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So begins Kyle XY, a new mystery drama that developed a cult following in the US last summer. As many as 8 million viewers tuned in week on week to discover who Kyle was - and more importantly, why he is.
With the show now ready to hit British shores and a second season about to begin filming in Vancouver, Digital Spy spoke to Kyle himself - 23-year-old actor Matt Dallas - about the XY phenomenon.
So, Kyle XY - could you try and sum up what it's all about?
"Xyle XY follows this boy who is like a newborn to the world, everything he sees and experiences is for the first time. He travels into the city and ends up getting put up by this foster family. As the story progresses, we find out that he is capable of these amazing things that no one can explain, so the story really falls to him and the family that takes him in."
The first episode has an interesting start - your character wakes up naked in a forest. What was that like?
"It was very cold! No, it was actually one of the hardest things to shoot, just because you're standing out there completely naked, covered in pink goo for fourteen hours, but I guess it was definitely worth it."
Did you have to have an all-over wax for that?
"I did. They waxed me from the neck down. It was funny, it was my first time ever getting waxed, and I will tell you I found a new respect for women. It was one of the most painful things. It was funny, because the lady that was waxing me, she was laughing the whole time, I had tears welling in my eyes and she was telling me how usually the guys yell a lot more than the women."
Do you have to go back for repeat waxes?
"You know, I had to go back a couple more times throughout the season. I've asked them this year, I said, so have you guys written me any naked scenes this season, any waxing, but I dunno if they're going to make me do it for a second season."
Surely Kyle should start to grow some hair by now?
"That's what I said, I was like 'you know, he's been out and about for about a year now, I think he should have some leg hair!'"
The first few episodes, you wander round a little bit confused. Did it take you long to perfect that expression?
"It was more just getting that sense of what it would be like to discover everything for the first time, so it was a lot of observing animals and children and their way of exploration of the world. That's where I did a lot of my research to get that sense of discovery, and also that sense of naivety. It was cool, though, because with this character I really got to play him as a newborn, play him as a child, when he finally becomes a teenager to finally becoming a man. It was definitely a cool ride to go on."
Now Kyle doesn't have a belly button. How did that work? Did they tape you up or did they get lucky with the casting and you didn't have one at all?
"I actually have one, I do! They actually do that all in post production, fill it in with the computer. I cannot count how many times I've been asked when I'm out - people want to see my belly button."
Just the first season in general, what sort of reaction did you get, and did you think it would be how it was?
"To be honest with you, in the beginning I just thought we were going to be this small show on a small network, I had no idea it was going to turn into what it did. It's been great, it's definitely been crazy. It got a little overwhelming in the beginning, it was just surreal that sometimes I would catch myself, and I'd be like 'whoa, I'm really here, I'm really doing these interviews, these talkshows'. It's surreal, it's definitely surreal."
I suppose it helped quite a lot having encores on ABC in the US.
"That definitely helped a lot. It's cool to know that the network has that much faith in our show, and we did that well. People responded well to the show."
In the first season, there were some more adult scenes. Looking back, do you think it might have played better on ABC than the ABC Family audience?
"ABC Family is really restructuring their network because there's a new kind of family, so I think they're really trying to step away from that younger audience, and they're bringing a network that can bring more to an older demographic. So I think this show and a couple of their other new shows are really doing it for them and they have some great shows right now. I think we're really going to help them do that."
Have you had any international reaction to the show?
"Well, yes. I've seen a little bit on the blogs, because I go on there out of curiosity. You'll see people from all over the world that have downloaded it from iTunes, or the ABC Family website, or however else they got hold of it, and it'll be all over. Based on the internet now, it's crazy, the access that we have."
Do you spend much time online seeing what fans have to say, and how does that affect your performance?
"It doesn't particularly affect my performance, especially last season - the blog - we had finished shooting before we were airing, so I didn't see them till afterwards. Actually, I do try to stay away from them, but every once in a while you can't help but go and check. In the beginning, I kind of got addicted, because I wanted to see what all the theories were, and it was exciting to see people talking about the show. Then I just started to stay away from it, break myself of that habit. Especially when we start shooting again, I'll make it a point to stay away from them. But it's great that people do get on there. They form this community and there are people that go on every day and talk about it. That's one of the really cool things about this kind of genre is how interested people can get, and it's just the fans that you get are really cool."
As you said, Kyle's got a lot of talents, including basketball. Are you naturally good at that or did they have you training?
"For the basketball they had me training, they had me train... I was carrying around a basketball for a couple of months, literally everywhere I sat I was carrying a basketball around with me and practising and practising and they had me doing a couple of tricks that I was always practising and they had me train for that. It wasn't one of my natural skilils."
There were some pretty impressive trick shots in there. How did you manage those?
"That's all TV magic, all the crazy shots I make, that's all with special effects. The little hand tricks that I did, I had to learn those, so those are real. As far as making the shots - I'm not that good. I wish!"
Are there any areas in real life where you do have a skill that is of Kyle standard?
"I can jump off buildings... no, I dunno, to be honest I don't think so. I'm trying to think of all the things they had me do. I'm not exactly a maths genius - I'm really good at maths, maths was my favourite subject in school, but I wasn't a genius. I can't read a book in three minutes. I'm going to go ahead and say no, Kyle's invariably faster than me."
And you don't sleep in a bathtub either?
"No, I don't sleep in a bathtub, though I found it very comfortable! You start spending time in there, they gave me a blanket and a pillow, so it was pretty comfy. The only thing is, there wasn't much space to spread out! I got very used to my bathtub."
You worked with Nick Lea on the show. How was that - he's an X Files legend!
"Nick Lea is a great actor, and doing scenes with him was always awesome. He's so into it, and it makes you go to that place too. You're working with someone as professional and amazing as he is, it helps your performance and helps you come off that much better too. But he's an awesome guy, and I look forward to shooting a second season with him too."
So you're not filming the second season yet?
"Actually, we will, we're going to Vancouver to shoot second season, going next week."
You're looking forward to seeing all the cast again, I take it?
"Yeah, although we're all really close. We see each other - we hang out outside of work all the time, even after we wrapped and finished shooting the first season and came back to LA, we were always hanging out."
How would you say the tone of the second season is as opposed to the first?
"To be honest with you, I couldn't say yet because I haven't seen the script! Everything I've got is from talking to the producers and writers. This is how secretive they are - I start shooting in less than two weeks and I still haven't seen the script for the first episode. We literally get scripts a few days before shooting them, and we find out as we get new stories, new scripts."
Do you have to pester them for information? Do you want to?
"We always do. I'm always trying to squeeze information out of them. It's one of those stories, one of those shows where you get so into trying to figure it out that you need to know the facts, what happens next. Actually, after we got the final episode for season one, after I finished reading it, I went to the producers and I was like 'alright, we have to come back for a second season just so I know what happens, because it will drive me crazy if I don't know what happens'. So, thank God we did!"
What would you say about how long the show could run for - and how do you get the balance between asking more questions and annoying the viewers?
"We answer questions, we don't leave you hanging for too long. A lot of these shows, they'll stretch out something for so long that you start to go crazy, you're like, 'I just need to know'. With our show, they start to answer questions at a really good speed, so we're really lucky. We'll answer those questions and then give you new questions, which is really cool about this show. It's just neat, because it always keeps you on your toes."
Thanks for chatting, Matt!
Kyle XY airs Tuesdays at 8pm on Trouble.
Plus: Visit this week's Tube Talk for more gossip from Matt!
