I recently participated in a conference call with Matt Dallas, who plays the title character on "Kyle XY." I watched a bunch of episodes to prepare for the talk, and it's very cool. The concept is about a teen who was bio-engineered and who has all these special talents. He's trying to figure out his place in the world and with his adoptive family.
And good news: his peeps are going provide a couple of copies of the first season to give away. I'll let you know exactly how we plan to do that as soon as we figure it out ourselves.
So here's the bulk of the Q&A. Enjoy!
On which of Kyle's abilities Matt would most like to have:
I would say if I was able to have one of Kyle's abilities, it would be the holographic memory because it's almost like traveling back in time. He has the ability to go back and visualize and see things the way they actually happened.
On differences between Season 1 and Season 2:
This year, they've really explored his abilities and what he's capable of. They've gotten really creative, which is cool. They've also kind of taken everything and heightened the bar as far as the stories and the mystery and everything like that. The relationships are deeper. They've had a lot of fun playing with his abilities.
In the second season, the show has definitely matured as well as the character. They've really taken everything and grown it up a little bit. The mystery has gotten thicker and the relationships have gotten deeper. But at the same time, they've really managed to keep a lot of what made the show so appealing in the first season. That's a lot of what makes Kyle so naive and young and the unique way that he perceives the world.
On Kyle's development:
The interesting thing about Kyle is he's constantly developing and growing and constantly changing with every episode. So it's just really good to build this character, a never-ending, unique experience. As far as new abilities this season that haven't been aired yet, so far, they're starting to take all the things he's been capable of and really taking them to the next level. There are not so many new ones coming about but they're taking the ones he's discovered and really finding out what the purpose of that is and why he's capable of it. Also, they're really discovering what Jessi is capable of and to what level and to what extent she's capable of. We see Kyle doing all these amazing things, and with Jessi being in the pod longer than he was, they're really playing with the fact that she might be even more progressed than he is.
At first, I signed onto the show thinking it was going to be a small show on ABC Family and with them redeveloping their network, it's been a huge surprise for everyone. The show ended up being a hit and the fan base grew and was insane. It's really been so amazing, especially to go to things like Comic-Con where you see these fans who have such a connection with you and such a connection to the story and are so invested. It's so amazing. It's been shocking, surprising but at the same time, so wonderful. It's funny, when we were about to go on for Comic-Con, we saw the size of the room and the amount of the people in the room for our panel. We were kind of blown away. April turned to me when they were just applauding and cheering for us to come in. April turned to me and was like, "Oh my God, all these people are here for us." I was like, "I know. Can you believe it?" And she went, "This is crazy!" It's overwhelming but at the same time, it's flattering. It's so neat to feel that connection. Being at Comic-Con for that panel was one of the most amazing experiences ever because the connection I had with those fans was out of this world. 
On Jaimie Alexander and Jessi:
Jaimie, I think, has been the perfect addition to the show this year. The character, and what the character has brought to the story, and at the same time just working with her as an actress. When we first met her and had her over to our house for our first little get-together after we'd been back this year, we were all hanging out together and me and April -- we're like best buddies -- we both looked at each other and were like, "Wow, Jaimie is like the exact missing link in this group." So it's been great. She's great. It's been really fun.
...
I'm trying to remember what has aired. We know know Jessi comes from the same place as Kyle and that she was created by Zzyxx. We don't exactly know what their relationship is to each other. She will start to find out a lot more about who she is by the end of this half-season. ... She'll find out a lot in the next few episodes. It's really interesting to see the way she deals with it and now going into the back 10 that we're shooting now and the way she's handling it now, that everything in life is trying to go back to normal.
On Kyle and romance:
There's definitely some competition that is about to come about between Jessi and Amanda. Kyle is such a pure character. I think his attraction to Amanda is she's such a beautiful pure soul at the same time. It's hard for anyone to come in and mess with that. But I will say there's a little love triangle that happens between the three of them that's about to come into play. ... We shot a scene the other day where it was kind of a standoff between the two girls and me. Standing across the room looking at them, and they're both waiting there, waiting for Kyle to give them some kind of explanation of what's going on. It's so funny. It's a very funny scene. But just to see the two of them, for them to be polar opposites, to see what attracts Kyle to both of these girls is really cool. It's a really interesting chemistry.
On the similarities and differences between Matt Dallas and Kyle XY:
It's so funny when people ask me that, because there's a lot of things. I know him so well now. He's sort of like an alter-ego. I just sort of step into Kyle. How are we different? His way of perceiving the world. We all wish to be as genuine and pure as Kyle is and to perceive the world the way he does. He comes with such a pure way of looking at everything that I wish I could. Also, I've been around for 25 years. He's been around, I don't even think he's been around for a full year yet. There's a lot of differences. He's a lot more naive, but at the same time, he's a lot more mature and a lot more grounded and he knows exactly who he is and he's not embarrassed about who he is, and he's not trying to be somebody else. He has very honest beliefs. He's a person I'd very much like to be like. 
On the success of the show:
At first, I signed onto the show thinking it was going to be a small show on ABC Family and with them redeveloping their network, it's been a huge surprise for everyone. The show ended up being a hit and the fan base grew and was insane. It's really been so amazing, especially to go to things like Comic-Con where you see these fans who have such a connection with you and such a connection to the story and are so invested. It's so amazing. It's been shocking, surprising but at the same time, so wonderful. It's funny, when we were about to go on for Comic-Con, we saw the size of the room and the amount of the people in the room for our panel. We were kind of blown away. April turned to me when they were just applauding and cheering for us to come in. April turned to me and was like, "Oh my God, all these people are here for us." I was like, "I know. Can you believe it?" And she went, "This is crazy!" It's overwhelming but at the same time, it's flattering. It's so neat to feel that connection. Being at Comic-Con for that panel was one of the most amazing experiences ever because the connection I had with those fans was out of this world.
On Matt's favorite relationships on the show:
It's so hard, because I love working with everyone on the show. Every time I have an opportunity to work with another actor, or another member of the family, or with Tom Foss, I love playing the relationships all so much. It's hard to say who my favorites are. I would definitely say my relationship with Nicole is one of my favorites to play. They have such a different, unique relationship, which is different from any relationship anyone has in the family. She's trying to play this kind of paternal role to him. And he wants to be normal, wants to be a kid. At the same time, they know it can't be that way. At the same time she's trying to be his guardian, there's a lot of things he's teaching her and they're almost on the same level. It's such a fun relationship to explore. Also, I love playing the relationship with Tom Foss, because I love how Tom Foss is kind of mentoring Kyle. They have this really strong, deep relationship that Tom Foss will never show and that Tom will never let Kyle see. It's a fun, tricky relationship to play as well. My favorite relationship to watch on the show when I watch it has nothing to do with me. I love watching Josh and Andy. The two of them are so great together, and the chemistry they have, it's just one of my favorite relationships on the show.
On the challenges of the role:
Definitely, the hardest part is all the physical stuff. They have me training constantly, doing all these different things, working with the stunt coordinator, learning how to jump off of things and hanging off a cord. I have a major fear of heights. I get major vertigo and feel that my body is going to throw itself off a cliff. I face that fear throughout the show and learned how to really face it. Now I'm not as afraid of heights, which has been really cool. I kind of went from being so scared where I could barely walk across the bridge where I threw Adam Baylin's ashes off in the first episode to now when we were shooting some of the finale stuff I was fine even without the cable to the point where they'd have to be like, "Matt, back away, back away! You're too close." I was like, wow, this is a lot easier now. It was kind of cool to get to go through that because of the show and that experience. But that definitely was one of the most challenging parts.
On whether the show and its promotion are getting a little more adult:
I don't think they're trying to go more adult than they really were. Like I was saying before, I think they really matured the show this year. But I don't think they were trying to go any more adult. I think the whole network in general is trying to break away from what your typical idea of what a family network is. Because when you say "family," you think "Boy Meets World" and you think Saturday morning cartoons. It was really them trying to break away from that and become this new network. For us, it's been so exciting to help pioneer that and help the be part of the beginning process for that for this network. The network is definitely exploring with a lot of different things and directions for the show. It's been cool to be part of this process. ... [Asked about a marketing campaign that featured his bare midriff] I had no idea it was going to be like that. And then when I went in to go shoot the posters for it. ... The original idea I don't think intended for it to be as risque, I guess, as it was. But in the end, the poster, it was such a cool poster, and it caught your attention and people knew it. It was so funny. Even with people who didn't know the show, you would say "Kyle XY," and they'd be like, "Oh the bellybutton thing." And you'd be like, "Yeah," and they'd be like, "Yeah, I saw you all over L.A., or all over holding your shirt up." And it's just, like, "Yeah, that's the poster." It's so funny because it did just what they wanted it to do. They had people talking. I thought it was a great poster. I thought all the marketing was great for it. 
On where he would like to see Kyle's development go:
I don't know if there's going to be a third season. I think we're supposed to find out soon. Hopefully we will. I would like to see Kyle explore really what is his purpose for being there. Now that he knows who he is -- we've seen him really trying to put all these pieces together, what the purpose of the experiment was and all these different things -- now that he knows who he is and where he comes from and what the purpose of what the experiment is, I'd really like to see him touch the world and do things that are meaningful and deep and not have him just use his abilities to save the day for something, not have him jump off the roof because he has to save a cat out of a tree or something. Hopefully, we'll see Kyle really touch people and change them. We'll see him use his abilities for something bigger than life. I'm hoping they're really going to go in that direction. I guess we'll see.
On whether he's surprised at the show's creative freedom on a family network:
Definitely. Consistently. A lot of times, we'd get into scripts and I'd be like, "Wow, they're letting us go there." ... I think a lot of us we saw with the episode "Free to Be You and Me" that dealt with the gay community. Why is it that same-sex couples are not OK, when straight couples are? It was really cool. Even though it ended up causing a little bit of controversy and they had people talking, it was cool that the network stood behind the producers and the writers and said, "We're going to talk about this because this is what's out there and what's going on in the world." So, yeah, it's definitely surprising that they let them have the freedom they did, and I think it's great. It definitely had families at home watching the show and it gets them talking. It gets them talking about what's going on. It has parents talking to their children, to their teens. You know, when we were at Comic-Con, there were so many parents who would come up and said, "You know, this is one of the first shows we watched in a long time with our family." Because it's a show that appeals to everyone in the whole family. At the end of every episode, they can stop and talk about what the message was and what the themes were. And it really sparked a lot of conversation. I think that's great.
On whether Kyle may become too jaded:
You know, I think Kyle will always have a sense of naivete. He is, technically, still so young. He is only one year old. On the other hand, he will continue to grow. He's not going to continue to be that wide-eyed boy he was. I'm not afraid to lose it. This character could go anywhere. He'll continue to grow. The idea is we're going to see him grow into this huge figure, like a Gandhi figure or a Mother Teresa. To get to see that in the making is so fascinating. At the same time, I think he is a character who will always stay true to himself and will always be so pure and so genuine. Even if he begins to lose the naivete, he'll still be so fascinating and interesting to watch.
On what to expect for the first half cliffhanger:
Jessi and Kyle go on an exploration to put all the pieces together. They find all these puzzle pieces and clues that are kind of leading them on a road trip that takes them out to really put all those pieces together, to find out who Jessi is, who Kyle is, where they come from, why they're here. There's also some big surprises about people returning to the show. There's a lot coming out in the last few episodes. 12 and 13 are cut together.
On what the second half of the season entails:
Right now, we're on our seventeenth episode, so I think we have five more. Sorry, I was trying to think in my head and do the math. Obviously, I'm not as quick at math as Kyle is. I can tell you, and this is a quote from what Julie Pleck, one of our producers said. She said, "This year is going to be about Kyle finding the extraordinary in the ordinary." I'm starting to put together the pieces of what exactly that means ... in the show. This show, after they brought us back, they definitely brought the family back to the A- storyline. Last year, they went a little more toward the teens, and this year they really wanted to bring the family more into what's going on in Kyle's life, the mystery, and integrating them into what's going on in the story. Which I think is great, because the family is such a great relationship. The family is what brought everybody to the show in the first place. I think it'll be really great. 
On when the Trager family will learn the truth about Kyle:
Bom-bom-bom! I'm actually not allowed to say, because that's all coming up very soon, all the family's role and the mystery.
On whether there are additional clones:
As far as I know, they're the only two. But that doesn't mean anything. I'm continually just as shocked and surprised when I get storylines as you guys are. So as far as I know, I can safely say she and Kyle are the only two. But that could change tomorrow.
On Matt's favorite TV shows:
My favorite TV shows right now are, I'm a huge "Lost" and "Heroes" fan. The two of those. It's on TV right now. I know it's on DVD, but I'm a huge "Strangers with Candy" fan. I know it's not on TV but we watch it all the time in our trailers. What other shows? I was sick a couple weeks ago, so I was laying at home watching On-Demand. The show "Flight of the Conchords" ... was so weird and quirky. It's totally my sense of humor.
- posted by Raoul
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