It's been a long time coming, but finally Fringe is back on UK screens this week! This season has been a belter, so we can't wait to find out what happens next. To celebrate the show's return, we called up the lovely John Noble - who plays Walter (and Walternate!) - to have a little chat. Read on to find out what he had to say about those flashbacks, Peter and Walter, and whether he thinks the show will be renewed...

How has it been playing both Walter and Walternate this season?

"It's been gift, really. I mean, Walter himself is a wonderful character to play, but then to be given this other [role as well]... He's a version of Walter, but one very much in the terms of the Fringe mythology - 'what would happen if' stuff. So what would happen if you had a son stolen instead of having stolen one? So it's been based on the same characters but taking off in different directions. I've loved it."

Do you sympathise with one Walter more than the other?

"In a sense, intellectually I don't, because obviously this Walter on our side, he's a loveable old character but in fact he did do what he did. He did take into his own hands this thing of crossing over and taking the son, albeit for good intentions, to save the kid's life. You kind of sympathise with that and then you see he's gone through hell ever since. Walternate on the other hand was a man who had his son stolen, and I can totally understand how that would twist the mind and turn him into a vengeful and very powerful character. So I kind of understand both of them."

Do you like the fact that both Walter and Walternate have good and bad sides?

"Oh, absolutely. At the time we introduced Walternate, I said to the writers, 'Please, please don't make him a two-dimensional baddie. Down the track, give us something to humanise him'. I was really insistent on that. As time's gone by they've started to give aspects of Walternate that say, 'Oh yeah, I understand now why he did what he did', and I really requested that to happen. Two-dimensional characters are fairly forgettable."

Have you enjoyed playing a younger Walter in the flashback episodes?

"I have! It's been great fun. It's quite a shock, really. I think the most interesting part is finding the energy of the younger man as opposed to what we see in Walter and Walternate. And the passion that they have, which gets tempered a little bit with age. It's interesting walking around looking at yourself 20 years younger with all that strange hair. It's really cool, but my wife says she likes me better as I am!"

Does it take a long time to prepare for the flashbacks?

"Yeah, it does. Our makeup lady, particularly for the second flashback, worked out some terrific techniques to get the skin softer so it loses the wrinkles and so forth. This year we've come up with some terrific technology. And [I have] a beautiful handmade wig which at that stage was the right length - should we go on further we'd need to trim it back. We've looked at it really carefully. As we become more efficient it's generally about three or four hours in makeup."

Walter can be quite quirky and eccentric - how much of that is in the script and how much is it your performance?

"It's a combination, because obviously I've brought what I bring to it. They wrote the initial stuff and then I played with it, and as I played they wrote to it. So it's been a dual effort. The more that I was prepared to do, the more that they would write. I've never said no to anything so if they said, 'Walk naked along a tightrope', I'd say, 'OK, whatever!' At this stage Walter continues to do outrageous things and as long as they keep writing them I can't think of anything I wouldn't do."

Are you pleased with how Walter and Peter's relationship has developed over the three seasons?

"Obviously Josh [Jackson] and I loved the development in the first two seasons until it all fell apart. This season, even though it's essential it's been this way, it's been really hard because we want to play them as getting along really well. But we can't because there's obviously this friction between the two of them. We had a really interesting struggle this year personally because we like the relationship. To play all that tension has been challenging. But it's been good for the characters and it's real that they should be so strained at this point."

Where do you think the show will go in the future?

"The future depends on whether we finish this year or play for six seasons or ten, whatever. The writers have scenarios for all of those options. The first thing we need to do is come to some resolution about the alternate universe and our universe in conflict. Obviously we can't destroy one of them because by the law of physics, if we destroy one we destroy the other. So there has to be a resolution of that and I think there will be some resolution of that in this season - we still haven't had the last two scripts though. Beyond that, if that did happen, I would see a pact being created and then some external threat of some description would make complete sense. I know the writers have so many ideas. One of them said to me the other day, 'We could play for 20 years just with the ideas we've got'. We've certainly played out this conflict between the two universes this year and that will need to be resolved to some degree, not completely but resolved to some degree, by the end of the season."

What else can fans expect as the season comes to a close?

"There will be a tremendous build up of tension. It's a very dark period because you're looking at the end of the world essentially, unless something is done. So we're going through the doomsday scenarios. Unless we're going to blow the world up, there has to be a resolution and that's really difficult and creates tremendous tension and pressure on all the characters. I guess by the end of season three it will be an enormous buildup to someone about to hit the button and then they either will hit the button or they won't. But I know already that the tension is enormous in the stories."

Fringe has evolved from one-off episodes to a longer story arc - how do you feel about that?

"On a personal level I like it. It probably makes it more difficult for fans to drop in and say, 'Oh I'm going to watch the show' and have any idea what's going on, because it's so mythology-based now. But for our hardcore fans it's perfect because they have an investment in the mythology and the ongoing stories and the ongoing character arcs. I don't think it could have stayed as a 'monster of the week' - I don't think it would have been interesting to continue forever doing that . They could have, but to me personally I prefer the way we've gone with it."

We've heard rumours that William Bell will be back - can you say anything about that?

"I've heard the same rumours! In fact, I think Leonard [Nimoy] announced it on his Twitter or something. All I can say is that there will be a return of Leonard's character in a way. In a way. It's not going to be, 'Hey, here's Leonard again'. It will be something different but really quite bizarre. Very bizarre, in fact."

What are your hopes for Walter in the future?

"Walter is a man who has gone through certain periods in his life and is now in his golden years and is trying to resolve himself with his creator, with the people around him. It's quite biblical in a sense, the way he's trying to come to grips with what he's done and seek a rounding out and forgiveness. That continues on and it has to continue on, simply because he is an older man. He just continues to evolve almost in a religious sense until he finds some sort of peace and resolution. It would be ridiculous to do it otherwise. So I guess there will be a continuing unravelling and maybe a growing wisdom in the old man. I think that's what will happen."

Fringe has controversially been moved to Friday nights in the US - what are your thoughts?

"I kind of like the move to Friday nights. I thought it was a really good move for us because it gave us a home base. Thursday night in America was never a good night for us... It wasn't a great spot for us up against Grey's Anatomy and all those things. This is perfect for us. This is the spot that The X Files made their own. And it was sitting there waiting to be taken to be honest with you, because nothing was working in there. So far, so good. I'd be quite happy to stay on Friday nights."

Do you think Fringe will be renewed for another season? The fans want it.

"The fans do want it, and the interesting thing about Fringe is that I know the executives at Fox and the executives at Warner Bros really love Fringe, they're very proud of it. The challenge they have is, 'Well, OK, do enough people watch it to justify it?' That's where they're sitting at present. They obviously have to drop some shows this year to let other shows in. The chances of Fringe returning I'd say are pretty good, but I can't really say any more than that. I wouldn't like to be making the decision they have to make and I think they're probably making that decision almost as we speak. I know that sentimentally they want Fringe to remain - I know that for a fact."

Fringe returns in the UK on Wednesday at 10pm on Sky1.

Are you pleased that Fringe is back? What do you think will happen in the new episodes? Leave your comments below!

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