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THE STAR SCOOP:
Tell us about your character Tom.

JON WOLFE NELSON:
My character, Tom Mater, comes to The L Word with his friend Jodi Lerner, who is played by Marlee Matlin, and he’s her interpreter/assistant/sidekick on the show. He actually is described as kind of like a lesbian because he always hangs around lesbians. Shortly after arriving there, he gets introduced to Max, who is the female to male transsexual on the series, played by Daniela Sea. He meets her and thinks he’s seeing a really cute boy, and is interested, only then to find out from his friends that he is really a she, and gets a little bit freaked out, and then finally comes around to the idea of inquiring about the person…having to transcend the character’s sexuality. They end up getting together and at the end of last season, we’re just hanging out as a couple.

THE STAR SCOOP:
This is a role that presents a lot of challenges. How much of the role did you have to research? Where does that blend for you?

JON WOLFE NELSON:
Well, I have been a sign language interpreter for 15 years. My first job post-university was with a children’s theater company, and I worked there with deaf and hearing actors who all used sign language. The performances were done in schools all across the country in sign language and in spoken English. When I left there after a year, I went to work for the National Theater of the Deaf, and I toured with them. I also worked as a theatrical interpreter, so I interpreted Broadway performances for deaf audiences [in New York]. When I moved to L.A., Marlee and I had always had mutual friends. I had done an episode of The West Wing back in 2000. At that time she said, you know what, we’re going to do something better than this together sometime. So, I was like, okay, that’s cool. So when this came along, she thought of me and recommended me for the part. So, I got called in for an audition.

THE STAR SCOOP:
How did you get involved in doing the interpreting?

JON WOLFE NELSON:
I think that I really was just led to it. I’ve always been a very kinesthetic learner, and I really didn’t excel as a learner until I went to college and sort of unlocked my thinking by studying sign language. First it was about acquiring the language proficiently before you can begin interpreting, and I just had a knack for it. I could see it and understand it. I picked up on the complexities of it, and it just kind of took on a life of its own. As far as becoming an interpreter, when I left working for the National Theater of the Deaf, I was cast in a play off Broadway in New York. I was probably there about eight months. When it was over, I had to make a decision about what I was going to do. I ended up moving to New York. It was 1994, and people that I met there saw that I knew sign language really well, and they were like, dude, why wait tables or work in an office when you can interpret and make 25 dollars an hour? And I was like, what? 25 dollars an hour? They were like, yeah, if you’re any good, that’s starting pay. So these really highly-skilled, well-respected interpreters took me under their wing and sort of groomed me through the process of studying so I passed my national exam and got certified. It’s always been an artistic way to earn a good living.

THE STAR SCOOP:
So going back to The L Word, as far as your involvement with the final season, will Tom be back? Will they explore the relationship with him and Max?

JON WOLFE NELSON:
Tom absolutely comes back, and he and Max actually find themselves in pretty extraordinary circumstances as far as their relationship goes. I know they’re already advertising it, so I can tell you that early in this season, we discover that Max is pregnant. That’s made it even a little bit more complicated. First it was this gay guy who has to get over being really attracted to a transexual. But clearly they are attracted to each other. They want to try to make it work, and then they find out Max is pregnant.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Do you feel like it’s a believable story line?

JON WOLFE NELSON:
Sometimes I wonder if reality copies television, or television copies reality. Because when we actually embarked on this thing last year, that would have been – we were shooting in fall of 2007 for the airing of 2008…and as far back as early 2007, they were conceiving this story line and figuring out how to build it in. And then around that time, this guy in Washington State, he was on Oprah, and all the magazines, like, the first pregnant man, but really it was a female to make transsexual who had not had her reproductive organs removed, and had decided to have a baby. This person broke news, so I think it’s completely plausible. I think that the way they tell it is done very well because clearly Max and Tom are not the major characters of the series. So they have to tell the story in a very succinct way, and I think they do a really good job of getting the story told about their relationship in a really nice, succinct way that’s very believable.

THE STAR SCOOP:
It’s a bittersweet situation, because this is the last season. There are some good guest stars, one of them being Lucy Lawless.

JON WOLFE NELSON:
Yeah, absolutely, we’re all looking for jobs. Actually it was a lot of fun. I didn’t work with Lucy Lawless, but there was a day where we were shooting in the Planet. Every single person in the cast was there, because that’s where they were all intersecting on that day, including Alexandra Hedison who is coming back, and Elizabeth Berkley was there. That was a lot of fun. I had never met her before. It was really neat. I loved working with Cybil. She’s a lot of fun on set. It was a great place to work.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What do you see for yourself beyond The L Word?

JON WOLFE NELSON:
You’re always looking for something interesting to come your way. I’ve always said, three things I definitely want to play in my career are robot, alien, vampire. The vampires are upon us. They’re everywhere. A lot of vampire stories. I would love to do something like that in a feature film, or another series. Just looking to do more guest starring roles. Then, hopefully transition to feature film. Before this I had done lots of little appearances in other shows, but to create a character that actually gets to be executed over a number of episodes with extreme professionals – Marlee Matlin, Jennifer Beals, Cybil Shepherd…prepares you for whatever is coming next.

THE STAR SCOOP:
The L Word does have a very big LGBT audience. How does it appeal to a heterosexual audience as well?

JON WOLFE NELSON:
I would say that I probably know just as many straight people who watch this show as I do gay and lesbian people. It has appeal because I think if you’re really a fan of television, and you like to see people function in heightened states of awareness and just heightened situations, that’s what titillates us. To see somebody doing something that we may not do, or we might be fascinated by. I just think it has a really, really broad audience.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What do you want to say to your fans?

JON WOLFE NELSON:
I always tell people about my dog. I rescued him about three and a half years ago, and he is a Terrier mix. Mostly Yorkie. He’s a dirty little scrapper dog. I’m not sure how old he is, but he’s my joy. He keeps me company. Thank you for watching, go to the chat boards and tell them that you like me, and look for me to appear in other things to entertain you soon.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What should people expect from the final season of The L Word?

JON WOLFE NELSON:
I think to be intrigued, and titillated, and left with a bit of a mystery.