Legend Star Avoids Hits

Having played deputy Doug on Dawson's Creek for years without ever having cause to rough up a suspect, Dylan Neal is ready to kick some butt in the spacey saga Babylon 5: The Legend Of The Rangers (airing Saturday at 9 pm/ET on the Sci Fi Channel). Just don't expect him to put up his dukes once the director yells, "Cut!"

"I try to keep in shape so I can at least look the part of a tough guy," the actor tells TV Guide Online. "But if someone throws a punch at me, I'm the first one on the ground, crying like a baby."

And that, friends, is why stunt doubles exist. "These guys are such finely-tuned athletes," shares the grateful would-be warrior. "They know exactly how to make you look great, because that's their job: making the actor look like a badass!"

Should the Babylon 5 spinoff go from pilot-movie to series, there will be plenty to keep the actor and his double busy. "Joe [Straczynski, executive producer-writer] said he views the original series as a drama with a little bit of action, and I think this one will be the flip side of that — action, with a little bit of drama."

So, while those involved with Legend hope that audiences will accept the former soap stud (The Bold & The Beautiful) as a rough-and-tumble rebel, Neal knows not everyone will buy him as an action figure. "It's hilarious for anyone who knows me to see me in this kind of role," he laughs, "because they know it's completely fake."