Exclusive Interview by Thomas Chau in New York City
                        While his name isn’t immediately recognizable, you’ve
                        probably recognized that face either from the HBO series
                        “Six Feet Under,” “24” with Kiefer Sutherland, or simply
                        that guy who Punk’d Jessica Biel. But get used to it,
                        for Eric Balfour is a fresh new face in the Hollywood
                        scene. Balfour has a major upcoming television series
                        executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer called
                        “Fearless” in which he stars opposite Rachel Leigh Cook,
                        a female FBI agent who is born without the gene for
                        fear.
                        But before we see Eric in that, you can catch in him in
                        “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” opening October 17th. I
                        had the chance to sit down with Eric one-on-one to talk
                        about Leatherface, “Fearless,” and something about a
                        French prostitute?
                        TOM: You’re known to some people for “Six Feet Under”
                        and you’re known to some people for “24”…but is it weird
                        to also be known as the guy who played Satan in a
                        minivan commercial?
                        ERIC: I guess. Most people who I encounter know me from
                        “Six Feet Under” or “24.” I guess there’s the occasional
                        commercial person.
                        TOM: But it sticks out in people’s minds…
                        ERIC: I guess that’s good!
                        TOM: So why did you decide to do a remake of “The Texas
                        Chainsaw Massacre”?
                        ERIC: It was never something in my mind that I thought I
                        wanted to do, or that I necessarily thought doing a
                        remake of this movie was a good idea. What it really
                        was, was that I read the script and it had really good
                        three-dimensional characters. It wasn’t like the first
                        one where it was sort of annoying almost. They were
                        well-developed, the story was good, and it stayed true
                        to the original but it was its own piece. And then, you
                        meet [Director] Marcus [Nispel] and see what he can do
                        visually. That was what intrigued me the most. Nobody
                        has made a horror film look the way he could in a long
                        time. He was really dedicated to making it look
                        beautiful and make it look interesting. I guess David
                        Fincher did it with “Se7en” and that’s the closest thing
                        I can think of.
                        TOM: What were the conditions like shooting in a van in
                        Texas during the summer?
                        ERIC: It was hot. It was hard. It was 100 degrees
                        everyday, 100% humidity. It was 140 in the van with all
                        of us and the lights. But it kind of added to the whole
                        thing cause it certainly made it more real.
                        TOM: Did you build some kind of camaraderie with the
                        cast?
                        ERIC: It was hands down the best cast I’ve ever worked
                        with. I’m not saying that they’re better actors than
                        anyone else I’ve worked with. I’ve worked with some very
                        amazing people. But we still hangout every week. We’re
                        all friends.
                        TOM: Well I guess you had to have a good bond with
                        Jessica because I saw the “Punk’d” episode where you
                        “punk” her maybe 5 million times on MTV over the summer.
                        How did that come about?
                        ERIC: They “punk’d” me on the red carpet with that
                        little kid Ryan [Pinkston]…
                        TOM: What did he say to you?
                        ERIC: I don’t remember but he was giving me shit. Ryan’s
                        a funny little fucker. Ashton [Kutcher] calls me and he
                        says, “Say, do you want to punk somebody?” I’m like, “Oh
                        wait, I want to punk Jess!” I actually had to lie to her
                        and tell her that I needed her help with a charity that
                        I work with. And she’s like, “I’ll help you do anything
                        you want.” And she meant it. She would help me do
                        anything she wanted me to do.
                        TOM: What are your favorite horror movies of all-time?
                        ERIC: “The Exorcist” is hands down my favorite. I
                        thought it was a beautiful film – the way it was shot,
                        the music. What I loved about “Poltergeist” was that it
                        was funny in a lot of ways. Craig T. Nelson was very
                        funny and the humor didn’t come out of jokes. It came
                        out of a real-life comedy. It’s like when people laugh
                        at funerals. Obviously, funerals aren’t funny but it’s
                        the only way you can get through this stuff sometimes.
                        “The Shining” is a great one.
                        TOM: So you probably think that the recent trend of “Who
                        Dunnit” teen slasher flicks suck…
                        ERIC: I like the classic horror films that were good
                        versus evil and that were truly dark films. All the
                        other ones from the last 10 years has too much of a
                        “wink wink,” everyone-is-in-on-the-joke type of thing.
                        They poke fun of the genre but it was fun the first
                        time. They’re all so aware of themselves now. What’s the
                        point?
                        TOM: How did you feel when you first saw the scene where
                        Leatherface wears your face?
                        ERIC: The first time I saw that freaking mask, it only
                        confirmed that I looked as goofy as I thought I was.
                        [Executive Producer] Brad Fuller actually has that mask
                        sitting in a glass case in his office. But it was a
                        little uncomfortable.
                        TOM: Well, we saw New Line put Freddy up against Jason.
                        How do you think Leatherface would fair against them?
                        ERIC: Well I think Jason is a retard. I never dug him.
                        He never did it for me. Freddy always had a little
                        flavor to him. I got to give him credit for that. I
                        would have to go with Freddy. Freddy could take
                        Leatherface. But I think Leatherface could definitely
                        take Jason.
                        TOM: Can you talk about your band Fredalba? I read
                        somewhere you named your band after a French prostitute?
                        What’s the story behind that?
                        ERIC: She stole a bunch of money from us. It’s kind of a
                        long stupid story but we were in Paris and ran out of
                        French franks and all we had was U.S. dollars. No cab
                        would take our money. They’re not the most helpful
                        people. We couldn’t get back to the apartment we were
                        staying at because it was all the way across the city
                        and it would’ve taken us all night to get back. So we’re
                        hanging out in a sort of red light district and we
                        started talking to this girl on the corner, who turns
                        out to be a prostitute. So we’re chatting it up and
                        someone asks, “Hey do you have franks on you? How do you
                        feel about us giving you U.S. money for franks, and
                        we’ll give you an extra 20 bucks?” Nobody was paying
                        attention and we gave her 100 U.S. dollars for 100
                        franks and the exchange rate was five-to-one at that
                        time so we got took for about 80 bucks.
                        TOM: Who are your musical influences and favorite CDs?
                        ERIC: Prince’s “Purple Rain.” Anything by Stevie Wonder.
                        I love the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I love the new
                        Outkast album, I think it’s really good. I like N.E.R.D.
                        a lot.
                        TOM: And can you talk about your show “Fearless.” It’s
                        being pushed to mid-season?
                        ERIC: It’s being pushed to mid-season. It basically came
                        down to the fact that Jerry Bruckheimer wasn’t happy
                        with the direction the writers was taking the show so
                        they needed to step back and figure it out.
                        TOM: You shot the pilot already. Are you scheduled to
                        shoot more episodes later?
                        ERIC: Yeah, they’re still trying to figure some things
                        out.
                        TOM: What’s your role and relationship to Rachel Leigh
                        Cook?
                        ERIC: Rachel and I are partners and we both work for the
                        same unit of the F.B.I.
                        TOM: They brought back your character, even though he’s
                        dead, on “Six Feet Under.” Is it a possibility that
                        they’ll bring you back again?
                        ERIC: (slyly) Yeah it’s a possibility.
                        TOM: Is that being kept underwraps?
                        ERIC: Yep.

 

      Stories by Tim Ryan
      tryan@starbulletin.com
      ERIC BALFOUR
      If you didn't know Eric Balfour was starring in a network television
      series, you might not guess he's an actor, even while hanging around him
      during filming.
            Location: Hawaii
           
            'Hawaii': Premieres at 7 p.m. Sept. 1 on NBC
            'Lost': Premieres at 7 p.m. Sept. 22 on ABC
      On a recent hot and humid afternoon in Waimanalo, there was Balfour, 27,
      in a tank top, shorts and boots, sitting on a rustic picnic table, talking
      story with several local actors, crew members and extras.
      When he excuses himself with an "I'll be right back," his companions look
      as if the co-star of "Texas Chain Saw Massacre," HBO's "Six Feet Under,"
      "24" and lead singer of the band Fredalba has probably ditched them. But
      that's not Balfour's style. If the 6-foot-2 surfing and basketball playing
      actor is leaving, he doesn't sneak away.
      "If I'm bored by something or someone or early on in relationships if I
      don't think there's a future, I don't stick around," Balfour says. "But I
      do make my feelings known."
      A minute later, Balfour is back carrying a half-dozen bottles of water
      that he hands around. "Now, where were we?" he says. "Oh, yeah ..."
      Balfour is half of a crime-fighting duo in the NBC police drama "Hawaii,"
      which premieres Sept. 1. He plays Hawaii-raised Chris Gaines, a brash
      detective, partnered with Ivan Sergei ("Crossing Jordan") as Danny
      Edwards. The show also stars Aya Sumika, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Michael
      Biehn and Sharif Atkin.
      Balfour is a frequent Hawaii visitor, coming here to visit an uncle living
      on Maui or to surf, a sport he learned while growing up in Southern
      California.
      "I would never be so presumptuous to say I understand what it's like to
      live here, but I do have an advantage over those who have never been,"
      Balfour said. "I think that helps my character in 'Hawaii.'"
      The actor began his career at 15 when he joined the cast of "Kids
      Incorporated," a TV series about a group of musically gifted youngsters.
      The following year, he landed a regular role on the TV series "Arresting
      Behavior." From there his career took off, with appearances on several
      episodes of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," followed by guest shots on other
      prime-time shows: "Step by Step," "Boy Meets World," "Buffy the Vampire
      Slayer," "Clueless," "Dawson's Creek," "Nash Bridges," "NYPD Blue,
      "Chicago Hope" and "The West Wing."
      As a teen, hanging around all the adults on sets made him a bit
      precocious, which some of his teachers failed to appreciate. He won't say
      which Burbank high school he attended.
      "My biggest problem was trying to relate to my teachers on a peer level,
      which, in hindsight, was wrong. I never, ever disrespected them, but I
      didn't blindly accept other people's opinions.
      "I wanted to have conversations like I had with people at work, and that
      didn't go over that well with some teachers."
      Balfour says his parents were free spirits, "hippies." The family lived
      for a time at the Escalen Institute in Big Sur, where his mother taught.
      Balfour missed a lot of school due to work. By his own estimate, he was
      absent 90 days in one semester.
      "I started writing my own absent excuse notes: 'Eric was absent from
      school because he was working. (signed) Eric,'" he said. "In my senior
      year they tried to kick me out because they said I wasn't on the premises
      enough, though I had a 4.0 GPA."
      But acting had Balfour in its grip. He's so passionate about it that when
      he sounds childlike in describing his experiences.
      "At 15, I started taking acting lessons because I really wanted to learn.
      I discovered that you don't have to create a character that is necessarily
      you.
      "There's a difference between character and characteristics. The character
      is defined on the page. Characteristics come from inside you, and that's
      what you bring to it."
      His favorite actors are "those who bring the truth in themselves to the
      characters they play, their own experiences into their characters. I think
      an actor's job is to study life," he said.
      Balfour leans back on his stool and laughs. "I really do not take myself
      so seriously."
      IF THE PILOT is any indication, the Balfour-Sergei buddy relationship
      could become one of the best duos on TV this season. These are two young
      cops who know what's right and, in their minds, the best way to deal with
      bad guys, which is not necessarily the Honolulu Police Department's -- or
      any other department's -- standard operating procedure.
      "We struggled in the beginning to find the balance between reality and
      theater," Balfour said. "We want to be fun and have lots of action ... but
      at the same time I struggle to do truthful, honest, creative work. I don't
      want to be just a cop or fall into a formula of a character."
      He credits "Hawaii's" creator and executive producer Jeff Eastin with
      allowing the actors to help create the back-stories of their characters.
      "I suggested Gaines is from Hawaii, and Jeff liked that," Balfour said.
      "It creates a persona where I have an understanding of the island, and
      some of the criminals can be some guys Gaines grew up with or is friends
      with now.
      "You have to create something you want to play."
      That includes creating humor from situations the officers face. "When
      writers write a joke, you immediately think, 'Oh, that sounds like a
      joke.' Life is funny and life is tragic, and often they intertwine. In
      facing death, you face life; in great tragedy there is great comedy."
      Gaines and Edwards are friends but not always kind to one another, and the
      audience can never be sure what they are going to do, whereas the
      characters portrayed by Biehn and Atkins are more mature, their drama
      straightforward, even comforting.
      "Ivan and I have created this great dynamic where we bust each other's
      balls and give each other a hard time," Balfour said. "But we still
      maintain that these are real cops. The minute people don't believe it's
      for real, then it doesn't go anywhere."
      Who is Gaines in Balfour's eyes?
      "A guy who started out down the wrong road. He grew up a screw-up,
      involved in gangs and drugs, no direction. But he finally found that the
      only way to help his family and community was to become a police officer.
      He's got a chip on his shoulder, can be an antagonist, but has great
      respect for the rules of his job."
      That makes for an interesting juxtaposition with Edwards, who, Balfour
      says, has "no respect for political correctness and procedure, is an
      angry, brash, sullen guy."
      What both characters have in common is their existential approach to
      police policy.
      "They believe the ends justify the means, and that makes the show fun. I
      don't think there should be a limit for them when they want to do the
      right thing for the greatest good. If you have to sign a judge's name to a
      warrant because it's a weekend and you need it now, you gotta do it."
      Balfour loves Hawaii and spends much of his free time surfing, but he
      misses friends and family.
      "After being here a month and understanding how long 'Hawaii' could stay
      on the air, these feelings are harder than I thought. I don't know how
      long I would stay with the show if it's a hit. I can see a few years. I've
      never been good at staying in one place for very long.
      "This is a stop along the way for me."
      Television work is a means to an artistic end for Balfour.
      "I'm a perfectionist and TV doesn't allow for that," he said. "It's a
      compromise and I'm not good at compromise."
      He hopes "Hawaii" will give him enough financial security so that he can
      pick and choose films to work on.
      In the meantime he plans to buy a home here if "Hawaii" gets a second
      season; dates but nothing serious; writes music; and is never far from his
      iPod.
      IT'S NEAR MIDNIGHT in Waikiki when Balfour and his uncle finish night
      surfing under a full moon at Queen's Surf. They forgot a cell phone, so
      they stop a couple of teenage girls to ask if they could use theirs. One
      of the girls recognizes the actor and is so excited all she can say is,
      "You're Eric Balfour, you're Eric Balfour!"
      Balfour is polite and gracious.
      "I'm always surprised by how an actor can affect someone, and it is
      flattering," he said. "It's fans who keep your career viable. I never
      forget that.
      "No one should go into a high-profile business if they want to remain
      anonymous."
      Then Balfour quotes one of his favorite actors, Tom Hanks: "Celebrity only
      allows you to be more of who you already are. If you're a little bit of an
      a--hole to begin with, then celebrity gives you free rein to be a bigger
      a--hole. But if you're a good person to begin with ..."
      The next afternoon, back on the set, a smiling Balfour stares at the
      emerald cliffs rising dramatically behind Waimanalo.
      "Man, I could be digging ditches or laying roofing," he says, shaking his
      head. "This is a good gig, a really good gig."

 Sexy Stylist Spills His Secrets

            originally published October 4, 2005

            Sexy Stylist Spills His Secrets
            by Matt Webb Mitovich

                  Eric Balfour
                  
            Eric Balfour, whose TV résumé includes intense arcs on 24 and Six
            Feet Under, is finally getting to lighten up. On UPN's Sex, Love &
            Secrets (airing Tuesdays at 9 pm/ET), he's playing Charlie, a player
            who aims to do for hairstyling what Cheers' Sam Malone did for
            barkeeping — a game plan that even TVGuide.com didn't deem plausible
            until the actor stumped us good.
            TVGuide.com: You're playing a straight, womanizing hairdresser. Do
            you really expect people to buy into that?
            Eric Balfour: Yeah, didn't you ever see Shampoo?
            TVGuide.com: [Awkward silence] That's true....
            Balfour: Wow, that was way too easy, brother! You gotta put up more
            of a fight than that. Actually, I lived in that that Silver Lake
            area [where Sex, Love & Secrets is set], and there are a lot of male
            hairdressers. It's not a dumb profession for a straight guy.
            TVGuide.com: OK, but have you ever — as Charlie does — unwittingly
            slept with your best friend's girlfriend?
            Balfour: No, I have never done that. But that was interesting,
            because for Charlie there's a certain amount of karma involved in
            it. Even though he didn't do it on purpose, you see how people have
            to take responsibility for their own lives no matter what, and he
            has to take responsibility for the fact this is the life he's
            created, and this was bound to happen in one form or another,
            whether it be with his own best friend's girl or someone else's.
            TVGuide.com: Is teasing Denise Richards about her Wild Things ménage
            à trois off-limits?
            Balfour: No, are you kidding? I make fun of her all the time about
            everything. She is absolutely one of the coolest people I have ever
            worked with. She's awesome, and has been a really good person to
            talk to about life and relationships. She's been giving me a lot of
            good advice.
            TVGuide.com: Has Sex, Love & Secrets been "refreshing" for you,
            following 24 and Six Feet Under?
            Balfour: Actually, it sort of feels similar to Six Feet Under in
            that there's an emotional arc to it. This show has more of that
            Tarantino-esque reality, which is real, but not a reality that any
            of us have ever seen. Remember in Pulp Fiction, there's that '50s
            diner they go to? It's like, we've all been to one of those
            "nostalgic" cafes, but I've never seen one that good. That's what
            this is like — a hyper-realistic state. You saw in the pilot where
            we broke reality and sang to Lauren [German]? We're going to do that
            a lot, I think. It allows you to create this alternate universe
            where you don't always have to be completely true to life.
            TVGuide.com: Could 24 have used more fantasy song-and-dance numbers?
            Balfour: [Laughs] You really want me to answer that question?
            TVGuide.com: For you, what was the coolest part of playing 24's
            computer-whiz, Milo?
            Balfour: The coolest part was getting to work with Kiefer
            [Sutherland]. I didn't have a whole lot to do — I sort of sat behind
            the desk a lot of time and played with computers....

            TVGuide.com: Still, we got to cast a suspicious eye on you now and
            again.... "Is Milo a bad guy?"
            Balfour: "Is he the mole? Is he just eating a lot of peanuts?" I
            really, really do think Kiefer is a phenomenal actor and a
            phenomenal guy to be around. One of my all-time favorite movies was
            The Lost Boys. Those guys were my idols. He has just given
            performance after performance, from Flatliners to that and
            Freeway....
            TVGuide.com: Whatever happened to Milo?
            Balfour: I think he got a job working for Intel. He's training all
            the people who work the AOL service lines in India.
            TVGuide.com: Did you watch the SFU finale?
            Balfour: Yeah, I did. It was really beautifully done.
            TVGuide.com: Have you spoken to [SFU scene partner] Lauren Ambrose
            since it ended? Is she sad?
            Balfour: I did an interview for a behind-the-scenes of the finale
            thing, and I saw her then. I'm sure she's sad, but at the same time,
            after five or six years... you probably want to try something else.
            I have enjoyed that about the shows I've done — I've gotten to go in
            for a couple seasons or a long arc, enjoyed it and moved on.
            TVGuide.com: You're in the movie In Her Shoes (in theaters Friday)?
            Balfour: It wasn't a very big role; it was more about the
            opportunity to be around really talented people like Cameron [Diaz],
            a wonderful actress, and Curtis Hanson, an amazing director. When
            you think about your career, you want to build a résumé of things
            that count, and be a part of projects that count. You pick projects
            because of the script and the people involved and whatever — some
            turn out to be great and some don't, but as long as you consistently
            make choices as an artist with integrity, that's all that matters.
            TVGuide.com: You're going to make me bring up 2003's The Texas
            Chainsaw Massacre.
            Balfour: I don't have to justify that at all; I think it turned out
            great.
            TVGuide.com: Were you a fan of the original?
            Balfour: I was a huge fan. And honestly, the original was almost a
            documentary, a Helter Skelter-type thing, where ours was much more
            of a film and in the beginning you got a better sense of who each
            character was. [Director] Marcus [Nispel] did an amazing job. As far
            as horror movies go, I think it stands out. I've been watching other
            ones, like The Grudge, and there's not even a plot.
            TVGuide.com: Was it scary to shoot?
            Balfour: The house that we shot in is a real house in the middle of
            nowhere in Texas, with these giant banana spiders. And the people
            who lived in it had died in 1962 and it had been abandoned since.
            TVGuide.com: I take it they're called banana spiders because they're
            the size of...
            Balfour: ... a frickin' banana, dude. These things are gnarly, and
            they were everywhere.
            TVGuide.com: Your nickname is "Bluffour," because of your poker
            prowess. Give me a tip for my Friday-night game.
            Balfour: The biggest mistake a casual player can make is to play
            with emotion. You can't make calls on ego, just because you want to
            stick it to somebody and win the big pot. Don't play with emotions,
            you know? You gotta know when to fold 'em.

 

 

Eric Balfour Doubles His Pleasure
                  (Sunday, February 17 10:00 PM)
                  By Kate O'Hare
                  LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - "A lot of people have been on two
                  shows [at once] before," actor Eric Balfour says. "I want to
                  be on three."
                  While the twentysomething Balfour searches for that third
                  prime-time gig, he can be seen on HBO, in the Golden Globe
                  Award-winning drama "Six Feet Under" and in the FOX drama
                  "24," which airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
                  In "Six Feet Under," which premieres its second season on
                  Sunday, March 3 at 9 p.m. ET, Balfour plays Gabriel, the
                  troubled boyfriend of high-schooler Claire (Lauren Ambrose),
                  the daughter in a family struggling to run a funeral home in
                  the wake of its patriarch's (Richard Jenkins) sudden death.
                  In the show's first-season finale, Gabriel -- who had been
                  trying to mend his wild ways, with Claire's help, reverted to
                  bad behavior during a party and wound up robbing a convenience
                  store.
                  Asked if that act has consequences in Season 2, Balfour says,
                  "I think it's going to float around maybe for a couple of
                  seasons. I don't know. It's a heavy-duty issue that doesn't
                  leave a whole lot of outs, so I think we're going to avoid it
                  for the next couple of seasons."
                  After a rocky beginning, the death of Gabriel's brother
                  reunited him with Claire, but there's no guarantee that her
                  love will save him. "He's a portrayal of a very real kid,"
                  Balfour says. "Film and television sometimes tends to make
                  people the good guy or the bad guy, and we've been trained to
                  feed into that persona as an audience when, in real life, that
                  doesn't exist very much."
                  "By no means does Gabriel set out, at least in my mind, to do
                  things maliciously. He just doesn't know the right way to
                  handle himself. It's an interesting relationship. They both
                  need each other for very similar reasons. One wants someone to
                  take care of him, and one wants to feel like she's needed to
                  take care of somebody."
                  "So, in certain ways, it's the perfect match. But obviously,
                  because of his choices in life, not a very good relationship
                  for her."
                  On "24," Balfour joined the cast a few episodes into the
                  season playing a freelance computer expert named Milo.
                  Milo was pressed into service to help Bauer find a mole in his
                  operation. Since the mole turned out to be the Counter
                  Terrorist Unit's computer expert, Jamey (Karina Arroyave),
                  Milo seems to have found himself a job for the rest of the
day.
                  "Oh, yeah," says Balfour, "Milo's there."
                  Compared to "Six Feet Under," Balfour has found "24" - with
                  its unrelenting pace and multiple, interlocked story lines --
                  to be quite a different challenge.
                  "In certain ways," he says, "it's easier because it's not as
                  emotionally draining. But the aspect of '24' that's difficult
                  is that you really have to be paying attention to what's going
                  on at all times. There's so much information, that if you're
                  not paying attention to what you're talking about from scene
                  to scene, it can come off pretty lame."
                  "You're forced to stay on your toes. We'll be rehearsing
                  scenes, and I'll be going, 'Wait, wait, wait, I'm saying
                  things about this person, but if that's the case, how come I
                  said this earlier?' It's much more of a challenge as far as
                  really understanding what your character's doing at any
                  moment."
                  Because "24" is a suspense drama, Balfour has learned
                  firsthand the risks of saying too much. He was once at lunch
                  with "That '70s Show" pals Danny Masterson, Topher Grace and
                  Ashton Kutcher, and recalls, "They were asking me about [the
                  show]. They were pushing me about it. They're like, 'What
                  happens with this?' And I'm like, 'No, shut up, I'm not going
                  to tell you.'"
                  "So, somehow, I said one thing. They wanted a little bit of
                  information, and I told them, but it wasn't something that was
                  going to ruin the show for them. Then Topher said something,
                  and because he said that one thing, I just assumed they knew
                  everything -- that they had seen the episode."
                  "I wasn't paying attention, but I forgot there was a little
                  more information to it, and I blabbed. I ruined it for them. I
                  didn't mean to."

                  Balfour wasn't present for the triumph of "Six Feet Under" at
                  the Golden Globes, because he was busy with his other career,
                  as lead singer and guitarist for the rock band Fredalba.
                  Named after a prostitute Balfour encountered in Paris (not as
                  a customer, he says), Balfour describes the band as "a mix of
                  funk and hip-hop and rock. Not like Limp Bizkit, more along
                  the lines of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys --
                  something like that."
                  An independent CD should be released in February or March, and
                  Balfour says the band's official Website (www.fredalba.com)
                  soon will be back online. He says his musical sideline
                  hearkens back to the day when actors were expected to be
                  all-around entertainers.
                  "There was a time when actors had to know how to sing and
                  dance. Liza Minnelli, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank
                  Sinatra -- they did films; they would go and do concerts; they
                  would play and write music. They were just creative people."
                  Asked which he loves more, Balfour says, "I don't know. It's a
                  tough question. Part of me, as much as I love acting, wonders
                  if I would be happier as a musician long-term in my life."
                  "It's hard to do both, but part of me would rather be a
                  musician that occasionally does film roles, versus an actor
                  who tries to have a band."

               

Eric Balfour
                                Born Again Animal Lover
                                By Lori Golden
                                If the name and face aren't familiar to you yet,
                                just wait, because Eric Balfour is a young actor
                                on the rise. With recurring roles on two of the
                                few bonafide hit TV shows to premier in the last
                                year, as well as performing with his local band
                                "Fredalba," this is one busy fellow. On HBO's
                                Six Feet Under he plays Gabe, who captured the
                                heart of the young daughter Claire on the show.
                                And on Fox TV's 24 he appears as Milo, the
                                computer technician who works with Kiefer
                                Sutherland's character. Both shows have won
                                critical acclaim as well as recent Golden Globe
                                awards.
                                Eric Balfour is also an entrepreneur who, along
                                with his girlfriend Francoise Koster, co-owns a
                                trendy little store in Hollywood called Lou Lou,
                                named in honor of their beloved Pitbull. (More
                                about the store later.) Lou Lou was not the
                                first dog in Eric's life, but she was the most
                                important.
                                A native Californian, Eric had a dog when he was
                                very little until he discovered he was allergic.
                                It was quite a while until he had another, a
                                Chow puppy named Bear that he found on Melrose,
                                who still lives at his mom's house with a few
                                other dogs and cats. "I took him home and found
                                out I wasn't allergic anymore… but I'm still
                                allergic to cats."
                                Eric's real love affair with animals actually
                                began about 4 years ago, when he met Francoise
                                and her Pitbull Lou Lou. "The first time I went
                                to Francoise's house Lou Lou was in the driveway
                                behind the gate. I couldn't get into the house,
                                so I hopped the fence, not thinking it was a big
                                deal. The dog was very friendly to me. I went to
                                the door and Francoise, freaking out, asked me
                                what I was doing. I told her I hopped the fence.
                                She was amazed that the dog didn't attack me and
                                was shocked when I told her it appeared that Lou
                                Lou liked me."
                                It was more than just "like" at first glance for
                                Eric and Lou Lou. "She became my baby. I always
                                liked dogs. And I HAD a dog. They were lots of
                                fun and good friends. But it wasn't until I met
                                Lou Lou that my affinity for and relationship to
                                animals changed. I had never experienced this
                                with an animal. She was the best dog."
                                "She was a pure Pitbull," Eric continues, "the
                                sweetest, most wonderful, neurotic dog with the
                                biggest personality you'd ever meet. And she was
                                like the total princess. She wouldn't sit on
                                cold concrete; she would sit on your feet. And
                                she ate the inside of my car one time when we
                                left her in it causing $3,000 worth of damage!
                                She would only eat filet mignon and caviar, but
                                she would turn caviar, tuna, steak and fish down
                                if she wasn't in the mood for it. She would also
                                sleep in the bed with us with her head on the
                                pillow, and in the morning when it got bright,
                                she would scratch at the covers to try to pull
                                them back. So I'd lift the cover up and she
                                would crawl underneath my butt and go back to
                                sleep. She would never get out of bed until we
                                did and would look at me as if to say, 'come on.
                                I don't want to get up yet.' So that was how my
                                life as a dog person changed. I had never
                                experienced that much personality and that much
                                love in a dog."
                                "Lou Lou and Francoise both changed my
                                relationship with animals. I grew up in a
                                culture that had a lot of respect for animals
                                and for their place in the universe and our
                                world. It was always there but I'd never really
                                experienced it personally. The relationship I've
                                formed with animals is much more intense now."
                                A few years ago they added a Pitbull puppy,
                                Bernadette, (abandoned in Bronson Canyon) to
                                their household, but weren't sure how Lou Lou
                                would react. "I told Francoise I didn't think we
                                could keep Bernadette because this was Lou Lou's
                                home and it wouldn't be fair. But we ended up
                                trying it and eventually they became best
                                friends. It was the first dog that Lou Lou had
                                ever gotten along with and we don't know why."
                                Not long after Bernadette joined their
                                household, they lost Lou Lou to cancer.
                                "Bernadette was really traumatized by Lou Lou's
                                illness," says Eric, "and Francoise didn't want
                                to get another dog after Lou Lou passed away."
                                "Then one night I was searching the internet,"
                                Francoise continues, "and I found a website for
                                Blind and Visually Impaired Dogs that urgently
                                needed homes. I saw this picture of a Pitbull,
                                Petey, sitting in a bathtub with his paw up, and
                                I talked it over with Eric."
                                After doing a lot of research about visually
                                impaired animals, Francoise took Bernadette with
                                her to pick up Petey, a street dog around a year
                                and a half old that had been battered, scarred
                                and blinded, most likely from trauma.
                                "He's blind and bumps into stuff," says Eric,
                                "but he's just the happiest, sweetest, most
                                awesome dog. I keep telling Francoise that Petey
                                is Lou Lou reincarnated- they are very similar
                                in many ways. And he and Bernadette get along
                                well."
                                Francoise says that Petey really isn't that
                                different from a dog that can see. "He's figured
                                out his way around the house, and he tests
                                everything with his mouth. He even ate the
                                remote control. But he's very sensitive and uses
                                his taste buds… that's how he figures things
                                out. Most people don't realize he's blind. He's
                                amazing."
                                He also appears to be very talented. One day
                                Petey was hanging out with Eric during a music
                                rehearsal at the house, "and we started playing
                                this one really high pitched guitar note when
                                Petey just started singing along. (Eric starts
                                to howl.) Then later I just howled at him and he
                                howled back. Now whenever I sing or I'm
                                practicing for a show he just starts howling. He
                                wants to sing!
                                Eric says that despite the bad press, "Pitbulls
                                are not mean or evil dogs. They have very
                                specific character traits and they have high
                                prey drives, which is very different than being
                                mean. When they see something running or playing
                                they want to play with it… they want to pounce
                                on it and get it. It's a game to them a lot of
                                times. I just think they are unfairly treated.
                                They are very smart dogs. They are very sweet
                                and they are very sensitive, in some ways more
                                sensitive than other dogs."
                                Francoise has been doing volunteer work with The
                                Brittany Foundation and Villalobos Pitbull
                                Rescue for quite awhile. And together, she and
                                Eric have been involved with a very special
                                program established by Tia Torres and her
                                Villalobos Rescue Center called "Pets In The
                                Hood."
                                "This is a program," Eric explains, "that takes
                                rescued Pitbulls that are either wild or
                                abandoned or abused… and brings them into a
                                juvenile detention center where the kids are
                                taught to train them so they can be adopted. The
                                point is that you're taking two outcasts of
                                society- this juvenile, who's been outcast and
                                not taken care of… and this animal, that has not
                                been taken care of, and they are put together to
                                help each other. The love and respect the kids
                                learn when they spend time with this dog that
                                doesn't care what they've done, doesn't care who
                                they are or where they come from and just loves
                                them unconditionally is a powerful tool in
                                healing these people. It helps the kids AND the
                                dogs. Currently Pets In The Hood has had to be
                                reduced to 5 to 6 boys working one-on-one with 5
                                to 6 volunteers and dogs. (If they can get more
                                volunteers to take part in the program, more
                                dogs and boys can be involved.) The boys learn
                                how to train and care for the dogs, and when
                                they are released, they can continue working
                                with the program at Villalobos Rescue's
                                headquarters.
                                Francoise adds that they are trying to involve
                                other types of businesses with the program, "so
                                that when these kids get out there are possible
                                jobs for them. A lot of these kids don't think
                                they'll have an opportunity to do something once
                                they're released. The idea is that once they
                                learn compassion and responsibility with the
                                dogs, they'll be more prepared to deal with
                                society… and local businesses can really be of
                                help here."
                                Francoise and her family have owned La Poubelle
                                Restaurant, a mainstay in Hollywood on Franklin
                                Ave, for over 30 years. Through various
                                sponsorship programs they try to bring awareness
                                about animals to people in their community, and
                                especially to children at schools in the area.
                                "It really takes so little for a business to be
                                effective within its own community. If a dog is
                                in need of a loving home, I put flyers in the
                                guest checks of our customers. Some people are
                                offended, but what I love about my mom is she
                                tells them to go to hell! So I do things like
                                that here. The restaurant also will rent a bus
                                and take local school kids on a trip to the zoo,
                                to expose them to animals for the first time."
                                Lou Lou, Eric and Francoise's store, is next to
                                La Poubelle. "It's a lifestyle store," describes
                                Eric, "with furniture and art and clothing.
                                Basically you're walking into a store and you're
                                buying our taste, what we think is cool and hip
                                and interesting." (By the way, if you stop by,
                                you might just get to meet Petey or Bernadette
                                who often hang out in the store.)
                                Lou Lou's also sells items that helps animals,
                                like chocolate bars to save endangered species,
                                Healthy Planet greeting cards, and "elephant
                                art." These are paintings created by a rescued
                                elephant named Susie, "who actually likes it
                                when you give her a paintbrush," explains
                                Francoise. "She just moves it around the canvas
                                with her trunk. She's also available to create
                                commissioned paintings to your color
                                specifications. Susie is with another elephant
                                named Butch at the Elephants of Africa Rescue
                                Society in Acton, which adopts elephants in the
                                US. Butch came from a defunct children's zoo on
                                the east coast, where he was abandoned in a
                                field and starved to death. Plus he had been
                                de-trunked and castrated. But now he's got a
                                home with this wonderful rescue. 100% of the
                                proceeds from Susie's art goes to help this
                                rescue and to help researchers in Africa."
                                Eric Balfour's life is filled with more than
                                just animals. There's his acting as well as his
                                music. "It just so happens that I have been
                                introduced to these animals and it's given me an
                                outlook to help make a difference."
                                Readers of The Pet Press can also make a
                                difference. Eric says, "first of all, spay and
                                neuter your animals. Next, if you're going to
                                buy a dog, which I don't think you should
                                because there are so many dogs that need homes…
                                if you can afford to buy one and can spend that
                                money, you can afford to ADOPT one and have a
                                second one as well. That should become a
                                mandated rule. Last, get involved. You'll enjoy
                                it. Go to The Brittany Foundation on Sundays.
                                Volunteer for the Pets In The Hood program. Go
                                to the dog park. You'll have fun. Play with the
                                animals. That's what happened to me. It's a
                                really fun thing to do in your community. It's
                                surprising how helping and working with animals
                                can bring you fulfillment. When you help a dog
                                it's just as good as helping a person. I'm the
                                example of someone who didn't know how great it
                                could be to be an animal lover… until I finally
                                had one. I guess that makes me a born again
                                animal lover!"
                                (Watch for Eric Balfour on Fox TV's 24, Tuesdays
                                at 9pm, and on the new season of Six Feet Under
                                which returns to HBO on March 3rd. To help the
                                animals, stop by Lou Lou at 5905 Franklin Ave.
                                in Hollywood, where you can also find out about
                                appearances by Eric's band Fredalba