Chris Demetral: This might sound trite, but we don't have anything to hide. That might be the reason why. Like I said, once you start down that path to your future, the fans make you what you are. You can't forget about them, and you can't think that you are somehow a deity above them.

I abhor arrogance and dishonesty above all else. Accept no alternatives. Honesty is the only way. I think actors forget about that. They don't want people delving into their lives. I'm sure with some actors it is difficult. They can't go out to dinner and stuff, but that's part of it. If you can't handle it, then don't be an actor. My wife always says that if you aren't ready for the consequences, then don't do it.

Francesca Hunt as Rebecca Fogg (image courtesy of Promark Television)

I hate hearing actors say, "Oh, it's so hard." No it's not. I think acting is the greatest job in the world, and I'm so blessed, and that's why I did want to reach out. In fact, that's why, after several episodes of Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, I went on SciFi Channel chat to talk to the fans and answer any questions they might have in person. In fact, my wife, and I went to dinner with some of the fans of the show last night. I love that interaction with the fans, and I feel that I owe it to them. And frankly I love them.

Crescent Blues: How did you get started in acting?

Chris Demetral: I'm kind of an actor by chance. I always wanted to act from an early age, but it just kind of sneaked up on me.

Crescent Blues: Were you the class clown?

Chris Demetral: Yeah, class clown. And sometimes the teacher's pet at the same time, which is a tough scale to balance. But my parents divorced when I was seven, and I moved to California with my father. When you're seven, you think anything is possible, and just by moving to Los Angeles you'll somehow magically become an actor. You think it's that easy.

I tossed around for a few years going to classes, you know: "Give us all your money and we'll teach you absolutely nothing about acting or the industry or anything useful." But when I was 11, I got a lucky break and went on an open casting call for "Night of the Living Dead, Part 2." I didn't get the part, because I was too young, but the casting director saw something she liked and sent me to a child's agent that signed me that day. I guess she saw something in me, but I don't know what it was.

Crescent Blues: I bet Jana knows. [Jana smiles.] How did you two meet?

Chris Demetral: We met at a Jeep™ dealership actually. Out of all the reasons, an automobile brought us together. She was the receptionist, and I was there having a security system installed in my Jeep. She was this very lovely girl and polite. I was trying to read a book, and she was polite enough to ask what I was reading. It started off with a simple question and here we are today. So my advice is to always have a good book with you, because you never know when a gorgeous lady will ask you what you're reading.

Crescent Blues: We heard you have a "child."

Chris Demetral: [Laughs.] We have a dog that acts like a child but we have no children. Aurora, a Boston terrier, is essentially a child. She will pull the microphone out of the computer when we're in an online chat. She's very jealous. She's a diva, and she knows it.

Crescent Blues: What other kind of roles would you like to play? Is there something else you'd really like to do?

Chris Demetral (photo courtesy of Theresa Miller)

Chris Demetral: I'm a little bit of a writer. I've been writing the same romantic comedy since I was 16 years old, and I keep correcting it because, you don't know anything about love at 16. You know nothing at 18, and I'm 24 now, and in another two years I'll realize how little I knew at 24, so it keeps evolving. So one of these days I'm going to have to stop rewriting it and come up with a version that I can say: "Well, this is at least good for now." I'll write the 30-year-old love story when I'm 30.

Crescent Blues: So you want to get into the writing end of the business?

Chris Demetral: I think that would be fun. I would love to do a really nice romantic comedy, something that is really funny, something you can take a date to and feel good about it.

Crescent Blues: How about directing, have you ever had the itch to do that?

Chris Demetral: I think it would be fun. It's very involving working around the set. Yeah, I think that would be fun. I'd like to think I'd have a good rapport with the other actors and that I would see things from their perspective and our exchanges would be good to help to make it a fun set. Yeah, I think directing would be fun, but I try to take things one day at a time. I've got a great family, a great wife. I've got a great acting career. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

Crescent Blues: Is there anybody you would like to act with?

Chris Demetral: Oh, there's the classics like [Robert] DeNiro and the younger set like Edward Norton -- I think he'd be fantastic. The list goes on and on. Kevin Spacey -- he's one of those actors who just talks, and I enjoy hearing him speak. He could read a telephone book out loud, and people would find it interesting. Talk about delivery! He's just one of those actors.

Crescent Blues: OK, what's the story behind the tattoos?

Crescent Blues: We heard that you and your wife had matching tattoos on your ankles.

Chris Demetral: Yeah, she's got one on her ankle that says my name. But it's in Chinese so you don't know what it says -- at least we think it says my name. Or it could say, "You've wasted a lot of money on nothing." We don't know.

Tattoos are interesting. As an actor I try to put them in places where they're easy to disguise. That's why you always see Jules Verne wearing socks when he's sleeping in bed. Tattoos are interesting and addictive, and I enjoy them, although I might regret them when I'm 80.

Michael Praed as Phileas Fogg (image courtesy of Promark Television)

Crescent Blues: In another lifetime, what would Chris Demetral be if he wasn't an actor?

Chris Demetral: Oh, a doctor or a psychologist. Jana and I both hate crime, so something with law enforcement would be fantastic. I'd want to do something where I could help people everyday and feel like I was doing a service to society. Life's short and I want to try and make a difference.

Crescent Blues: Okay, if you believe in past lives, what were you in a past life?

Chris Demetral: Now, I did hear this: someone said that I was a monk in a past life. A monk that was a mute.

Crescent Blues: A mute monk?

Chris Demetral: A mute monk who died because he couldn't call for help. And that's supposedly why I want to talk so much now and be an actor. I died in the snow because I couldn't call out to people. Poor guy, I hope that's not true.

I don't know, but I definitely think that past lives are a possibility. Hopefully, I'm not on my last go round.

Crescent Blues: Are you doing anything now besides promoting the show?

Chris Demetral: That's pretty much it right now, because of the strike that never happened. The studios killed a lot of things and fired a lot of people. Agencies had to let go of their agents, and it's just now starting to build back.

Crescent Blues: Would you accept something else in the interim?

Chris Demetral: Yeah, I would, but my heart is with Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, and it always will be. But if something fun comes along in the interim, I'll do it.

Crescent Blues: Jana, how do you deal with the beautiful women the producers of Jules Verne toss in Chris's direction?

Jana Demetral: It doesn't bother me, because I was an actress before I met Chris. I was a theater education major in college. I wanted to act; that's what brought me to Los Angeles. So I understand it from that point of view. The only problem I have is with the ones that have a crush on him. Other than that it's all part of the business. You know it's great when they get a good actress. But I don't mind it.

Chris Demetral (photo courtesy of Theresa Miller)

Crescent Blues: The other part of it is the fan element. Most fans are really very good. But there is always that fringe element that tends to fixate on a character. Have you had a problem with that?

Jana Demetral: Not really. We have very good help in Chris's personal assistant, Arinne, who handles that.

Chris Demetral: Thank God for Arinne.

Jana Demetral: So we don't see too many like that. One or two weird emails, maybe. But for the most part they are really sweet and great and want to promote the show. The show has been really blessed. Like the fans that are here who are also attending Aurora Con next weekend. It's really flattering that they care enough to do all that.

Crescent Blues: Did you have to move to Montreal when the show was filming? How did that affect your career as a teacher, Jana?

Jana Demetral: I wasn't working at the time, so I came up there for a couple of months. I worked for a couple of months after that, but we hated being apart, so I decided to take some time off.

Chris Demetral: Having her there in Montreal with her support made all the difference.

Crescent Blues: Is there anything else you'd like to say?

Jana and Chris Demetral: Thanks to all our fans for their support.

Teri Smith

Click here to learn more about Chris Demetral.

Additional information about The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne can be found at the official Web site, Scifi.com, and the official fan site. For a more irreverent view, check out the Two Evil Monks Guide to The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne.

Reader's Respond

I haven't actually completed reading the article but wanted to point out that Jana Demetral's name is misspelled. It's typed "Janna" online; however, it is actually spelled "Jana" -- just a little thing I personally found a bit distracting while reading it.

Jeniffer

Got it, Jeniffer. Thanks for pointing out the error.

Jean Marie Ward, Editor

I very much enjoyed the article on Chris Demetral by Teri Smith. It was well-written and showed a knowledge of the show in which Chris is the lead actor. So many times articles are written by people who never have seen the show they are talking about, and so the questions seem off target. Ms. Smith did a great job.

Also, a special thank you for including a link to my web site, Two Evil Monks Guide to The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne at the end of the article!

Becky Christiansen (ephian)

I wanted to thank you for your impressive article about Chris Demetral and his lovely wife, Jana. As a fan of the show, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, I am always delighted to find information about one of my favorite shows and the actors involved. Thank you so much for recognizing the worth of this show and taking the time to help promote it by giving it more exposure on the net.

Andrea Alworth

Just wanted to say thank you for your article, "Chris Demetral: Not So Secret Adventures." Chris is a real sweetheart. I was one of the fans lucky enough to meet him and his darling wife at DragonCon and fell hopelessly in love with both. I have linked the article into my web sites and have been spreading the word. Thanks again,

Vicci Varner

This was such a wonderful article because it gets behind the character (Jules Verne) and into the actor himself. It is also one of the only interviews I have seen in which the spouse is included, which makes for an interesting point of view.

Although I am already a fan of the show (I was one of the people at DragonCon that went to supper with Chris and Jana, in fact), the interview allows people to see Chris's views of being on the set. The chemistry among the actors both on and off screen is very evident.

As Chris mentioned, some actors don't want to be bothered with fans. As a fan myself, I can only wonder why these actors choose to flaunt themselves in front of a camera and then not expect people to know them and want to talk to them. Chris, and the rest of the cast, has been so wonderful to us. The more I find out about the show, and Chris himself (Jana, too), the more interesting and nicer they become. It is very refreshing to have a young actor and his character both be positive role models. We need more shows, characters, and actors like Chris Demetral.

Laura (Known as Yurikosan on the SciFi bulletin board)