging from construction worker and shoes salesman to bouncer and stockbroker, he was the proverbial jack-of-all-trades before breaking into modeling. Though he worked with such fashion big-wigs as Versace, Armani, and International Male, Webster says of the catwalk game that "It wasn't fulfilling enough," so numerous commercials followed, before his first big acting break came in fairy-tale fashion when a customer at the restaurant where he was waiting tables in Orange County recommended sending in a resume and portfolio for the daytime soap Sunset Beach. After a reading, the casting agents said, "'We really like you a lot,'" recalls Webster. "'We're going to cast you.' And I go 'Really? What's that?'"

Webster didn't get the part he'd been recommended for, but instead nabbed a recurring role as Roger the bartender before the show went under. His presence, and no doubt good looks, then caught the attention of NBC's Days of Our Lives where he remained for a year before notching up roles in the AMC's series The Lot, the recent TV movie The Chippendale Murder, and the feature film Gangland.

"Acting always has been a fantasy of mine," explains Webster. "I used to watch James Bond wishing I was a secret service agent or a superhero. I used to jump off the roof thinking I was Superman but I couldn't fly and broke my leg. My Mom used to call me Mr. Dress-Up when I was a kid because I used to have this trunk of towels, robes, hats, and stuff. I would go around pretending I was a pirate or army guy. I was always fascinated with who I could be at anytime I wanted."

But one thing he doesn't want to be is a sex sypmbol, though he doesn't have much choice. As Nicholas Alamain on Days of Our Lives, Webster had his fair share of seduction, lip-locking, and steamy bedroom antics. Tack on his modeling gigs, a Playgirl layout, and choreographed bump and grind movies in The Chippendale Murders and you've got a guy with a growing female fanbase. But despite the success it has earned him, Webster would like to be known more than just a hunky poster boy.

"I don't know about Forbes, but I try to play mine down," he says about his sex appeal. "I'm really trying to get away from that. That's why I like the shaggy hair do, the cut off jeans, the who-gives-a-crap attitude, and the funny stupid faces. To me, I want to draw them in and get them involved in the story so any kind of thing that will make me look pretty, I don't want. I don't want to do scenes with my shirt off. The very beginning we had to because it really fit in the storyline but I don't want to do anything gratuitous unless it is necessary. I don't want to be the guy who gets involved with a bunch of girls all the time. I want to be the guy that flirts, is very charismatic, but doesn't screw around 'cause that's really now what he's about. He likes the girls and the attention, but he's kind of a serious guy."

In that sense he's a lot like Webster himself, who explains that with this cast every character mirrors some aspect of the actor portraying them. Now since Webster also describes Brennan as "smart-ass, funny, very confident, and a joker," it's easy to draw parallels. During one scene where fellow mutant Emma's life depends on a machine restoring her to normal, team mate Jesse Kilmartin (Forbes March) demands the equipment work "Harder! Harder!" As soon as the director yells cut, Webster jests about the dialogue. ["You'd think this was Mutant XXX," he quips.] He later notes his character's witty combacks are what he would usually say in real life so the writers tend to let him run wild with some of the lines.

He's also able to let loose during the fight scenes, as the 28-year-old actor acquired one skill which has proven especially handy on Mutant X during his earlier wild days. On a show where fighting is the norm, Webster stands out as the pro. He's professionally competed in martial arts, has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and an undefeated record as an amateur kickboxer. So when the cast enrolled in hand-to-hand boot camp, Webster felt it was like returning to kindergarten.

"It was all running around, flipping, putting on wires then doing back spins and kicks," he says. "But the skills pay off. One, for the ability to see it's a real deal. You see a lot of people that try and it looks cheesy. Second of all for accuracy, for not kicking someone in the face accidentally or punching them."

Another unreleased projet which relied heavily on the action department was the upcoming horror flick Wishmaster IV. Although Webster's character may be the one responsible for finally corking the series' supernatural menace, he didn't walk away from the shoot unscathed.

"I play this really crazy hunter who fights the djinn at the end," he reveals. "I think they synthesized my voice to make it weird and cool. I have the sword from it and I sliced my finger open using it. I still think I have the scar from it. Pretty much all my scenes are fighting and chopping people's heads off."

When Webster isn't battling mutants or duking it out with demonic genies, he enjoys hitting the gym, watching TV or movies and of course, reading comic books. However, it's his involvement in various children, animal, and abused women charities that earn him top marks. Any Superman or Spider-Man fan can tell you it's not the clothes or even the super-powers that makes the man. Instead, it's the unselfish good deeds and kindness. In real-life, as in fantasy, deeds talk louder than words.

© Visimag's Xpose

Victor Webster: 9/12/02 Zap 2 It

'Mutant X' Star Answers to You
(Tuesday, November 12 10:00 PM)
By Kate O'Hare

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - On the syndicated sci-fi/action drama "Mutant X," Victor Webster plays Brennan Mulwray, a street-smart 'new mutant' who can manipulate electricity. With his dark good looks and martial-arts-trained physique, Webster's been known to generate some sparks of his own.

He takes a break from filming in Toronto to tell fans what they most want to know about stunts, tattoos, hobbies and what he hopes the future holds.

Question from gabe945: What is you favorite episode of "Mutant X"?

Victor Webster: So far, I'd have to say my favorite one is "Nothing To Fear."

Question from mutantwannabe: What was the scariest or most difficult stunt you did on "Mutant X"?

Victor Webster: It was definitely when I jumped from a platform 50 feet in the air and landed on a 6-inch wide stand while doing a full 360 degree spin. It was during last season's episode "Lazarus Syndrome."

Question for callie3640: What do you like best/least about working in Toronto?

Victor Webster: Toronto is very ethnically diverse; they have great food and beautiful architecture. My least favorite thing by far is the cold weather.

Question from mutantwannabe: What is that tattoo on your arm mean?

Victor Webster: The tattoo on my arm is a dragon -- which to me symbolizes strength, wisdom, mystery and power.


Question from Rebecca: In what ways are you most like Brennan? In what ways are you most different?

Victor Webster: I guess I am similar to Brennan because I can be kind of a loner. I certainly enjoy people, but don't always need someone around in order to be happy. Brennan and I also have similar pasts. We are both strong and caring, but the main difference is that I, Victor, can't shoot electricity from my hands.

Question from coolsuzy: What other jobs have you had?

Victor Webster: I have done so many different jobs. I've sold women's shoes, worked in construction, been a pizza delivery guy, a grocery bagger, a martial arts instructor, a stockbroker. I owned an import/export company for a while, and the list goes on.

Question from starforhire: Did you ever get discouraged in your acting career and think about quitting? What has kept you going?

Victor Webster: No. I gave myself a 10-year-plan that I am sticking to. Like most actors, I knew I would struggle financially and probably have to do other things in order to feed myself, but I continued to follow my dream. I am constantly striving to learn and work towards taking my skills and talent to the next level.

Question from teenangst: Do you think you'd like Brennan if you were to meet him on the street?

Victor Webster: On the street? Doubt it. Maybe if we met through a mutual friend. Brennan has a bit of an attitude that the Victor attitude wouldn't jive with.

Question from kyotocalling: What's the weirdest fan letter you ever got?

Victor Webster: A marriage proposal from a man. The envelope also included naked photos of him.

>Question from Kyle: Do you want to do anything else in entertainment besides acting?
Victor Webster: I definitely want to give directing a shot, then producing and eventually -- when I am ready -- singing.

Question from romyandme: What's your favorite thing to do when you're not working?

Victor Webster: Sleep, which I don't do nearly enough of. I also love taking my dogs to the park and watching them play.

Question from fanboyfloyd: Do you ever read comics?

Victor Webster: All the time. They're great bathroom reading.

Question from Christina: To whom are you closest in the cast?

Victor Webster: I am close with everyone in the cast, but in different ways. If I had to choose one person, I'd say Victoria [Pratt], but that's partially because we work together so much.

Question from daisydani: What other projects are you working on?

Victor Webster: Right now, I spend all my time doing "Mutant X." But I am exploring and considering a few possibilities for my hiatus. Details to follow ... .

* Zap2it also sent fan questions to Victor's co-star Victoria Pratt. We haven't received her answers yet, but as soon as we do we'll post 'em.

© Zap 2 It

Victor Webster: 5/5/02 Zap 2 It

Every Tattoo Tells a Story
(Sunday, May 05 10:00 PM)
By Kate O'Hare

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - There are as many reasons to get tattoos as there are people who have them. In the case of "Mutant X" star Victor Webster, it's about reminding himself of what's important (even if he can't see two of the tattoos without a mirror).

On the underside of one upper arm, he has a dragon, symbolizing mystery and wisdom, which he got in his late teens. Asked why he chose such an odd location, Webster says, "I was modeling at the time, and, underneath my arm, I can hide it really easily without having to put makeup on it."

Then there's the Asian symbol on his back. "It means 'Never give up.' That I got when I got my black belt [in Tae Kwon Do]. It has flames over the top of it. It's burning desire to always go after my dreams and my goals."

"I have another one on my back that's a peace symbol, that's actually a dream catcher made out of bones and feathers. So, it's peace, but the dream catcher is to always remember that while maintaining my spirituality, a peacefulness in my center, that I'm continuing to focus on my dreams."

Webster designed all his own tattoos. As to whether more are on the way, he says, "They're addictive. I don't know. I'm holding off for a while, a couple of years, until something really means something to me. Then I'll go ahead."

On "Mutant X," which airs mostly on weekends in syndication, Webster plays Brennan Mulwray, a former street kid with the ability to control and wield electricity as a result of the genetic experimentation of a company called Genomex. He joins up with Mutant X, an underground group, led by former Genomex scientist Adam (John Shea), which strives to help the mutants -- dubbed the Children of Genomex -- develop their abilities and protect them from harm or exploitation.

On the other side is the Genetic Security Agency (GSA), under the command of Genomex security chief Mason Eckhart (Tom McCamus), which is hunting down the mutants.

Webster's martial arts prowess -- he also is an undefeated amateur kickboxer -- comes in handy on "Mutant X," which makes use of stunts and wire work in its elaborate fight sequences.

"In the past nine months of our season," Webster says, "my stunt double only had to work three times. One was driving a Ferrari Testarossa that I'm not insured for; one was jumping through a 15-foot wall of fire; and one time I fractured my elbow, and I had to take a week off doing any wire work, so he did this jump for me. I did everything else."

He wasn't initially thrilled, though, at the idea of taking his avocation and using it every day in his job. "That's the thing that I was most skeptical of at first, because once you take something that you love and start getting paid for it, a lot of times it takes the luster out of it. It becomes work."

"Thank God, it hasn't done that. I'm getting to play and experiment. I'm getting to fly around and do flips and shoot electricity out of my hands, kick bad guys' asses all day long. It's awesome."

It's a big change from either modeling or Webster's other previous professions. "I used to teach martial arts. I was going to open my own studio at one point. So that was my life. I was a stockbroker during the day; I was a nightclub promoter at night; in between, I'd teach. Then on weekends, I'd fight."

Of the three, he recalls being a broker was "so stressful. It's basically like gambling. You get too old, too fast. They're all on coffee and coke and going out and getting drunk at lunch."

Webster, a Calgary, Alta., native of Italian, German, English, Scottish and Spanish extraction, says that playing Mulwray isn't too much of a stretch. "He's part of the team because he wants to be. He doesn't need leadership; he doesn't crave it. He has his own way of doing things. He's very much like me."

Asked what sort of character would be utterly unlike him, Webster says, "A priest. Or somebody that's really evil, mentally screwed up. Somebody that doesn't have direction and doesn't have focus and is really scattered, because I'm far too organized. I just can't handle not knowing where stuff is."

Webster says that Season 2 of "Mutant X" is going to be "faster and more extreme. The show is going to be a little bit darker. Brennan's going to be a little bit more troublesome. He's going to have a little more attitude, be grittier."

Also, McCamus is going to leave his role as chief nemesis Eckhart, because of previous theatrical commitments. In the season finale, "A Breed Apart," airing the week of May 13, Michael Easton ("VR.5," "Total Recall 2070") joins the cast as Gabriel, the first Child of Genomex, a powerful new mutant who will be a recurring character next year.

Apparently Gabriel isn't the only challenge facing the Mutant X team in the new season. "We're going to have the ability to have a bunch of other evil nemeses," Webster says. "You have to give the audience diversity."

Cyberspatial Anomalies: Victor Webster fans can learn more at www.victorwebster.com. For "Mutant X," there's the official Web site (www.mutantxtv.com) and the recently launched Genomex site (www.genomex.net). For Michael Easton, there's www.michaeleaston.com.

Victor Webster: 4/03 Zap 2 It

The Next Action Hero (Thursday, April 03 10:00 PM)
By Kate O'Hare

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Victor Webster doesn't look that big sitting on a stool at his favorite Hollywood diner -- but then, he stands up. Many actors are shorter than they appear on screen, but the darkly handsome, 6'3" Webster isn't one of them.

Asked if his height has ever lost him roles, Webster says, " I've lost quite a few. The problem is, because of my height and the way I look, I'm in direct conflict with people that I'm reading for. I just read for a movie with Ben Affleck. I'm not going to be in a scene playing with Ben Affleck. It's a conflict of interest. You know what I'm saying? I can't do that."

Webster's physical appearance did get him a screen test for Warner Bros.' new film version of " Superman," a role which has scared off Hollywood stars from Ashton Kutcher to Josh Hartnett (the film, scripted by " Alias" creator J.J. Abrams, also recently lost its director, Brett Ratner).

For the moment, Webster is concentrating on returning to work on the third season of his syndicated science-fiction series " Mutant X," which should start production in Toronto around the end of May (he also has a role in the comedy " Bringing Down the House," with Steve Martin and Queen Latifah).

In " Mutant X," Webster plays Brennan Mulwray, one of several so-called " new mutants" who use their powers for good, under the leadership of Adam (John Shea), one of the scientists who helped create them.

Playing the other new mutants are Forbes March as Jesse Kilmartin, who can alter the density of his body; Victoria Pratt as Shalimar Fox, who contains human and animal DNA; and Lauren Lee Smith as Emma deLauro, a telepath who can receive and transmit feelings.

Mulwray's particular skill is harnessing electricity, but he's pretty handy in a fight as well, which makes use of Webster's martial-arts skills. While he likes the action, Webster would appreciate more of an opportunity to show what else he can do.

" There's not a lot of character stuff," he says. " I'm not crying on the show. I'd like to explore some emotional depths, and this is an action show. You're going to have a lot of exposition and a lot of running round, chasing the bad guys. You're not going to have a character piece."

" They're worked a lot more in it this year, which is good. I understand the nature of the beast that I'm involved with, but it doesn't keep my creative side from craving more. That's why I'm in this business, so I can do this and then do something else and something else. I just can't do them all at once sometimes, but that's fine with me."

Asked what he'd like to see in the new season, Webster says, " I hope to explore different sides of everyone's personality and explore differences. You've got to think about it -- Emma's got to be totally screwed in the head, knowing everything that everybody's thinking. You want her to go a little more insane. You want Shalimar to go a little more feral, a little more animal, more distant. You want to see the differences."

" I think sometimes [the show is] too much into the story and not about the characters. It's too much servicing the story, and that's not what it's about. If you can service the story, deliver the exposition like they do on 'Alias.' I'm watching that show, and their exposition is 'boom, boom, boom,' right to the point, then they do character stuff."
" Our exposition is three pages long, while we're sitting there looking at computer screens."

Webster, though, doesn't want to see less action in the show -- if anything, he wants more, just done in a different way. " Forget all the wire stuff, let's just do some more fighting, some more action. You don't need to do all the wirework, the flying. We can do more stuff on the mini-trampoline."

While he's at it, Webster has more wishes on his list. " I want to direct next year. I think it's going to happen. I've shadowed a bunch of directors. I've sat with the editors. I watch the dailies every single day. I've gone to playbacks. I've done the work to do it."

" I'll start with some second-unit directing at the beginning of the year and finish with some episodes toward the end. I have no problem with that."

With " Mutant X" under his belt, and having been given at shot at " Superman," Webster has definite opinions about the future of movie action stars.

" Who's out there right now? Vin Diesel is a big, meathead guy, but he can't act. He's fun to watch. The Rock? He's an action star, and that's it. Why not get somebody out there who can act, who looks good, and who can cross over?"

" You have to have somebody who'll give these people a chance, because they're out there. I'm one of them, and there's a lot more people like me out there. Somebody just needs to give them a chance."

" This business is so messed up, because they're giving these opportunities to people who aren't really respected, just because they're in the Enquirer all the time, and they're doing movies back-to-back."

" They figure it's a sure bet, so they go with those people. Nobody's willing to take a chance anymore."

Asked who's currently doing what he'd like to be doing, if given that chance, Webster answers without hesitation: " A cross between Billy Crudup and Brad Pitt."

CYBERSPATIAL ANOMALIES: " The First Unofficial Victor Webster Page" at www.angelfire.com/ca3/VICTORWEBSTER/ offers lots of information about the " Mutant X" star, including links to his fan-produced newsletter, transcripts and articles, and his " Playgirl" photo spread. For all the news that's fit to post on " Mutant X," visit the series' official site at www.mutantx.net. On the unofficial side, hop the pond to Britain for " UK Mutant X," at www.uk-mutantx.fsnet.co.uk/."

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