‘Heroes’: Noah, and ‘Fight or Flight’

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So, in comes Kristen Bell to help save the (ratings) day. We’ll see tomorrow. The literally electric Elle gets her long-awaited, and deadly, intro, even stirring up another mysterious tidbit when she tells ‘Daddy’ (from the Company) that she’s coming home. Bob, maybe? Elle seems like a focused, morally messed-up character (for now) that will add spice to the show, and Kristen has spoken a bit about her possibly duplicitous role.

But this episode wasn’t about her. A quick recap:

-- Peter used his precognition powers and finally opened ‘the box,’ with both pointing to Montreal. Elle also fries Caitlin’s ‘boyo’ brother.

-- Parkman and Petrelli hit a snag when Parkman Sr. dropped a mental whammy on them, causing them to see illusions and fight each other. Matt broke up the fun, but the fight scene was well-choreographed. FIGHT POLL!

-- Micah, after matching musical digits with Monica, revealed his techno powers to her and helped explain the New Orleanian’s ‘copycat’ abilities using, of course, a comic book. Mohinder and the Company come calling, but Monica is gonna be cool. Yes, Louisiana has parishes, not counties. Sheesh.

-- We got glimpses of cure-chasing Niki (Jessica was not happy about it), painting-hunting HRG and love-sick Hiro as Ando reads about his adventures. We won’t go into the missing storylines. It’s old news, and if you haven’t jumped ship yet, there are still lots of reasons to hang on. Many holes are filled in online, which TV Guide has recognized.

The inevitable heroic interaction is slowly coming. The murdering of the ‘generations’ heroes is the likely catalyst that will bring everyone together. And I think I know who’s doing it. We’ve met him, but I’ll save that for one or two more episodes.

For now . . . Last week, you all voted that Maya would beat Micah in a face-to-face battle, 54% to 46%. One person who might not agree is Micah himself, Noah Gray-Cabey. I got to ask the busy pre-teen five questions about the show and his character.

What are your first memories of acting, and when did you know it was something you wanted to do?

My first memories are of walking onto the set of ‘My Wife and Kids.’ It was supposed to be a one-time thing. The casting people had called because they saw me on Oprah and thought they’d have me on once. But it turned out to be a lot more then once. I walked onto set and it was fun. Everyone was super, super nice and very funny. I ended up being a regular on that show for like three years. I knew it was something that I wanted to do the first time that I did it because it was fun. It was just fun. I always explained it to people that it was sort of like playing with adults except that there were rules –- like where to walk (you know, your mark) and what to say. If you watch some of the old episodes of ‘My Wife and Kids,’ I am laughing in the scene because I was actually watching the TV show as it was being made. Tisha [Campbell] and Damon [Wayans] were soooo funny!

Micah has a unique ability as a ‘technopath.’ Describe his powers, and how you think your character fits in with the rest of the ‘Heroes’ group.

Micah’s powers are that he is able to manipulate or “talk” to machinery. It’s like he understands the techno-pathways and then he can do something with his body or mind or force field that can communicate with it. I don’t know how accurate that is. You should ask the writers. That is just the way I see it as I am imagining being Micah. I think that Micah fits in with the rest of the cast because the characters are all really intense characters and so is Micah. He’s been through a lot and he is very wise. He is also emotional. I don’t think there are any simple characters on ‘Heroes.’

I’ve heard that you like spy gadgets, and the show has a certain spy-like mystery to it. Is that one of the things that led you to do the show?

Not really. I just liked it. Come on –- it’s a great show. You have people flying, time traveling, walking through walls. And there is the action. I LOVE action movies and ‘Heroes’ is like a mini-movie each week! It’s awesome to be part of it!

I sat next to you at Comic-Con 2006 when ‘Heroes’ debuted, and you seemed to be taking it all in pretty easily. How do you deal with the crowds that are drawn to you and the rest of the cast, and what’s been the most wacky thing that’s happened (to you) because of the show?

The crowds are really nice people. They love the show and the characters. It’s such an honor to be able to be a part of it. I had a lady with cancer come up to me a few months ago, and she was so excited to meet me! She told me that she had cancer and that getting to meet me had really made her day. That made me so happy inside to be able to know that I made someone that happy. That’s like the best feeling. I feel really, super lucky! I don’t think there has been anything extremely wacky that has happened to me. I think the adults get the wacky things happen to them. I just take it all in.

Where do you see Micah in five years? How about 10 years?

Oh –- I don’t know! You’d have to ask the writers. What I hope is that he is still around!! And that he has learned more about his powers and developed them even more and is actively using them in more complex ways. Manipulating the pay-per-view today and who knows what tomorrow?!! I’m just happy to be playing the part. He is a fun character to portray!!!

-- Jevon Phillips

Photos courtesy of NBC