Dressed in his U.S. Army captain's uniform, Liam Cassidy [yes, that's what they called him in the mag] pleads a case before an imposing judge. This captain is only a few weeks old, however; and he's pleading for his mother, who looks not much older than he does. The courtroom is a deep, underground cavern and the judge is a Taelon - an alien. This isn't too surprising, since Liam, played by Robert (Beverly Hills 90210) Leeshock, the successor to Boone (Kevin Kilner) in the second season of Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict, isn't himself truely human.

   "I come out of nowhere," Leeshock reveals. "Liam is two-thirds human and one-third alien. Last season, the alien Ha'gel mimicked Sandoval [Von Flores], and he and Siobhan Beckett [Kari Matchet] actually joined together. I was born, and grew at an accelerated rate. I go from an infant to 29 years old in about nine days." Leeshock grins. "Can't keep that boy in clothes! You can imagine what problems that poses for someone trying to fit in the world. But I do have some awesome powers as well. For example, I have the collective memory of everyone in my genetic line. My genetic history keeps manifesting in sparks and shimmers, almost like déjà vu, or flashbacks that are in some way relevant, or illuminating to the situation.
   "This stuff can come up at any moment, except I don't know whether it really happened. It's inferred that I served with Boone in the 'SI' wars. But did it happen in another lifetime? Was it maybe my grandfather who served with him? I'm almost as perplexed about myself as everybody else - I'm trying to discover where I fit. In a sense, I'm an adolescent trapped inside a man's body. During adolescence, you start to realize you have a lot of power and ability, and you try to figure out how you can fit in our social structure.
   "Right now we're finishing episode eight, 'Redemption' [which involves] Beckett, my mother. It's an interesting twist to have someone who's very similar in age playing my mother. It's, 'So, where exactly did I come from?'"

Alien Enigmas

   The mysteries surrounding Leeshock's character are wholly in keeping with the evolving tone of the series, which centers around the enigmatic Taelons, principally the America-based Companion Da'an (Leni Parker).
   "The others have no idea I'm part alien," Leeshock reveals. "That's the interesting line that's going to be danced. They're trying to figure it out, because I look absolutely normal. There's no tell-tale sign like a growth or something coming out of me. Yet when they begin to see me relate to others, it starts them asking questions. I, of course, have a self-motivated loyalty - a loyalty to finding out where I come from.
   "People are trying to figure that out, especially Sandoval, because of his CVI imperative to protect the Companions. Da'an takes a special interest in me right off the bat, so everybody has to deal with me. The second that Da'an and I share this knowing connection, it raises Sandoval's interest. Because he's kind of paranoid, he tries to figure out why Da'an has responded like this to me. Their worlds get rocked a bit. As Liam, I can clearly assess that Zo'or is dangerous, but I think I can only get to him through Da'an. Zo'or is hostile to me, but not openly. We have a passive-aggressive relationship, which might eventually manifest in blatant confrontations. But up to this point, I don't think I pose that big a threat to him."
   However, the Taelon camp isn't the only group with their eyes - and crosshairs - squarely trained on the enigmatic Liam. "Jonathan Doors [David Hemblen], the Resistance leader and consummate paranoid, can't stand me. He doesn't like the fact that I'm around, and he can't control me. He's power hungry. Actually, in the beginning, I get a bit of a kick out of him, because I think he's a lot of noise and air coming out of a big old bag. So Doors walks on eggshells around me. I eventually realize he's dangerous. He really is, even though he doesn't have power outside the Liberation organization. He just doesn't seem rational. He's very emotionally charged, even though he looks a little depressed. He would get rid of me, except he can't really substantiate any legitimate reason to have me out of the picture - yet. He reminds me of someone from a small town who doesn't like strangers. Anybody who yells too loudly, I think, is probably hiding some sort of deeply rooted fear.
   "Lili [Lisa Howard] is actually very caring, but she's mildly distrustful. Lili has an issue with trust and wants to know if she can trust me. She's actually looking to trust me. At some point, we'll put our relationship to the test and see what happens. Actually, we're enjoying more of a newfound friendship. What's interesting is that I'm still in that adolescent, coming-of-age phase, because I don't yet have any sort of sexual or romantic interest.
   "On the other hand, Augur [Richard Chevolleau] is sort of friend/confidant. He's the one I go to. For some reason, as materialistic as he is, Augur initially develops a real interest in taking care of me. We become buddies. He's probably the closest friend I have, the only one who explains anything to me. We'll eventually explore some of the depth of the relationship, because of some situations that get thrown on us. Augur's an interesting character," Leeshock adds. "He's sort of an alien himself. There's a little bit of kinship there. I really look forward to seeing what they do with him."

Human Riddles

   While his screen alter-ego struggles to find his place, the actor reports no such trouble fitting into the series' ensemble cast. "The cast and crew are a bunch of really nice, kind people," he enthuses. "They made me feel really welcome from the first day, There's no one here with a runaway ego, which is great. I've been in the business for awhile and I've never met a bunch of people who jell so well and are so supportive. It's amazing to spend 12, 13, 15 hours with them. It's almost abnormal how nice everyone is. I couldn't believe it. I thought, 'Somebody's got to be a jerk.'"
   Asked about Kilner, whom he replaces, the actor looks perplexed. "I've never met the guy," Leeshock points out. "He hasn't appeared in any of the episodes I've done. I heard that he was very happy here. Everybody speaks about him really highly. I don't know why he left, whether it was a new twist to the story. I don't know how they make the decisions about where the show is going.
   "Also, I don't know if the show's tone this season is any different," Leeshock confides. "Here, I think evolution seems to be a theme. The writers are somewhat conscious of the fact that the show has to grow, and they seem to be fairly open to talking about it. If you have a suggestion, it's not just swept under the rug.
   "Everyone seems to be constantly discussing what the Taelons represent. Someone said that the Taelons represent a decade in history, like the '60s, whereas Augur, conversely, represents the '80s - sort of a consumerist attitude. Da'an has some New Age qualities. New Age people tend not to have their feet planted on the ground; they can rationalize anything that happens in their human experience through saying, 'I'm so spiritual.' It's like having a pat answer to everything so you can keep your head in the clouds."
   This topic leads the actor to the popular fascination with alien visitors. "I was talking with [executive producer] Jonas Moisé," he recalls, "and Jonas said that we all feel alien at some point in our lives. For some people, it could be when they are children, and, for some, it's in high school. I could go to a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown and, being a white American guy, sit down and feel like an alien. I also think that we all, whether conscious of them or not, have powers, or untapped resources of mind. Aliens represent the manifestation of the potential of what a human being can be.
   "I basically believe - this is a new theory that was explained to me and it works for the character - most people think they are their body. Actually, we're no more our body than our fingernail is our body. We're spiritual beings; we have an intellect and we live inside a physical body. So, I attribute a lot to the power of the mind. The mind is an activity and your body is simply a manifestation of that activity. Therefore, if your mind is very efficient and strong, it will follow that your body is efficient and strong, not the converse. We have many people running to the gym and working on their bodies, but if you don't start with the mind, then you can't really affect true change.
   "This actually came from someone telling me that if you want to change your results in life, you have to change your thinking. The minute I realized that little jewel of knowledge, my life changed. So do we need to interbreed with aliens to survive as a species? Naw. As a species, we just need to unleash our unlimited potential," Leeshock maintains. "To survive, we need to somehow suggest to the collective unconscious, as Carl Jung puts it - if there is one - that there is enough to go around. We don't have to fight over resources or fight in the name of God. Who knows? Since the dawn of civilization, the same war and fighting has gone on. It doesn't seem to change. But I'm still hopeful."
   Gene Roddenberry, who conceived Earth: Final Conflict, was noted for the optimistic view of humanity's future depicted in Star Trek. Leeshock, however, is new to the genre. "I didn't watch a lot of SF," he confesses. "Anything my brother watched on television, I didn't watch. My brother watched Star Trek, so I missed out. I used to watch Time Tunnel, but it's only a faint, glimmering memory. I didn't have the history, so I have to pick it up as we go. I watch Star Trek now with new awareness. Acting in scenes with Majel [Barrett Roddenberry], for example, I appreciate more. She has an unbelievable history. After I was cast as Liam, I got all the first season episodes of Earth: Final Conflict and watched them one after another."
   Liam didn't come automatically to Leeshock, but the actor found the alien hybrid fascinating even before he secured the role. "It was very interesting audition material. Liam's a really dark character, but yet light and hopeful as well - a broad range of characteristics embodied in one role," he says. "I had heard that the show was successful the year before, and I thought that I would like to be part of that: 'Let's get on the winning team and run with it, and see what I can offer to the equation.' So I auditioned in April for Jonas, then went out to LA and met Paul Gertz. These guys thought I did a wonderful job, and we've had a connection ever since. They had a week to decide and they waited till the 11th hour just to give me the news, though now they say, 'We had a hunch it was going to be you.' So that made it very ehilarating when the news finally came."
   Belying his seemingly quick success on Earth: Final Conflict, Leeshock's route to acting was initially circuitous. He originally went to school as an engineer. "I have an engineering degree in semiconductor electronics," he confesses, "and the electrical properties of materials in silicon wafers. At the end of college, they asked me, 'Do you want a job? Here it is.' Agh! I wasn't that good at engineering. My mind didn't work that way. I just couldn't do it. I went to New York. A college friend was a liberal arts major in an acting class and that sounded pretty cool. I didn't know anything about the theater. I didn't really want to be a movie star. I just thought it would be a cool way to learn about yourself. I had to figure out, am I an actor, or am I just one of these 'personalities'?"
   And what of past successes? Leeshock is best known for his Beverly Hills 90210 stint, and the role clearly had its appeal. "I had a good time on 90210. Then, I got a job that took me down to Mexico for seven months. There was a big old deal which sort of backfired, never saw the light of day. So I went back to LA and did a little job on a sitcom, then started writing this semi-autobiographical one-man show about life experiences and got obsessed with it. Then, this job came along, and it seemed a perfect fit. With the writers' sensibilities, and my own," Robert Leeshock concludes, "I thought, 'This is great.' Synchronicity. I was looking for it. I had built the image in my mind. It's quite literally the best job I've gotten. I'm real happy here, so I don't want Earth: Final Conflict to end."

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