1/16/06 Interview with Chris

He is left-handed.

He can sing either tenor or baritone.

He is 6'1.

He has six siblings.

He is NOT the same Chris Shea who did the voice of Linus on A Charlie Brown Christmas. There is a 20-year age difference between the two actors, and the other actor has not been active in decades. In relation to this, in the description for the DS9 episode, "It's Only a Paper Moon," it was indicated that the black & white TV show Nog had been watching in the holosuite was Shane. I'm not sure whether or not this was a joke for Chris or not because Shane was one of the shows that the other Chris Shea did during his days as a child actor.

He is mentioned in The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion under the "Rocks and Shoals" and "The Magnificent Ferengi" production notes:

     Another newcomer to the show was Christopher Shea, who was cast as the Vorta Keevan for "Rocks and Shoals." "He came in to audition for a different role, a Romulan, and he wasn't right for that, but he had a certain look in his eyes that we noticed," recalls Steve Oster. "He's a wonderful man, but he could give you this very unsettled feeling just by looking at you. After we saw him, we all looked at each other and said, 'We need to bring him in as a Vorta!"
     Shea was cast as Keevan on his birthday, a happy coincidence for him. "I read the script and just loved it," notes Shea (who is not the actor who voiced Linus on the Peanuts specials). "It was a dynamite role, and so well written. It reminded me of Shakespeare in many ways. A lot of the actors on the show are classically trained, and the writers give you so much to work with."
     Just as the captured Jem'Hadar vessel from "The Ship" made a return appearance in "Rocks and Shoals," Shea's captured Dominion representative would be back in "The Magnificent Ferengi." Unfortunately, both came to a sorry end, with the ship biting the dust--or rather the salt water--in "Rocks," and Keevan getting in the way of an errant phaser blast in "The Magnificent Ferengi."

     "And Chris Shea ("Rocks and Shoals") was back as a wonderful Vorta." --Ira Behr commenting on "The Magnificent Ferengi.

A former contact named "Colin" offered the following facts:

     "He's a very nice guy- smart, intuitive, and sensitive. . .warm, talented individual."

     "he's danced for years - and well. . . I think _ I know he started tap as a child and continued through college."

      "his voice is very smooth- hard to describe- like a bryan Ferry in a slightly higher pitch- kinda like silk pajamas (that's how Bryan Ferry is described)"

Stephan Falk, the actor who played Sir Andrew in the NYU's production of Twelfth Night offered the following insights on Chris's portrayal of Feste the jester:

     "honestly, i don't know the dude that well. he's a very sweet guy. he was extremely good in the role,(yes, that's him as Feste, the jester). Oh, and he sings like a motherfuck. Just a beautiful fucking voice, that guy.
     "he worked extremely hard on the role and is a very thoughful actor, not satisfied to just do the minimum (he was reinventing the rediscovering the role during the entire rehearsal process.)"