Some Corwin, some you lose

David Corwin: Joshua Cox

An interview ripped from the English mag "Eclipse," September, 1997.

Normally found in C and C, monitoring the jump gates, David Corwin is now not only grateful to have a name, but his real-life alter ego Joshua Cox is just pleased to be alive. "When I auditioned for the role I only thought it was going to be one day's work. At that point I didn't have a clue how long it would end up lasting, and I still don't have a clue. I was 'Tech 2,' there was no name per se for the character, and he was basically just a grunt on the bridge. Season Three was the first time that I got the name of David Corwin, a promotion, and a confusing situation with Ivanova, which was lots of fun." Josh is referring to an amusing scene in Exogenesis where he gives a bunch of flowers to Ivanova, who mistakenly believes that they are fr om Marcus Cole. "Bruce and Claudia had always been vocal, wanting to give me a name, so I think that they helped convince Joe to give me a chance. I actually had to read for them for that episode. I had to re-read the scenes, because they didn't know whether I could be actually be humourous and play some comedy, or have lines that were not just informationally related to the stars and such."

Josh is not a regular member of the cast, and as such he doesn't receive all of the scripts. "I get them as they come. They call me when they need me, so I won't be given a copy of the script if I'm not in that show. As a result of this I'm in the dark about a lot of the developments in the show, but it's fun anyway." By not being tied to the show Josh has had the opportunity to work on other projects. "Thus far it has been good. I've done an episode of Sliders and The Burning Zone. Both those shows were locations shoots around LA, so theyare very different sets to B5. In The Burning Zone I shoot myself in the head before the first commercial has come on. It's called St Michael's Nightmare and I am unreachable by a priest who cannot stop me from taking my own life. Sliders involves the cast sliding into a different world each week, so it would be hard to recur in that sort of situation, unless I was sliding with them. Nothing has conflicted as of yet, and I hope that continues because I really enjoy doing this show."

Josh finds that Babylon 5's technical dialogue is not always the easiest thing to recite. "It's quite a mouthful at times. I understand what I'm talking about, but it's getting your mouth around the words. When you're reciting dialogue like that your mouth doesn't necessarily naturally go to the next position. To get it all out clearly, and well enunciated, is quite a task. Sometimes we'll have to alter the flow of a line, not necessarily the information that it packs, but a word might be taken out to make it flow a little better. There's a joke line in the scene where I'm buying those flowers for Ivanova and originally I wanted to change it, but then realised that it was fine as it was."

Whilst still on the subject of those flowers, how does he think that Corwin feels after the Ivanova situation? "He feels totally and utterly turned about, and just does not know what to make of anything after that. He walks out of her quarters with h is head spinning, and wants to put the whole thing behind him. I don't think that it will affect his level of professionalism, I'm sure that Joe and Corwin will see to it that when the time comes for him to do his job properly, he will do so to the best of his ability."

Rather than remain in C and C, Cox hopes Corwin will get the opportunity to move into more action. "I'd love to have his skill as a fighter pilot come to the fore, lead a squadron of Furies and shoot down some Shadows or whoever is up next. It would definately be great to see him in some action outside of the station, and actually surviving it. You can approach Joe and give him your suggestions for change, but it is a fine line to walk. Joe had a five-year plan for the show, and it's his vision that's very well thought out and well created. I can't insist on there being more for my character when in fact I was not even in the original plan. The fact that I have made it this far is really a credit to the producers' generosity and me. I give Joe the old flesh press every now and then to remind him that Corwin is alive."

Cox is grateful for his work on the show, and is wary not to upset the apple cart. "In Season Four you don't see Corwin very much, but I made sure to write Joe a few letters and keep in touch. As a result, he put me in Thirdspace, the TNT movie of th e week. You've got to be tactful in this business. I've never had a contract with this show, so I've pretty much been flying by the seat of my pants. I've just heard some encouraging news from one of the higher ups and they said that I might be surprised by what happens in season five, so who knows? I'd certainly work in any spinoff that Joe has planned. The more work that you do, the more work that you get. This is the Catch 22 of this business, because getting the work in the first place is very difficult."

Some major characters have been killed off in the show and Josh has the nightmare that one day he may open the script and find out that he's dead. "What could I do though? In a way it is good that Corwin is where he's at. He might have a longer life span because he was never planned for in the first place. He might be able to survive longer because he is not so involved in the plotlines. The advantage of being on a space station rather than a Star Fury is that you have a lot less chance of being bl own out of the sky, unless you sustain a direct hit on the 'Out-Dome'. Saying that, I had my console blow up in my face in one episode, but I still feel fairly secure in this topsy-turvy universe that is Babylon 5."