This interview with Michael Ironside was conducted and written back in 1984 while "V": The Series was still on the air.
by James Van Hise
The character of Ham Tyler did not exist in the original
"V", and when the character walked on screen in
The Final Battle, it was anyone's guess who or what he might be just because he was played by Michael Ironside.
"The characters I've played up until now have been very sick people -- people who are emotionally damaged or physically damaged. I've heard myself referred to as a 'character actor,' and I think it's a wonderful compliment. I think of character actors like Alec Guiness or Charles Laughton, who have kinks and twists," Ironside explains. "I've played a psychiatrist, but I have also played killers and it's the nature of the business that if you do it well, that's what they'll want to hire you for next time. I used to call them the 'dog eating parts.' You know, the director says, 'We need somebody to bite a dog in this scene — let's call Ironside.' It's just the nature of acting.
"I chose to do Ham Tyler because he is not a sick character," continues the actor. "Ham is a very hard, pragmatic character. He doesn't trust anybody and can't afford to get emotionally involved since he has already lost his wife and child. Since 'V' is an action show, Ham may not evolve too soon. Ham simply wants to do the job as fast and as simply as possible, with no parades.
"My character can swing either way if he chooses, and I like that. I've broken him down so that when he's not on a raid, he's semi-casual. But when he's on a raid, in black-out clothing, he goes about the job pragmatically. I've tried to mellow him otherwise. But Ham is going to continue to try to kill Bates and he doesn't care if everyone knows that he was responsible for Diana's escape. My integrity was basically to get rid of hr anyway. What Ham resents is that he was made a fool of -- a patsy."
Ironside was brought on to
"V" through Brian Taggert, who has worked on
Visiting Hours and was a writer on
The Final Battle. His familiarity with Ironside and his work gave him the idea of recommending Michael for the new role of Ham when it was extensively revised to be a more dynamic and aggressive character. Originally Ham was conceived as being an older character confined to a wheelchair, but it was felt that they needed someone with more grit or punch to kind of balance out the heroic side of the resistance. They wanted to be able to show the violent, hard-hitting side.
"And I was basically asked to come in and supply some grit," he says. "I have to balance Marc Singer's character, who doesn't agree with the way that Ham does things. But then I feel the same way about him. I think that it's in the nature of being a leading man. Marc has a very difficult job to do, because leading men in a series are like a wall in a handball court -- everyone else gets to bounce balls around and dance while the wall has to stand there and be consistent. Marc does a very good job of that."
But Ham Tyler has other duties to perform as well, sometimes in the nature of being the fall guy. "My character is the one that if somebody has to look tough, I get hit," Ironside offers. "Somebody has to look professional? I get boxed. I just got punched out by a fourteen year old boy! It seems like true heroes can't get really beaten up, so not being the lead, I get it."
To be continued...