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Christopher was offered the part of Chris Keller and, apparently, did not have to audition for it (Apr 21 2000; Oct 9 2002), saying, "I had a relationship with the casting director Alexa Fogel (NYPD Blue) and I'd met with Tom before on another project so I think he knew me...I was offered the part, I don't think it was written for me" (Jan 26 2001). At the time Tom Fontana first offered Chris the part, they never had a conversation about Keller and his role in Oz (May 2 2000). Later conversations apparently were ineffective in preparing Chris for his role; he says that for Season 4, he and Tom did talk about where his character would go, but that when he opened the scripts, he "was surprised" (Aug 2 2000). When discussing the process of preparing to play Keller, Chris remarked, "The prep thing I really don't discuss. And no, I had no idea what I was getting into" (Mar 4 2000). He added that he was somewhat disappointed with some of his own acting choices with respect to his character: "I can't honestly tell you which scenes or where. I just remember not having enough time to feel fully prepared. I don't like acting by the seat of my pants. I need a 'feeling' that only comes from sitting with scenes and a character for a while" (May 3 2005). In response to another question on his preparation for playing Keller, Chris said that he had visited three different prisons or jails (Feb 9 2000). However, Chris later said that he and the other Oz actors did not have to visit prison to get better adapted to their roles (Nov 14 2003). While still filming Oz, Chris said, "Keller is a very interesting character. I could live with him for a while" (Mar 21 2001). He also says that Keller was one of the most "liberating and fun" characters he has ever done (Feb 16 2003) and that the Keller character evolved over the years: "I think what was created took on a life of its own. Tom saw that and expanded it even more" (Jan 26 2001). However, Chris says that Tom Fontana deliberately did not reveal much about Keller's background. "I guess he didn't want to get too specific. I always just saw it as a vehicle to add tension to the Beecher relationship and mystery to Keller himself" (Mar 1 2003). In Chris's opinion, Keller would not have been able to "fit back" into society if he had been released, but notes that Keller is "just a character" and not a real person in that situation (Sept 28 2003). According to Chris, Keller is a "free floating radical" among the Emerald City groups (Apr 18 2000). Chris describes Keller as a "nice guy…misunderstood" (July 7 2000) and as "a big cuddly kitten who's been put upon and, yes, misunderstood" (Nov 7 2001). He has refused to answer whether he sees Keller as being vain/egocentric or as suffering from insecurity/low self-esteem (Mar 2 2000). Finally, when asked whether describing Keller as a "sexual omnivore" sounds "like the flora and fauna should be watching their backs, too," Christopher responded, "Now you are beginning to understand" (June 28 2002). Christopher's favourite moments playing Keller were "kissing Beecher or any Rita stuff" (Mar 26 2000). He also says that it is a "dilemma in trying to choose" a favourite Beecher-Keller scene, since "working and/or just being with Lee is like heaven on earth" (Feb 16 2003). The funniest thing that happened while playing Keller was that Chris "got aroused during a scene" (Mar 29 2002). And no, he's not telling which scene it was (Apr 4 2002) and instead has asked fans to guess (Apr 20 2005). Random facts: Keller wears a St. Dismas medal; Chris Meloni refuses to say why (Aug 9 2000), but says that the medal belongs to Chris Keller, not to Chris Meloni (Aug 28 2001). Christopher says that Keller takes communion on his "tongue (why do I feel a little dirty saying that?)" (Feb 26 2004) and that Keller is shorter than Elliot Stabler (Dec 16 2000). Chris also says that people are sometimes surprised that he's nothing like Keller in real life (May 22 2000). Christopher remembers that he came up with the idea of what would happen to Keller in the end and that he had been "thinking of the ending for a long time," but the actual ending was not what he had envisioned (Mar 1 2003; Feb 26 2004; Apr 2 2004). Chris felt "relief" and "sadness" when they called "Cut!" on Keller's last scene (Feb 16 2003). During that scene, Chris says he was thinking, "This is the end and it's sad" (Feb 27 2004). The last word on Keller is in Chris's response to a question about how he would explain the Keller character to his son, when Dante is older: "What's to explain? Daddy's an actor…Is there something wrong with being Keller?" (Nov 16 2004) Last updated: March 04/06 | |