I’m not Edward Snowden, I just play him on TV | Public …

Like Americans, most Russians have seen the TV disclaimer: "All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental" just maybe not so much in this case.

The storylineof "Where the Motherland Begins,"a Russian spy series that aired on state television this fall,opens with a hurried flight from Hong Kong to Moscow inJuly 2013.There's a skinny American dressed in what passes as DC-office casual. He's a former NSA contractor. He hasa laptop. He has exposed Americansurveillance of people across the globe. And he's wearing glasses those glasses.

Ladies and gentlemen,meet "James Snow." Remember: any resemblance to anyone real is "purely coincidental."

When I got the script, I was like 'Hey, wait. It's ... it's ... it's ... Snowden,' says ArnasFedaraviius, the 23-year-oldLithuanian actor cast in the role.

Edward Snowden the real Edward Snowden is still living in Moscow after being granted asylum in Russialast August He gives the occasional interview, but most details of his life are left to speculation.We do know he'sstill trying to raise awareness ofmass surveillance.

But for James Snow the fake Edward Snowden the Moscow adventure is just beginning.For one, that plane from Hong Kong never quite landed.The eight-part "Where the Motherland Begins"takes the storyline in another direction entirely.

Over the course of the show,we learn that James Snow is no simple ex-NSA contractor:He's the child of a Soviet molewho infiltrated his way into Reagan-era America. And now he's coming home. (No word on a crossover episode with "The Americans," sadly.)

In the real world,Fedaraviius says Moscow is nice,but it's definitely not home.And James Snow is hopefully a stepping stone to bigger things. He's already appeared alongside John Malkovich in 2012s "Siberian Education," and he's starringin his first feature film later this year,a Russian production called The Guest.

Still, for the Snow role, Fedaraviius found himself watching the early Guardian videos of Snowden, picking up on his various physical ticsand wondering about the man on the screen.You get the feeling he's very confident about everything he says in the interviews ... and very humble,"Fedaraviius says

But between the filmed moments, he wondered if the real Snowden was more fragile. He sensed some hand trembling"and tried to inject that into the role.

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I'm not Edward Snowden, I just play him on TV | Public ...