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Grace Gummer Interview: ‘Mr. Robot’ Season 2

By
Fred Topel
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Mr Robot star Grace Gummer
Grace Gummer from ‘Mr. Robot’ at Comic Con 2016 (Photo © Richard Chavez)

Grace Gummer says that prior to being cast in USA Network’s critically acclaimed Mr. Robot she was a big fan of the series and is now proud to be a part of the award-winning drama. Gummer and her Mr. Robot co-stars Rami Malek, Christian Slater, Portia Doubleday, and Carly Chaikin participated in the 2016 San Diego Comic Con where the show proved to be a huge draw for those fortunate enough to have a ticket to the sold-out convention. Along with taking part in a Q&A with fans, the Mr. Robot cast also sat down for roundtable interviews, with Gummer acknowledging that it’s a rare thing as an actor to be able to join the cast of a series she knows and loves.

Mr. Robot is currently airing its second season on Wednesday nights at 10pm ET/PT.

Grace Gummer Interview:

Is your mom a fan of the show?

Grace Gummer: “Yeah, my parents both have watched the show and are super excited about. You know, all my friends and my family are super supportive of me and what I do. I think that this show more than any other show is important to watch. I think it’s a rarity on TV right now. I think it speaks to a pervasive modern mode of the distress in society that we kind of need.”

The morning ritual that’s shown in the series – how long does it take to film and how specific is the staging of it?

Grace Gummer: “That didn’t take so long because I do my morning ritual… Like, I just did what I do and also what Dom would do. Dom wears a lot more makeup than me, so it definitely was a longer process.”

I hope your real bathroom is much nicer.

Grace Gummer: “Yeah, it is. [Laughing] But, it’s sort of weird to do your makeup into a camera and have the camera be the mirror. You can’t really see yourself so you’re just pretending that you see yourself.”

Can you talk about the training your character, Dominique, had for her job? What’s her background?

Grace Gummer: “I think all FBI Cyber Crime Agents are very tech savvy and must know their computer very well. I don’t.”

Was that tough for to play?

Grace Gummer: “No, I didn’t have to do a lot of that for the part. What I did do was I spent some time with some female agents who work in the Cyber Crime Division at a downtown field office in New York, and they were really helpful for me to hang out with and to just see they’re normal people. They’re normal woman who have lives and families, and they go out at night and some of them carry their gun in their purse and some of them don’t. I did some gun training, which was weird. But yeah, it’s been really fun.”

At what point might Dom encounter Elliot?

Grace Gummer: “I think our storylines – all of us have our own storylines and some of them intersect and some of them don’t. What’s cool about my character is that mine doesn’t revolve around any other character or around any other man, which is true of all the other women in the show which is what I love. My character and my storyline is completely independent of everyone else’s which is cool.”

Were you given the whole arc of the season before you started?

Grace Gummer: “We were given all 10 scripts before we started.”

Could you have done it otherwise if you were piecing it together week-by-week?

Grace Gummer: “You know, that’s a good question. I sort of don’t know of any other way of doing it with this show. I was actually really happy to be informed about everything that came before. We shot it like a movie. Usually when I work on a movie I don’t like to know what’s going to happen later in case that will inform my performance, but with this the material is so heavy you need that information to know what you’re doing.”

How has it been having writer/series creator Sam Esmail there also directing each episode, given the specificity of the dialogue?

Grace Gummer: “I can’t imagine doing every episode week to week with someone different there every episode. I think that because of the way we were shooting and because of the amount of words and material and just emotional storylines, I think that he was like our bible. He knew everything and whenever we were lost or couldn’t remember what happened next or what we had already shot, he knew everything right away. Sam lives and breathes this show. He cares so much and that feeling, that care is pervasive throughout the entire set. It really drives everyone to do their best work and to really care about the show which I think is what you see.”

Watch the full Grace Gummer interview:

(Interview by Fred Topel. Article by Rebecca Murray.)

Kat Graham Interview: ‘The Vampire Diaries’ Final Season and Her Hopes for Bonnie

By
Rebecca Murray
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Vampire Diaries star Kat Graham
Kat Graham from ‘The Vampire Diaries’ at Comic Con 2016 (Photo © Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)

The CW’s The Vampire Diaries is drawing to an end with the series’ eighth season set to premiere on October 21, 2016. The cast of the popular show made one last trip to the San Diego Comic-Con in support of the upcoming season and in addition to participating in a panel that featured a Q&A with fans, Kat Graham and the rest of the cast sat down for roundtable interviews. Graham told us she has high hopes that her character, Bonnie, will go out in the most incredible way as a strong, powerful, and heroic woman.

Kat Graham Interview:

So what can we expect this final season from Bonnie?

Kat Graham: “That’s a great question. I should ask that question to Julie (Plec). I haven’t asked that question yet.”

What would you like to see happen?

Kat Graham: “Well, listen, there’s so many things. I don’t know if you guys ever read any stuff online and stuff like that, but I do read a lot of what the fans say. I think that they understand the character very well, and there’s some really cool ideas for the character. Listen, I don’t necessarily believe that the traditional happy ending is the best ending. I’m somebody who likes to see the biggest, most incredible way for characters to go out. I mean, as somebody who watches a lot of television and is a fan of a lot of television I just hope that this character is able to have the strongest outcome for her character.

I always saw this character as a hero. This is a very heroic (character). Kind of started off a little mousey, somebody that came into her own, and I really want her to fully embrace that by the end. I don’t want her to go backwards. So, anything that she’s been harboring on embracing, I hope that that just drives the monster truck through whatever ideal that is. So, that’s my hope for the character, and that can be in a different form. I don’t know what that looks like on paper or who that’s with, or what instance that manifests itself into. But my hope is that this character is always a hero.”

How instrumental will Bonnie be in helping Damon and Enzo get back?

Kat Graham: “I think very instrumental. That’s my opinion, mind you that might not happen. The process has begun. They’re going out to find them. They’re very proactive to see what’s happening to try and bring them back to them, but there’s something of what (Michael) Malarkey said earlier of a mind control that has happened. We haven’t ever explored that. You’d think after eight years we’d kind of done everything, but we actually haven’t explored (this).

We’ve explored compulsion, but this is a different kind of control over the mind that has taken Damon and Enzo. We have to figure that out, how to unlock that and how to bring them back.”

Do you think Elena has to come back?

Kat Graham: “Yeah, girl, get your ass back in Mystic Falls! Figure this out. Yes, of course.”

Will we see Bonnie reach the pinnacle of her powers as a witch this season?

Kat Graham: “That would be amazing. I hope to God, yes. That’s a brilliant, amazing question. You know one of the reasons I fell in love with this character is I’ve always been a girl that was always a fun of superpowers, like female superpowers. But even just like a regular person with powers, not necessarily a witch having a broom power. Remember that movie Power? I really love that movie and I love where regular people have something special about them because I believe that’s how we all feel. We all feel like we’re regular people; some days I feel less than regular. And we all want to feel like we have even more control and power than maybe we have in our lives.

When I saw Bonnie developing this incredible power and this kind of control and being able to levitate things, it just was so exciting for me because I know what it’s like to feel powerless. I’m hoping that we see this kind of massive moment for this character because she’s struggled with having them, losing them, getting a little bit back, and then involved in the dark magic. It’s always been her struggle. It has never come easy for her. It wasn’t just something that she didn’t have to develop. I’m hoping that she finally comes into that. That would be really awesome.”

What is driving her this season?

Kat Graham: “Well, I think you have to have some sort of selfish objective or else nobody’s going to care. ‘Oh, she’s just doing it for her friends.’ No one wants to hear that; that’s giving your power away. ‘Oh, she’s just doing it for love.’ She needs a man to feel powerful? Honey, you’re not going to tell me that. That’s not going to be my motivation.

For Bonnie, for a character that has lost everything and basically everyone in her life, she has to get her power back, right? So she’s not going to be giving it away. She’s not going to be necessarily sacrificing. Everything has to come back to you as people, right? We have to get it back to us, because if we make it about other people no one is going to be interested in it.”

Watch the Kat Graham interview:





Kelly Overton Interview: ‘Van Helsing’ and Her Love of Vampires

By
Rebecca Murray
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Van Helsing star Kelly Overton
Kelly Overton from ‘Van Helsing’ at Comic Con 2016 (Photo © Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)

Van Helsing star Kelly Overton (True Blood) said that her character in Syfy’s Van Helsing actually bites vampires to turn them back into humans. It’s an interesting twist which Overton says did not require her to wear special vampire-biting fangs. “I don’t have vampire teeth,” said Overton, laughing. “I just fricking bite them. There’s this thing that happens inside that I imagine happens to vampires, and I want to (bite them). It’s this primal urge, like I want to bite them. I think we kind of explore that more in the future, the details of how all those mechanics work. Yeah, I’m just kind of like a chick who bites back.”

Overton was with her Van Helsing cast mates at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con where she talked to reporters about her starring role in the upcoming series. Syfy just announced they will premiere Van Helsing on Friday, September 23, 2016 at 10pm ET/PT, and the network also released the following synopsis for season one:

“In a twist on the classic vampire adventure tale, Van Helsing revolves around unlikely heroine Vanessa Helsing (Overton), who unexpectedly discovers that she holds the key to humanity’s survival: her own blood! Gifted with not only an immunity to vampires, Vanessa is also capable of taking out her bloodthirsty foes by turning them into humans with her bite. Now both prey and predator, Vanessa sinks her teeth into her role as humanity’s leader – and secret weapon – in their resistance against the vampires that plagued their world.”

Kelly Overton Interview:

What was the appeal of Van Helsing?

Kelly Overton: “I got the script and my agent was, ‘You’ve got to read this. It’s right up your alley.’ He was right. It was this beautiful combination of passions of my life. I mean, it was the vampire genre and that’s something that’s been in my life since I was young. I was obsessed with vampires as a kid. And the athletic aspect to the role, the athleticism that it required. I come from a really athletic background so that aspect of it is like if I get to act and be athletic, do my thing physically like that, it’s kind of a double whammy for me. And we didn’t see this much in the footage we showed but Vanessa is a mom. She has a daughter and I have a daughter. She wakes up from being in a coma for three years and she finds the world’s gone to shit. There’s all these people who want her for different reasons but all she cares about is her daughter. Where’s her daughter? Could she have survived? She has to find out. That becomes her main mission becomes finding her daughter.


I loved that. It was something I could really resonate with and get passionate about. I just thought it was a really cool journey that she goes on, this self-discovery. I loved that it happens with the audience. The audience and her are discovering it at the same time. I loved that.”

Why have you had a lifelong love of vampires?

Kelly Overton: “That’s a great question, I think. I keep asking myself that and so do other people. The best answer at this time that I could come up with is this idea of being immortal, of conquering death… I mean, we’re all and tied into true love, and then loving somebody so much that you want to spend eternity with them I think innately is kind of in our hearts as humans, that we all want those things. I think that’s why the genre does so well and that’s why as a kid I thought it was really awesome. And you can fly!”

Are you more of a Bram Stoker’s Dracula than Lost Boys type of person?

Kelly Overton: “No, no, no, no, no. I love Lost Boys. Love Lost Boys! Even Fright Night, and Anne Rice – I was obsessed with Anne Rice growing up. I would recite Interview with a Vampire in the graveyard with my boyfriend. I totally did that.”

Can you talk about your physical training for the role?

Kelly Overton: “Because I’ve done a secession of physical roles from Tekken to True Blood, it’s part of my job to stay fit and to get in the gym and do my thing. So, boxing and MMA. One of the things that was really fun for me was I focused on body building, more body building moves like dead lifts and just getting stronger and having more muscle mass which was really fun. Yeah, I love that. Like I said, being able to use that athletic part of me and those two passions at the same time was like…I love it.”

Coming into the role what did you think of Van Helsing as a female instead of the typical male that we see?

Kelly Overton: “I thought it was cool. I thought there were so many things that they were flipping, that they were turning the genre on its head, from having Neil LaBute who’s this prolific playwright do a vampire show – a TV vampire show. That was kind of like, ‘What?!’ Having Van Helsing be a woman, having her be someone who bites vampires and turns them human. There were so many things that were new and kind of the flip, which I thought was really cool. As far as her being a woman, you know did I feel like… It’s a totally new show, you know? It’s not like I was wearing the hat and the crossbow and was trying to be Van Helsing but as a woman. I thought it was great.”

You didn’t feel any extra weight because of the history of the character?

Kelly Overton: “At times I felt the responsibility to represent as a female and do that justice. But the more I didn’t focus on that and the more I tried to do the best job I could do as an actor, I knew that was my best shot at even succeeding at that. I tried to take that pressure off of myself.”

Watch the full Kelly Overton interview:





Misha Collins Interview: ‘Supernatural’ Season 12

By
Rebecca Murray
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Supernatural star Misha Collins
Misha Collins from ‘Supernatural’ at Comic Con 2016 (Photo © Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)

Season 12 of The CW’s Supernatural introduces Rick Springfield as Lucifer and brings Mary Winchester (played by Samantha Smith) back to life. Mary and Lucifer are going to drive the season 12 story, and Misha Collins (‘Castiel’) says the hunt for Lucifer will be front and center for his character. During our interview at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, Collins also teased a storyline involving Mary Winchester and Castiel that he’d love to see come into play this season.

The CW’s set an October 13, 2016 premiere date for Supernatural season 12.

Misha Collins Interview:

What can we expect from this coming season?

Misha Collins: “I’m sure that people mentioned it but we’re going more intimate, more family this season. We’re not dealing with the politics of heaven so much, from my character’s perspective. It’s more about the human scale, which I’m excited about. I think it’s good that we keep shifting the emphasis because it gives us new material to focus on and gives us something different to do.”

Do you ever lose track of whose side you’re on or what Castiel’s doing?

Misha Collins: “There were moments last season when I had to pay very careful attention to what was going on. Like when I was playing Lucifer who had occupied Castiel’s body who was pretending to be Castiel to other people, that was a little bit hard to keep a handle on. That was a pretty challenging moment for me. So, yeah, there’s moments when you have to make double sure you know what’s going on. But more or less I think we keep the thread most of the time. Sometimes we occasionally shoot episodes out of order and that makes it a little bit harder because, ‘Wait a minute…I got it.'”

What was the joke you made during the Supernatural panel about having some connection with Mary Winchester?

Misha Collins: “Well, Sam (Smith) and I have been shooting some scenes together and we’ve been joking behind the scenes that there’s a budding romance between Cas and Sam. I keep standing too close to her, or things like that, when we’re shooting. So far I don’t think the writers have picked up on that very obvious storyline choice but hopefully, they will.”

How will Castiel’s story arc change this season?

Misha Collins: “Well, so far in the beginning of the season Cas is on a mission to hunt down Lucifer and he’s got a very sort of single-track mind and he’s kind of militant in his approach to solving that problem. Where we go I can’t tell you because I don’t know.”

Have you shot any scenes with Rick Springfield who is playing Lucifer?

Misha Collins: “No, I haven’t. He arrived Friday when I wasn’t shooting.”

How much have they told you about this season?

Misha Collins: “Well, in the beginning of the season we see more than we see later on. Like we get a longer lead in the beginning because the writers have been working over hiatus so they build up sort of a library of material. We kind of catch up to that throughout the season, so the advance notice that we get narrows as the season goes on. But right now I’ve seen an outline through episode eight. That’s the biggest lead time that we get. By the time we’re shooting the end of the season, I probably have the outline for the final episode maybe a month before we shoot it.”

Do you have a preference for knowing that much ahead or not?

Misha Collins: “Oh, like knowing.”

Watch the full Misha Collins interview:





Janet Montgomery and Shane West Interview: ‘Salem’ Season 3 and Hell on Earth

By
Rebecca Murray
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Salem stars Shane West and Janet Montgomery
Shane West and Janet Montgomery from ‘Salem’ at Comic Con 2016.

The third season of WGN America’s creepy yet riveting horror series Salem will premiere during Halloween week, with Janet Montgomery and Shane West back in starring roles. Montgomery (‘Mary Sibley’) and West (‘John Alden’) were among the Salem cast members who appeared at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con to talk about the series and the upcoming season during a Q&A with fans. They also paired up for interviews in support of season three, discussing what viewers can expect and how the show will take an even darker tone.

Janet Montgomery and Shane West Interview:

Is this next season going to deal a lot with the child and maybe recover the family unit?

Shane West: “Still dealing with the child.”

Janet Montgomery: “I think the idea of the family unit is squashed at the end of season two. I think really season three is all about surviving on your own because you really don’t know who you can trust and who is still alive out there.”

Does it get even darker?

Shane West: “Oh yeah.”

Janet Montgomery: “Yes. I think it gets even darker and the world gets bigger. The whole concept of the season is hell on earth and I think that’s why it becomes such a frightening place. The characters will now have these relationships with each other, the either don’t know that that person is still alive or they just can’t trust that person. It becomes a sort of interesting dog-eat-dog world.”

Shane West: “It’s kind of everyone against each other. The witches sects are split. The devil, our son, is basically bringing hell to earth to really take over humanity rather than just trying to keep witchcraft alive. There’s a lot of internal fights as well between the good guys and the bad guys, if you put it that way. Oliver (Bell), who plays our son, plays the devil this year and really just knocked it out of the park. Helluva job this year, and he killed it.”

Janet Montgomery: “We got really lucky to have actually managed to cast someone who looks a lot like you and is a great actor. He’s grown with the show. He had a lot of responsibility this coming season and he is amazing.”

Why do you think we’re still fascinated by that time period and witches?

Janet Montgomery: “I think, especially that period in history, there’s so little we actually know and it was such an interesting time because of the whole new world, people coming in, people didn’t know what Native Americans were, we didn’t know about all the countries of the world, and so I think there’s a certain amount of fear and unknown about that.”

Shane West: “You don’t know what’s around you – wildlife, wild animals. People fighting constantly. And that’s where I think a lot of superstition, witchcraft, anything was definitely believable back then because it was the fear of the unknown.”

Janet Montgomery: “And I think witches are still appealable because everyone loves magic. I think there’s something quite sexy about witches as well. There’s some connection to the earth and moon, and I think people find that interesting.”

How has life on the set evolved from season one to season three?

Janet Montgomery: “We all joke around a lot more now. I used to be really serious all the time, and now I go around laughing a lot which is really nice. Because we all know our parts so well, we know the world that I feel like we get to have jokes in between takes.”

Shane West: “Absolutely. And I think that comes with practice, it comes with thankfully fans watching the show to keep us going. Season one was for me, and I’ve done TV series including this one where it’s always been tough because you’re trying to figure out what you are, how everyone is, and trying to put everyone together. And I think we had more of a serious environment in season one in just trying to get things down.”

Janet Montgomery: “You don’t know what it’s going to look like, if the show’s good, if people are going to like it, so there’s a lot more pressure the first season. And then the third season you get to really have fun with it.”

Shane West: “You start to hope you can have scenes with…Like, she and I get to work together all the time, but you hope to have scenes with other people that you realize you never had. I guess that gives away something, but there’s a main character that I don’t even work with this coming year which is just a weird feeling to think that I didn’t even have a walk-by – or they walked by. Nothing.”

Janet Montgomery: “Me too!”

Shane West: “You had that too?”

Janet Montgomery: “I wonder if it’s the same character.”

(They whisper the name to each other.)

Shane West: “Yes! Exact same character. Okay. So we have the same character. That’s great. We see them on the set every day, but we just never had them in a scene.”

It seems like you’re going to encounter characters who appeared dead. Who would be the hardest to face if they would come back?

Janet Montgomery: “Who do I think is dead though? I don’t think Mary really thinks anyone is dead because she’s dead and then she comes back. I don’t think she’d be surprised at anyone. I think she’d be probably frightened to see Lucy Lawless again because she’s a much more powerful witch. She doesn’t even really know what in the end happened with her.”

Shane West: “By opening up this season to include hell as a true entity, as a character on the call sheet, you’re almost not surprised to see who might be dead that might come back. I don’t think they could be. For a moment, for a weird moment, maybe Countess Marburg. I would say for John, Petrus because he did kill him. But Petrus continues to come back so there’s no real…I don’t know if it’s really a surprise. We’ve introduce so many wacky, enigmatic, and crazy characters that it’s just not a surprise anymore. It’s more entertaining. It’s more exciting.”

Are there any unlikely partnerships we’ll see in the next season?

Shane West: “I have a pretty unlikely partnership.”

Janet Montgomery: “Me too. By the end of the season Cotton and I end up living in the same house together, so that’s a very interesting [partnership]. We start working together but during that he doesn’t know if he can trust me. So, yeah, he knows now that I killed his father so I’ve manipulated Cotton so much it’s interesting to kind of see how he feels about the idea of working with me.”

Watch the full Shane West and Janet Montgomery interview:





Stephen Amell Interview: ‘Arrow’ Season 5, Flashpoint Impact, and a Meaner Season

By
Fred Topel
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Arrow star Stephen Amell
Stephen Amell from ‘Arrow’ at Comic Con 2016 (Photo © Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)

During roundtable interviews at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con, Arrow star Stephen Amell provided insight into what the comic book-inspired series has in store for fans for season five. Amell said that this season will be meaner, more gritty, and get back to focusing on Oliver’s relationship with Star City. “That’s what we focus on this year. It feels good. It’s really amazing that we started with one show and now we have four, but Arrow has always been the most specific show. It’s a street-level crime-fighting make Star City better show, and it feels like we’re getting back to that this season.”

Arrow season five is set to premiere on The CW on October 5, 2016.

Stephen Amell Interview:

Can you talk about how the losses from last season will affect him this season and how that light he found last season will help him pushing forward?

Stephen Amell: “Well, you know the Oliver of season one was at one end. The Oliver beyond season two was at the other end. It’s very black and white: I’m willing to use lethal force and then I’m not. Obviously it doesn’t just come down to that, but at the end of season four we found a shade of grey and Oliver’s very much in that spot still. At the end of the pilot he has to admit that Malcolm’s right, that if he’s not willing to do whatever is necessary, then he shouldn’t even be out there at all. As a result, we have a shot in the pilot where I kill three people in one image, in one shot, and it’s because it is what it is. Are you in my way? Are you threatening my life? You gots to go.

I think that’s a more interesting character because it’s more dynamic. There are more colors to it.”

It sounds intense.

Stephen Amell: “We’re really going for it this year. This season is mean. I love the fact that The Flash and Supergirl and Legends can have their lighter moments, and I think it’s important to have that too, but Oliver is getting to that point where he’s getting to be a bit of a grizzled veteran. Just a little bit, not totally – he’s not a curmudgeon. But at the same time, he’s getting back to where we found him.”


How do you think magic impacted the overall feel of the show last season?

Stephen Amell: “It’s interesting. I thought Neal was wonderful and I loved working with him. I wish he was still around because he was such a joy on set. At the same time, the magic and all of that I feel like it was important but that it also taught the show a lesson which is I personally think we are better when we are a little bit more grounded.”

What else can we expect this season?

Stephen Amell: “This is probably the last year of the flashbacks which means that we have a lot to accomplish. Which means the impetus and the throughline of the flashbacks I think have a lot more urgency to them. Also, what happened at the end of The Flash season two. It affects Arrow.”

Can you talk about Cody Rhodes appearing in season five?

Stephen Amell: “Cody’s coming in this year. He’s going to play a villain in episode three. We’re going to fight. But one of the cool things about this year, too, and again I don’t think that this will be the last year of the show but at the same time this is the end of a chapter, so to speak. One of the things that we do this year that I think is very cool is that the villain, the big bad this year, was created by Oliver. It was created based off of Oliver’s actions in season one. I think that that’s a cool place to take the show.”

What kind of impact will the Flashpoint storyline in The Flash have on Arrow? Without spoiling anything, can you give us a general sense of the impact?

Stephen Amell: “No. [Laughing] What we do is we…first of all, it is explained in the early part of the season, not necessarily on our show. Then we subtly begin to introduce it and then maybe not so subtly.”

With the flashbacks coming to an end this season, do you have any lingering questions about those five years that you hope are answered?

Stephen Amell: “A lot. I made a list and I sent it to the producers. Like, when does he make his bow? Like, why does he have a beard? Why is he dressed as a castaway? Why is he dressed as though it’s been him and a volleyball for the past five years? Let’s answer these questions. We made a big list and we’re going to answer them.”

(Interview by Fred Topel. Article written by Rebecca Murray.)




Melissa Benoist Interview on ‘Supergirl’ Season 2 and Superman’s Introduction

By
Fred Topel
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Supergirl star Melissa Benoist
Melissa Benoist from ‘Supergirl’ at Comic Con (Photo © Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)

Supergirl makes the switch from CBS to The CW with season two, joining the network’s roster of comic book-inspired superhero shows that includes Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow. The move is a natural fit for Supergirl and hopefully signals an increase in the amount of crossovers we’ll see taking place among the four series. During our roundtable interview with Supergirl star Melissa Benoist at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, she told us that the network switch hasn’t really affected the series, describing this season’s scripts as both vibrant and fun.

Melissa Benoist Interview:

There was a terrific scene in season one of Supergirl flying in to help a girl who was bullied. Will she still have time to have moments of kindness like that in season two with everything that’s going on?

Melissa Benoist: “If she didn’t, I would be worried. I think that’s a priority for her.”

Will Kara’s new job affect her ability to be Supergirl?

Melissa Benoist: “What I love on the show is that there’s a constant ebb and flow, and this movement of scales in Kara’s life. Maybe when she feels secure and extremely confident in the Supergirl side of her life, she doesn’t feel so great about her career or her relationship with Miss Grant. So I think there’s a constant symbiotic relationship that she’s always exploring.”


When they told you Superman (played by Tyler Hoechlin) was finally coming to the show, what was your reaction?

Melissa Benoist: “I think it’s about time. I think every interaction that Kara had with Clark last season never felt like it was enough for me. I always wanted them to actually be in person. They’re family, you know? It’s incredible that we get to see those two characters side-by-side.”

How are you finding the Supergirl world versus the Glee world?

Melissa Benoist: “It’s two totally different beasts. The Gleeks are incredible fans and still so supportive even years after the show’s been cancelled. But, I don’t know. It’s the same amount of love and support. It’s the same amount of positivity from both worlds, but Supergirl‘s been around a lot longer. I think there are many more devout fans who’ve been reading the comics their whole lives.”

Have you noticed any discernible difference switching networks?

Melissa Benoist: “No, I haven’t. You know, I think that we really kind of honed in on what we love about all these characters last season. I do think we’re gearing towards a younger audience now. The scripts I’ve read have felt more vibrant and rich and fun, and just we’re delving more into what we loved doing last year – all of the things that we really felt like hit. But I don’t think the tone has really changed too much.”

Chyler Leigh said the first two episodes of season two start off with a bang. Does that mean there are lots of stunts for you?

Melissa Benoist: “I’m sure I’ll be doing a number of stunts – some of them I might not be quite ready for.”

Did they tell you what was in the rocket?

Melissa Benoist: “Yeah, I know what’s in the rocket. I’m not telling any of you.”

Did you already know or did you have to wait to find out?

Melissa Benoist: “I waited until… I found out maybe a week before I got the script.”

Is whoever is in the rocket going to be taking on a mentor role, whoever it is?

Melissa Benoist: “That’s a good question that I can’t give you the answer to. That was a good question.”

What were your favorite things about the first season?

Melissa Benoist: “I think a lot of it has to do with the joy and the positivity and the brightness that the show found, and the humor. I think we just want to have more fun, and there are certain things that we have more fun doing than others. We like fighting together. I think we are a really good team and there’s going to be a lot more of that.”

Watch the full Melissa Benoist interview:

(Interview by Fred Topel. Article by Rebecca Murray.)




Tatiana Maslany Interview on ‘Orphan Black’ Season 5

By
Alice Balagia
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Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslay
The ‘Orphan Black’ cast and producers at Comic-Con 2016 (Photo © Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)

Tatiana Maslany was joined by her Orphan Black acting double Kathryn Alexandre for roundtable interviews at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con. This year’s Con marks the final trip the cast will be taking to San Diego in support of the series which is wrapping up its run with a fifth and final season. The critically acclaimed sci-fi drama from BBC America has earned Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors Guild award nominations as well as the fervent support of a large fan base. During our interview, Maslany and Alexandre discussed the final season and what fans can expect as we say goodbye to the ‘sestras’.

Do you think Rachel can be redeemed for all that she’s done to the sestras?

Tatiana Maslany: “Good question. I feel like there’s a deep vulnerability that we’ve seen over the seasons, and as much as she sort of goes about things in a very misguided way, in a very cruel way, her intention is like all of the clones to just have some control over her life and just have some autonomy and some kind of volition in it. So, maybe. I mean, if we experience something of a…if she gives up somehow or there’s some kind of a…”

Kathryn Alexandre: “…truce of some sort. She kind of gets what she wants, somehow.”

Tatiana Maslany: “I think she reconciles, too, that she’s a clone. She’s like the rest of them, that she’s not different.”

Do you two talk about character choices together a lot?

Tatiana Maslany: “Yeah.”

Kathryn Alexandre: “Well, Tatiana’s been incredibly open to that throughout the process of every season of the show. I think that’s something incredibly unique and that’s something that I didn’t expect from the actor that I was going to be working with before I knew Tat. I could see that it would be understandable for an actor to not be open to the opinions of someone else who needs to play their characters. So, it’s incredibly unique that Tat’s been so generous and open, and open to discussion. It’s never right or wrong. Things can be thrown out; things can be valuable and used. But it’s just kind of that discussion just helps the art grow a little bit more.”

Tatiana Maslany: “Totally. Just having a collaborator in character creation is kind of unique, and Kathryn comes to set having watched all of the dailies and having seen the arc of the characters in a way that I don’t see because I’m there in it. She has questions about the scenes or she has questions about the characters or thoughts or ideas that are stimulating to me and make me see things differently. And we improvise within takes, too. That improv becomes part of the scene when we flip the characters to the other side, so it’s a real collaboration.”

How was it this past season as far as running out of hope for finding a cure?

Tatiana Maslany: “It’s tough because you’ve fallen in love with these characters and they seem fragile at this point. Cosima’s health seems really…I think when we left her at the end of episode 10 it was kind of like she could be gone. So, it’s interesting to play in those places. You know, I don’t want the characters to die but if the story does, then they could. It’s kind of painful, but it is fun to work through those things.”

Alison was separated from the rest of the sestras in season four while she tried to have a normal life. Do you think we’ll see her back working with the others in season five?

Tatiana Maslany: “Yeah, I think so. She’s kind of in the woods with Helena so they have an unexpected – again they’re forced into confinement with each other but now it’s Helena’s world, Helena’s home. It’s different. I would love to see those two do a little bit more together since it’s such an unlikely pairing.”

Alison said toward the end of the season how much she appreciated Helena. Do you think she was being sincere or sarcastic?

Tatiana Maslany: “I think she was totally serious. I think she went through a huge crisis of faith last season where God had abandoned her and then suddenly in her moment just before death or whatever was going to happen with that bot, an arrow through the throat and it’s Helena at the door. So I think she definitely saw that as an angel from Jesus.”

How do you feed off of each other when you’re working together in scenes?

Kathryn Alexandre: “Tatiana’s incredibly easy to feed off of because she just gives it her all every single take that she’s there. It doesn’t matter if you’re in minus 30 degree weather or if it’s hour 22, she’s just a pro. She’s always there. My job is to just try to match that and to give her as much as I can give her to make her be the best that she can be because ultimately she’s the only one that’s seen. But it’s super cool. I’ve never worked with an actor of skill and energy.”

Watch the full Tatiana Maslany and Kathryn Alexandre interview:

(Interview by Alice Balagia. Article by Rebecca Murray.)



Ben McKenzie Interview on ‘Gotham’ Season 3 and Jim Gordon’s State of Mind

By
Rebecca Murray
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Gotham star Ben McKenzie season 3
Morena Baccarin and Ben McKenzie in the ‘Gotham’ Comic-Con press room (Photo by Scott Kirkland © Fox Broadcasting)

Fox’s gritty comic book-inspired crime series Gotham returns for a third season on September 19, 2016 and according to Ben McKenzie (Jim Gordon), this upcoming season will find Gordon no longer part of the GCPD and instead on the job as a bounty hunter. McKenzie was part of the Gotham cast who made the trek once again to the San Diego Comic-Con to participate in a Q&A with fans and participate in interviews supporting the third season.

During our interview, McKenzie talked about the current state of Jim’s relationship with Harvey Bullock (played by Donal Logue) and Bruce Wayne (played by David Mazouz) as well as where Jim’s romantic relationship with Lee (Morena Baccarin) picks up in season three.

Ben McKenzie Interview:

What kind of emotional state do we find Jim Gordon in at the beginning of the season?

Ben McKenzie: “Not a good one. He left season two cleansed in a way by Hugo Strange’s psychological deconstruction of him, and he went off to find Lee. We start season three with him finding her but, as most things in Gotham, it doesn’t go well. So, he feels at sea. We move forward in time about six months and he’s back in Gotham, and the monsters that were unleashed at the end of season two are now running amok, and Gordon is a bounty hunter. Gordon is no longer with the GCPD. He is chasing these monsters down for a price and collecting that money. He’s sort of disillusioned with the whole thing.”

Has he completely given up on the law? As a bounty hunter, is he taking matters into his own hands more and more?

Ben McKenzie: “He is, yeah. I mean, he’s certainly not a villain. He certainly doesn’t inflict pain just to inflict it. He has a certain morality, but it’s far, far away from where found him initially. He’s learning a lot of things and with each lesson he learns, he takes a step forward but he also in some ways falls apart a bit. We will eventually see a Gordon who struggles at times to keep it together because of how rough Gotham is and because how few allies he really has. And the subtitle of the season, ‘Heroes Will Fall,’ is indicative of what thematically we’re doing in the season with, not just Bruce Wayne and the other heroes, but with Gordon himself. He will fall a long, long way and have to pick himself up again.”

What’s his relationship like with Bruce Wayne this season?

Ben McKenzie: “Well, you know, as we start the season Bruce is really on his own journey, and Gordon is on his own. Their paths will merge later on, and they’ve sort of reset their relationship a bit. Gordon doesn’t feel as much a responsibility to Bruce to figure out his parents’ killer because it seems to all, not have been tied up, but effectively Indian Hill was the breeding ground for a lot of this stuff, and that had a lot to do with what ultimately manifested in Bruce’s parents’ murder. But the Court of Owls is really behind the whole thing and that’s where we’ll get to in season three. That’s really the force that’s behind everything.”

Was it fun being reunited with Morena Baccarin after long break in scenes together?

Ben McKenzie: “Yeah, I saw her occasionally… [Laughing] Yeah, it was, and it’s different. It’s different, yeah, and it’s wonderful to play that. It’s giving us a brand new dynamic to play, which is a lot of fun. There’s a new love interest for me in Valerie Vale – I think I can say that that’s a love interest. I don’t think it’s much of a surprise. It’s professional and then not. And she has a new man as well. So we get to have fun with the kind of love triangle aspect. Triangles.”

How are things between Jim and Harvey Bullock?

Ben McKenzie: “Harvey’s his one conduit to sanity. He’s the one person sort of reminding him that… You know, Harvey’s been in some pretty dark places in his life, too. He’s pretty happy sometimes to sort of drift in those places. But even he looks at Jim and says, “Hey man, you’ve got to pull it together.’ So I think Harvey’s kind of always monitoring Jim and always there for him. Absolutely, at the end of the day, Harvey’s a grounding force for Jim, and someone who keeps him from falling over into the abyss.”

Watch the full Ben McKenzie interview:





Caity Lotz Interview on ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ Season 2 and Sara’s Relationships

By
Fred Topel
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Legends of Tomorrow star Caity Lotz
Caity Lotz as Sara Lance/White Canary in ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ (Photo: Dean Buscher © 2016 The CW Network)

During the 2016 San Diego Comic Con, Legends of Tomorrow‘s Caity Lotz talked to us about how Sara is dealing with the death of her sister, Laurel, played in Arrow by Katie Cassidy. Lotz also revealed which character she’d love to have back on the show and whether fans of the action series can expect Sara to actually have a real, serious romantic relationship in season two after it appears most of her closest friends are no longer around.

Season two of The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow is set to premiere on October 13, 2016.

Caity Lotz Interview:

Is Sara’s style of fighting going to change in season two?

Caity Lotz: “No. As of now, no. One of the things I want to try to do is put more character moments inside the fights. I want Sara to get hurt too, and not seem so invincible. I want to take a hit or get tired, and I think that will be a new kind of fun way to maybe put some humor into the fights as well. But, I like the way she fights so I hope they keep the style similar.”

The death of Laurel happened last season on Arrow and Sara got to deal with it in the season finale. Was that an especially emotional way to deal with it?

Caity Lotz: “I think it was really hard because, one, the finale is kind of like happy but then I’m dealing with this really sad news. I had like three scenes to deal with it and that was it. It’s something that I wish…I want an entire episode to deal with this and go through it. We had to figure out, ‘Okay, how does Sara find out and go through all of the stages of grief and get to the point where she can go and finish this mission?’ That was the challenge. I worked a lot with Marc (Guggenheim) in getting the scenes just right to make sure that we’re really doing it justice, just how serious and affected Sara was by this news. It carries on into this new season. Sara’s not over it. It’s not over for her yet.”

Did you hear about it when it happened on Arrow?

Caity Lotz: “You know, for the longest time – from the first episode of Arrow this last season with Stephen (Amell), Arrow, standing at a grave and no one knew whose grave it was. The producers are like, ‘It’s somebody big,’ and we’re like, ‘Who is it?!’ Nobody knew, and Katie (Cassidy) didn’t even tell me so I didn’t find out until right before we were shooting. They were really good about keeping those things a secret. I was heartbroken.”

Now that basically the two relationships that Sara had on the ship, those two characters are gone…

Caity Lotz: “And her sister’s gone. Everyone I love dies! Stay away from me. I think her and Rip also have a really good brotherly-sisterly thing, so she’s still got friends on the ship. I don’t know. Maybe her and Rory will become friends. It’s fun to work all the different dynamics with each of the characters, though Sara and Snart were my favorite thing. I was really bummed that that had to go. I miss that relationship. I just felt like that was such an interesting pairing.”

Is there a chance for Snart, played by Wentworth Miller, to come back because of the time travel?

Caity Lotz: “Well, they did announce that he would be making appearances across the shows. I don’t know if that means in flashbacks or coming back to life. Is he on Earth-2. But, yeah, I would love for them to get back together. There’s always like, yeah, maybe he’ll be on Earth-2 and then they’ll go. But then he wouldn’t be himself anymore.”

Do you know anything new on the idea of Sara getting a girlfriend?

Caity Lotz: “So far Sara is being quite the little Casanova so I think that she’s got some romance. I don’t know how deep they’ll take it. It’s kind of hard to have a relationship when you’re time traveling on a spaceship. But, I would like for her to have an actual relationship. I think her and Nyssa, because it wasn’t just like a fling, there was real substance to it, it would be nice for Sara to have a solid relationship be it with a man, be it with a woman. But I think she’s kind of a player this season.”

Watch the full Caity Lotz interview:

(Interview by Fred Topel. Article by Rebecca Murray.)

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