But the character that really got under my skin, sucked me in and kept me thinking about him long after the show was over each week, was megalomaniac-billionaire Iron’s dark, sexy and mysterious bodyguard/assassin, Ian Nottingham, played to perfection by Eric Etebari.

Ian came to life each week, infused by Eric’s passion for the character, and precision for the subtle nuances of the enigma that was Ian Nottingham.  Eric even performed the majority of his own stunt work for the show! He lived and breathed Ian, which made Ian live and breathe for all of us.

As the season unfolded, Ian ended up stealing the show for me, which was a feat, because there were many fascinating characters in Witchblade.  He began as an almost child-like, subservient, deeply conflicted character, and evolved into a strong, obsessed-in-the-sexiest-of-ways, protective, committed, but still dangerous and deeply conflicted man.  Member of a highly elite squad of assassins who were experimented on to make them more of everything: more dangerous, ruthless, harder, stronger, faster, smarter, Ian had a past he could never escape and a future in which his every breath was dictated by Iron’s brutal whim--until one lovely day, Ian was free...well, mostly.  

Much to my dismay, I only caught seven or eight episodes of the show toward the end of the first season and somehow managed to miss the second season entirely.  But I never got the show or anti-hero Ian out of my head and, when I discovered that Witchblade was going to be released on DVD last July, I couldn’t buy it fast enough. When I finally got to watch the pilot and the rest of the episodes I’d missed, I was startled by some of the commonalities in the Fever series and Witchblade. There’s no doubt we all draw from the same mythological pool.  

At the end of the second season, I was devastated that the show had been cancelled. I wanted more Ian Nottingham!  

So, I turned to the man who made the magic happen, to discover his thoughts on all things Witchblade, recent projects and current ones.   

Actor, model, musician, athlete, director and producer, Eric’s film credits include Witchblade, CSI Miami, Cellular and one of my favorites, 2 Fast 2 Furious—where he raced the classic 1970 Dodge Challenger.  

KAREN: Eric, did you always know you wanted to be an actor?

ERIC: Yes and no. My mother was a photographer and I always seemed to be in front of the camera. I went out on a few commercial auditions as a kid but was very shy. Because I’d been through about 7 different public schools, growing up in Hollywood, I started playing more sports to fit in. It seemed the best way to stay safe and keep the tough guys on your side! After I realized sports weren’t enough to occupy my mind and my creativity, I eventually drifted back to being an artist. 


KAREN: You were a model first, did you pursue modeling or were you discovered?

ERIC: I was attending San Diego State on a Volleyball scholarship when my roommate found an advertisement for International Male’s Open Call Model Search in the school paper. I didn’t think much of it but he kept teasing me about it. Then he dared me, even called me a chicken! At 17 years old, those were fighting words.  So I took the challenge, and he and another buddy went with me to the open call. The whole way there they were pumping me up. "E, you’re the man! You’re going to nail it! Come on, how many people do you think are really going to show up anyway?"

Well, we got there, and there were over 500 guys--all colors, shapes and sizes--and everyone was very good-looking. It was intimidating. Then my buddies started saying, "Good luck dude. You don’t have a chance!" I signed in at number four hundred thirty-six, and it took about six hours before my turn came.  I got a call two weeks later, saying I’d made the top 100. Then a few days later, I was in the top 10, and the winner would land the cover. I didn’t end up as the winner--at least not yet. They chose someone else. Then when I least expected it, I got a call from the photographer who’d taken our pictures at the open call and he told me they weren’t happy with the guy they’d picked. He suggested I let him shoot more pictures of me, and he would get them to reconsider me for the cover. So I went to his studio and shot all day, and I got a call the next day telling me I’d been picked to do the cover! That was my first professional job. I worked for International Male a lot after that. Did some funny stuff.  I still have a close buddy that kept a few of the catalogs I did like UNDERGEAR and he blackmails me every now and then.:)

KAREN: You had an incredibly successful modeling career including an ad campaign featuring you in Davidoff’s Zino campaign.  

What was that time of your life like?  

ERIC: It was a great time for me. But it didn’t happen easily. I tried to get representation in Hollywood, to no avail. I was turned down several times. Then one day a scout for Bruce Webber, a very famous photographer, came to the school campus, took my picture, and sent it to him. I got the call to shoot with Mr. Webber a couple weeks later at the Chateau Marmont hotel.

I was able to use the pictures to get representation and start my career. I traveled all over the world. I was fortunate enough to work with a few immensely talented designers like Gianni Versace,  Jean Paul Gaultier, Valentino,  Karl Lagerfeld, and Giorgio Armani. But one of my biggest thrills was working with Cindy Crawford on a Versace campaign shot by the late Richard Avedon.  It was some of the most fun I have ever had. I traveled all over the world and met the greatest people. I even had a private dinner at Gianni Versace’s villa in Paris that he cooked himself. He’s a great cook!

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