Dollhouse

Fran (short for Francis) Kranz has had a good career so far, with roles in features including TRAINING DAY, MATCHSTICK MEN and THE VILLAGE and TV appearances on a variety of series, as well as a regular gig on the short-lived sitcom WELCOME TO THE CAPTAIN. However, Kranz acklowledges he’s never experienced anything quite like the frenzy of interest that has greeted DOLLHOUSE, creator Joss Whedon’s new series on Fox, airing Fridays at 9, which stars Eliza Dushku as Echo, an “Active” whose personality can be wiped and reprogrammed to be anything her employers want. Kranz plays the Dollhouse’s ethically-challenged but brilliant programmer Topher.

iF MAGAZINE: How did you become involved in DOLLHOUSE?

FRAN KRANZ: I auditioned for it like anything else, but the casting directors for it, Amy Britt and Anya Coloff, cast a show I did just before called WELCOME TO THE CAPTAIN on CBS. I auditioned for DOLLHOUSE while I was still doing this other show. I walked in the room with the people that cast the TV show I thought I was on and they’re casting DOLLHOUSE, and it was kind of understood, "Look, [CAPTAIN is] not going anywhere." And without offending anyone, I think I’m on a better show now [laughs]. [CAPTAIN star] Jeffrey Tambor is such a wonderful actor, John Hamburg’s an amazing writer and a director. Everyone on the show was fantastic and I loved doing it, but it was what it was. It didn’t make it.

iF: Were you prepared for the level of interest that people, especially fans of Joss Whedon, have in DOLLHOUSE? Were people following you around Comic-Con?

KRANZ: No. I went down to Comic-Con with my friends. I had never been there, and that was overwhelming to begin with, but I went in to see the DOLLHOUSE panel. Honestly, I was expecting your typical college lecture room, maybe like two hundred people. There were thousands of people. I only got a seat in the back. I was lucky to get in. My friends were saying, "He’s on the show." It didn’t matter to the security. We finally got in and then the DOLLHOUSE preview came on and I was talking to my friend, and some guy in front of me was [yelling], "Shut up! Shut up!" I looked up on the screen, and there I am on the screen, and this guy’s telling me to shut up. So I understand how much people love Joss and take him seriously, I know how many people care about Joss and the work he’s done, and I want to live up to everyone’s expectations. But I never expected this. I knew who Joss was, I knew he was a big deal, but after I got the part, before we shot the pilot, I went and watched FIREFLY, because I love science fiction. After I saw FIREFLY, I was so obsessed with Joss, it was like I was star-struck coming to set, so I understand how much people love him and how excited people are about the work he’s done and how hopeful people are that this will continue to be great work.

I’m hoping to do my best. In terms of [Whedon’s] audience, they’re in the upper class. They’re a sophisticated, demanding audience and I want to do the best I can to have them respect me, because I know I have a role that Joss fans are supposed to like. If Joss has a voice in the show, I have that role. And I don’t want to let his fans down, because I have as much respect for him as I think everyone else does that likes his work. I was crying at the end of SERENITY. I’m obsessed. [Topher is] exactly like the Alan Tudyk character – well, not exactly. But if there’s a kind of personality and that kind of tone, that color for the ensemble, I definitely am the Wash, just in terms of a flavor. I mean, it’s a different world, and Wash is a good guy. Topher is very questionable, but if you’re going to get that humor out of a show that deals with real characters and real human interactions in a science-fiction setting, then I’m very much like Wash.

iF: As a doll programmer, is Topher the only one of his kind?

KRANZ: That’s a good question. I think he’s the best of his kind. I think the technology exists [elsewhere], but it’s like the mass-produced toy, as opposed to the artisan. He really treats his work as art, he really believes in the creative process, whereas I think the people before him, the whole journey that this technology went through to get to where it is, was much more scientific, whereas Topher comes at it from a really creative artistic angle. I think that’s a lot where his God complex comes from, because he looks at himself as a creator and in that sense, dealing with human beings and the human mind, he almost sees something divine about what he does.

iF: Does Topher have that confidence of feeling like, "Well, they’re never going to replace me – without me, the dolls would wake up and tie their shoelaces wrong?"

KRANZ: About ninety-nine percent. His confidence is shaken at some point in the series already. At some point in the series, something happens in the Dollhouse that makes everyone suspicious about maybe a mole or maybe even someone outside of the Dollhouse being able to wirelessly tap in to what we’re doing. That does momentarily shake Topher’s confidence. Because he knows he is the best and Adele, played by Olivia Williams, knows that he is the best in the field and approaches it in a way that no one else does and has the knowledge that no one else does, but once technology is achieved, it’s written down and can be taught. So as far as Topher knows, if he can do it, there’s no reason other people can’t learn it. So as confident and cocky as he is, he doesn’t want any demi-gods messing with him.

iF: Is he showing any signs of growing a conscience?

KRANZ: You know, this is the big question. I think he’s a human like anyone else on the show. So there’s got to be a conscience in there. There’s got to be a good person somewhere in there. Has he found it yet and will he ever find it? I’m not sure. In a way, it’s like his growth was stunted. He’s a child that got what he wanted, because he’s so smart. He’s never met anyone that is smarter than him. He completely rationalizes all the things he’s doing. And he’s insulated himself. I mean, when you see his office, it’s basically like a child’s playroom. The Dollhouse is its own bubble. Topher’s office is a bubble within that and he protects himself, whether he knows it or not, from the horrors of what he does. But in that sense, he erases it and it all goes away. I’m trying to think of a solid line to sort of sum that up: "There’s nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so."

iF: When you got onto the set and they said, "This is your office," was it what you had envisioned from reading the pilot script?

KRANZ: Ah, big smile on my face. My first time being on the set, it was probably the best moment I’ve had in my whole career as an actor so far. The set’s breathtaking, and then the office takes up a large chunk of the set. And it’s great, because the kid’s got such a big ego, it’s perfect that his thing almost imposes itself on the Dollhouse. It’s almost an eyesore within the Dollhouse, his observation deck. And I loved it. It’s full of all kinds of random toys and it’s perfect. They did a really great job.

iF: Did anybody say to you, "This is how we want Topher’s equipment to work," or do they just say, "Push whatever buttons you want?"

KRANZ: The latter. It’s "Just do it, just make it up and do it." But we keep consistent. Look, it’s science-fiction. The equipment and the props in the room, the actual set that we were given, we had to make it work, we had to make it as believable as possible with what was there. The buttons I’m pressing, I’ve stuck to it, but was there a lot of thought, did we all sit down one day, was there a long rehearsal process about how this works? No, no, no. Not at all. It’s great, because I do have creative control over my office. It is my space, and in that sense, when we have new directors come in, they ask me how it works. So if anything, it’s helpful for my character in playing the role, because I am the authority of the Dollhouse technology, the way it should be just in the show, the way Topher is the brains behind the operation. People come to me to ask exactly what goes where and where should you be for this part of the process and whatnot. And I do at this point have a bit of a routine. I like to do certain things for certain moments.

iF: Eliza Dushku and Dichen Lachman, who plays the Active Sierra, both talk about how much they love coming in and playing different characters within a single episode. Do you feel any envy of that?

KRANZ: Oh, yeah. When I first got the [script] sides, because you didn’t get the full script auditioning, I just got a little piece of it, [it was a scene with] Topher and Boyd, played by Harry Lennix, and it was so cool, it was so fascinating. I got a sense of what the show was about, because they’re discussing the dolls, and you get it. But when I got the [full] script, I realized that the dolls were the greatest showcase for acting. Ultimately, that’s what I’d love to do. I don’t see myself as a comedian or a dramatic actor. I love actors like Peter Sellers, I love people who disguise themselves and transform themselves. So the doll is the perfect showcase for an actor to transform week to week, even more than once a week. And it’s even a challenge to play the Active, the unprogrammed doll. So yeah, I’m very envious of the dolls. But I love Topher.. So there’s a balance. It’s such a gift what I’m getting to do, and I’m not going to forget that and take it for granted. I’m going to try to do the best I can and make the show as good as it can be.

iF: Could Topher have to use the personality-imprinting technology on himself for some reason?

KRANZ: Well, without giving much away, there has definitely been the idea tossed around that Topher might need to put his personality into someone else in case he has to go somewhere, or just for fun, maybe to play chess with someone as smart as him because it’s hard to find people as smart as he is. So we definitely talked about the idea of putting Topher’s personality in other dolls. I’d like to see some of these actors try and imitate me. Dichen may wind up being Topher. Hey, I would love my chance at a doll. I’ve got something to prove, you know?

[It’s been said] the first half of the series is more episodic; the latter half gets into the mythology and the story of the show. I don’t know if that’s really the case, but the episodes we’re doing right now are as good as anything I’ve ever read or I can think of on television, so I’m excited to watch it as much as anything I’ve ever seen or anticipated. So I’m hoping people really like it, because I think this is going to be a really original, provocative series that not only Joss fans but just TV fans in generally should really, really enjoy. Joss directed the scenes I did of [Episode] Thirteen I assume he’s doing [the entire episode]. I think Tim Minear is doing number Twelve. I haven’t seen all the scripts, but I’ve got a pretty good idea of what’s going on. It’s really wild stuff, man. It’s so exciting. I’m real fortunate to be on this show. I just want to make sure I do the best I can, because it was really overwhelming and a little humbling to see how many people love this guy. It’s going to be an awesome show.