FX’s third season of the horror series The Strain debuts on August 28, 2016, promising more drama, more character development, and more vampires. For the third year in a row, FX brought the cast of The Strain to the San Diego Comic Con to promote the series which is based on the popular books by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. Kevin Durand and Miguel Gomez who play fearless vampire hunters Fet and Gus, respectively, were paired up for roundtable interviews where they provided a few non-spoilerish details on the upcoming third season.
Kevin Durand and Miguel Gomez Interview:
Is it going to be a splintered group when we pick up season three?
Kevin Durand: “To a certain degree. I can really only speak from the perspective of my character. Once again he kind of goes off on his own and has his own plan of attack. He’s trying to take it to a different level so he can be more effective in trying to destroy the opposition which is getting more and more terrifying every day, the way that they’re multiplying. He’s trying to figure out how to do this. We all are; everyone writes our own parts of the narrative. Do they eventually all come together? (Laughing) Please tune in on Sundays to FX.”
Miguel Gomez: “That would be nice, right? My character has been by himself from day one. I’ve never actually got to work with anyone else in the cast. Maybe like a day or two with Kevin or a day or two with David (Bradley). But, you know it would be nice if they’d sort of unite.”
Does Gus still have his little army?
Miguel Gomez: “Gus always has something up his sleeve. He’s always figuring out what to do and what’s the best way to attack the Strigoi, especially after the city has taken everything that he loves. This season it’s crazy because it goes from bad to worse and he keeps losing everything that’s close to him. I think he’s getting to the point where it’s, ‘What is there left for me to fight for?’ I think he’s getting to the point where they’re stripping anything superficial or any desire he has – money and all that kind of stuff, that place where you met him – of wanting material things. He’s starting to see the real things life is about, especially when you lose everything you love, what’s really important in life. Now I think it comes down to him ready to fight or die.”
Do you think Gus believes there’s a cure that can save his mother?
Miguel Gomez: “He can’t believe that his mom is gone. He can’t come to grips with that. Because if he loses his mom, what do you have to live for? You lost your best friend, you lost your brother, and essentially he feels like it’s his fault. If he loses her, where does he go from there? And that’s where we pick up this season. He has this friend, Angel, and we’ll see what happens with that. He’s kind of like a father figure. Fet is kind of like an ally. It’s really crazy. It’s going to be an interesting season.”
Is this season more physically intense for you than the previous two seasons?
Kevin Durand: “I think what was most intense for me was just having the opportunity to delve a little deeper beyond just all of the physical action that I’m usually called upon to do, which I love. There’s a lot more of that. But, a lot of it was just kind of looking beneath the surface and knowing the guy a little bit better. Seeing things that came to fruition because of his own lack of stepping up and taking action. We kind of see a different side of him that was really a great challenge to play.
What’s great about the season is like the second season, if you read the books we have it as a strong core skeleton but there’s so much new stuff that has come about because a television show is its own live, living, breathing organism. So, some things fit the books, some things don’t. It’s evolved into its own thing and it’s exciting for us to read the scripts every week because we don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s pretty exciting.”
Miguel Gomez: “I’m always excited to see his character, the nuances that you bring to the character, this really strong vibe but at the same time really funny. That’s one of my favorite characters is Fet because he and Gus have a lot of similarities but you bring that comedy to it because it’s so real. You know what I mean? Sometimes the things that are funny are the most real things. Comedians talk about a lot of times we laugh because it’s kind of true. What’s burned in my head is the first season when you shot Sean Astin’s character out of nowhere. Boom! And then you get to the second season and this season, and now you get to see more of the vulnerable side of you with the different relationships and characters you interact with. It’s pretty cool. Fet is a really great character.”
You sound like a huge fan.
Miguel Gomez: “I am. I’m a fan. I’m a huge fan.”
Kevin Durand: “I’m your biggest fan, too.”
Miguel Gomez: (Laughing) “I’m a fan of the character – I don’t like this guy.”
Watch the full Kevin Durand and Miguel Gomez interview:
