Sgt. Brick Sounds off!

The House Between's Craig Eckrich -- "Sgt. Dexter Brick" himself -- is interviewed over at Quantum Imprimaturs this week.

I don't know that I've said nearly enough about Craig in my various director journals here, but he's a stand-up guy, a team-player, a work-horse and a charismatic performer. Craig gives every scene his absolute all, and he understands the character of Brick perfectly (so much so that as I write, I often ask him for translations to the lingo I call "Brick Speak.") As much as I enjoyed Craig's outstanding performance in season two, he really brought down the thunder for for THB season three, pulling out all the stops.

Here's a snippet of his interview:

"How are you alike Brick and how are you unlike him?

-I think John initially asked me to be Brick because he saw a lot of the character in me. I spent 3 years in the Army, and I am currently in law enforcement in Virginia. So the whole physicality and straightforward approach are very much like me. Also, John has been great in letting me ad-lib or change lines here and there, so that while a lot of what you hear onscreen is the exact idea that John wanted to get across, the words actually came from me. That means there is a lot of the actual me in Brick. As far as how we are different, Brick is a lot more quiet and reserved that I am. I, in real life, am pretty much a smart ass!

JKM says Brick is there on the show because of his military viewpoint. How do you feel about the use of force and the military in general?

- Without getting too political, I am very pro military and pro police. I also support capital punishment and the Second Amendment. There are unfortunately some very bad folks in the real world. In a perfect world, everyone could talk things out, and I’d need another job because mine wouldn’t be necessary. However, I think humanity will always need peacekeepers as some elements will always exist to prey on others.

Do you see Brick as the "just following orders" type or a soldier who weighs his orders before carrying them out?

- There is a scene toward the end of series 3 that addresses this issue exactly. Without giving too much away, I think I can say that Brick will follow orders, as long as they are the right orders…"