*Earth: Final Conflict's latest leading man, Robert Leeshock, discussed the show's controversial second season and drops some hints about the big changes planned for Season Three*

During the final days of shooting Earth: Final Conflict's second season, the show's long-serving cast and crewmembers suddenly experienced a distinct feeling of deja vu. A year earlier, they had completed working on the series' opening season by filming the apparent demise of its central character, William Boone. Twelve months later, as production of Season Two drew to a close, the show's staffers found themselves shooting another cliff-hanging finale, Crossfire, which leaves the life of Boone's successor, Liam Kincaid, in serious jeopardy.

If it were any other show, everyone would probably have dismissed Liam's perilous predicament as nothing more than a standard plot device designed to make sure that viewers tune in for Season Three. But in view of Earth: Final Conflict's continued commitment to surprising its audience, many insiders began to wonder if Liam's days really were numbered. Even the character's real life alter ego, Robert Leeshock, had his concerns.

"It's funny because earlier in the season I had joked about doing a cliff-hanger," the 31 year-old actor tells Cult Times. "And I always said that they wouldn't put me in a precarious position without a fight! But then they did this cliff-hanger anyway. So I was kind of concerned when I first heard about the finale. Half of me thinks that they can't kill the lead off again; it would just be asinine to do something like that! But there's another part of me that does worry; the part that's dependent on these people to hire me. Maybe they just do these cliff-hangers to make sure that the actors' agents don't ask for the moon or something!"

"But I can tell you that Liam will be back next season," he reveals. "Like Schwarzenegger would say, I'll be back with a vengeance!"

Leeshock's introduction as Liam Kincaid at the start of Season Two heralded a major revamp for Earth: Final Conflict. In addition to the aforementioned departure of the series's original lead, Kevin Kilner, the new season offers an increased reliance on on high-concept SF and action, at the expense of the show's occasionally ponderous, reality-driven plotlines. The results have met with a mixed response from the show's loyal viewers, as Leeshock readily acknowledges.

"There have been a lot of different takes on the year," he notes. "Personally, I felt that it was like two different seasons wrapped into one. I felt that it was really dark and cerebral at times, and then it got really light and action-driven toward the end... There were also times when people just couldn't figure things out, which can be okay - The X-Files can be like that - but you don't want people getting too confused.

"But there were several episodes I really liked. I thought the Sleepers and Moonscape were great. I also enjoyed A Stitch in Time; I think I may have overdone some scenes a bit, but I liked it. And for just drama's sake, I liked Redemption. It was a really nice chance for me to do some acting. The episode as a whole was a bottle show [designed to save money], so it didn't have much action, but I liked some of its concepts.

"I even liked the Atavus episode. That was a simple story, but it had a little heart to it. And I think our show always needs a little heart."

Fortunately, through good episodes and bad, Leeshock has been a constant bright spot of Earth: Final Conflict's second season. As the mysterious Human-Kimera hybrid Liam Kincaid, the actor has managed to bring a degree of vitality to even the most lacklustre of scripts, and has also formed some intriguing friendships with several of the show's existing characters, including Da'an, Sandoval, and Augur. It's a testament to Leeshock's talent, then, that he admits to bluffing his way through much of the season!

"There were times when I wasn't quite sure of my specific role within the context of the show," he reveals. "I'm supposed to be two-thirds human, one-third alien; so what are the parameters of my character? Where does he fit in? That was really confusing at times.

"So at first, I tried to play Liam as a brash adolescent. I think it may have come off as too cocky at times, but I essentially saw him as being an adolescent. And looking back, I think it suited the character.

"Then, all of a sudden, Liam's character arc went dark and he wanted to discover everything," the actor continues. "I'm not sure that worked. It was interesting for a while, but at some point you have to lose that darkness, because no one wants to see a hero going through too much internal struggle."

"So that particular arc is done now. It's time to move on to a new realm next season; to a lighter place... Next year, I'm not going to make any choices that aren't fun. Because if I'm having fun, that translates to the screen and to the audience."

Its second season may have been a bumpy ride from a creative standpoint, but Earth: Final Conflict has remained a huge success in the ratings and was recently renewed for an additional two seasons. The news came as a wonderful surprise to its cast and crew, especially its leading man.

"That was awesome," said Leeshock. "I mean, I couldn't script it any better. It's just phenomenal. I still feel like the luckiest guy in the galaxy, basically because it's so liberating to be working consistently. It's great."

Considering that Earth: Final Conflict completed its first season as the top-rated drama of 1997, the show's revamp at the start of Season Two was a major gamble. Had it not paid off, it's new leading man concedes that he would probably have borne the brunt of the blame.

"If we had been cancelled, I would have felt lousy, horrible, and very responsible. I didn't watch the ratings every week, but in the back of my mind, yeah, I was concerned. It would have been awful if the show had been cancelled this year."

Earth: Final Conflict represents the biggest and most high-profile role of Robert Leeshock's to date. Prior to starring the series, the New Jersey-born actor had played a variety of supporting roles in TV shows like Beverly Hills 90210, All My Children, and Loving, and appeared in the arthouse movies Veronica and Me, Trash, and Murder.

Leeshock was originally invited to audition for the role of Earth: Final Conflict's leading man in April last year. Despite his complete unfamiliarity with the show, the actor felt intrigued by the character of Liam Kincaid and landed the part after a series of meetings and readings. After watching all 22 episodes of Season One back-to-back, Leeshock found himself heading for Toronto, Canada, to start work on the show' second year.

"It was tough in the beginning," he recalls. "I could barely get the lines out on my first day. I mean, what sort of emphasis do you put on a line that you've been thinking about for a couple of weeks? It was really tough to put it all in perspective. It took about four episodes to feel really comfortable."

Once he did feel settled in, though, Leeshock began to savor his first experience of being a leading man in a TV series. "It's been terrific. It was exhausting; I feel like I've run a marathon this year. But there are certain elements to this whole thing where it's just so much fun. Like the martial arts stuff and the moments when I'm running around saving the day. Although it's funny because after a while, even that stuff becomes tiring!"

Production of EFC's second season finale, Crossfire, wrapped in February, leaving its cast and crew to head for a welcome vacation. Although Leeshock seized the opportunity to do some traveling and go surfing for the first time in his life ("It's exhilarating, but I'm lousy," he laughs), he was also keen to spend some of his free time at Earth: Final Conflict's Los Angeles production base, where he discussed the show's upcoming third season with its creators.

"We went through a lot of changes this season, so I decided that I wanted to get involved in the discussion about what's going to happen in the upcoming season," he explains. "It's great that the show's been picked up for two more years, but the series needs to have a focus if people are going to stay interested.

"So I've spent some time with the writers, and I've got to say that I'm really excited about the character twists they have planned. They have some unbelievable stuff coming up. The writers have a real regard for characters, and they're really going to make this show good."

"As far as my character is concerned, what they're going to do next season is put Liam on a more even playing field [with the other characters], in a really interesting way. This year, I think the writers gave Liam too much power, and I kind of played back on itself, because nobody wants to root for someone who can do everything.

"But this year, things aren't going to be so easy for Liam; the odds are really going to be against me. And it's then, I believe, that the audience is going to get behind my character. You can never be sure about these things, but I hope that viewers will start to root for me. And I also believe it's then that Liam will truly emerge as an archetypal hero. I am genuinely very excited about what they have planned for next season," he insists. "I think it all bodes well for the future."

One thing Leeshock can't promise for Season 3 is the return of William Boone. Ever since the second-season episode Moonscape revealed that Boone's consciousness somehow survived the character's apparent demise, viewers have clamored to see Earth: Final Conflict's original central character join forces with his successor. Sadly, Leeshock isn't sure if this meeting will take place.

"I really don't know about that," he says. "I know the Moonscape episode seemed to lean that way and say that Lazarus was the reincarnation of Boone or whatever... but they didn't follow that plot line. And I haven't heard any mention of it at all since then."

Obviously Leeshock hopes to play an active role in the creative development of Earth: Final Conflict when Season 3 enters production at the end of May, and plans to do everything in his power to make the show as good and as popular as it possibly can be. To this end, he intends to spend more time communicating with the show's loyal viewers.

"One of the best things I did this year was an on-line chat with the fans," he explains. "When I was doing it, I realized that the fans are really the most important part of the show. I think it's vital to keep in contact with them and try to remain true to them."

Beyond Earth: Final Conflict, Robert Leeshock yearns to work on more independent movies in the not-too-distant future, and would also like to resume his writing career at some point. For the time being, however, the SF drama series remains at the center of his attention. And the actor seems absolutely convinced that the best is yet to come for both Liam Kincaid and Earth: Final Conflict.

"When Earth: Final Conflict is at its best, I think people can learn something from the show," he states. "It raises some interesting issues and is intelligently written. That intelligence has shown itself before and I really think it will show itself again. So I hope viewers will stick with the show and wait for the writers' true vision emerge."

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