Kristen Hager joined her Being Human co-stars at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con to talk about coming off a strong season of the Syfy show and what fans can expect from season four of the popular series.
Kristen Hager Being Human Interview
At this point you must feel like you’re part of their family now.
Kristen Hager: “I do! Yeah, it’s so great that you’re saying that we’re family because I was just saying over there how it couldn’t be a better group of actors to work with – as you can see. Every day is a party, which not all directors love when they first come on board. But everyone is very professional. As soon as they say, ‘Action,’ we’re very much prepared. They feel like my family members at this point, and I will be devastated when the show ends because I won’t be able to see them every day for five months of the year.”
Is it true that you get feedback on Twitter whenever your character says something unpleasant about Aidan? How is the fan feedback, in general?
Kristen Hager: “It’s been great. I was just saying that being part of a show on the Syfy network is fantastic because the fans are so dedicated and loyal, and as I was just saying over there, that’s why we do this job. At the end of the day, we’re here to entertain. That’s the only reason we’re doing this, and we’re so fortunate to be able to do this because of the fans who watch the show. I love that Twitter exists and that we can have this direct conversation with our fans, answer questions and let them know that we appreciate them, that we’re paying attention, and that we’re there. We’re human beings just like they are.”
The whole cast has been doing a lot of live tweeting during shows.
Kristen Hager: “Yeah, we have. We were supposed to only do it for the first couple, but then it was just so much fun that every week we would end up live tweeting.”
There weren’t a lot of sweet moments on the show last year, but the wedding was sweet. What was it like from your end?
Kristen Hager: “First of all, I was so happy when I read the outline that Josh and Nora were finally going to be married. I love them together. Outside of myself, as a fan of the show, I love Josh and Nora. They’re a great team. So, I was really excited to shoot that scene, and as it always happens, we have so much to do in a day.
Television moves very quickly. Most people don’t realize that sometimes we only have an hour to do a very important scene, and that’s what happened with the wedding. We literally had…it was the end of the night. It was a super long day. We had one take. We got one chance to do the wedding scene, and that’s why they did it as a camera that was doing close-ups of us, and then they had a camera moving around us. In a way, it was then very organic and authentic because we just had to go for it and hope for the best. But it was, at the same time, so stressful and I wish that we would have had longer with it. I think that it worked out beautifully as a result.”
Now that he’s a wolf again, how is that going to affect their relationship?
Kristen Hager: “Things have never been more challenging. It looks like they just can’t catch a break, these two. I think the writers were literally looking for the most difficult boundary to put between them. They really found it because Josh, yes, he’s a wolf for 29 days of the month, and then on the full moon he transforms back into a human right as I’m about to turn back into a wolf. We have a half an hour together. Our married life together has added up to being about an hour and a half.”
It’s very Ladyhawke.
Kristen Hager: “Very, and we may or may not reference that at some point. Basically, things have never been more difficult, but it’s so cool at the same time. Things are very passionate when we do see each other, obviously. It’s been very difficult for Nora. It’s been three months. It’s very much weighing on her. It’s dire for her. It feels like it’s got to be now or never. They’ve got to figure something out because there’s obviously no end in sight and she doesn’t know how she can go on like this. Things are very conflicted with the series. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens.”
How will the relationship be between Nora and Aidan this coming season?
Kristen Hager: “I’m so happy to announce that Aidan and Nora are very close at the start of season four because I kept talking about Twitter… I got so, so many angry Tweets last season. Even when I first read the script was like, ‘Oh, no. I can’t say this! People are going to hate me.’ They’ve been together for three months, trying to figure out how to get Josh back and also trying to find out where Sally is. It’s obviously brought them together in a big way, and they’ve really gotten to know each other. So, things are good for Nora and Aidan.”
Nora and Sally had a really cool relationship, especially toward the end of last season. Are we going to see some more of that this season?
Kristen Hager: “Definitely. Definitely more girl power. Yeah. We have so much fun together as a group, but it’s also so much fun now to get to just do scenes, just me and Sam Witwer, and just me and Meaghan [Rath], because I had more than enough scenes just me and Sammy Huntington. I love working with all of them.”
Meaghan said she’s been working with Amy Aquino again. Are you going to be doing scenes with her?
Kristen Hager: “I sure hope so. I love Amy. I thought she was such a fantastic addition to the cast, and I’m so happy to know that she’s going to be back this season. I really hope so. I feel like at some point I will definitely have to have a run-in with the witch again.”
You started the season digging up graves, and you finished the season with the wedding. Have you had a chance to step back and look at the past season and examine your character’s journey?
Kristen Hager: “Yeah, definitely. I feel like, specifically, season three was a huge journey for Nora. It was also really great to be integrated. In the first two seasons, I did only eight episodes, and then last season I did 11 and this season I’m doing all of them which is great. Just to be included in more of the episodes was so great.”
Is she going to grow into her wolf persona?
Kristen Hager: “Yeah. The wolf is always there. I think in season three she found a really lovely balance because obviously in season two the wolf very much took over. Then in season three, there was this lovely balance of human life and then, still, wolf life. I think that in season four, we will see more of the primal wolf because Nora is very protective. It goes with the wolf territory, a very primal instinct. It’s never going to go away. Especially now, with Josh being transformed into wolf form, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get him back. So we’ll definitely see more of Nora-wolf action, for sure.”
How much do you get to contribute to ideas for the script?
Kristen Hager: “I feel like we’re very fortunate on the show and we’re in a very unique position because they really do talk to the actors. I have so many other friends who are actors and that never happens. I feel like it’s very unique to our show, where we’ll get the scripts ahead of time, and then we will actually be able to make notes. Then we have a Skype call with the writers, and we’re able to say, ‘This is great,’ or question this, or just get clarity here, or even say, ‘You know what? Based on something that happened in season three, would I be doing this? Could we possibly do this?’ We do actually get the chance to contribute, which is fantastic. I don’t take it for granted because I feel like this is an exception to this show.”
Have you ever been on a show like that?
Kristen Hager: “No, never. Never ever. Again, like I say, I could only hope that I will be again, but I don’t know if I will be. We have a very special, special writing team.”
What would you like to see happen?
Kristen Hager: “Honestly, I would love to see her and Josh live happily ever after. I love Josh and her together.”
With many wolf babies?
Kristen Hager: “Many wolf babies. As a fan of the show, and stepping outside of it – not being the actress – I love their relationship together. I hope that things work for them. But again, it’s so much fun to get to play the wolf and the darkness that comes with that. I do hope that season four…the show wouldn’t be exciting unless there were those dark moments and the challenging moments, so I hope as well that I get to kick ass a bit.”
Does the makeup transformation drive you nuts?
Kristen Hager: “Yes, but fortunately I haven’t had to do a lot of it. I don’t know if it’s that they don’t want the woman to have horrible prosthetics on her face, but I’ve only had to do the fangs and the claws. The claws still take an hour to put on. For me, it’s that horrible scar on my stomach. That burn scar from my ex-boyfriend. That takes a long time to put on and a long time to take off.”
