For Love and Money
Famed for his quick wit, imaginative ideas and wacky business ventures, Salmoneus is undoubtedly the most popular free-market capitalist to ever cross paths with Hercules and Xena. But beneath Salmoneus' dinar-grabbing veneer lies a heart of gold, as actor Robert Trebor explains to David Bassom.
Official Xena Magazine: Issue 05
Money, money, money: it's always funny, in Hercules and Xena's world. And the reason for all this financial frivolity can be traced to just one character: Salmoneus.
From his very first appearance way back in the early Hercules episode Eye of the Beholder, Salmoneus was always destined to leave viewers in stitches thanks to his priceless wit and dinar-spinning schemes. But the thing that's really established him as a Merchant of Mirth is actor Robert Trebor's desire to take his character beyond the boundaries of mere comic relief. With the blessing of the franchise's writers and producers, Trebor has established Salmoneus as a multi-faceted character who viewers can care for and even relate to.
“Salmoneus was originally written strictly as a comic sidekick,” explains Trebor. “He was extremely greedy and would do anything for a dinar, although he would grudgingly do the right thing in the end. Those aspects of the character are still there, but Salmoneus has become less greedy and more of a visionary who moves society forward in small increments with his inventions and deals.
“I don't think Salmoneus is a con-man. Salmoneus isn't out to cheat people at all. But he doesn’t read the small print too finely. So he’s always willing to overrun things that a more prudent person would stop and say, ‘Wait a second. Don't charge headlong there.’
“Salmoneus is still there to get the laughs - and if I wasn’t getting the laughs, they wouldn't have used me. But for more than one shot, it’s good to reveal more character and show the humanity underneath. And I think that’s what's ultimately funny: that people can look at Salmoneus and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got a brother-in- law like that,’ or a teacher like that, a brother like that. They can recognise something about Salmoneus, and not just laugh at him, but with him.”
Perhaps more than any other of the franchise’s recurring characters, Salmoneus is a man ahead of his time. His many business ventures have included the world’s first celebrity biography, beauty pageant and wrist-worn sundial, to name but a few. Similarly, the character is more concerned with earning a living than the struggles of ancient gods, warlords and kings.
“Like most men today, Salmoneus just wants to live comfortably and have beautiful women fall in love with him,” notes Trebor. “But Salmoneus lives in a difficult time. And because he’s not a fighter or farmer, he has to rely on his wit and surround himself with people who can save his bacon, people like Hercules and Xena.”
Ironically, the background to Trebor's involvement with both Hercules and Xena is almost as complicated as one of Salmoneus' business deals. The Philadelphia-born actor actually began his journey to Ancient Greece towards the end of 1993, when he expressed an interest in playing Waylin the slave in the first Hercules TV movie to be shot, Hercules and the Lost Kingdom.
Much to Trebor's surprise, however, his agent insisted that he couldn’t get him an audition for the role. After parting company with the aforementioned representative, Trebor decided to take the unusual step of approaching the casting director himself, and managed to secure an eleventh-hour reading.
“I got an audition because it was thought I could bring something to the role that was different from everyone else they had seen,” he recalls. “Originally they wanted someone like John Gielgud in Arthur; they wanted an elderly English butler. But they couldn’t afford anyone of that calibre. Then they wanted to go for a black actor - an Eddie Murphy-type doing a black sassy thing, but that didn’t work either. So the casting director brought me in hoping I could do something to fill in the gaps. Every other character had already been cast, and the director [Harley Cokliss] was already in New Zealand scouting locations, so I read for [executive producer] Rob Tapert.
“At my audition, they asked me if I could improvise something and I said, ‘Sure.’ I’d read the script and really liked the character. So I decided to pitch him as the perfect slave, somewhere between Eric Idle and Zero Mostel. Waylin wasn't just servile, but actively proud of being servile. He was proud of his position in life and wanted to be a perfect slave. They liked the improvisation, and a week later they said I was going to New Zealand.”
Although Waylin would only ever feature in Hercules and the Lost Kingdom, Trebor's hilarious work in the role left the movie’s writers and producers hungry for more. Consequently, as soon as Universal had commissioned the spin-off series, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, a new character was immediately fashioned for Trebor.
“They created the role of Salmoneus for me,” he explains. “The writers didn’t think the slave would work as an ongoing character. I actually thought Waylin had more mileage; I could have done more with him. But they didn't want anyone that passive or frozen, because Waylin was so determined to be a slave at any cost.
“So they came up with Salmoneus, the world’s first fast-talking businessman, for me. He's very energetic and he changes job, and that gave him wider possibilities than the slave character.”
Salmoneus was originally slated to appear in just two Hercules episodes, The Eye of the Beholder and As Darkness Falls. But before Trebor had even finished shooting those opening instalments, he had been asked to reprise the role in a further two adventures. Trebor subsequently became one of the franchise’s most prolific players, and has notched-up over 20 appearances alongside both the son of Zeus and the Warrior Princess.
“I've been very fortunate to have been at the ground level of each show,” he says. “I’m also grateful to have been part of the creative mix which launched the shows and, I think, helped make them popular. The producers gave me a certain amount of leeway, and allowed me to collaborate. They let me improvise a bit and add some texture. And if any of the writers hit the greedy thing too hard, I was allowed to move those edges out, because Salmoneus is more lovable than that.
“I know Rob Tapert once estimated that I only say 20 per cent of Salmoneus’ original dialogue,” he adds. “But I would imagine it's around 45 per cent of what’s written.”
Due to a combination of imaginative writing and Trebor’s inspired improvisation, Salmoneus has been allowed to shine in a number of Hercules and Xena adventures. Trebor points to The Greater Good, The Outcast, Fire Down Below and the Some Like it Hot-spoof Men in Pink as personal favourites. And he is especially pleased to report that his work in the last episode on that list received a thumbs-up from none other than Some Like it Hot star Jack Lemmon.
“I sent a copy to Jack Lemmon via his manager,” reveals Trebor, “and I got a lovely letter saying, ‘You did wonderful work. Good luck with your career. Jack enjoyed this a lot.’ I was very touched.”
Along with all of his co-stars on Hercules and Xena, Trebor has also been given the opportunity to play multiple characters in the franchise. In addition to Salmoneus and Waylin, the actors other roles have included an 18th century Salmoneus look-alike in Les Contemptibles, Marco in Déjà Vu All Over Again and, perhaps most hysterically, screaming-mad studio chief B. S. Hoffenfosser in Yes, Virginia, There is a Hercules and For Those of You Just Joining Us....
“Playing B. S. Hoffenfosser was great,” he enthuses. “It was a tribute to the Hollywood of the thirties. It was just a blast!”
After becoming such an integral part of the Hercules universe, Trebor was both surprised and disappointed that Salmoneus wasn’t featured in the series finale, or indeed any of its closing episodes. His absence has left many viewers, as well as Trebor himself, wondering if they will ever see Salmoneus again. However, even if Salmoneus doesn't crop-up in a future episode of Xena, Trebor insists that nothing can dampen his enthusiasm for the franchise.
“I’m extremely grateful to have been a part of it,” he states. "I’ve been a working actor for about 26 years and in all that time, Hercules and Xena collectively have been my first hit. And I know a lot of good actors who never have a chance to be in a hit.
“The whole experience has just been glorious. Working with Kevin [Sorbo, Hercules] was wonderful, and my time with Lucy [Lawless, Xena] and Renee [O’Connor, Gabrielle] was just joyful. Directing A Rock and a Hard Place was another highlight; I’m still stoked about that show. My time in New Zealand was a treat. The fans have been marvellous; I now have a fan club. I’ve even had an action figure!”
A popular convention guest, Trebor regularly entertains audiences around the world at events ranging from the Creation events to the famed Starfury celebrations in Britain.
“I really enjoy meeting the fans,” states Trebor with genuine affection. “I guess that's to do with my live theatre background. I spent 14 years on the New York stage and I love theatre. Conventions, like theatre, are live and improvisational, and you gel the feedback immediately from the audience.”
Between his hectic public appearance schedule, Trebor is currently readying a number of new projects for the stage and screen. These include a one-man play entitled Diary of a Mad Man, and My Body Lies Over the Ocean, a $5 million independent feature which Trebor would direct.
“My Body Lies Over the Ocean will be very intense, kind of like A Rock and a Hard Place,” he reveals. “It's concerned with justice, what's happening in the world today and how we treat each other. It's about infanticide and a father who is accused of killing his daughter. He claims it was miscarriage of justice, and an investigative reporter attempts to free him. It’s a Rashomon [multiple viewpoints] thing, about what happened the day his daughter died.”
Trebor is also scheduled to star in a 30-minute pilot presentation for DragonSail, a proposed science fiction/fantasy series created by Star Trek writer Jimmy Diggs. If the presentation sells, he will be one of five or six series regulars.
And then there’s the distinctive possibility that Trebor will be joining his former Hercules costars, Kevin Sorbo and Bruce Campbell (Autolycus), on their new shows. “I believe Kevin would like me to work on Andromeda. And Bruce and I have talked about his new show [Jack of All Trades]. He wants to work with me again on that.”
Clearly, Robert Trebor isn’t short of intriguing ideas or exciting new business initiatives. In fact, even Salmoneus himself would be proud of the way the actor-writer-director is using his success on Hercules and Xena to advance his career.
“I’m very excited about what's ahead - particularly My Body Lies Over the Ocean, Diary of a Mad Man, DragonSail and perhaps working with Kevin and/or Bruce on their new shows.
“I feel good. I feel very, very positive. Hercules and Xena have been a very good launching pad.”
SIDEBAR: Rock, Stock and Barrel
When Renaissance Pictures announced that Robert Trebor would be directing Hercules' penultimate third season episode, A Rock and a Hard Place, most viewers expected Salmoneus' real life alter ego to produce a sidesplitting laugh riot. Instead, however, the actor-turned-director confidently delivered one of the series' most powerful, dramatic and intense hours of television ever.
A Rock and a Hard Place guest stars Lindsey Ginter as Cassus, an accused murderer who becomes trapped under a huge boulder whilst trying to escape from Hercules. With only the son of Zeus for company, Cassus spends his final moments trying to come to terms with his mistakes.
“A lot of people have asked me why the episode was so devoid of humour,” reveals Trebor. “And I always say, ‘Well, that was the script they gave me. You’re not going to laugh a lot about the O. J. Simpson case.’”
Trebor felt that it was important to maintain the episode's sombre tone on-set throughout its six-and-a-half-day shooting schedule. While in the short term, this usual policy was extremely hard on the show's director, cast and crew, it proved crucial to the episode’s success.
“Before I did the first lake on the first set-up, I made it clear that I didn't want any kidding around on the set,” recalls Trebor. “I didn’t want to lose the intensity or the atmosphere of the episode. So I told the cast and crew, I see the episode as how we face our deaths. We are all going to die. How do we want to face our deaths? And what would it be like to be a murderer and face death with someone like Hercules?’
“Everybody could have just gone, ‘Trebor’s full of shit!’ But they really bought my vision, and the atmosphere on the set during the episode was really flavoured by that initial talk. Everyone was wonderful. And that allowed the actors to do their best work.
“Kevin [Sorbo, Hercules] and Lindsey Ginter were both terrific, and their work showed a lot of their own vulnerability and pain. And that was the only way that episode would work, because there were no special effects, very little fighting and no babes. It was dependent on their willingness to reveal human emotion.”
Trebor is extremely proud of his work on A Rock and a Hard Place, and won’t be forgetting his experiences as its director in a hurry. Nor will he be forgetting his final moments on the episode’s set.
“After my last take on the last shot, the crew put me under the rock and started throwing styrofoam rocks at me!” he reveals with a chuckle. “They thought, ‘Now it’s over, we can release the tension and let Trebor have it!”