Back in 1998 I was contacted by an agent I hardly ever worked with for what she described as a mini-series to be shot in China. She didn't know anything beyond that. Skeptical, I went to the audition and found myself facing a panel of eight Chinese folks, only one of them able to speak English. He said, "Do you have a monologue for us?" I said I did and performed it, knowing only he would understand a single word. At the end he said, "That's from 'Death of a Salesman,' right?" I said, "Yes, very good!" He translated my response to the panel and they all started laughing. He then turned to me and asked, "How would you like to travel to China to work on a TV series for us?" I said, "Are you kidding? I'd love it!" He translated again and the seven other panelists once again broke out into laughter. He then thanked me for coming in and I left, thinking there was no way anything would come of this. Several days later, my agent called to tell me I would appear in five episodes of "A War of China's Fate," a 30-part series that was to be shot in China and Washington D.C., playing the role John Carter Vincent, director of the State Department's Office of Far Eastern Affairs. The series detailed the rise of Mao Tse Tung after World War II, culminating into the formation of the People's Republic. I still didn't believe any of this was happening — until the contract and plane tickets came. I spent about a month in China and another week in D.C. filming this series, which was the first project ever shot in China using American actors. It went on to win many awards when it aired in China the following year. To this day, the entire experience still seems like a dream!