Fox is delving into the world of the X-Men with the new sci-fi action series, The Gifted. Set to premiere on October 2, 2017 at 9pm ET/PT, the series stars Stephen Moyer (‘Reed Strucker’), Amy Acker (‘Caitlin Strucker’), Sean Teale (‘Eclipse’/’Marcos Diaz’), Jamie Chung (‘Blink’/’Clarice Fong’), Coby Bell (‘Jace Turner’), Emma Dumont (‘Polaris’/’Lorna Dane’), Blair Redford (‘Thunderbird’/’John Proudstar’), Natalie Alyn Lind (‘Lauren Strucker’), and Percy Hynes White (‘Andy Strucker’).
In support of the show’s premiere, the cast made the trek to the 2017 San Diego Comic Con to talk about the comic book-inspired series. Coby Bell chatted about the series, his character, and being a part of an X-Men series during roundtable interviews at Comic Con.
Your previous long-running show was real world-based. How big of an adjustment is it to be in a superhero/fantasy world?
Coby Bell: “You know, I never really thought of it that way. I just thought of it as working with Matt again. I did Burn Notice with Matt Nix who’s the creator of this show and he talked to me about it kind of early on in the process, but it wasn’t like a lock that the job was going to be mine. I still had to audition for Marvel and audition for Fox, but the fact that it all worked out and that I’m here… Matt and I just keep on looking at each other like, ‘Dude, this is happening. This is happening! We’re making an X-Men show.’
It’s cool. It’s the kind of thing that I’ve been wanting to do for a while. These are the kind of shows that I like, and my kids too. So, I’m excited to be a part of it.”
How much of your personality do you get to bring to the character?
Coby Bell: “I guess we’re going to find out. […] That’s the cool thing about TV is you can kind of get to know the character. You find out something new and you go, ‘Oh, he’s that guy? Okay, he’s that guy.’ What I know of him so far is he’s pretty hardcore about his job. But, I don’t know if he gets any joy out of capturing mutants. The backstory is that his daughter was killed in a mutant-related incident, and so he was a cop that then joined the Sentinel Services sort of vowing that that didn’t happen to any other family.”
Did you watch a lot of other Marvel properties to prepare for the role, even if they weren’t connected to X-Men?
Coby Bell: “I haven’t. I have four kids and so my TV time is limited until after they go to bed. I have 30 minutes and then I fall asleep. But, I’ve always watched all the Marvel movies – I love all that stuff – and a few of the shows. Not to prepare, but just in my life I’m very familiar with all the Marvel stuff.”
Science fiction is a genre with a very prominent social conscience. Why do you think that is?
Coby Bell: “You know what? That’s a good question. I guess it’s a way of talking about social issues without talking directly about them, you know? It makes it a little more palatable, a little less preachy. But at that same time, the message is getting across. It’s really cool. Starting with Star Trek, they were breaking some serious barriers but it’s in outer space so it’s fine. So, yes, I never thought about it. It’s cool.”
Have you gotten into a lot of action scenes?
Coby Bell: “My character is not really prominent in the pilot, but I do a lot of chasing around and screaming into a megaphone during the pilot. We really get into who he is later on.”
Is this an original character?
Coby Bell: “Yeah, this guy doesn’t exist in any comic book or anything like that.”
Would you like to see one day they start drawing your likeness and including you in stories?
Coby Bell: “Hell, yes! That would be awesome. Yeah, action figures, man, are you kidding me?”
Were you into action figures as a kid?
Coby Bell: “I was big into Star Wars, GI Joe, He-Man, all that stuff. I was a big action figure guy growing up, so that would freak me out to see. I have friends who have gone on to do Marvel stuff and DC stuff, and walking through Target and seeing them in the toy aisle is a trip. So, yeah, that would be cool. I’d probably retire. If I saw a toy in my likeness I would just, ‘Thank you. I’m done!’”
More The Gifted Cast Interviews:
– Stephen Moyer
– Natalie Alyn Lind and Percy Hynes White
– Sean Teale and Blair Redford
Watch the full Coby Bell The Gifted interview:
(Interview by Fred Topel. Article by Rebecca Murray.)
