Tyler Hoechlin was sporting glasses for our interview because, as he explained while sitting down to chat at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con, he’d had Lasik surgery years ago but his eyesight was starting to blur a little bit. His Teen Wolf co-star JR Bourne revealed he’s too scared to go through with Lasik because he keeps hearing horror stories about people who’ve had bad experiences with the surgery. But once all the talk of glasses and blurry eyes was over, Hoechlin (‘Derek’) and Bourne (‘Chris Argent’) got busy answering questions about their characters, what’s up with this season of MTV’s Teen Wolf, and what fans of the show can expect moving forward.
Teen Wolf airs on MTV on Monday nights at 10pm ET/PT.
Tyler Hoechlin and JR Bourne Teen Wolf Interview
What spoilers can you give us for the rest of the season?
Tyler Hoechlin: “That don’t get us fired?”
[Laughing] Yes.
Tyler Hoechlin: “I guess the trailer shows probably a little romance for Derek. Hopefully, it goes better than last time…the last two times.”
With a mercenary.
Tyler Hoechlin: “I know! But at least she’s openly violent. I already know this. She’s being honest.”
JR Bourne: “You didn’t know about Kate?”
Tyler Hoechlin: “No!”
JR Bourne: “I did.”
Tyler Hoechlin: “You did? You never told me anything. It would have been nice if you’d been like, ‘Hey, young Derek. Just so you know…”
JR Bourne: “I didn’t know what she was up to.”
Tyler Hoechlin: “No heads up.”
JR Bourne: “It didn’t start that way. She’s been some trouble. Kate’s been trouble since she was born. A good spoiler for the rest of the season there is going to be a moment of intense reflection for Argent and it’s going to come at a cost. It’s a really great scene and I’m really excited about it. I just came up with that on the spot.”
Tyler Hoechlin: “Best answer ever.”
JR Bourne: “Literally just came up with that.”
Tyler Hoechlin: “Congratulations.”
Most of Chris’ family is gone but we’re glad he’s staying. Is there going to be more of the hunter/detective teaming of Derek and Argent?
Tyler Hoechlin: “I don’t know if there’s ever going to get to be more than it was in 3B. There’s a little bit of that this year, but there’s also Derek teaming up with Stilinski this year. A lot of that element. I mean, I think the task is so big this year with the threat not being a single threat but coming from any direction at any time.”
JR Bourne: “Individually.”
Tyler Hoechlin: “Yeah, it’s an individual thing. People will come in and we don’t know who they are or what their motive is. I mean, obviously, it’s money. But I think because of that everyone is teaming up with everybody because we have to. It’s not an isolated threat this time where we can really focus on one person or one area. We have to kind of be aware at all times of everything that’s going on. It’s really whatever situation you find yourself in.”
JR Bourne: “I think that’s some of what Jeff [Davis] has done well where things get established in a previous season and we know that it’s there and it’s not necessarily a massive focus in the next seasons. It might seem like it’s being ignored but I think we’re always sort of playing it. We know what’s going on, we know what that history is, and it sort of shifts and changes the way we interact with one another. I think that’s kind of a challenging thing about Teen Wolf that’s kind of enjoyable, you know?”
Now that Scott is an alpha and Derek isn’t, does Derek feel any jealousy toward him?
Tyler Hoechlin: “It’s one of my favorite things about Derek is how much he’s changed from season one. I think season one and two, even the beginning of three, he would have been. I don’t think there’s any of that at this point. I think Derek’s growing to realize that… The scene with Derek when he has Peter put his mother’s claws in his neck and he speaks to her, that scene was cut down a little bit. Originally when she came in I say, ‘Mom,’ and then once I confirm that it’s her I actually ask her, ‘What do I do? What do I do now?’
For me, that scene was him saying I thought I was supposed to be this, obviously I’m not so what is my purpose? What am I supposed to be doing? And to me it was always that she told him, ‘Help Scott. You’re their to help Scott. Those who can’t do, teach, and you’re not meant to be an alpha but you’ve learned a lot from your failures.’ I always say failures an opportunity to learn to get better so Derek’s had a lot of experience in that area so he has a lot to teach Scott, and I think it’s going to be invaluable wisdom and knowledge that’s going to make Scott a better alpha than he could be without him.”
If Derek were to ever get his powers back, what do you think his role would be?
Tyler Hoechlin: “I think it will be the same. I think it will be to contribute where he can and to help Scott, and to make him stronger. Because I think anyone who can make the leader of the group stronger, strengthens the whole group. So I would say that would probably be his role.”
Is he able now to look at what happened to him with Kate in a different light?
Tyler Hoechlin: “I don’t know that it’s a different light. I think it’s such a new challenge for him now. What he’s going through I actually liken a lot to my personal experience of myself playing baseball which was that when you lose something that’s so…I played baseball every day so to me that was an identity, I was a baseball player, and so when I lost that, you lose that sense of your identity. So it’s kind of like finding out who I was without baseball. I think Derek is finding out who he is without a werewolf, and I think that’s kind of playing into it more than anything else.”
– Teen Wolf Cast Photos at Comic-Con
