What
draws you to the sci-fi or fantasy roles that you take on?
I think it’s just the opportunity to play different roles; it’s exciting.
It’s kind of what drew me to acting in the first place – it gives me an excuse to step into peoples shoes
for a while. I wanted to be so many things as a kid when I was growing up; I was finally hit with the realization
that if I was an actor I could be all those things. I sort of look really hard to try not to play the same
character twice, and stretch my range as far as I can. The sci-fi genre has been a gift for me.
I read in
a previous interview that you are a comic book fan, is that true?
It is true, yeah.
What are some of your favorites?
Well, growing up I really liked X-men a lot and Green Lantern… and
Spider-man. And recently I re-discovered comic books; several years ago I got into the Sandman series –
I thought that was outstanding and amazing. And Watchmen was a big deal for me as well, but then as graphic
novels came out… it was kind of a new level for it. I have a friend at DC Comics who introduces
me to some new titles once in a while. I re-discovered Starman; Astro City is probably one of my all time
favorites… currently. Y: The Last Man was a great run. I’m all about exploring
comics; I like the dark side to comics.
I’m assuming that’s a genre you would love to work on as an actor
then…
Absolutely, I
would love to… that’s a dream come true to bring a comic book character to life. We’re
running out of the mainstream characters; we’re going to start having to go underground… and the graphic novels
are becoming such exceptional writing that feature films are starting to realize they can be made. There’s
lots of titles that not everybody is aware of that are being made into films, and now with The Walking Dead being
made into a series… which is fantastic.
Let’s talk about Sanctuary. How did you get
involved?
I had worked with Martin
Wood on Stargate: Atlantis, and when they did the original Sanctuary web-series
I got a phone call from the folks from Sanctuary and they basically offered me the role as Henry. I
knew Martin was going to be directing, it was a no brainer. The whole web-series really wasn’t being
done at that time; definitely not at the level that it is being done now. Either this could be something
really cool and we’ll continue on and work for years or at least we can be part of something that could be groundbreaking
– and I hung out with some really cool people for a few weeks.
What was that transition like
to go from a web-series to an actual TV series?
I think the transition was a little more noticeable for Amanda, Martin and Damian just because it was their baby,
and having to be accountable to a network and have other people have a say… there was probably a little bit of a learning
curve there. Just also, season one was just sort of a proving ground to show we could do it… we
were all more than capable of pulling these characters off and stories off. And once we got the first season
under our belts and the fans were so supportive – every other season has just gotten better and better, and stronger
and stronger. Now, in season three, it’s far and away the best season.
Was there any fear that someone may be replaced after the web-series got picked up by a network?
I don’t think that was really an initial
fear; the fact that it got picked up for a series at all was just a blessing. Everybody was just so happy
for Martin and Damian. And kudos to all the power that be to keep us involved and bring us back.
The funny thing about this business is… there’s no job security here, any one of us can go at any time
– that goes on any show. So as an actor you never have job security at all, it’s just not the
nature of the business.
Tell us about the character that you play.
I play Henry Foss who is sort of the tech geek of Sanctuary – who also happens to be a werewolf…
or as we call them a class nine hyper-accelerated protean life form. Henry has had an amazing journey from
feeling like an outsider to being abnormal and coming to terms with it… and proving to be an essential part of the
team and being more involved and allowing more people into his life as well. It’s a really awesome
character to play; he’s got so many levels… it’s endless… the possibilities with that character.
You guys use a lot of green
screen on the show…
We
do, yeah… the show is sort of becoming famous for that. We shoot mainly in the studio on green screen.
We do have some practical sets… but it’s a lot of screens that we stare at.
Is that easy for you as an actor?
The truth of the matter is that all of us who were cast in Sanctuary…
I think we all have active imaginations anyways. We’re pretty much able to envision a world of some
sort, and the magic that the visual effects company comes up with is pretty unbelievable… I can’t really wrap
my brain around.
They
give the show a really unique look because of it…
Totally, and there’s nothing else like it on TV… I don’t think. I
think our show has a very recognizable look – you turn it on and you know you are watching Sanctuary.
It almost gives it a comic
book feel by using that look along with the panels.
Exactly, and that’s very intentional – of course the panels are for the story… and
we only have an hour to tell a story. Especially this last episode we see an epic storyline with an hour
to tell that story. I personally like the paneling; it’s a great way to move the story along in a
really stylistic way.
Season three kicked off last month, what can you tell us about this season?
This season is insane, it’s the first season that we get twenty episodes… in the past we
had thirteen. So, for us to have twenty episodes gives us a little more of an opportunity to explore a
little deeper into the characters… into the world of Sanctuary and into the sort of connected worlds involved in Sanctuary.
We go to some pretty insane places. The thing about Sanctuary is; usually the creatures and the
places and the people… we draw a lot from myths and legends and conspiracies… so if you do searches on a lot
of the things and places we go, you’ll find that often there is some relevance to those people and places.
And that’s really fun for me because we get to learn about different conspiracies when we’re shooting –
and season three explores that quite extensively. Also, the characters – we’ve got a chance
to sort of mix and match the pairings… we actually have episodes where we mix and match each other and interact with
each other in a way we haven’t.
I saw that you are in a movie with Adrien Brody called Wrecked; can you discuss anything about that
movie?
Yeah, I
can. It’s still doing the festival circuits right now. Wrecked was a really amazing
experience for me – it’s a very intense movie. It’s a thriller about a man trapped at
the bottom of a ravine in a car wreck – who has no recollection of even who he is or how he got there. He
has to basically put all these pieces together while trying to get himself out of this wreck that he is in. In
the meanwhile he comes across all sorts of interesting obstacles and troubles; plus flashback memories kind of pieces it all
together. It’s a very intense thriller, and Adrien was amazing in it – we beat him up on that
movie… we all got beat up pretty good on that movie, but Adrien got – [laughs] he is a very committed actor.
I had such a blast working with him; his performance is unbelievable.
I watched the trailer last night; are you mainly featured in
the movie during the multiple flashbacks?
Well, if you look closely
in the trailer there is somebody else in the car with him.
So
that was you in the car with him?
[laughs] Yeah, and that’s about all I can say about that.
[laughs] That’s about all I can say there, but you do see me in the backseat – and through
flashbacks it sort of explains who I am and what relation I am to Adrien.
