Daniel DiTomasso Talks About ‘Witches of East End’ and Playing Killian

Daniel DiTomasso Witches of East End
Daniel DiTomasso stars in ‘Witches of East End’ (Photo ©2014 A&E Television Networks, LLC.
Photo by James Dittiger)

The Tipsy Crow in downtown San Diego was transformed into the Witches of East End‘s party central during the San Diego Comic-Con, with clips from the series playing and posters of the cast adorning the walls. The setting was dark and slightly creepy (the fog machine seemed to be working overtime), but when Daniel DiTomasso sat down at our table for an interview about this second season of the Lifetime series, the mood lightened considerably.

DiTomasso plopped his camera down amid the tape recorders of the four journalists ready for the interview, admitting he’s a nerd who will be downloading all the photos he took from his first trip to the San Diego Comic-Con that night. Calling the experience phenomenal, DiTomasso said they prepped the cast for what to expect but nothing truly prepares a newbie for a first time at the Con. “I think it’s great to see the passion in the fans. To get that positive response – it’s nice,” said DiTomasso.

This show has so much female energy at its core. For you, how do you bring the masculine into it?

Daniel DiTomasso: [Laughing] “Well hopefully I just do it. I better not act like a woman today! No, that’s a very good question. Certainly, our core group of women are very strong personalities, very strong actresses. There’s not a lot of television right now that has the four leads as women, so that was very interesting to me. And I think to counterbalance that with some male energy is flattering. I had a great time working with everyone; I think our chemistry is phenomenal. Everyone gets along – no drama to report, sadly and probably boring for the news outlets. But really it’s been a very educational experience for me overall.”

What do you think about the tone this year? It’s definitely gotten darker.

Daniel DiTomasso: “It has. I think the look of the show is certainly darker, more stylized, and in my opinion, more interesting. I think the content is also more adult, more edgy, which I personally enjoy. I think overall our show is a little bit stronger, not to say that last year’s wasn’t fantastic because I definitely think it had wonderful things going on. But I think it’s a little bit more focused this year. Going in that direction, given the genre, I think it just opens it up for a lot more. And I’m thrilled with the changes, to be honest with you.”

Obviously both the Gardiner brothers now realize they have magic powers. Killian’s reaction seems different from Dash’s. Do you think that has to do with Eva or is it just in him to react to issues like that better?

Daniel DiTomasso: “That’s an interesting question. I think both of them are certainly shocked. Dash, anger triggers a lot of the magic that happens to him. Killian’s first experience with it is when he feels threatened so in that respect pretty much the same. I think Killian just, given where he’s been his entire life, given the fact that he’s never felt like he fit in, given the fact that he’s always been drifting… Kind of, given the family dynamic he’s never really been a part of it. Finally understanding perhaps why he felt that way is an enlightening experience for him. It’s a total self-discovery, reinvention of self which is exciting for Killian and also for me as an actor to play.”

Now that he knows he has powers and Eva has powers, when do you think he will put two-and-two together about Freya and their connection?

Daniel DiTomasso: “Yeah, well, he doesn’t know at this point, right? He doesn’t really know. In fact, the connection with Eva, going back to what I just said, he’s never really felt connected to anything and that was part of his problem is he never fit in so when he finds himself in a circumstance, again, in his mind thinking that Freya chose his brother, I think Killian finally feels, ‘Okay, I belong somewhere finally. And I think that’s the connection he shares with Eva, the fact that she’s a witch and as far as he’s concerned she may be the only other witch around. It draws him close to her. And given the nature of our show, of course, there could always be other variables at play, which I’m sure you will draw your own conclusions.”