'Numb3rs' star glad
to leave neurotics and put-upons behind
Febuary 6th, 2005
"Numb3rs" star
David Krumholtz isn't surprised when told he looks a lot happier these
days than he was when playing an attorney on Rob Lowe's short-lived
series, "The Lyon's Den."
"This particular character,
yeah, he makes me happy because he's a brilliant hero. He's smart.
He saves the day," Krumholtz says, speaking of his "Numb3rs"
mathematics professor, who abets his FBI agent brother (Rob Morrow)
in his efforts to solve difficult crimes. "In the past, I've
played put-upons, neurotics and fat little kids. Now I'm playing someone
with some sense and some strength, a character who's something new
to television. It's a way better part than I had on 'Lyon's Den.'
I got lost in that guy, who was kind of a put-upon, and was changing
week to week."
"Numb3rs,"
brought to us by filmmaking brothers Ridley and Tony Scott,
was greeted by a large number of good reviews plus good
ratings numbers. Krumholtz says, "We're pretty thrilled
by that, and I think most of us are feeling cautiously
optimistic."
Doing the math - literally
- has already changed his thinking in some ways. Krumholtz points
out that he has to do the mental work to understand the complex mathematical
equations put forth by his character, then "I have to memorize
them and be able to write them out on the board while explaining them.
I really had a hard time doing that for the first couple of weeks,
but it's gotten easier," says the actor, now shooting the seventh
episode of the show that also stars Judd Hirsch.
"I'm completely enthralled
by the broader concepts I'm learning. In fact, we're dealing with
something right now that applies to how this show will do. It's the
Heisenberg uncertainty principle, and it has to do with the fact that
the act of observing something changes it, and it's completely unpredictable
how that change will manifest itself. Just knowing that, actually,
has helped me calm down."
