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