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MIRA'S ONLINE CHAT SESSION AT AOL FROM THE EVENING OF MAY 21, 1996.
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OnlineHost : To send your question to the speaker, click on the
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Interact icon, then use the Ask a Question option.
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OnlineHost : The auditorium consists of two major areas: the audience,
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where you are right now, and the stage, where the speakers appear.
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Text which you type onscreen shows only to those in your row, prefaced
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by the row number in parentheses, such as (2) if you are in row 2. To
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interact with the speaker, use the Interact icon on your screen.
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B5 Online : Tonight we are pleased to welcome Mira Furlan, star of
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Babylon 5 to Warner Bros. Spring Spectacular! Mira stars on "Babylon
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5" as Delenn... welcome Mira!
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Mira at B5 : It's my pleasure to be here. So, ask me and I'll try to
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answer...
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B5 Online : Our first question comes from BFried989...
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Question : Hi Mira, is it true you will be doing the opening narration
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for the 4th season?
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Mira at B5 : I have no idea. As usual, Joe S. is the one to ask.
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B5 Online : From Delennn... (nice name)
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Question : What is it like working on B5?
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Mira at B5 : Do you want me to write a novel?
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B5 Online : From CT....
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Question : Delenn's character has changed a great deal in both looks
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and character. Has this been difficult to portray.
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Mira at B5 : It's actually been the most interesting part of this job.
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Changes.
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Question : Mira- first off, many thanks for making it on tonight.
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splendid to see your interaction w/ fans. my ?: I've never seen you
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out of make-up, do you get recognized out in public?
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Mira at B5 : Not very often. And I must say, I enjoy that part. I have
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been recognized a lot in Yugoslavia via, because I've done a couple of
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very popular TV shows. I always had trouble coping with being
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recognized and treated as a very familiar face.
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B5 Online : From Delenn 7 (Another nice name!)
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Question : Hi Mira! How do you feel about the character of Delenn
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compared to some of the other roles you have played, Ophelia, for
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example.
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Mira at B5 : In every role you play there is a big part of yourself. I
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think that the better an actor is the more of him/her there is in a
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part that he/she plays. So, I guess, the connecting element in all my
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roles is - me.
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B5 Online : From Minbari1 (I think we're surrounded by Minbari)
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OnlineHost : Welcome Mira! Do you have any projects you are working on
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during the hiatus? If so, can you tell us about them?
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Mira at B5 : I actually did something that you might be interested in.
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I gave voice to the character of Silver Sable on the animated series
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"Spiderman".
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B5 Online : From Dtucker93...
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Question : Are you going to be doing any conventions this year?
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Mira at B5 : I will do a convention in London in June, then one in
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Pennsylvania in August and one in Blackpool, England, in December.
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B5 Online : From SCIFIREAD...
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Question : War Without End part 2 was very intricate, was it hard to
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follow while filming the episode?
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Mira at B5 : I had to go back to some old episodes and read them
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through again in order to understand the script. There was a lot of
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consulting with Joe during the shoot. That particular episode de
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required a lot of concentration.
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B5 Online : From SciFiTalk...
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Question : Do You have a favorite episode ?
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Mira at B5 : "Comes the Inquisitor", "Confessions and Lamentations",
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"Severed Dreams". As you can see, my favourites
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B5 Online : From Amkosh....
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Question : Wonderful to see you here, I am curious to know what genre
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and type of acting you did in your former country and is it possible
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for any of us to be able to see some of it?
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Mira at B5 : I did so much different stuff in all kinds of genres
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(except the science fiction genre!) that I could not really define it.
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I played major theatre roles, classic and modern ones, I acted in more
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that 25 films, did a lot of TV. I would, however, say that drama is my
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forte.
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B5 Online : Here's a question while I get my fingers working... from
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JackParke...
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Question : Does it feel strange to work on a show that has so much fan
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merchandise/accessories (comic books, trading cards, toys, etc)? Has
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"fandom" surprised you at all?
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Mira at B5 : It' s been a whole new experience for me. I was not aware
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of its existence when I came to the US. It's been a great and
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wonderful surprise for me. And I must say that I've never met such
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kind and gentle fans as are the sci-fi fans. Thank you for that. All
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actors need love and support, but I think that my experience in the
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former Yugoslavia made me especially vulnerable towards the audience.
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THANK YOU.
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B5 Online : From CT9992...
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Question : The show gives a sense of camaraderie. Do the cast members
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really enjoy working together?
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Mira at B5 : It's definitely been the best group of people that I've
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worked with in my life. I've experienced a lot of envy, competition,
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little nasty games (this profession is full of that - everywhere) in
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my professional life. B5 is an exception.
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B5 Online : From Relacon... :)
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Question : Mira, You are a terrific actress! What are your plans AFTER
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B5? Would you like to stay with American TV or hit the big screen?
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Mira at B5 : To ask an actor about her/his plans is a madness. Nothing
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depends on you, your plans, your wishes, not even your talents and
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abilities. We are on a shelf and from time to time some one grabs for
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us and takes us down to do something. It's a very frustrating feeling.
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Especially in this huge, huge country, where the main question is how
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much money your name can bring into a production. The goal would be to
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try to get some control over your destiny and be able to produce
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projects that you believe in. Will that happen, I cannot say. Wish me
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luck!
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B5 Online : From Barriej....
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Question : Ms. Furlan, I know I speak for many here tonight when I say
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it is pure joy to watch you perform and I feel very fortunate that JMS
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snatched you for this show. How did you happen to audition for B5?
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Mira at B5 : The audition for B5 was one of the first auditions that I
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did when I first came to this country. My agent sent me, I didn't know
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anybody, nobody knew me...
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B5 Online : From Ynacio...
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Question : When you first started on the show, did you know about the
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change that was going to happen at the beginning of the second season?
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Mira at B5 : I knew vaguely about the change. I didn't know, though,
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how, to what extent etc... B5 is full of surprises. So far, they were
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all pleasant surprises...
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B5 Online : From Kklitses....
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Question : Hello there! I wanted to know which make-up is harder to
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deal with, The full head makeup during the first season or the partial
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in the following seasons?
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Mira at B5 : The first season make up was harder to deal with than the
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one that I have now, that's for sure. However, both make-ups last for
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exactly the same amount of time. It's one of the tasks for me as an
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actor. I deal with it.
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B5 Online : From Arion214...
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Question : Which of the many subtexts Joe writes into B5 are your
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favorite? Peace, spiritually? Loyalty? brotherhood..or another theme
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that resonates for you?
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Mira at B5 : Sometimes Joe surprises me with parallels to the
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political situation in my own country. He deeply understands all about
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human relationships, political confrontations, all the basic questions
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of the human condition. In that way B5 sometimes has the depth of a
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classical piece of literature. Coming from that background, both in my
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upbringing and my acting career, I am proud to be a part of it.
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Question : Mira, what was your first impression about B5 after you
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made the pilot. Did you think that it would indeed go this far and
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have a chance to finish the story?
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Mira at B5 : In the pilot I must confess that I suffered under all the
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make-up. I was asking myself: did I come all the way across the ocean
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to be completely hidden underneath tons of glue and rubber and even be
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confronted with the possibility of my voice being changed, not to
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mention the other idea of putting lenses into my eyes. We've certainly
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come a long way from that time. I've never dreamed that we would be
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here in three years and that my whole life would change because of
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Babylon. I always tend to expect the worst. So far, the reality proved
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to be somewhat different than what I, a gloomy Eastern European, had
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expect ed. (Joe, this one is for you.)
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B5 Online : One last question tonight. :)
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OnlineHost : You have a beautiful name, is it Yugoslavian? if so what
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does it mean?
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Mira at B5 : Yes, it's Yugoslavian. It comes from the word "peace" .
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Another symbol... I wish it would become a reality for all the
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troubled people there.
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B5 Online : I want to thank everyone for coming tonight - it was
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great! Remember to check out Keyword "B5" for pictures of Mira as
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Delenn and more of the cast! Thanks again Mira!
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Mira at B5 : Thank you for being here. Have pleasant dreams!
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