`Nowhere Man” is not on at 8 p.m. Monday, but its star is. Ironically, at the same time he would, in any ordinary week, be appearing as beleaguered photojournalist Thomas Veil on the thriller (8 p.m. Mondays on WPWR-Ch. 50), Bruce Greenwood can be seen in “Mixed Blessings,” NBC’s latest Danielle Steel adaptation. (“Nowhere Man” returns next week and has been picked up for the rest of the season).
Speaking from Portland, Ore., where the UPN show is filmed, Greenwood shares his thoughts on how it feels to be nowhere.
“It’s so grueling! I’m in everything! I’m not complaining. It’s a nice problem to have, but I’ve never worked this hard in my life.”
Then why take a job in a series where your only regular co-star is a satchel? “Oh, I was ignorant. And doing scenes with the bag, I’ve got to do all the dialogue. The bag just sits there. But, you know what? The bag is a great listener. You can’t always find that in an actor.”
In the meantime, Greenwood plays Gabrielle Carteris’ husband in “Mixed Blessings” (8 p.m. Monday on WMAQ-Ch. 5) about three couples coping with infertility and first-time parenthood.
But Danielle Steel is a long way from “Nowhere Man,” which premiered last fall as part of UPN’s revamped all-drama lineup and emerged as a surprise cult hit.
Quebec-born Greenwood’s character took a photo called “Hidden Agenda” that shows a group of what appear to be U.S. soldiers hanging some locals in a war-torn Third World country.
On the day that photo went on display in Veil’s Chicago gallery, his life vanished. His wife failed to recognize him; all the files and records of his life had been deleted. Veil, now nameless and faceless, found himself at the mercy of an equally faceless conspiracy out to get his negatives at any cost. In the last original episode of the show to air, Veil was reunited with his wife (Megan Gallagher), only to discover that he was caught in the ultimate scam and that her involvement was far deeper than he feared.
As Veil wanders the country, seeking the key to the bizarre conspiracy and his stolen life, the breaking of glass and crockery at crucial dramatic moments dogs him.
What does it mean? Says Greenwood, “I’m sure it will all be made clear to you in time. It’s one of those continuing mysteries, but it’s not clear to me either. I don’t know what it is . . . the noise scares him. They’ll probably support it later on with some hideous childhood crockery experience–or nothing.”
