Season four of The CW’s Reign has just begun shooting but it’s without one of the show’s fan-favorite characters, Bash, played by Torrance Coombs. Coombs, who has The Last Heist heading to theaters on June 17, 2016, has committed to starring in the new ABC period drama Still Star-Crossed from executive producer Shonda Rimes. Coombs is playing Count Paris in the dramatic series set after the events in Shakespeare’s classic tale, Romeo and Juliet, with Wade Briggs as Benvolio Montague, Anthony Head as Lord Capulet, Zuleikha Robinson as Lady Capulet, and Lashana Lynch as Rosaline.
Coombs is busy promoting The Last Heist and during our interview for that independent film, he spoke about what it’s like not to be with his Reign friends as they head into season four. “It’s very strange. You know, they are all wonderful friends of mine. They were all at my wedding. And that whole crew in Toronto is fantastic and they became family to me. It’s really weird to not be going back and then to see the behind-the-scenes pictures and I’m not there,” explained Coombs. “I’m hoping that I get to go back and do a little bit more this season. But, that’s to be determined I guess.”
“I’m just really thankful that I do have another project to go onto, otherwise, I’d be really quite lonely,” added Coombs, laughing. “I’m very excited to go and start working on Still Star-Crossed, to get that whole new exciting adventure.”
Coombs offered up an explanation as to how his character, Count Paris, is involved in the Still Star-Crossed story after being assumed dead at the end of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. “Basically the fight happens with Romeo and he’s wounded. We realized that it was just sort of taken for granted that he died and maybe he might pull a little bit of a Jon Snow or something,” offered Coombs, referencing Snow’s miraculous return from the dead in season six of Game of Thrones. “I’m not saying that magic is involved but he’s not quite as dead as we thought he was.”
Asked if it was comfortable for him to slip into another period drama, Coombs replied, “It’s one of those things where you’re worried it’s going to feel a little bit the same, but thankfully the character’s quite different. The costume is very different. Other than the fact it’s a period drama and I’m speaking with an English accent again, that’s kind of where the similarities end between the two characters. And the worlds, too. Instead of France we’re in Italy and so there’s just a different kind of energy that comes with that. I was happy that it felt like a very different show while I was doing it. But I actually think that people who are fans of Reign will really like this new show a lot.”
