By Rick Bentley / The Fresno Bee
LOS ANGELES -- It is a good thing David Krumholtz only plays a mathematician on television.
"I was terrible in math when I was in school. I loathed it," Krumholtz says during a break in filming of one of the final episodes of the CBS series "Numb3rs" for this season.
"I tried to start a petition to get math [to] be an elective. I was the guy in the back of the class asking why we had to know this stuff."
Now he knows why.
Krumholtz has changed the nerd image of a math wizard with his portrayal of Charlie Eppes on the CBS series "Numb3rs." Suddenly, smart is cool. Not only does his character not wear broken glasses or lack fashion sense, he's got a hot girlfriend. And if that wasn't enough, he uses his supersize brain to help the FBI fight crime.
The New York-born actor is waiting for the lighting to be moved on the set that is his college office.
The scene has Charlie explaining to FBI agent Colby Granger (Dylan Bruno) how an ancient theory about how warring factions act and react can be used to track down a modern killer. It is just another example of how the series has blended smart material with big action scenes.
"Numb3rs" is the story of two brothers who work together to solve crimes. Charlie provides the mathematical formulas. His brother, Don (Rob Morrow), is the FBI agent who provides the muscle.
"The task each week is finding the balance between the math and the action," says Cheryl Heuton, series co-creator and writer. "Then, because the lead guys are brothers, it pulls in the father. So we also have to find the balance between their home life and the work at both the college and the FBI."
Krumholtz has a theory. He is convinced the show continues to build a following because viewers like the whole package. Story lines can include heavy action as well as deep philosophical discussions. That means viewers never know what to expect.
"The concept of our show is a bit far-fetched: a mathematician solving crimes for FBI every week. But I believe the tone we establish in the acting and the writing is real enough that the believability is palatable," Krumholtz says. "We realized earlier on, the [more real] we make this, the more believable it becomes."
"Numb3rs" is just the latest job in a long career that ranges from "The Santa Clause" to "Superbad" for the 30-year-old actor. His role in the 1993 feature "Addams Family Values" brought Krumholtz to Fresno. The camp sequence in the comedy was shot at Lake Sequoia, 50 miles east of Fresno, near the entrance to Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks.
Heuton says more than 100 actors read for the role of Charlie before Krumholtz. There were several who came close, but none was perfect.
"David came in to audition. He did the read. Kaboom! I knew then we had just found Charlie," Heuton says.
And Krumholtz found a role that he would be willing to play for years.
"There hasn't been this character on television in the past," says Krumholtz. "It is original."
And with each passing episode, Krumholtz has tried to make the role more original. It was his idea to introduce Charlie's interest in going green. And Krumholtz pushed to get an episode where Charlie had to go through some FBI training.
Krumholtz is quick to say that while he has the forum to suggest ideas, it is the writers who have been able to work those plotlines in without distracting from the show's mathematical center.
"And that is another thing that makes our show special. We have not tried to dumb anything down for the audience, and they recognize that," Krumholtz says.
PHOTO CAPTION: David Krumholtz, right, appears with CCH Pounder and co-star Rob Morrow in an episode of "Numb3rs." Krumholtz plays a math expert who helps his FBI agent brother, played by Morrow, to solve crimes.
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