NBC’s New Fall Sweeps is giving fans a chance to win the trip of a lifetime

NBC Launches Twitter Sweeps for Exclusive Tonight Show Prize!‏

To enter, fans must follow NBC’s six new Fall series on Twitter.  Each follow is an entry; fans can follow all six shows and be entered six times!  The six profiles featured in the sweepstakes are:

·         The Blacklist: @NBCBlacklist

·         Ironside: @NBCIronside

·         Dracula: @NBCDracula

·         The Michael J. Fox Show: @MichaelJFoxShow

·         Sean Saves The World: @SeanSavesWorld

·         Welcome to the Family: @NBCWelcome

The small print: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Must be 21+ and US resident.  Ends 6/13/13 at 3:00 PM ET.  For details, visit http://ow.ly/kT3DB

Someone’s trying to send a message on The Bridge. Discover the secrets behind FX’s newest drama. The series premieres July 10^th at 10pm e/p, only on FX.

Two Pieces

Dracula, coming Fridays this fall to NBC.

Lena:  Did you bring home any new friends from the Best Friends Animal Society event that you went to?

Seamus Dever:  I didn’t.  I wouldn’t dare bring home an extra dog without consulting my wife. We are terrible fosters.  Every time we foster a dog we end up keeping it.  We know that about ourselves, we get very attached.  I didn’t take any home this time [laughing].  We have two dogs that are both rescues.

Lena:  The Best Friends Animal Society does wonderful work.

Seamus Dever:  They are a great group and I’m glad to be working with them.

Lena:  Congratulations on reaching the coveted 100th episode mark last month.

Seamus Dever:  Oh, thank you.  Yes, that is quite a milestone.

Lena:  Castle definitely looks like a really fun show to be on.

Seamus Dever:  Absolutely, it’s a good group of people.  We are always having fun and I think it shows.

Lena:  Can you share any funny behind-the-scenes stories?

Seamus Dever:  The other day Jon (Huertas) and I shot something, and I’m not going to say what it is, but it’s a surprise for the fans and they will know more in the fall about it.  We shot something that was sort of in the works for a year and it was fun.  Jon makes me laugh a lot.  We are both so different but we are alike in so many ways.  We shot this thing for eleven hours.  I really hope that the fans like it because it was all from our imaginations.  There are so many stories.  We have so many late nights and we’ve all been there.  It’s one of those things that Nathan Fillion is a good leader and he’s always very complimentary on performances, and he’s always really concerned about doing the best show.  We ask each other a lot of questions like – Give me a better way to say this.  Is it funnier if I do this or that?  We bounce choices off each other a lot and it’s very collaborative.  As far as funny stories, I don’t know, all I think of is really long hours and still being able to have a laugh at the end of the day with these folks.

Lena:  This has been a really exciting season for Kevin Ryan.

Seamus Dever:  Yeah, Ryan got to do a bunch of fun stuff.  He’s growing up a little bit.  I think this was sort of the season of maturation; it’s what I started out as a goal that Ryan I guess becomes a man.  There are a lot of symbolic milestones along the way where Jenny (Juliana Dever) and Ryan are talking about starting a family.  There is a great episode (“The Wild Rover”) where Ryan gets tempted from his past.  It’s one of those things where symbolically he is his leaving his past and moving forward in the future and I think he proved himself in that manner and actually made all the right choices in that episode [laughing], and didn’t get killed in the process.  He gets to be a little bit of a badass.  I think we are still learning about Kevin Ryan.  I think that everything is still an open book with him.  There are so many things that we can still cover, so it will be exciting to see when next season comes around.  I think we were able to surprise people because they have a perception of who Kevin Ryan is and we did this whole different thing, and I think that the writers are getting hip to the fact that we can do some stuff.  There is still stuff with Esposito that we haven’t covered yet.  Hopefully, we will see more of that development because it’s always fun, as an actor, to be able to pull this stuff out.  That was in episode ninety-nine that we did that, so I like surprising fans.

Lena:  Did you enjoy exploring the Irish Mob storyline, Ryan’s undercover work?

Seamus Dever:  Oh yeah, it was fun because I got to be, not a different character, another side of Kevin Ryan.  I chose to do it not as him being a badass mobster, but this is a side of him that is a lot more confident.  It had nothing to do with police work; it had to do with him calling people’s bluffs and him being able to outthink the people around him.  It showed his street smarts as well.  That was a lot of fun.  I loved doing that.  I’ve been asking for them to do an undercover episode for like four years now, so I’m glad that it finally came to fruition.

Lena:  I really enjoyed the Bigfoot episode “The Fast and the Furriest.”

Seamus Dever:  It was funny.  I think Jonathan Frakes did a really good job with that.  My friend Raphael Sbarge played the Bigfoot, the guy dressed up, so he was a lot of fun too.  When I first read it I was like, really, Bigfoot is the killer but when I saw it play out I knew that we hadn’t jumped the shark yet.  It was still cool. [Laughing.]

Lena:  I tend to like the lighter episodes because you get to find out more about the characters and their quirks like that Kevin Ryan is a Curious George fan.

Seamus Dever:  Yes.  The line in that scene was one that I improvised.  When I say that, “George would never do that.”  It was when they left the scene and Ryan was still stunned about a chimpanzee ripping someone’s face off.  It was an improv and it made it.  It cracks me up that that made it.  It was just something off-the-cuff.

Lena:  How does it feel being referred to as The B-Team by Lanie (Tamala Jones)?  I think Ryan and Esposito are underrated.

Seamus Dever:  It’s one of those things that from the very beginning Jon and I got together and we made this silent agreement where we realized that the best way to get people to endear Ryan and Esposito is to stick together and really make something of that partnership.  That was something that Jon and I were into.  We take cues from the writers, as far as the situations that they had us in, but it was really that there is Castle and Beckett (Stana Katic), they are all supposed to be partners in reality but it’s more like Castle and Beckett  – The A-Team – and Ryan and Esposito – The B-Team.  Jon and I set out to make this identity that we weren’t just the two other cops on a show because a lot of times it felt like that in the beginning.  We wanted it to be that we were smart, we get along really well, we bicker like a married couple, and that kind of thing.  We wanted to make them an identity and I think through time, enough scenes together, and enough fleshing out the characters it became that we had an identity.  I think people really started liking that.  Does it bother me that they are referred to as The B-Team?  No, not really.  That’s something that I’ve been aware of for years.  It’s one of those things but fortunately now they let Ryan and Esposito do some interrogating.  They let us go out on the field.  It’s becoming like half-and-half lately, which is cool because I like doing things.  I don’t like just being the guy that comes in with a piece of information at the precinct.  It’s nice to go out and interrogate people, question people, and go out into the field.  I’m happy about that.  I finally got to go to the morgue.

Lena:  What would you say are their biggest selling points – something that Castle and Beckett don’t have?

Seamus Dever:  Now that the two of them are together, there is more of a buddy cop thing.  If you want the buddy cop vibe, you go with Ryan and Esposito.  When you want to test Esposito out and have a hot chick walk by, and see how he responds, you go with Ryan and Esposito because Ryan is going to make fun of him.  You can’t do that with Beckett and Castle anymore because that land is taken [laughing].  Our selling points are that we are smart and funny.  We are two very different people, so I think it’s not like we have the same brain.  You know a lot of that, with the chemistry of Castle and Beckett, is that they are thinking the exact same thing and complete each other’s sentences.  They say the exact same things at the same time and so on.  With Esposito and Ryan, we are both very different so there is a lot more contrast.  We contract and compliment, there is not the same kind of crossover.  I don’t know if that makes any sense but I’m going with it.  [Laughing.]

Lena:  It must be great working with your wife.

Seamus Dever:  She’s a lot of fun.  She’s a really good actor.  I’m blessed that they gave her the opportunity to be Jenny.

Lena:  Are we going to be seeing more of her?

Seamus Dever:  I hope so.  It’s one of those things that she finds out about a month before she comes on.  I’m told that Jenny will be coming back.

Lena:  In the spirit of Castle questions, who is on your Last Supper List?

Seamus Dever:  It would have to be people that are good conversationalists.  Mark Twain would be good.  Was he on Castle’s?  I have no idea.  It would be someone like Richard Burton.  He would be cool.  T.S. Eliot, he might be really quiet.  He would probably be a really crappy guest – he would probably do a lot of observing.  Neil Armstrong would be neat.  He would probably have some good space stories.  I can’t think of anybody else right now.

Lena:  How about your three favorite con movies?

Seamus Dever:  The Usual Suspects counts as a con movie.  Quick Change with Bill Murray, that’s one of my favorite movies.  I don’t want to say The Sting.  It was good but everybody says The Sting.  Let It Ride was awesome.

Lena:  I know you can’t give too much away, but what can you say about the finale?  Will it end on a cliffhanger?

Seamus Dever:  There is something very interesting about the murder this time.  It’s based on something in reality.  We film all the time at a hotel in downtown L.A.  There was a murder that happened at that hotel and the body was dumped in the water reservoir at the very top of the building where they keep I guess for emergencies or plumbing, but they found the body in there and so the murder that we have is sort of ripped from the headline.  While we didn’t actually film at that hotel for this murder scene, we filmed a block away.  That’s something that I can say.  The murder is very clever.  Normally, I’m not really attracted to the murders, it’s not really what I watch the show for; I watch the show for the interactions and relationships more than the whodunit and the mystery of it all.  In the process of solving that, Castle and Beckett have to come to a decision.  Ryan gets to reveal some stuff to Esposito.  We start to see Beckett being tempted with something.  Castle has to make some decisions about where their relationship is going.  We solve a murder and I’m calling it a light cliffhanger because it’s not one of those things where you are like, “Oh my gosh!”  You’re not going to be dangling off the side of a building or anything like that, but I think there will still be a gasp.  I promise a gasp.  [Laughing.]

Lena:  You’ve had so many guest stars on the show, so who have been some of your favorites?

Seamus Dever:  We had a great guest star this season Ioan Gruffudd.  He was in “The Squab and the Quail” episode.  He was a lot of fun.  As it turns out we lived in the same neighborhood, which is kind of cool.  Michael Trucco and Adrian Pasdar – those guys were really cool.  Anytime you get to sit down with some folks in between scenes and setups and have some good conversations – that is a lot of fun.  Still my favorite guest star of all-time was an actor named Eddie Shin.  He played Johnny Vong in the second season in the “Sucker Punch” episode.  He was very good and a lot of fun.  It’s one of those things were an actor comes on the show that may not be a household name but he does a really good job.  Go watch the second season again because you will see some amazing stuff.  He shot this whole infomercial thing and he had this huge monologue where he was presenting something to the crowd at a motivational seminar and it was like ten minutes long.  I think they put it on as an easter egg on a special feature of the DVD of that season.  Go back and watch that.  He’s very funny and probably one of my favorite guest stars of all-time.

Lena: Have you met Kevin Ryan from Copper? He knows about your character.

Seamus Dever:  I haven’t met him yet, no.  He probably gets people asking him that all the time:  You know that there is a character named Kevin Ryan?  [In Kevin’s voice] Yes, I know leave me alone and stop telling me.  [Laughing.]

Lena:  He should be a guest star on Castle so he can introduce himself on the show as Kevin Ryan.

Seamus Dever:  [Laughing.] That would be pretty funny.

Lena:   What else do you have coming up?

Seamus Dever:  Vacation.  I have nothing but vacation coming up.  It’s nice to have some time off.

Don’t miss the season finale of Castle on Monday night, May 13th, at 10/9c on ABC.

Will and Jack hunt a ruthless serial killer who harvests the organs of his victims. Gillian Anderson guest stars.

COPPER, an American saga set in 1865 New York City, returns for a second season on the brink of Lincoln’s assassination – with shifts in politics and society altering the landscape for Irish immigrants and African-Americans. At the center, Detective Kevin Corcoran struggles to tame the wartime metropolis while wrestling with personal demons, including the betrayal of his wife and best friend. And when Tammany Hall’s outspoken General Brendan Donovan, returns from the Civil War to restore law and order in the Sixth Ward, loyalties will be bought and sold both uptown and in the slums of the Five Points as Corcoran, and those around him, fight to find their places in an unforgiving city. COPPER premieres Sunday, June 23, 10:00pm ET/PT.

Severide takes matters into his own hands to solve his legal troubles, and an unspeakable tragedy devastates the members of Firehouse 51.

The SVU squad hunts a dangerous sniper who has his sights trained on police officers. Kathryn Erbe guest stars.

Sneak Peek: “Poisoned Motive”

Nick’s New Romance -
Nick is completely captivated by a woman with mysterious seductive powers.

Zach Galifianakis’ Choir Monologue

Game of Game of Thrones

Match.com Commercial

Of Monsters and Men: Little Talks

Weekend Update Favorites 5/4/13

Weekend Update: James Carville on Gun Control

Weekend Update: Randall Meeks

Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party’s Summer Plans

M&M Store

Darrell’s House

New Balance

Of Monsters and Men: Mountain Sound

Michael Jordan’s Wedding

Darrell’s House II

Dress Rehearsal: Kanish

Will (Hugh Dancy) is forced to acknowledge his fears and meets another person that would really like to spend some time with him.  Will this nightmare ever end for him?  He is struggling to look and yet there is so much to see.  For him, there is a distinct line between seeing and feeling.  How far will he push himself?

Dr. Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas) and Will get to spend some quality time with Dr. Gideon.  He speaks of his accomplishments.

They are forced to go to an unreliable source for some assistance.  It just may lead them in the right direction.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about this episode is that we get to find out more about what makes Jack (Laurence Fishburne) tick.  When Jack goes to Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen) with questions he ends up providing his own answers.  Things are out of his control and he doesn’t know how to handle it.

Anna Chlumsky guest-stars as, Miriam Lass, Jack’s protégé.

Do not miss an all-new episode of Hannibal tonight at 10/9c on NBC.

While Leslie’s convinced that Pawnee is better off, the citizens of Pawnee seem to disagree.

Bert Macklin Returns

A special case pulls Bert Macklin out of retirement.

Eddie Izzard guest stars as a man who may be responsible for a series of horrendous murders.

Entree Preview

ABC FAMILY ANNOUNCES “PRETTY LITTLE LIARS” STAR TYLER BLACKBURN

WILL HEADLINE SPIN-OFF SERIES “RAVENSWOOD”

“Ravenswood” Set to Premiere in October

ABC Family announced  that “Pretty Little Liars” star Tyler Blackburn will be the first resident of the spin-off series “Ravenswood.” Following the successful announcement of the “Ravenswood” pickup on social media, the network broke the casting news on all “Ravenswood” and “Pretty Little Liars” social media platforms.

Blackburn’s character, Caleb Rivers, will travel to Ravenswood during the annual “Pretty Little Liars” special Halloween episode. The “Ravenswood” series will premiere immediately after. Blackburn will still be seen in the upcoming summer season of “Pretty Little Liars.”

From “Pretty Little Liars” executive producers I. Marlene King, Oliver Goldstick, Joseph Dougherty and Leslie Morgenstein, “Ravenswood” will center on a town, not far from Rosewood, PA (the home base of “Pretty Little Liars”), which has suffered under a deadly curse for generations. Five strangers suddenly find themselves connected by this fatal curse and need to dig into the town’s mysterious and terrible history before it’s too late for each of them.

Season 4 of “Pretty Little Liars” will premiere Tuesday, June 11, on ABC Family, as the Liars strive to make sense of the mysterious “Red Coat” and what plans he or she may have in store for them.

“Pretty Little Liars” and “Ravenswood” are produced by Alloy Entertainment in association with Warner Horizon Television, and are executive-produced by I. Marlene King, Oliver Goldstick, Leslie Morgenstein and Joseph Dougherty.

Part of the Disney/ABC Television Group, ABC Family is distributed in over 97 million homes. ABC Family features programming reflecting today’s families, entertaining and connecting with adults through relatable programming about today’s relationships – told with a mix of diversity, passion, humor and heart. ABC Family’s programming is a combination of network-defining original series and original movies, quality acquired series and blockbuster theatricals. Emmy® Award-winning ABCFamily.com provides a variety of interactive entertainment and community features from rich, fan-centric programming – including blogs, viewing parties, webisodes, full episodes of the network’s hit programming, along with sneak peek exclusive previews and behind-the-scenes clips. ABC Family is also the destination for annual Holiday events with “13 Nights of Halloween” and “25 Days of Christmas.” ABC Family. A New Kind of Family.

The Americans Episode 13 – Next On: “The Colonel” – SEASON FINALE

When Philip and Elizabeth are ordered to go through with a meeting that could potentially be a set-up, they find themselves confronted with unexpected truths about their relationship. Stan’s investigation puts him and the FBI even closer to Philip and Elizabeth.

After wrapping up a successful North American tour in a string of sold-out intimate venues, MIKA returns to school and reveals a brand new music video for “Popular Song” featuring Nickelodeon star Ariana Grande! In a captivating video with a twist ending, two “wicked” student outcasts – MIKA and Ariana – concoct a plan for revenge on bullies.

“Popular Song” is a hit from The Origin Of Love, MIKA’s third album to date – a two year DIY labour of love – completely self-created and self-imagined. The track offers a fresh twist on “Popular” from the Broadway hit “Wicked”, composed by Stephen Schwartz. In a historic move, Schwartz was so moved by MIKA’s interpretation that he authorized the usage of his music for the first time ever.

Out on Universal Republic, everything on The Origin of Love, was put together by MIKA himself, flying around the world under his own steam personally assembling an incredible roll call of collaborators – In addition to Nick Littlemore and Pharrell Williams, Mika has also worked with William Orbit, Benny Benassi, FrYars, Greg Wells (Katy Perry, Adele), and Klas Ahlund (Robyn’s Body Talk) as well as working with some brand new unsigned musicians he found himself online.
Mika has now sold over 8 million records and Gold or Platinum awards in 32 countries worldwide and has won Brit and MTV Awards.

Old friends and enemies resurface when Chicago Fire returns with all new episodes on May 1st.

Sneak Peek: Retaliation Hit

Relive the excitement and suspense with a look back at Season 1 of Chicago Fire.

Chicago Fire: A Look Back at Season 1

Toni:   I wanted to ask you this since the first episode or anyone from Grimm. I’m a big Grimmster. How did Wessens recognize you as a Grimm? What’s a Grimm face look like to them?

David Giuntoli:           It looks like my face believe it or not. Truly. They don’t see anything aside – from they are not used to having their emotions in check. Because human beings – non- Grimm human beings cannot see them. And then when they see someone reacting to this or they sense someone knowing what they’re going through and watching them change, they’re on to me.  And they’ve learned from a young age through their storybooks about Grimms and how evil we are and, you know, almost like we’re this supernatural thing that may or may not exist. They’ve been told by their family, their parents, and their grandparents about us. So when that actually see them it’s like they’re seeing a ghost, but not literally. But they can’t believe that one actually really exists.

Toni:   I think you hinted about Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio coming back as your mother Kelly. I wondered when that was going to happen, because she still has those coins. And she faked going into the station. So she’s been hanging around Portland a long time. What’s she up to?

David Giuntoli:           Well I think she stole a car at the station. And I think she was just pretending – in my head when I saw that –which was a great scene she just didn’t have a train ticket because she’s like why when I can just rob someone or steal this car and go. But I do believe she is dealing with things right now. And I believe in the coming episode on Tuesday — unless I’m wrong and it was in another episode — we’ll – there’s communication with her. And I believe that that is tomorrow night if I’m not mistaken.

Press Conference Call Interview Highlights:

Q:  How do you feel about the season three pick up and the move to Tuesday nights?

David Giuntoli:           I think it’s all very exciting. I think that NBC is showing a lot of faith in Grimm by moving us to Tuesday nights. I think actually what they wanted to do was hopefully The Voice can start getting some of our followers. I know that show’s been struggling.  So – no we’re very excited to expose Grimm to an entirely new audience and, you know, scare and befuddle the whole new segment of the population.

Q:  Grimm has so many elements to it — drama, action, romance, fantasy — Are there any of these that you enjoy the most or do you appreciate the variety overall?

David Giuntoli:           Well I do appreciate the variety. Though I will say it is a dark show, and I really love when we get – squeeze in some more comedic elements. And every now and then we’ll have a more comedic episode — one of which would have aired maybe three weeks ago. We had a Ziegevolk lawyer charming the entire jury. And Rosalee was on the jury. And Sergeant Woo was testifying, and he changed his testimony. There were a lot of many great comedic (unintelligible) in that. So I’d say the comedy is something I like squeezing in there.

Q:  Nick was temporarily blinded in the recent Mr. Sandman episode.  Could you share what acting without sight was like?

David Giuntoli:           Well I could see. I had prosthetics in my eyes. I had lenses in my eyes. That was crazy. But I could see through them. It was – I’d say really fun. It was fun finding new ways to make that work — to sell especially fighting without seeing. And I was pretty happy with how it turned out. So all in all I was very pleased with the challenge of acting without sight.  And I was very happy to get those contacts out of my eyes.

Q:  So David if you told fans at the start of the season that we’d be this far into the season and Nick and Juliette would be apart and Nick and Renard would be working together so closely, I think they’d be pretty surprised. I’m wondering if that surprised you and what you think of, the state of these relationships.

David Giuntoli:           It does not – nothing really surprises me on Grimm. Our writers are not afraid to go anywhere. So nothing really surprises me. I want to speak especially to the relationship between the Captain and Nick.  I wanted to make sure that even though we are working together I’m not too easy with him. I wouldn’t call it a friendship. I wouldn’t call us pals. I wouldn’t – we wouldn’t go out and eat together. I think we more or less have a common enemy.  I always like to think – when I’m working with the captain I always think about that picture from World War II where like Stalin and FDR were sitting next to each other with Churchill. You know, like how did Stalin get there? But they just had a common enemy.  And so we’re working, you know, tentatively together. He did after all try to kill my aunt. So as far as Juliette goes, you know, I think we’re going to be seeing us kind of patching things up — turning things around a bit. And I’m sure that in Grimm fashion they’ll find some way to make that as difficult as humanly possible.

Q:  Why do you think your show has worked when maybe some of the others haven’t?

David Giuntoli:           I’d say the roguish good looks of lead David Giuntoli. I think we have – listen it – a successful television show is a mystery how to make it. But there has to be certain components. We have writers and creators who are seasoned and excited, and that’s a really great combination. They know what they’re doing. They have found the sweet spot. David Greenwalt, you know, has this gallows humor about him as does Jim Kouf — our two main writers, executive producers. And they balance story well with a lot of darkness and a little bit of levity. And, you know, there’s some very lovable characters. And that’s what it takes. They just know their stuff.

Q:  Have you gotten any hints from David or Jim about Nick’s heightened abilities. We saw him playing Fruit Ninja in one of the episodes right after he lost his sight. Yes, so have you gotten any intel on what that’s going to mean for the character in the coming season.

David Giuntoli:           Nick hates fruit so bad. I have not received any nuggets of what’s to come as far as Nick’s supernatural powers. At the end of season one I did get some info that they wanted me to – they wanted to turn me more into a hero with supernatural abilities.  But I did not ask what they were. And I just kind of found out a month before the viewer did.  I would imagine going forward we’re going to revisit some of what we kind of teased with my super human hearing and ability to fight fruit with a bat.

Q:  Working off of the Nick and Juliette tip, no one is doubting his devotion to her. But the character’s not a bad looking man. So I’m assuming especially after this week with the muse coming in and kind of him getting wrapped up with another woman even if it’s only for an episode in whatever way. I mean I imagine there’s going to be a point where he doesn’t want to wait for Juliette anymore. Or is he just kind of going to wait for her forever? What’s your take on that?

David Giuntoli:           Very strange casting. That’s a very strange casting choice.  I certainly hope he wouldn’t wait forever. I am personally more shocked at the point that she would be interested in me after all I have done – I mean truly cowardly moves on my part as far as Juliette’s relationship is concerned. I wouldn’t tell her about any of this after she’d lost her mind, went into a coma, just really struggling with memory loss and like what is happening to her — going, you know, crazy. And I’m still sitting back like, “I don’t want to tell her. What if she leaves me?”  So I hope we have to talk about things in a real way before we get back together. You know, I think Nick’s a guy who knows what he’s done to her and would probably do anything to get her back. So I think he’d wait for a long time.

Q:  It’s been such an intense season two. I mean even going into the mid-season finale so much happened. So what could possibly happen for the season finale of this season? I mean could we see a Nick and Juliette reunion? What about Adalind’s baby? Maybe Nick’s mom will return? Is there anything you could tell us?

David Giuntoli:           All three of which are very much on the table. There – you could definitely see a Nick and Juliette reunion. And again, in Grimm fashion they love tearing people apart and bringing them back together and who knows how hard they’re going to make that for Nick and Juliette.  What you will be seeing that I haven’t spoken about yet is a lot of – we deal with the undead in a way that’s really never been dealt – in a way that it’s never been approached before — in very typical Grimm fashion.  So zombies quote unquote will be coming to Portland. And I would also say the cliff hanger of this season is — I don’t know how the writers are going to get themselves out of this corner that they’ve painted themselves into — one of the cast may not live through the finale.

Q:  Do you guys find you’re more settled into your characters this season from say last season knowing that you have a long run ahead of you?

David Giuntoli:           Yes, you know, I speak with other people who have been on shows that have lasted for several years, and there is a typical psychological arc that takes place or phases that you go through the first season.  You’re really concerned with the acting. You don’t quite know what the show is in the beginning and so that forms underneath you. And it’s – everybody’s kind of starts to gel together by the end of the first season and the second season. But there’s always an energy of – it’s being spent on just wondering how long this will last. And you’re whole – and your personal life — am I going to live in Portland, for how long.  And now it’s to a point where we kind of know we’ll be there for a while. So it’s very comfortable. And there’s a lot more room to play with the characters, because a lot less anxiety is involved in our actual lives.

Q:  Do you have a favorite scene or storyline?

David Giuntoli:           I mean, something about season two that I’ve really loved and going into season three that, you know, I’m going to continue to love is more and more of the main characters are in the know sort of speak which means that certain characters can interact that wouldn’t have during much of season two, all of season one. And it brings a fresh, lovely dynamic to scenes where I’ll be in a room with say,, you know like a completely new group of actors and watching them interact. And there’s comedy to be found in it when someone is learning the ropes of the Grimm world for the first time.  I really enjoy those scenes where we all get to spend the whole day together. I really do enjoy the moment of levity in the dark world of Grimm. And there was a scene in particular that played in the Volcanalis episode where Russell Hornsby’s character Hank went on vacation.  It was so – it was almost out of another show like an Ally McBeal episode. But it was very fun. It was fun. And here’s a fun bit of info. That episode – that scene was written in reaction to Russell in real life snapping his Achilles tendon. So he can walk we had to somehow keep him in a chair and get him off of the show for two episodes so he can get surgery. So this is kind of some of the behind the scenes info that I always find very interesting.  People (unintelligible) things and I’m like yes, Russell tore his Achilles tendon while watching the Super Bowl – literally.  And sober as a judge.  Two episodes and then he’ll come back. We just had a couple of things had to be tweaked. I’ll do a little more working with Wu, with Sergeant Wu, which was really fun and a pleasure to get to work so much with Reggie Lee. He is just a phenomenal actor. So it shook things up for a little while. But I think it was fresh and really wonderful. And Russell I think is fully repaired at this point.

Q:  What other character if you weren’t playing Nick would you like to play?

David Giuntoli:           Oh, boy. Someone with like a glandular problem, because I want to eat whatever I want to eat. I want to get, you know – I just want to be a slob. I would – you mean what character on Grimm.  Oh, my gosh. I can’t say Juliette because that’d mean I want to kiss myself.  It’s – that’s a whole other kind of show.  I would say – boy I mean Monroe would be fun, but I wouldn’t even want to try that. Because I mean he’s mastered that whole thing. Some – yes, either Monroe or Wu. (Unintelligible) and kind of just everywhere, especially Monroe’s character. When Nick is always like the center of like this kind of grounded force. So it’d be fun to kind of live in that world for as long as I could handle it.

Q:  Are we ever going to see or hear anything about Grimms in the rest of the country, the rest of the world?

David Giuntoli:           Honestly, not as of yet that I know of. That – you would think that does have to do become a storyline at some point, or are there only a couple Grimms left and they’re just a lot of little Santa’s little helpers out there who are Grimm-like. I don’t quite know. The only Grimm that they really currently want to deal with is me. Because they know that I have one of the keys.  Whereas you know as far as the Royals are concerned they know I have one of the keys. And that’s why they even care about me at all. So who knows? That’s a good question.

Q:  How did you see Nick grow and develop in season two?

David Giuntoli:           Yes, season two I wanted – Nick was written as a little more accepting of his role. In a way Nick went through the stages of grief of finding out that he was a Grimm and the loss that that would entail with Juliette, revisiting why his family is no longer with him. You know, a lot of lies had happened in his life systematically, and he found out about it all kind of at once.  So he was denial, anger toward it, befuddlement, you know. And finally I think he’s kind of accepted it, and throughout season two he’s owning it now. So it’s more fun to play — as far as I’m concerned — a very confident guy who’s coming into his own and becoming more of a — I’d say — force to be reckoned with in the Wesen world. So it’s been really fun to play that.

Q:  The chemistry between you and Silas on the screen is just great. Can you talk a little bit about that relationship, how you’ve seen that develop – further develop this season? And what maybe you enjoyed most about that relationship.

David Giuntoli:           I think Silas put it best. He said, “everybody has seen the cop and partner relationship, the detective and his wife or girlfriend relationship, the detective — you know, there are a lot of dynamics that have been played out and some really well and some not so good.  But in our show we have the detective and this thing which is Monroe. It’s a totally different thing. And it’s been such a pleasure to work with Silas and have this wonderful dynamic that plays out on screen. The writers have done a very good job with that.  As far as the relationship and how it’s grown, I’d say we were always reluctant. We allied in the first season. But he could always turn into a creature, and I could always behead him. And this season we are more, I’ll just say friends. You know, he’s housing me in his attic for God’s sake. And I love the relationship he has now with Bree Turner — Rosalee.  And I think I believe in this next episode there’s a very — that airs tomorrow night — funny scene where I perhaps walk in on a moment I shouldn’t have walked in on. So that’s fun to play with.

Q:  Facebook has a little ad for tonight that said, “What is a Grimm?” Is that going to be answered tonight?

David Giuntoli:           I think we learn a little bit more about what a Grimm is every couple of episodes.  Episode coming up – first of all forgive me. I know what’s happening on our show. I just don’t know when it gets billed out. You know what I mean?  I watch it all the time. I usually don’t watch it on Friday nights. I usually watch it well before that. But certain storylines I know exactly what happens I just don’t know in which episodes what happens in that storyline. So I don’t know if it’s tomorrow, but we do – the Captain will be giving me a stern caption – captain-esque lecture as to my – a little bit about my history and the Royals and why they want me and me in particular.  In this coming episode I believe we’re going to be seeing – I know we’re going to be seeing something very paranormal – I want to say almost X-Filesy that is not a standard Grimms fairytale and almost like we’re dealing what people on the Earth think are aliens. But we tell you what they really are — the real explanation for them.

Q:  Which Grimm story has not yet been told that you are really pulling for that the writers tackle next season?

David Giuntoli:           The sausage and the fork go to town. No, I actually don’t know. I feel like we’ve hit all the classics. And every time I see a new Grimm’s fairytale I’m almost learning about it as we go through the season. What I do really enjoy now about our show is the fact that we’re kind of straying from the Grimms fairytales.  And remember in the lore of our show — in the world of Grimm — there are only Grimm’s fairytales because they’ve been written about in a book. Now certain things that have not yet been explained maybe they just haven’t been written down yet. So I get to add to that book.  And thus a phenomenon or a phenomena that is here to for unexplained gets written down in the Grimms fairytales, and it becomes a legend for kids to learn about forever. Was that the most confusing sentence that’s ever spoken?  In other words, we’re borrowing from a lot of lore that’s even outside the standard Grimm’s fairytales. And we are adding it to those Grimm’s fairytales.

Q:  What is the nicest thing a fan has ever done for you?

David Giuntoli:           Well I mean they’ve affirmed me over and over and over again all the time, which is lovely. But what is the nicest thing? Well a really great thing a young man did for me – I met him at I believe Comi-Con. And he read somewhere – he said I always use like ChapStick.  And I didn’t have any that day. And he got a brand new package for me and gave it to me. Because I’m addicted to Burt’s Bees ChapStick. And it was very kind.  I’m sure there’ve been so – I mean there’ve been so many things that people have done and said and written. And I love it all. But that moment kind of sticks out. Because I was in such need of it. And he happened to have it and give me this gift.

Q:  Can you just give us a little more depth of some broad strokes about some of the plot lines for the remainder of this season?

David Giuntoli:           Absolutely. Nick and Juliette start patching things up. And it’s looking very hopeful for us come the end of the season. Two, a level 10 — as I like to call it — wesen comes to Portland who is pulling the strings controlling a lot of other types of wesen. We can call them the undead.  And he has an army of people under his control that wreak havoc. And this is a longer story arc. We’ll be visited by an actor named Reg E. — the initial E — Cathey. He’s a wonderful actor who’s just been in House of Cards, and he’s been in everything. And he’s great. And he plays this kind of powerful wesen that we will be introduced to in the next couple of episodes. The Royals get closer and closer to me. They come to Portland, and they want the key. And I learn much more about why it is they want the key. The captain and I start working together. Let’s see. Zombies are entering Portland. And also as far as Adalind goes – the Adalind storyline is insane. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

Q:  And looking forward to season three what would you like to see happen with your character — both professionally and personally?

David Giuntoli:           Well I’d like to see some resolve — some real closer — to the Juliette storyline, some, you know, – I love working with Bitsie Tulloch and, you know, it’d be nice to be just a couple again.  I want to get Sergeant Wu into the fray of the knowing. That would be really fun to work with him in the way that now Russell, Hank, and I can work together and Bree and Silas and the Captain. I would love to get Sergeant Wu into the fray.

Q:  Now that you’ve completed two seasons what has this whole experience meant for you as an actor?

David Giuntoli:           Oh, gosh. I look back at the beginning of season one, and I’m like who is that kid, that supple little kid. It has been just an absolute gift to me and a blessing. And I’ve learned so much. I feel like I get paid to learn every day.  And I’ve become very good friends with a lot of my cast. And, you know, we live in Portland together. And they’re my group now. It’s been so lovely. And there’s the producers and the writers and my bosses are also giving. They leave us alone. They give support. You never feel, you know, criticized. It’s a very healthy place to be. So I’m very grateful.

Q:  Do you know if you’re going to be on Tuesday nights in season three?

David Giuntoli:           I don’t know if we’ll be on Tuesday nights in season three. I guess we’ll all kind of figure that out together based upon how we fit on Tuesday night for the rest of the season. I’d be really – I have had that thought myself. I do not know the answer.

Q:  So Nick deals with a lot of gruesome scenes and gruesome things. Have any of those scenes every stayed with you?

David Giuntoli:           Oh God. I – yes. The horribly gross scenes. One of which when Monroe gouges out the eye of a fly person.  I believe the person’s name was David Jinnamuru Xunte, which sounds like someone who’d be touring with Erykah Badu. But it’s the fly person. That scene stays with me. That was hideous.  Another scene that stayed with me was the season one episode maybe five where the rats are…Yes, and I remember just before we even shot I was on set and I walked by this car in a parking lot that I didn’t know had a corpse with rats pouring out of his mouth — into his stomach out of his mouth. That ruined me for a good , oh, 90 days. I couldn’t handle. It was so gross. Yes, that was a very strange scene, absolutely life like reproduction of (unintelligible) usually just completely dismembered on the ground after you just met them and had lunch with them. It’s so strange. The child in you does not know what’s real and what is not for a split second.

Q:  How do people react to you when they see you now that you’re playing this sexy action hero?

David Giuntoli:           Sexy action hero. That’s funny. I guess – I don’t know. I definitely notice people looking at me a lot. In Portland and certain towns that are not L.A., I get approached quite a bit, and it’s lovely. I love it. Because all of us actors have the saddest little frail egos, and we need to be inflated constantly and flirt with narcissism. So that’s nice.

Q:  Are we going to be getting more shirtless scenes?

David Giuntoli:           That depends how I’ve been eating. I think there will be some more of those. I’m seeing they’re training me really hardcore — pretty heavily — this summer in preparation for season three. So I just got back from my trainer in fact. So if it gets to that point if I don’t think America will cringe and turn off their televisions then there will be more of that.

Q:  What’s your favorite weapon that you’ve used, or what weapon are you looking forward to using?

David Giuntoli:           Sexist T.V. weapon has to be the cross bow. It’s just so cool. They do those shots that kind of pan up on the crossbow and then the eyes go right above it. But Nick really loves the – I believe it’s pronounced (conobo) or (conabo), which is just a basically a baseball bat with spikes on it — nothing too technically fancy. But he loves it.

Q:  On the show Nick really never gets a lot of down time. So what do you think he would do if he actually had some time to himself? Do you think he would play video games or what kind of shows would he watch? And what do you do during the down time of the show in between takes and such?

David Giuntoli:           I think Nick’s a Palm Springs kind of guy. He wants to get down there with a group of friends. I think he probably drinks canned beer and wine. He’s nothing too sophisticated though. Now with Monroe introducing me to a whole other world of foods and wines maybe I’m enjoying the finer things.  But he needs some sun. So I’d say like Palm Springs, Hawaii, Mexico. It’s all kind of west coast.  Let’s see what else he does. In the real downtime between sets, between takes, I mean it’s just – you would get so annoyed with us. It’s hijinks really. We laugh all of the time, talk, I mean ongoing jokes, play games that you’d play in like long car rides when you were a kid.  One game we play is dictionary which is – this is Silas’ game of course. You just go into your dictionary app on your phone, find a word that’s pretty hard that you probably know it, and you tell another person the first letter of the word, the part of speech, and the first definition. And that person has to figure out what that word is — makes you smarter.

Q:  Do you see a Grimm video game being a possibility in the future? And would you be up for working on something like that if it was?

David Giuntoli:           I would be completely up with that. That is what I like to think of as a revenue stream for me. But I don’t know if a video game is in the works. I have some very good friends who have voices on video games. A good friend of mine who’s on the show Being Human — Sam Witwer — is a voice for someone in one of the Star Wars video games. I think like the main dude. And he loved it. So I would love to get into more voice acting.

Q:  How did you like working on the episode Nameless which was about video game Black Forest 2? Did you find that episode fun, and what would you do if you were trapped in a video game and you had to survive?

David Giuntoli:           I’m seeing through line now. What would I do? I have – first of all I’ve enjoyed video games in my adult life though I try not to let it take over, which it can. It’s a nice way to totally turn off though when you’re an actor. Turn off your brain and like just get away or whatever.  I enjoyed the episode Nameless. I thought it was really smart. It was written by a really smart girl, and I thought it was such a kind of, you know, a current thing that we’re been dealing with. If I was trapped in a video game I would imagine I would find the nearest video game and just end it. I couldn’t handle being trapped inside of a video game. I’m not that much of a fighter. It depends what video game I suppose.

Q:  Do you actually play any video games in real life?

David Giuntoli:           I was a good Call – I mean I do have time, but I don’t now on set because I’m so busy. But most recently I was a big Call of Duty guy. That’s the last video game I really got into. It’s been a couple of years now.

Q:  You were talking about getting used to living part of your life in Portland. How have you adapted to doing that?

David Giuntoli:           I purchased a seasonal effective disorder lamp. I really did. Though I didn’t need it this year. And I don’t know if that’s because I’ve adapted to the rain or because the winter was so mild. But I don’t really notice the rain as much as I used to. I guess that’s probably a typical thing that Portlanders go through.  I adapted – I’ve become a absolute food snob, coffee snob — absolute coffee snob. I brought Stumptown coffee home with me so I could make it here and not have to suffer the inferior coffee shops of Los Angeles.  Though there are some good ones. Have I adapted no sales tax? That’s not hard to adapt to. I’m happy about that. We all kind of settled in the Pearl originally.  And now people are kind of – I’m thinking about purchasing a home there. You know, people are kind of spreading out and settling down a little bit. And I think that also comes with knowing that we’re getting a season three and if we get a season three then we’ll probably get a four. So, you know, that security of knowing where we’re going to be in a couple of years.  I’ve become a – out of nowhere I’ve become a basketball fan because of the Blazers. And the tickets I get to those things I get to sit on the courtside, which is amazing.  So I’m a big fan. So these are all adaptations that have been slowly happening.  There’s a lot of neighborhoods I would consider. I dig the Northeast. I love the Pearl. I love the Northwest, Southeast. I don’t know Southwest that well. But I want to be kind of close to action. You know, I want to be able to get out of my house and have people walking around. So whatever can offer me that I would look into.  Any realtors out there you can give me a call.

Q:  What do you think of some of the actors who are Portland based actors that you’ve worked with on the show?

David Giuntoli:           I wish I could remember all of their names just right off the top of my head.  Portland has such a – I can remember a lot of them. But I don’t want to forget some. Portland has a great theater community. I’ve talked to a lot of these actors about why. Possibly because it’s raining so much that it’s nice to get into the theater. And people are willing to kind of sit through longer form entertainment than they might not be willing to do in some other cities.  Portland — and Seattle too — both have great actors, and it has been really lovely to work with these men and women who working in T.V. is just – sweetens the pot a little bit. And but their heart is in theater.  And they’re always emailing me and texting me. I’ll give them my info (unintelligible) going on about – they’ll tell me what shows are going on. I just had one guy named (Jonah Westin) tell about this one man show he was doing I think like on the roof of some venue in Portland but I was of course in L.A. It’s great to meet these guys and girls.

Q:  How was working with Mexican actress Kate del Castillo?

David Giuntoli:           You know what she gave me as a wrap present? A bottle of like the finest tequila I’ve ever had in my life. So it was a joy. Kate del Castillo was – I mean almost like no other actor we’ve had. So fun to be with, you know, even after we were working. She knows how to have a good time — is just so happy to be there.  And of course she’s a star. So it was very good for our show to have her on this episode. We all would love her to come back and it was one of our – I think it was our second most watched episode next to our premiere. So obviously she brought with her some cache and popularity.  That episode in particular was really fun, because it was largely done in Spanish, which I can’t remember any other show doing that that wasn’t a Spanish speaking show. So I thought it was kind of cool, and it worked so well. It fit so well into the world of Grimm.

Q:  Now regarding the wesen — it was established that on the episode that La Llorona is not necessarily one of them. What do you think about this great idea of the writers about expanding the motility of the creators – the creatures of this show.

David Giuntoli:           Yes, I think – I really enjoyed that aspect of it. I think that it shows you, you know, in keeping up with the lore of Grimm the Grimms fairytales are just stories that have thus far been logged in these books. But they’re growing as the Grimms continue to discover more and more I suppose wesen.  And reasons behind phenomena that human beings make up stories to explain. The Grimms can then explain it in this book and try to put it out to the rest of the world. I really enjoy getting to borrow from other folklore, you know, legends that had not yet been in the Grimm books.

Q:  You mentioned before about working with Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Can you just tell us a little bit about what it’s like to have here on the show? And who is on your personal wish list for potential guest stars in the future that you like to work with?

David Giuntoli:           Oh gosh. I can’t say that just because there’s so many. I wouldn’t want to offend the people, you know – Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio was wonderful to work with. And the episodes that she’s been in have been so work intensive, and she has such a wonderful you know ethic — work ethic. And she’s so fury, and she, you know, working with her I get caught watching her all of the time and almost forget that I’m in the scene. Because she’s so captivating and compelling and beautiful and just makes wonderful choices. And, you know, that’s what I think about her.  I’ve really enjoyed the guest actors we’ve had thus far. And anybody’s who’s decided to come who can swing it we’ll love to have.

Q:  Is there like a specific type of actor that you think fits well into the Grimm family?  Theater actors or is it – what is does a actor need to have to fit in with you guys?

David Giuntoli:           Sure, character actors.  You don’t have to be like a theater actor per say. I mean most actors have done some theater. But I love the local guys getting some jobs — guys and girls getting some jobs. Because you know these are people who have dedicated to theater and they live in Portland. So there’re not a ton of gigs that show up there. So I love when we get a really great new talent. But also it’s fun to expose viewers to people who you have not seen much be that we had an actor name Brian Finney who is a very well respected actor in Los Angeles. He works with the Robbins Theater — the Actors’ Gang. And he played the Ziegevolk in the episode where he was .a lawyer who charmed the jury. And, you know, it was great getting to have him. So, you know, that’s the type of actor.

Get Ready To Bite Into True Blood’s Volume 4 Soundtrack Available Everywhere May 28^th Courtesy of ATO Records

Album Includes Tracks From Eric Burdon with Jenny Lewis, My Morning Jacket, The Flaming Lips, Alabama Shakes, Iggy Pop with Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast and more!

Grimm Moves to Tuesdays!

Starting April 30th, Grimm moves to its new night and time – Tuesdays at 10/9c!

Tonight, it’s an all-new Grimm, now on Tuesdays! You won’t want to miss what happens when Juliette’s memory returns – sneak a peek in the clip below.

Lena:  What an episode (“Sacrifice”) of Vikings on Sunday night.  It just stinks that you only have one episode left.

Jessalyn Gilsig:  It was a good one, wasn’t it!  It was a really different one.  Even I feel that way, all that work and we are almost done.

Lena:  Vikings truly has everything – an amazing cast, superb writing, and brilliant visuals.  In “Sacrifice” they chose not to show the actual sacrificing but just the blood and in the end the chilling visual of the sacrifices that were left out. What is your take on Michael’s (Hirst) vision of the show?

Jessalyn Gilsig:  I feel that “Sacrifice” is a really good illustration of what Michael really wanted us to do, which was to completely humanize these people.  Instead of looking at them from a distance and just making assumptions about them being barbaric just because they are different therefore they are less human or have less compassion or less commitment to their relationships.  He really wanted us to be inside these people.  I remember when we were filming the human sacrifice, the director said to us, this is euphoric, this is the ultimate gift to the gods and just as other religions have these beliefs of what their god wants from them, we believe that this is a moment when we are actually connecting with our god in the deepest and most profound way that we can and we live for a moment like this.   There had to be a feeling that there was nothing about this that was barbaric, not even for the ones that were being sacrificed, but part of our life story, which makes complete sense to us, whether or not it is ritual that exists in modern life today.

Lena:  What were some of the scenes or visuals that really stuck with you?

Jessalyn Gilsig:  When we filmed where Ragnar (Travis Fimmel) and the Earl (Gabriel Byrne) had their dual in an area called Luggala, which a lot of people from Ireland were familiar with but I have never been to.  It was such a beautiful location that was untouched by man; you can’t see a cell phone tower, electrical lines, or anything.  It just feels like it’s the pocket of earth that no one has made an imprint on yet.  When you get to a location like that and everyone is in their wardrobe and there is livestock all around you, the setting overshadows the crew in the sense that the production was so big that the gear really got lost in the setting.  I was really lucky in my role too because I had my marriage with the Earl and one of the things that I like so much about our story was that we had this great hall where we would hold the court and that had all the ceremonies with the people, but then we had our bedroom, which was just a couple that had been married for years and the things that they keep in their bedroom, and how they get ready for bed, what they talk about before they go to bed.   I loved that I had that sense of place and sense of home, that dual experience of playing this queen-like character, when she’s sitting on the thrown, then also the normal everyday mundane thing that everybody’s got to climb into bed and kiss your husband goodnight and roll over and go to sleep.

Lena:  I think one of the most defining episodes for your character was “Burial of the Dead.”  Siggy had to watch her husband die at the hands of Ragnar.  You were incredible in that scene.  Even when the fight was going on the shots of you, in the crowd, were some of the strongest.  Can you talk about what Siggy went through, in that episode, and your dynamic character throughout the series?

Jessalyn Gilsig:  Thank you.  I was helped by my wardrobe.  I had great, great outfits.  What was so interesting for me about that scene, and challenging, was that I think Siggy knows that he’s not going to win.  I think she knows that he knows that he’s not going to win.  That’s why she brings the knife.  It doesn’t call into question her love, or even her belief in him, but our fates are written.  The Seer (John Kavanagh) has told us, and even though he tells me that The Seer says he’s going to win, she just knows that as much as she wants that to be the reality, that it isn’t the reality.  It’s such a beautiful character because for me I feel like I’m just so lucky because, especially working with Gabriel, there was really a marriage with so much history and so much pain, but also so much joy.  The most joy that a couple could have, having a beautiful family with success and security and then slowly all of that had been shaved away over time and let us really know that we were vulnerable.  Siggy, I don’t even think that her husband would expect any less, knows that she has to go on.  She’s not going to throw herself on the funeral pyre.  They were in a political collaboration, she and the Earl, and that political ambition doesn’t die with him.

Lena:  Siggy had a little something going on with Rollo (Clive Standen) prior to the Earl’s death.  Can you discuss that and if you think it’s wise for her to team up with unstable Rollo?

Jessalyn Gilsig:  [Laughing.]  Yeah, time will tell.  We talked about that a lot, Michael and I.  Why does she do that?  First of all, the Earl is impotent and Siggy is a human being with desires and yearnings, and in her is still a feeling that there is another chapter.  The Earl is really backing out on that feeling and is not connected to that ambition anymore and I think in Rollo, I think there is a mutual attraction.  I think even more than that, that there is a feeling of trying to suss out can she find in him the qualities that she had in her husband.  Is there a way that she can make another political marriage and move back into what she considers her rightful place, sitting in that throne?

Lena:  Just when I thought Vikings couldn’t get any better, they brought in Donal Logue as King Horik.

Jessalyn Gilsig:  Yes!  Amazing, right!

Lena:  Can you talk about being part of such a phenomenal cast and what it was like working with everyone?

Jessalyn Gilsig:  It was really great to be on location, to be away from L.A. and from everything that was familiar.  It’s really an international cast.  There were lots of people coming from all different walks of life and all converging in Ireland.  I think that created a feeling that we were really just serving the story.  No one was really thinking about the result of how this will play and how this will play for me, but rather so many elements were so foreign that we really just wanted to do the best job that we could for Michael.  I think everybody was happy to set the bar really high.  We would come in and not really think about how we looked or how we were coming off.  It was almost like coming in and reenacting an incredible novel, or something.  You know that on the set when the feeling goes out that everybody is prepared and everybody is making choices about their characters.  Everybody is interested in making the scene the very best that it can be and nobody is going to go home until we got it right.  That is just infectious.  Luckily for us, I think it translated into the production as well.

Lena:  Did Gabriel offer you any parting words?

Jessalyn Gilsig:  Gabriel, for me, was such a gift.  For me it was also when I got the job I didn’t feel, I felt like it reminded me of the kind of things that I did before I moved to Hollywood.  I worked in classical theatre and regional theatre.  Since then I’ve done a lot of television and one of the last things was Terri (Schuester) on Glee.  Although, I didn’t necessarily feel like, it didn’t mean that I didn’t want the job, but I knew that it would be hard for people.  I didn’t want anybody to watch the show and say, why did Terri Schuester just walk into…?  [Laughing.]  Why is she there? I knew I had to give myself over to the production both physically and mentally.  Maybe Gabriel had the same kind of feeling because some people would recognize me and I just didn’t want to be that weak link that made people say, Yeah, I liked it but it was just weird that girl from Glee was there.

Lena:  I had a lot of people say that they hate your character, Terri, from Glee because she is so mean on the show.  [Laughing.]

Jessalyn Gilsig:  I’m not going to say that Siggy is going to win any popularity contests but I think Siggy is certainly more sophisticated than Terri.  Hopefully, that will buy her a few more fans.  [Laughing.]

Lena:  With History toting the tagline – “No one will see this coming.” – referring to the finale, I’m excited and terrified to watch it on Sunday night.

Jessalyn Gilsig:  Yes, you should be.  In fact, it was really hard for us to film and you will see why when you see it on Sunday.  It was shocking when we read it.  It was personally one of the most intense things that I have ever filmed.  It was really good.  Michael gave us such a deep foundation that when he kind of brings in this earthquake, so to speak, the loss is so great.

Lena:  Wow!  Do you think that the viewers are going to enjoy it, or are we going to be up all night screaming WHY at our televisions?

Jessalyn Gilsig:  [Laughing.]  I can’t believe with this show, which is such a new world that has never been created before with characters with such complex storylines with so many intricate connections – I just feel that there is this fan base that it’s almost like as soon as it airs people said oh yes, I know this, this is familiar to me and this is how my brain works.  No one has ever sort of understood the level of storytelling that my brain can handle, and the way that the fans have understood the show and all of its complexities, I feel like when next week happens the discussions will be fascinating because everybody gets it.  People are talking about it like they are talking about literature, or something.  I don’t know what the reaction is going to be, but I know that everything that I’ve read that the fans have been talking about that they will have such interesting thoughts on the why and many of them will be right.

Lena:  The fans are so vested in the show and the characters.

Jessalyn Gilsig:  I feel it.  As an actor, you always want to respect your audience.  That is the most important thing and there is a lot that you try to bring to the storytelling without in any way indicating anything because you are trying to connect about the human connection, you are not trying to tell people who this person is, but you are trying to play this person in such a way that people can relate.  This show has the patience, I feel like, to allow us all to do that and to do that layering.  It would be one thing if we were in the third season; I feel that after the first episode aired people understood much of the dynamics and were relating individually to each different character.  It’s really exciting.  Television is so exciting right now.  I feel like it’s the greatest storytelling that is out there right now.  I feel like our television show is just a nine-hour movie.

Lena:  It is, especially with Michael Hirst at the helm.  Since you’ve worked with Ryan Murphy on Glee and Nip/Tuck, are we ever going to see you on American Horror Story?

Jessalyn Gilsig:  [Laughing.]  I’ve been asked that a couple of times.  I feel like I should because then it would be my hat trick.  I don’t know.  I never know when Ryan is going to call, and I’m always happy when he does.  We will see what happens.  I love the show, though.  He’s the perfect example of a guy who is right on the vanguard on what television could be before anybody realized it.  He can really do these series where it is a full experience.  It’s really exciting.

Lena:  Do you have a release date for Somewhere Slow?

Jessalyn Gilsig:  I think it is going to be in the fall of 2013.  We are doing a few more festivals and then we are gearing up for our theatrical and our video release, our VOD and Netflix.  It’s probably going to be in the fall.

Lena:  Very cool.  I was looking it up but I couldn’t find any info on when it was coming out, or if it was going to be a limited release.

Jessalyn Gilsig:  We are looking at a limited release and VOD.  I’ll definitely let you know when.  I’m so excited to share it.  It’s such a labor of love.  It’s been doing really well.  We’ve been getting such great responses at the festivals, and we are just trying to build that momentum for when we come out.  I’m so proud of it, not so much because of my appearance in it, but really because of all the talent that is behind it.  I just want people to see everybody’s work and have them get the recognition that they deserve.

Lena:  That’s another great cast.

Jessalyn Gilsig:  Yeah.  Isn’t it a beautiful cast?  They were amazing.  The thing with actors is that we all just want to be working and we all want to be stretched, so what I learned from that film was that if we could not waste anyone’s time and make sure that we were fully prepared and that we got everybody out with a precision and an efficiency to what we were doing, we could get these amazingly talented people.  David Constabile is such a good example.  Without him I don’t think there is a film.  He just came in and embodied this character that only he could.  He was so generous with his talent.  We got really lucky in every department that way.  The woman that did the makeup, because I have a skin condition in the film, she made that her passion – to focus on that and make that her responsibility.

NBC ANNOUNCES FIVE DRAMA SERIES RENEWALS FOR NEXT SEASON
Dramas “Revolution,” “Chicago Fire,” “Parenthood,” “Grimm” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” All Returning for 2013-14 Slate

All have been given 22-episode orders.

The announcement was made by Jennifer Salke, president of NBC Entertainment.

“On the verge of our 2013 fall scheduling decisions, we’re pleased to renew five drama series that will be important to our new season line-up,” Salke said. “We’re proud and very appreciative of all of the actors, producers, writers and directors who work so hard to deliver such high-quality work week in and week out. These complex shows represent a broad range of genres and tones, and all of them stand out for us in a television landscape now filled with one-hour series. We’re especially pleased to be renewing “Revolution” and “Chicago Fire” — two first-season successes — and there will be more returning series announcements made in the next couple of weeks.”

“Revolution,” the Monday night drama that centers on a family trying to reunite amidst a worldwide power failure, is executive produced by Eric Kripke, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk (“Lost,” “Star Trek”). The series is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Bad Robot Productions, Kripke Enterprises and Warner Bros. Television.

“Revolution” is the season’s top-rated drama on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox and top-rated new series among those networks in adults 18-49, scoring a 4.6 rating, 12 share and 11.8 million viewers overall in “most current” averages for the season to date. “Revolution” has teamed with “The Voice” to help improve NBC’s Mondays this season versus last by 24 percent in 18-49 (with a 3.6 rating vs. a 2.9).

“Chicago Fire,” from Emmy Award-winning executive producer Dick Wolf and creators Derek Haas and Michael Brandt, goes inside a Windy City firehouse and the lives of those who engage in one of our nation’s noblest professions.

In addition to Wolf, Haas and Brandt, executive producers also include Matt Olmstead, Joe Chappelle, Danielle Gelber and Peter Jankowski. The series is produced by Universal Television and Wolf Films.

“Chicago Fire” has topped its premiere audience of 6.6 million persons a total of eight times this season, and the only other new drama on the broadcast networks to have done it even once this season is NBC’s “Hannibal.” “Chicago Fire” originals have improved the time period versus year-ago results by 24 percent (“live plus same day”).

“Parenthood,” adapted from the 1989 feature film, examines the colorful Braverman family, and all its foibles and triumphs. The series is executive produced by Oscar winners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (“A Beautiful Mind,” “Frost/Nixon”), Emmy winner Jason Katims (“Friday Night Lights”) and Lawrence Trilling (“Pushing Daisies”). The series is produced by Universal Television and Imagine Entertainment.

“Parenthood” grew this season versus last by 8 percent in adults 18-49 (to a 2.8 rating from a 2.6) and also increased by 8 percent year-to-year in total viewers (7.1 million vs. 6.6 million). This season’s last seven “Parenthood” telecasts beat both the ABC and CBS drama competition in the time period in 18-49.

“Grimm,” inspired by the classic Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales, is a Universal Television and Hazy Mills production. The series was created by Stephen Carpenter, David Greenwalt, Jim Kouf. Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner and Norberto Barba also serve as executive producers along with Greenwalt and Kouf.

“Grimm” is Friday’s #1 series in adults 18-49 and is up versus one year ago by 14 percent in 18-49 rating (with a 2.4 vs. the year-ago 2.1, “most current”) and is up 12 percent in total viewers (6.9 million vs. 5.2 million).

“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” will enter its 15th season for NBC. The series chronicles the life and crimes of the Special Victims Unit of the New York City Police Department, an elite squad of detectives who investigate sexually based crimes.

“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” is a Wolf Films production in association with Universal Television. Dick Wolf is creator and executive producer. Warren Leight, Julie Martin and Peter Jankowski are also executive producers.

“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” originals this season have improved the time period versus year-ago results by 70 percent in adults 18-49 (“live plus same day”) and are building on the time slot’s lead-in by 31 percent in 18-49 and 70 percent in total viewers.

“Volcanalis” -

On the next new episode of Grimm, a demon arises and all hell will break lose!

Meet Stefania

Adalind crosses paths with a gypsy with sinister intentions.

Episode 9 Promo

“All Change” – Sunday, April 28 at 10 p.m.
At the behest of King Horik, Ragnar assembles a small party to travel to Gotaland (modern day Sweden) to resolve a land dispute with the area’s leader, Jarl Borg. Ragnar’s renown precedes him and Jarl Borg is intrigued – has he found a new ally or is Ragnar just a puppet of the king? Meanwhile in Kattegat, with a plague taking its toll on the village, the people look to Lagertha to help appease the gods.

Directed by: Ken Girotti
Written by: Michael Hirst

EARLY RELEASE SCENE: Rollo – Brother Talk

EARLY RELEASE SCENE : Rollo – What Do You Want

ATLAS GENIUS’ FIRST NORTH AMERICAN HEADLINE TOUR LAUNCHES TODAY

Atlas Genius will kick off its first-ever North American headline tour today, with a sold-out show at Emo’s East in Austin, TX. The run includes sold-out nights in Houston, Santa Barbara, Denver, Minneapolis, Cambridge and New York City, where the Australian band will play The Bowery Ballroom on June 18 and 19.  The band will play London, UK for the first time on May 7, as well. Supporting acts will include TheNeighbourhood, The Postelles, The Colourist, Pacific Air and Haerts. Atlas Genius, who recently wrapped up a sold-out tour with Imagine Dragons, will also perform at numerous festivals, including the Sasquatch! Festival, Lollapalooza, the Firefly Music Festival, Summerfest, Edgefest, San Francisco’s BFD and San Diego’s X-Fest. See below for tour itinerary.

Brothers Keith and Michael Jeffery wrote, recorded and produced When It Was Now at a studio they built in their hometown of Adelaide, Australia. “Bouncy, jangly tracks like ‘Through the Glass’ and the single ‘Trojans’…[are] pretty damn irresistible,” said People. Seventeen placed them on its list of “17 Bands Everyone Should Be Talking About.” Neon Gold said that When It Was Now ”promises to be one of the year’s most impressive debuts,” NYLON tipped Atlas Genius as one of the top five bands to watch out for in 2013 and Entertainment Weekly named them as one of “15 New Stars We Love.”

BOOKED TO PERFORM ON “LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN” ON MAY 2

ATLAS GENIUS – TOUR DATES

April

25 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s East *  SOLD OUT

26 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgeralds *  SOLD OUT

27 – Dallas, TX @ FC Dallas Stadium – Edgefest

30 – New York, NY @ The Studio at Webster Hall – MTV Artist To Watch Live

May

3 – New York, NY @ Original Penguin SoHo store

4 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Piazza at Schmidt’s w/Family of the Year

7 – London, UK @ Electrowerks

19 – Mountain View, CA @ Live 105 BFD Festival

20 – Santa Barbara, CA @ SOhO Restaurant and Music Club **  SOLD OUT

22 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s Night Club **

24 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom **

25 – Quincy, WA @ The Gorge – Sasquatch! Music Festival – Bigfoot Stage

26 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue **

29 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court ***

31 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater ***  SOLD OUT

June

1 – Colorado Springs, CO @ The Black Sheep ***

4 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Café ***  SOLD OUT

6 – Indianapolis, IN @ Deluxe at Old National Centre ***

7 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall ***

9 – Nashville, TN @ 3^rd & Lindley ****

11 – Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa ****

12 – Richmond, VA @ The Canal Club ****

14 – Albany, NY @ Bayou Café ****

15 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair  **** SOLD OUT

17 – Pawtucket, RI @ The Met Café ****

18 – New York, NY @ The Bowery Ballroom  ****  SOLD OUT

19 – New York, NY @ The Bowery Ballroom ****  SOLD OUT

20 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Casino – Wolf Den  FREE SHOW

21 – Dover, DE @ Firefly Music Festival

23 – Toronto, ON @ The Opera House *****

24 – Detroit, MI @ Shelter *****

27 – Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest

July

6 – Vancouver, BC @Kelowna’s Waterfront Park

10 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Blues Festival

13 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bunbury Music Fest

August

2 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza

4 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Music and Arts Festival

8 – Bakersfield, CA @ B Ryders

TBA – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands

September

20 – San Diego, CA @ 91X Fest

Supporting acts:

*The Neighbourhood

**The Postelles and The Colourist 

***The Postelles and Haerts

****Pacific Air and Haerts

*****Pacific Air

Official Website: http://www.atlasgenius.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AtlasGenius

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/atlasgenius

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/atlasgenius/

Ron vs. Leslie -

Ron is determined to cut government funding for the Pawnee mini golf course.

Hannibal Fans rejoice – now there’s even more to savor with Bryan Fuller’s newly released web series, “Ceuf” which explores Hannibal Lector’s relationships with Abigail Hobbs and Will Graham.  Below, you’ll find all six parts, as well an all-new preview of this week’s delicious new episode!

Ceuf Part 1

Bryan Fuller intros “Ceuf,” a web series exploring Hannibal Lecter’s relationships with Abigail Hobbs and Will Graham.

Ceuf Part 2

Alana Bloom and Dr. Lecter discuss what’s best for Abigail Hobbs.

Ceuf Part 3

Dr. Lecter tries to peer inside Will’s troubled mind.

Ceuf Part 4

Dr. Lecter encourages Abigail to face her past.

Ceuf Part 5

Dr. Lecter employs a radical treatment on Abigail Hobbs.

Ceuf Part 6

Dr. Bloom is outraged to discover Dr. Lecter’s treatment  of Abigail Hobbs.

PREVIEW: Pushing Too Hard

Pushed to find a killer, Will loses his cool.

Jay doesn’t understand why Tom Cruise does his own stunts, until now.

Tom Cruise doesn’t refuse stunts.

Tom Cruise on the story of Oblivion.

Emily Blunt on cracking Dame Judi Dench on the chin with a walking stick.

Emily Blunt on shooting with Colin Firth for Arthur Newman.

Better watch your back, because in this game you only get one life. Supernatural will return with all new episodes Apr. 24 with guest star Felicia Day!

Preview: “Girl Dishonored”
During an assault investigation, the SVU squad unearths a legacy of corruption at a local college.

The Americans – Snapshot: Week 11

In a career filled with espionage and danger, who knew love would be the most difficult part of the job. Crack open a “thanks a lot” beer and digest the Week 11 Snapshot. Watch The Americans Wednesdays at 10p only on FX.

The Americans – Go Undercover: Spy Craft

Go Undercover for a history lesson in 1980’s espionage and see how actual tactics and gadgets are used within the world of The Americans.  Watch all new episodes Wednesdays at 10p only on FX.

“When it debuted in 2006, DEXTER redefined the genre, by taking the anti-hero to new heights and pushing the boundaries of the television landscape,” said Matthew C. Blank, Chairman and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc. ” DEXTER paved the way for the next generation of award-winning hit SHOWTIME series, and its cultural impact will be felt for years to come.”

“DEXTER is a landmark franchise for our network, and we cannot wait to unveil the conclusion of this series, as we know it, to the millions of passionate fans who have supported the show season after season,” said David Nevins, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc. “We’d like to thank Michael, Jennifer, and DEXTER ‘s indomitable cast, executive producers, writers and crew for eight incredible seasons.”

The exclusive tease from DEXTER ‘s eighth and final season premiere gives fans a sneak peek into the mindset of Dexter and Debra Morgan after LaGuerta’s death in season seven. To watch the clip, go to:

Will’s got a bead on a copycat killer.

Mystery Caller

Will’s on the scent of another killer.

Victim or Suspect?

Jack theorizes that Abigail may have aided her father, Garret Jacob Hobbs, in his serial killings.

Don’t miss Patton Oswalt’s guest appearance on Parks and Recreation!

Much Ado About Nothing

Ron would work all night if it meant nothing got done.

Doing the Deed

Chris and Ann aren’t quite ready for the insemination process.

The New Jerry

Who will be the next “Jerry” in the office?

The traditional pilgrimage to Uppsalla to thank the gods brings a torrent of emotions for Ragnar, Lagertha, and Athelstan. Ragnar, pulling farther away from his wife goes to make peace with the death of his unborn son. Lagertha, still reeling from her miscarriage, wants to find out from the gods if more sons are in her future. As the Vikings come together to sacrifice and give thanks to their gods, Athelstan discovers just how strong his Christian faith still is.

The eight-episode first season of the pirate adventure centers on the tales of Captain Flint and his men, and takes place twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic “Treasure Island.” Toby Stephens (Die Another Day) stars as Flint, the most brilliant and most feared pirate captain of his day, takes on a fast-talking young addition to his crew who goes by the name John Silver. Threatened with extinction on all sides, they fight for the survival of New Providence Island, the most notorious criminal haven of its day – a debauched paradise teeming with pirates, prostitutes, thieves and fortune seekers, a place defined by both its enlightened ideals and its stunning brutality.

“Black Sails” is executive produced by Michael Bay (Transformers, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor) and his Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form (producers on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and Nightmare on Elm Street (2009). The series was created by showrunner and executive producer Jon Steinberg (creator “Jericho,” “Human Target”) and co-executive producer Robert Levine (“Touch”). It is currently filming in Cape Town, South Africa.

“Black Sails” stars Luke Arnold as the classic character, “John Silver,” in the years before his well-known feats. Arnold is a native of Australia, where he began working in television on series including “McLeod’s Daughters,” “Rush” and “Rescue: Special Ops.” He also went on to star in the feature film, Broken Hill. Zack McGowan is featured as “Captain Charles Vane,” a rival pirate captain to the brilliant and feared “Captain Flint,” played by Toby Stephens. McGowan is most recently known for his role in the series, “Shameless.” Hannah New steps into the role of “Eleanor Guthrie,” a beautiful and determined young woman who runs the smuggling operation on New Providence. She is a promising London-born actress who starred in the miniseries, “El Tiempo Entre Costuras (The Time Between Seams),” the feature Fuga De Cerebros 2 and most recently was filming Maleficent, a Sleeping Beauty tale told from the alternative perspective of the villainous sorceress, starring Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning. Rising star Jessica Parker Kennedy has been cast in the role of “Max,” a tortured young prostitute who sees the dark side of New Providence. She is known for her work in the television series, “The Secret Circle,” and has appeared in the films 50/50 and In Time. Clara Paget (in the upcoming Fast and Furious 6, Johnny English Reborn) plays the beautiful but cold-blooded “Anne Bonny.”

Beware of Larry Flynt Bearing Gifts…

Larry Flynt introduces Russell to the hard life. Watch BrandX LIVE Thursdays at 11p only on FX.

Sensible Censorship?

Description: Can’t say the F-word on TV, but you can show THESE things? Watch BrandX LIVE Thursdays at 11p only on FX.

Plan B

If Larry Flynt wasn’t a pornographer, what would he be? Watch BrandX LIVE Thursdays at 11p only on FX.

The First Amendment

Professor Flynt schools on two of his favorite subjects: freedom and censorship. Watch BrandX LIVE Thursdays at 11p only on FX.

Siberian Hussies

Is this the new canine fashion rage? Really? Watch BrandX LIVE Thursdays at 11p only on FX.

Wheelchair Blues?

What didn’t kill Larry Flynt certainly made him stronger. Hear his story. Watch BrandX LIVE Thursdays at 11p only on FX.

Porn To Be Wild!

What’s more exciting to the BrandX audience: speech or sex? Watch #BrandX LIVE Thursdays at 11p only on FX.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Meet Chris DeRose

Why should the American government let Russell name important bills? Watch BrandX LIVE Thursdays at 11p only on FX.

Read The Fine Print

Reality show contestants have WHAT growing out of their armpits? Watch BrandX LIVE Thursdays at 11p only on FX.

Leslie gets back to the basics with a butter churning competition against her latest rival.

Jerry’s Retirement

It seems like no one got the memo that Jerry’s retiring!

Will’s on the scent of another killer.

The critically acclaimed, award-nominated and top rated legal drama returns for its third season with a shift in the dynamics at the firm. After merging with a top British firm, Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) is at odds with his boss and mentor, Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres), and forces Mike (SAG Award nominee Patrick J. Adams) to do something he never thought possible – betray Harvey.

Shawn (James Roday) solves a case involving a mysterious Swedish woman and imagines how the same case would have been solved had he done one thing differently at the start of the investigation.

(Los Angeles, CA), April 15, 2013 – One of the most celebrated artists of the past decade, progressive rock torchbearer Steven Wilson, has included a string of in-store appearances to coincide with his sold-out North American tour, launching Tuesday, April 16 at The State Theater in Tampa, Florida. The appearances (listed below) will include a limited edition Record Store Day exclusive 12” Picture Disc, featuring the demo versions of two tracks from his most recent release, The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories) (Kscope). These demo versions have never been available on vinyl and will be pressed on a heavyweight (180g) picture disc. This release will be strictly limited and will feature the following tracks:

SIDE 1 – Luminol (13.05)
SIDE 2 – The Watchmaker (12.25)

For this leg of the North America tour, Jazz fusion and rock drummer Chad Wackerman will be filling the drum seat of Marco Minnemann. Fans and critics are invited to arrive early as there is no support act but before the set there is a visual and musical element that you are invited to experience to set the tone for the evening. Full routing listed below. The following link is a glimpse into rehearsal for the tour: http://vimeo.com/61359395

The following is a link to the stunning video for “The Raven That Refused To Sing”:

Wilson’s third solo album, The Raven that Refused to Sing (and Other Stories), released February 25, 2013 on Kscope and featured a limited 4-disc deluxe edition (Blu-ray, DVD and 2CD) packaged in an impressive 128-page hardback book containing lyrics, short stories by Wilson, and haunting images and illustrations by Hajo Mueller. Standard double vinyl, CD and Blu-Ray editions are also available.

Best known as founder and front man of British rock act Porcupine Tree, four-time Grammy nominee Steven Wilson has produced and collaborated with artists as diverse as Opeth, Blackfield, Jethro Tull, and King Crimson. Porcupine Tree’s last studio album went top 30 in both the UK and USA, and the tour climaxed with sold out shows at Royal Albert Hall in London and Radio City Music Hall in New York. Following the release of his solo effort Grace For Drowning, Steven embarked on his first ever solo tour, assembling a virtuoso band, featuring Marco Minnemann (drums), Nick Beggs (bass), Theo Travis (flute and sax), Adam Holzman (keys) and Niko Tsonev (guitars), to accompany him. With the addition of Guthrie Govan (guitar) and legendary producer / engineer Alan Parsons, Wilson emerges as the modern torch-bearer of his influences and illuminates a path to music’s heralded past.

STEVEN WILSON IN-STORE SIGNINGS

Tuesday, April 16
12:30-1:30
Daddy Kool Records
666 Central Ave
St Petersburg FL 33701

Wednesday, April 17
12:30-1:30pm
Criminal Records
1154-A Euclid Ave NE
Atlanta GA 30307

Sunday, April 21
12:30-1:30
Record Theatre
1800 Main Street
Buffalo NY 14208

Saturday, April 27
12:30-1:30
Newbury Comics
Harvard Square 

36 JFK St.
Cambridge MA 02138

Tuesday, April 30
12:30-1:30
The Exchange
5858 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh PA 15217

Thursday, May 2
12:30-1:30
Record Den
7661 Mentor Ave
Mentor OH 44060

Wednesday, May 8
6pm-7pm acoustic performance
Amoeba Records
1855 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA 94117

Spring 2013 North American Tour Dates:

April 16             Tampa, Florida              The State Theater

April 17             Atlanta                          The Variety Playhouse

April 19             Glenside, PA                  Keswick Theatre

April 20             Washington D.C.            Howard Theatre

April 21             Buffalo                          Town Ballroom

April 23             Toronto, Ontario            Phoenix Concert Theatre

April 25             Montreal, Quebec           Club-Soda

April 26             New York City                Best Buy Theater

April 27             Boston                           Berklee Performance Center

April 28th          Clifton Park, NY Upstate Concert Hall (with Opeth & Katatonia)

April 30             Pittsburgh                      Mr Small’s

May 2                Cleveland                      House of Blues

May 3                Chicago                         Park West

May 4                Minneapolis                   The Fine Line

May 6                Boulder                         Boulder Theater

May 9                San Francisco                The Fillmore

May 10              Los Angeles                   Club Nokia

The Following preview clip – “Havenport”

Cyndi Lauper on her visit to the White House and what Obama said to her about Lady Gaga.

Cyndi Lauper, Part 2

Cyndi Lauper on writing Kinky Boots and what the play is about.

Lazaro Arbos Performs

Watch video highlights from Thursday’s monologue.

Miles recognizes the deadly work of a former protege on Revolution, Monday at 10/9c on NBC.

Vince Vaughn Audience Monologue

Al Pacino Biopics

The Weather Channel

History of Punk

Short Term Memory Loss Theater

Miguel: Adorn

Weekend Update Favorites 4/13/12

Weekend Update: LL Cool J and Brad Paisley

Weekend Update: Marina Chapman

Junior Prom

Roundball Rock

Miguel: How Many Drinks

Last Call

Dress Rehearsal: Bathroom Cobra

Description: Events in Moscow strike a personal chord for Elizabeth, leading her to take on a dangerous mission she can’t complete without Philip’s help, and placing the couple on a collision course with both Grannie and the FBI.

Ann helps Ron get over a nasty cold.

Jack theorizes that Abigail may have aided her father, Garret Jacob Hobbs, in his serial killings.

As Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) struggles with the death of Garret Jacob Hobbs, he is uncomfortable with the “inappropriate” way that the people around him are behaving.  He is having hallucinations, and Dr. Hannibal Lecture (Mads Mikkelsen) poses some questions that he may not want to actually know the answers to.  Will has no problem expressing his discomfort to Dr. Lecture.

Agent Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) is really demanding about the one thing that he wants, so hopefully Graham will come through for him.

A couple of boys make a grisly discovery in the woods.  If their discovery doesn’t disrupt your sleep tonight, you have no soul.  When Will sees things his way, the beauty and repulsiveness are unearthed.

Ms. Lounds (Lara Jean Chorostecki) does what she does best, but may have met her ultimate match.  How far will she go?

Dr. Lecture has a nice sit-down with Jack where they discuss Will, his mother, and another invitation is placed on the table.

Get ready for Jimmy Price’s (Scott Thompson) big reveal.  I’m so happy that Scott is in this show.

What they discover in tonight’s episode will really make you question something that you probably never think twice about.

Will realizes something about his relationship with Dr. Alana Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas).  She wants him to see what Abigail Hobbs (Kacey Rohl) is to him.

A very bizarre connection comes into play that involves an unimaginable concept.

This is just a superb episode.  Hannibal is one of the few series on television that is capable of evoking powerful emotional responses.  When you watch Hannibal you respond.  It’s not a background show.  I truly admire a series that can do that.  Do not miss an all-new episode of Hannibal tonight at 10/9c on NBC.  You will not be disappointed.

The closer he gets… the further his mind goes. Get a look at the intrigue in store this season!

Therapy Session

Dr. Hannibal Lecter takes a deep dive into Will’s subconscious.

AS I LAY DYING, MISS MAY I AND AFFIANCE TO SERVE SUPPORT ON THE BILL

NEW ALBUM DEBUTS AT #7 ON BILLBOARD TOP 200 AND AT #1 ON BOTH THE ROCK ALBUMS AND HARD MUSIC CHARTS

(New York, NY): Grammy-nominated, Massachusetts-based hard rockers Killswitch Engage –singer Jesse Leach, guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D’Antonio, guitarist Joel Stroetzel and drummer Justin Foley- have announced their first headline tour in support of their just-released new album Disarm the Descent, which enjoyed an astounding first week in stores, debuting at #7 on the Billboard Top 200 and at #1 on both the Rock Albums Chart and the Hard Music Chart.

Joining Killswitch Engage on this tour will be their longtime friends from San Diego in As I Lay Dying. Ohio will also be well-represented on this tour, with Miss May I and Affiance rounding out the bill.

Tickets go on sale on April 12 or April 13, depending on the market.
“Everyone in the Killswitch family is excited to get out on our first U.S. headlining tour in support of our new record,” Leach said. “We are hitting some great cities and have a great mix of songs from every era of Killswitch as well as of course a handful of new ones.”

Leach continued, “We look forward to sharing this tour with our old friends and brothers in metal As I Lay Dying. I personally have never had the chance to tour with them and I am looking forward to having such a quality band out with us to give this tour even more fire! We will also be joined by a talented and up-and-coming band Miss May I and a new band we’re all excited to see live called Affiance. Thanks to all the U.S. fans for your support! Our live show will be full-on energy with all of us ready to take this to a whole new level.”

Bassist Mike D. concurred, saying, “We are super excited to be back out with our good buds in As I Lay Dying! They are some of our favorite dudes to hang with on the road, so assumptions are high that utter chaos shall ensue. There will be so much metal riffage — you could build your own Carnival Cruse Ship. That’s right, ‘CHUGGA CHUGGA Paralysis’ is surely imminent.”

With that kind of enthusiasm and excitement, you’d be ill-advised to miss this tour!
TOUR DATES:

May 30 Oklahoma City | Diamond Ballroom
May 31 Austin, TX | Stubbs BBQ
June 1 Houston, TX | | House of Blues
June 3 Orlando, FL | House of Blues
June 4 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
June 6 Richmond, VA | The National
June 7 Syracuse, NY | F Shed at The Market
June 8 Hampton Beach, NH | Hampton Beach Casino
June 9 Philadelphia, PA | Trocadero
June 11 New York, NY | Best Buy Theater
June 12 Silver Spring, MD | Fillmore
June 14 Montebello, QC | Montebello Marina/D-Tox Rockfest
June 15 Guelph, ON | Guelph Concert Theater
June 16 Grand Rapids, MI | Intersection
June 17 Cincinnati, OH | Bogarts
June 18 Sauget, IL | Pops
June 20 Denver, CO | Summit
June 21 Salt Lake City, UT | Salt Air
June 22 Las Vegas, NV | House of Blues
June 23 Phoenix, AZ | Marquee
June 25 San Francisco, CA | Regency Grand
June 27 Vancouver, BC | Commodore
June 28 Spokane, WA | Knitting Factory
June 29 Billings, MT | Shrine Auditorium
July 1 Fargo, ND | The Venue
July 2 Omaha, NE | Sokol Auditorium
July 3 Wichita, KS | Cottilion
July 5 Milwaukee, WI | Rave
July 6 Cleveland, OH | House of Blues
July 7 Detroit, MI | Crofoot
July 8 Joliet, IL | Mojoes

Vince Vaughn hosts an all-new Saturday Night Live with musical guest Miguel!

Description: Russell introduces the audience to Steve’s muscle-bound plastic playmates. Watch BrandX LIVE Thursdays at 11p only on FX.

The Princess and a Queen

Description: Did Freddy Mercury really sneak Princess Di into a gay bar? Watch BrandX LIVE Thursdays at 11p only on FX.

What’s Hiding Behind That Pillow?

Description: Russell discovers why Kevin Smith doesn’t like to sit down. Watch BrandX LIVE Thursdays at 11p only on FX.

The Stoned Age

Description: When is the right time of life to smoke pot? Kevin Smith explains. Watch BrandX LIVE Thursdays at 11p only on FX.

Seducing Kevin Smith

Description: Russell mounts the desk and channels Michelle Pfeiffer. Watch BrandX LIVE Thursdays at 11p only on FX.

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/c-span-north-korea-cold-open/n35029

Melissa McCarthy in Heels Monologue

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/melissa-mccarthy-in-heels-monologue/n35030

Outside The Lines

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/outside-the-lines/n35031

The Voice: Season 4

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/the-voice-season-4/n35032

Bathroom Businessman

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/bathroom-businesman/n35033

Phoenix: Entertainment

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/phoenix-entertainment/n35035

Weekend Update: Bar Mitzvah Boy on Passover

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-bar-mitzvah-boy-on-passover/n35036

Weekend Update: Charles Barkley

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-charles-barkley/n35037

Weekend Update: Drunk Uncle on Taxes

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-drunk-uncle-on-taxes/n35038

Weekend Update Favorites 4/6/13

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-favorites-4613/n35039

Million Dollar Wheel

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/million-dollar-wheel/n35034

Pizza Business

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/pizza-business/n35040

Phoenix: Trying To Be Cool/Drakkar Noir (outro)

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/phoenix-trying-to-be-cooldrakkar-noir/n35041

The Art of The Encounter

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/the-art-of-the-encounter/n35046

Hannibal

Hugh Dancy plays Will Graham, a criminal profiler that has an “active imagination” and sees things in a very specific way.  He is able to visit a crime scene and pull things from it that no one else can see.  “This is my design.”  Will is more comfortable speaking at people rather than with them.  There are so many stunning visuals when Will “sees” things.  So much time and effort was put in to make sure that the effects were fluent and flawless.  It also doesn’t hurt that David Slade directed the premiere.  I’m a huge fan of his work.

Agent Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) approaches Will to ask him for his help.  His unique way of viewing things is needed to help track down a killer.  “What kind of crazy is he?”  They are on a hunt to find the “golden ticket” before it’s too late.

When Will goes with Crawford to meet with the family his questions put everyone on alert.

Dr. Alan Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas) doesn’t like the way that Crawford is using Will.  She respects Will and is afraid that he is going to get hurt if he gets too close.

Crawford seeks the assistance of Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) per Dr. Bloom’s recommendation. Hannibal’s first meeting with Will is significant.  “You won’t like me when I’m …” Hannibal understands him more than he knows.  You find yourself growing rather found of him until you remember that he’s THAT guy.  He’s courteous, I’ll give him that.

One of my favorite scenes with Crawford and Graham happens in the men’s room because I’m pretty sure that guy never made it to the other room.  By the way gentlemen, have I been missing out?  That is one nice looking men’s room.

Scott Thompson, from Kids in the Hall, stars as Behavioral Science Unit member Jimmy Price.  Beverly Katz (Hettienne Park) is also part of the unit.

I can’t say enough good things about Hannibal.   The cast is perfect and the stories will certainly keep you coming back every week.  Hannibal puts a refreshing spin on the “typical” crime procedural that you’ve come to expect.  They take on different cases with unexpected twists and turns.  Next week’s episode is truly terrifying.  I love horror and I’ll admit that it was very disturbing episode.  Eddie Izzard is also in the fifth episode.  How much more do you need from a show.  Do not miss the premiere of Hannibal, tonight at 10/9c on NBC.

Lena:  How much fun was it filming that episode of The Shield with Walton Goggins?

Shawn Carter Peterson:  [Laughing.]  Let me tell you, the funniest thing was that we were shooting right on Sunset Boulevard in the middle of the day and they shoot it very realistically, so there were no cameras right on us they were all across the street.  I was standing there working, because I’m playing a working boy on the street, and one of my neighbors pulled up in a convertible because he saw me and I got a little worried.  He asked me if I was being a TV star today because our rent really wasn’t that much so I didn’t have to be out there.  [Laughing.]

Lena:  [Laughing.]  That’s an awesome story.

Shawn Carter Peterson:  It was really awesome.  Walt was really cool.  We got to have the usual on set chatter between takes.

Lena:  You play Wes in The Host.  What can you say about the film and what your character contributes to it?

Shawn Carter Peterson:  The Earth is pretty much infested by aliens from outer space.  These aliens are implanting themselves into human bodies and using them as hosts.  The only way that you can tell whether someone that you come across is infected or is the host themselves is that their eyes turn a silver color around the corneas.  Otherwise, they just look like regular humans walking around.  Wes is part of a group of human beings that still remain humans that are hiding out from these aliens out in the desert. Wes’ role in this kind of compound is that he’s the lookout.  He’s the guy that is always there to make sure that everything is safe for the other people in the crew.  Wes always has everybody’s back.  He’s a really nice guy and that’s what I can tell you.

Lena:  So, no cool contacts for you.

Shawn Carter Peterson:  Unfortunately, no.  Some of the other actors got to where them and they were cool.  They would wear them all day and you would be at lunch with them.  They had this weird and quirky eye contact thing going on.  The people that are infected by the aliens are always these really well-dressed, kind of, utopian beings, if you will.  That’s always cool.

Lena: How was it working on a big budget film compared to a smaller film?

Shawn Carter Peterson:  They each have their own pros and cons.  I enjoyed the big budget film because they had better food.  [Laughing.]

Lena:  Everyone says that.  They always talk about the amount of bacon on the set.

Shawn Carter Peterson:  Yeah, right!  The other cool thing about doing a big budget film is that they build these fantastical sets.  When you are doing something like The Host, they built the actual caves that the humans are living in.  It was pretty wild.  There were underground fields and raging rivers that they actually created with running water and we got to play in that.  You feel like a big kid playing a movie star, playing Star Wars.

Lena:  Does the film stay true to the book?

Shawn Carter Peterson:  There are a lot of similarities but they do take a little bit of a cinematic license.  I would say it’s 75-80 percent the same.

Lena:  Can you talk about working with Andrew Niccol?  He directed one of my favorite films, Lord of War.

Shawn Carter Peterson:  He’s a quiet director.  He wasn’t difficult to work with at all.  If you had a question or a concern or you had something that you wanted to ad, he was definitely willing to hear you out.  He would throw you some lines here and there if things weren’t working or if he wanted to ad a little to it.  He was fun to work with.

Lena:  What are some of your favorite films about aliens?

Shawn Carter Peterson:  I like the Aliens series.  Close Encounters is one of those classics that I remember from when I was a kid and I was in awe of the whole sci-fi thing.  This is kind of cool to be in something that is a science fiction film.   And of course I like the Star Wars series.

Lena:  How would you compare The Host to other alien films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers?

Shawn Carter Peterson:  This one is a little more, there is a huge love story going on there, so even though you are dealing with “aliens” there is a major human aspect of it.  You get to see that the aliens are not so alien after all, which is nice.  You get to humanize the foreigner, if you will, and it’s different than the other ones.  It’s not a scary kind of alien.

Lena:  Speaking of aliens, what are you thoughts on aliens?

Shawn Carter Peterson:  I’ll be honest, I think that if you don’t think that aliens exist you’re in denial.  It takes a lot of ego to think that we are the only ones out there.  I think they are out there.  I think they know us.  I think they are watching us, but have chosen not to show us who we are.

Lena:  I definitely agree.  How could people think that we are the only ones?

Shawn Carter Peterson:  Right.

Lena:  What was it like working with the cast of the film?  Did you get to film some scenes with Diane Kruger?

Shawn Carter Peterson:  I did.  I was really excited about that.  The cast was like a big family.  When you’re on location you kind of get closer because you are stuck with each other for a couple of weeks.  Frances Fisher was really cool to work with. Frances and Jake Abel, who plays Ian, and Boyd Holbrook, who plays Kyle, we would all just go out.  There was no stress or strife on my part with anyone else on set.

Lena:  Do you have any exciting stories from the set?

Shawn Carter Peterson:  We were shooting the underground river rescue scene where Boyd Holbrook, who plays Kyle, was getting rescued by myself and Abel with Saoirse Ronan and during the scene he’s getting rescued because he’s fallen into the river and Saoirse’s character is trying to keep him from drowning.  We run in and save the day.  There was a little stunt action going on with that because Boyd ended up getting scratched in the face by accident and that was not a good look.  Everyone was wondering who did it and it ended up being me, so I felt really bad.  He was a good sport.  He thought of it as a war scar, so no worries, and it healed up really quickly.  I felt really bad. By the time we finished filming that scene we all got to jump into the water and play in the water for a while.

Lena:  That’s great that you got to do your own stunts.

Shawn Carter Peterson:  Yes, I did my own stunt.  I had on kneepads and all that other stuff, but I got to get down and dirty.

Lena:  I have to ask about The Baytown Outlaws.

Shawn Carter Peterson:  I had a scene with Billy Bob Thornton, which was pretty awesome because I didn’t know it was going to be with him until the day before.  I actually auditioned for a couple of characters.  They asked me to audition for one character and I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone and put an audition on for one of the leads.  The story itself is about some kind of country rednecks pretty much, and they are going to be white guys and I’m not white. The character I was auditioning for was a cousin of the two brothers and I thought every redneck has a half-black cousin somewhere out there, so I did the whole scene with the Southern accent and I had on the Confederate flag, the whole thing, I just put my spin on it.  I sent the tape in and they loved it and thought it was hilarious, but they didn’t want to go that way.  They asked me to audition for another character because they liked me so much.  I got the job of playing the used jet salesman, but they ended up changing it to a car salesman because I think it was an indie film so they really couldn’t rent a jet.  They did have two really great classic cars.  When I got to the set everybody knew who I was, they were like you’re the guy who sent in that tape.  It was great.  The director, Barry Battles, said that I was hilarious and that they just wanted to work with me.  I got to do the scene and it was a little intimidating at first, but Billy Bob Thornton was cool.  We did the scene and it looked great.  I haven’t seen the film yet but I did hear that the scene itself got cut.  I was a little bummed out.  It might end up being on the DVD extra.  I do have a couple of pictures.  [Laughing.]  Barry was really cool and apologized.  He was one of those directors that just let you play.

Lena:  I know that you have a production company, so do you have anything new in the works?

Shawn Carter Peterson:  I directed and shot a music video for an independent artist named Laura Jane.  I definitely want to do a feature film because I’ve done music videos, short films, TV pilots, reality show pilots, but I want to do a feature.  I just have to figure out what I want that to be.

Lena:  Do you still play the piano?

Shawn Carter Peterson:  I do still play.   I bought a baby grand and I’m trying to work with another pianist friend of mine.

Ragnar Forest Fight

Rollo & Earl, “Why Should I trust You?”

Ice-T on His Career
Jimmy asks Ice-T about his 14 seasons with “Law & Order: SVU” and asks him to share a story from his early days in the business.

Chris Hardwick on Nerds
Chris talks about his excitement for the series finale of “The Walking Dead” and defines the modern nerd.

Chris Hardwick on Bowling
Chris, who hosts a bowling show on his YouTube channel, throws down a challenge to Jimmy, Questlove, Higgins and others.

CREATED BY ARMANDO IANNUCCI AND STARRING EMMY®-WINNER

JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS, RETURNS FOR SECOND SEASON APRIL 14

——–

Armando Iannucci, Christopher Godsick And Frank Rich Executive Produce

——–

With midterm elections looming, Vice President Selina Meyer is scoring higher ratings than the president in several popularity polls, which she hopes will boost her influence and help her curry favor with the chief executive. But as she knows all too well, even the most banal action can set off a ripple effect that has unexpected, far-reaching – and often disastrous – consequences.

The Emmy®-nominated comedy series VEEP kicks off its ten-episode second season SUNDAY, APRIL 14 (10:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. Created by Armando Iannucci (Oscar® nominee for co-writing “In the Loop”), the show stars Emmy®-winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer, who becomes vice president, only to discover the job is nothing like she expected, but everything she was warned about.

VEEP follows the whirlwind day-to-day existence of Vice President Meyer as she puts out political fires, juggles a busy public schedule and demanding private life, and defends the president’s interests, even as she tries to improve her dysfunctional relationship with the chief executive.

The returning ensemble cast of the show also includes Tony Hale (“Arrested Development”) as Gary, Vice President Meyer’s right-hand man; Anna Chlumsky (“In the Loop”) as Amy, her chief of staff; Reid Scott (“My Boys”) as Dan, an ambitious political aide; Matt Walsh (HBO’s “Hung”) as Mike, Vice President Meyer’s weathered spokesperson; Timothy C. Simons (“Days Together”) as Jonah, an enterprising but annoying White House liaison; and Sufe Bradshaw (“Overnight”) as Sue, Vice President Meyer’s executive assistant.

Guest stars on the new season include Gary Cole (HBO’s “Entourage”), as Kent Davison, the president’s new senior strategist, Kevin Dunn (HBO’s “Luck”) as Ben, the president’s chief of staff, and Jessica St. Clair (“Bridesmaids”), as Dana, Gary’s new girlfriend.

Hannibal: First Look

The creators and stars offer an inside look at the creation of the new NBC series, Hannibal

Feed Your Fear

Hannibal is a consummate host.

Press Conference Call Interview Highlights:

Q:  What is it about genre shows that appeals to you?

Elizabeth Mitchell:     I have to say I’m a huge fan of adventures. I love to read them, I love to watch them. They go on in my head. So I think anything kind of epic and adventure wise is always a huge draw for me. It’s what I like to watch and to get to actually do it, to be in something that’s Lord of the Rings or Star Wars or any of those things it’s just what my passion is, kind of where I go to escape. So that’s what draws me to it.

Eric Kripke:    Yes and coming at it as a writer it’s really fun to write genre not just because you can have some – not just because you can explore some mind-bending concepts and have lots of fun action but because you really get to discuss issues and really subversive ideas that you never would be able to get away with if you were writing a straight drama and you get to talk about just – you really get to explore some really edgy stuff about murder and death and redemption and as long as it’s hidden underneath people swinging swords at each other, you get away with it. So that’s been really fun for me because we’ve been able to – I’ve been able to say things and talk about things that I would never be able to otherwise.

Q:  Elizabeth, you were talking about how you love being in like action adventure oriented type shows, are you going to get to do any action of your own this second half of the season?

Elizabeth Mitchell:     Yes, yes we are and my father will be thrilled because that’s really the stuff he likes to watch the most. I think that Linda Hamilton’s his favorite actress.  I do get to do some more actiony type stuff and I have a wonderful time. I love that stuff.

Eric Kripke:    Yes she totally kicks ass.

Q:  Eric, can you talk about the challenges of having been away for awhile, how you’re going to reintroduce things to viewers and your concerns about being away, being off the air?

Eric Kripke:    Sure. Yes I mean look any time you’re off the air for four months you hold your breath and you hope fans come back but we take solace and encouragement from a few things which is I think there’s a long history of genre television really working with these large breaks in between like Walking Dead or Game of Thrones and also because the second half of the season is such a different mission and quest and energy than the first half that it really does feel like a natural break. It feels like it’s its own particular season of television in that the first half was the drive to find Danny was prologue to it opening up into a much larger and more epic and exciting story.  So I think because there’s such a natural break in the storytelling, I think people will be able to jump right in and watch one recap and remind themselves where all the characters were and then dive in the way that – I won’t see Game of Thrones for literally a year and then I’ll watch one 90-second recap and be right in the middle of it. And then finally, you know, the break gave the writers and the producers and the actors like a minute to really explore what was working about the show and what wasn’t working and how to make it better so whether we were on the air, whether we were off the air, the risk that it, you know, the inevitable risk that goes along with it, I mean that’s all true but it allowed us to make a higher quality better series. And at the end of the day that’s the thing I have to put at my first priority. The show’s better because we took the break so therefore I’m glad we took the break.

Q:  A question about filming in North Carolina. I wanted to see if you could talk about the advantages and the challenges of that.

Elizabeth Mitchell:     I will say the advantages are Wilmington is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen so that has been beautiful. And then what I think that Billy and I were talking about the other day is just how lush and gorgeous the world around you is how that plays a little bit of a part — not a little bit, quite a bit. It’s almost another character in the show and we’ve all loved it. The cast has all loved it here.  It’s been, I don’t know, beautiful, interesting to be outside, every time you are you’re kind of amazed by what you’re able to find especially in the second half. I think some of the architecture, some of the abandoned buildings it’s truly beautiful. So for us it’s been a gift. Eric for you?

Eric Kripke:    I second all of that. I second that emotion. The locations are stunning and haunting and we have been able to find just, you know, our production team there has been able to find just a remarkable variety of looks that we’ve had to do actually very little CG work or visual effects work or dressing them up. I mean a lot of these locations, these massive abandoned factories and power plants and we’ve been able to just move right into them and shoot them.  It’s always a little challenging being 2000 miles away from my production. You know, it would be nice to be able to, you know, be on set and have that sort of guiding hand but we have an incredible team in Wilmington. And ironically enough on this show we are absolutely reliant crucially upon technology and we’re emailing and Skypeing and sending photos and dailies are coming – dailies don’t come as film or tape or DVDs anymore, they come on our desktops and so then we’re responding quickly in real time. And you can actually get quite a lot of producing done just by sitting at your computer which is funny and ironic.

Elizabeth Mitchell:     Yes it is. But it was great too. I mean it’s really great. There’s a lot of talent here which is awesome.

Eric Kripke:    Yes, yes we have amazing producers there too that are really steering the ship quite, quite well.

Q:  Do you get to go out there much at all or are you mostly in L.A. the whole time?

Eric Kripke:    I would, except they keep me handcuffed. Part of this call was to secretly ask you all for help and to tell my story. No I haven’t been actually which is a shame but we’re so jammed getting scripts out and in postproduction, all of which happens in Los Angeles that unfortunately I haven’t been able to make the trip yet but I will.

Q:  When we spoke to you at Comic-Con you told us that we would learn why the power went out to begin with fairly early on the season and you delivered on that but with this midseason premier it seems like we’ve created almost twice as many questions as we had to begin with about what’s going on. What can you tell us about what we’re going to learn about the overall mythology for the second half of the season?

Eric Kripke:    Yes I mean what you just described is pretty much my MO which is start answering questions and then ask more and then answer those. And I think that’s what viewers can expect in the second half of the season which is I really favor in a really aggressive red-blooded pace of storytelling. Endless mystery is not really my (unintelligible) and anyone who’s watched any of my shows will know that.  So for me it’s about in episode 13 Rachel reveals pretty much every single thing there is to know about why the blackout happened and every time I watch that scene, that scene that is like — and she’s brilliant in it — but that scene’s a hard swallow every time because you’re like wow we’re just saying it. And it goes against many of your baked-in sure weather instincts are not to have the scene that reveals every single thing in three minutes.  But the reality is Jon Favreau was hanging out with us in the writer’s room and we were discussing the problem that as a character Rachel knew why the blackout happened and she was back in and among heroes, she wasn’t captive anymore, and we were really wrestling with the question well why wouldn’t she just tell them. And then Jon who came in and was able to provide much needed perspective, just looked at me he was like she would tell them so have her tell them. And I said yes you’re right, you’re right she would say it so she has to say. And so she does.  And so we reveal really why the blackout happened but the card I think we have up our sleeve is I think the explanation really opens the door to much greater story possibility.  Yes I don’t think we box ourselves in a corner. I think we open a door to a whole new world. And then we ask more questions. Because for me look for me the story was never about what caused the blackout. I think it’s for me it’s like the show isn’t just based on one particular mystery, it’s based on these characters and this world and this kind of transformed landscape that they have these adventures in.  It’s risky and it’s surprising that but I think it turns out okay because there’s so many other storylines about the characters, who they were, we ask a few more questions, we pose a few new mysteries. But I will say having just I’m literally turning in the season finale later today and having now in detail seen what happens through the end of the season, I think we answer most if not all the questions that are being posed. And then we start asking new ones but that is as is my way.

Q:  Elizabeth, can you talk a bit about working with the Lost guys again and why don’t they throw you a bone for Star Trek or Star Wars to give you a part on that too?

Elizabeth Mitchell:     You know, I’m campaigning hard to be a Jedi. My friends like to tell me that I feel like I’m one in life so yes that would be really awesome. And I love it. I love complicated, good characters. I love complicated, good characters set in extraordinary situations so to be with the same people who kind of made that happen for me before is an absolute joy and I’m always honored.  It’s always nice to come back. It’s better than people being like let’s just not work with her again. So I’m honored and it’s fun and selfishly it’s just I love the complication of the characters I get to play. I just love the work so to be able to be with the people who make good work — is that proper English — it’s fun and I’ve had a great time getting to know Eric. It’s been great. He’s along those lines of thinking and different and wonderful and it’s neat. So yes and yes I’d love to be in Star Wars, just putting it out there.

Eric Kripke:    And really for the record, me too.  And by the way the feeling’s totally mutual Elizabeth. It’s been great.

Q:  Do you have maybe a favorite scene or moment coming up that you can talk about without spoiling too much and if not then a favorite moment from earlier?

Elizabeth Mitchell:     I have a scene in the moonlight next to water with Miles that is probably one of my favorite scenes as much for the silence as for the words. I enjoyed playing it, I enjoyed reading it and I just kind of got a chance to do ADR for it and I normally can’t watch myself but I liked it. So I think that’s probably one of my favorites. It was simple and lovely and exactly the kind of thing that I like to play and to watch. So just a simple little scene. I don’t know if anyone will feel the same way but that was one that I truly enjoyed and I thought that Billy was terrific and great fun to watch.

Eric Kripke:    Yes no she’s right, that scene’s awesome. And it hints at and we can spoil that part and say that it hints at a deeper more fraught and complicated history between Miles and Rachel and it’s all mostly done in looks and so much is conveyed with very little dialogue and it’s a thrill to watch them work.  I would add to that that there are actually two – the ones that I’m thinking of are two Elizabeth scenes so well done Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Mitchell:     Thanks Eric.

Eric Kripke:    So one is in — and I don’t want it spoiled — but the final moments of episode 11 when we come back are just such an insane neck-snapper of a twist and it’s so awful and wonderful and you kind of can’t believe you’re watching it and there’s tears and there’s knives and it’s just awesome. And then I would say in the first run when Rachel ganks Dr. Jaffe with the screwdriver. That’s like a personal favorite in the writer’s room like we love that. She just jabs him in the chest and then says to Monroe, “Now you need me.”

Elizabeth Mitchell:     People come up to me and say that to me. People come up to me and they go, “Oh now you need me.” And I’m like okay.

Eric Kripke:    This like badass chick with a screwdriver and that was really funny and awesome and surprising and brutal and it was just great. We talk a lot about in the writer’s room how we want to do this – maybe it will be a webisode, we’ll probably never do it but we call it like the short sad life of Dr. Jaffe and how he like Rachel felt, I mean it’s just funny, I mean I love it. I love that we have such a complicated lead character and a complicated hero who basically like provides intel, gets the guy captured, gets him in front of Monroe and then to apologize stabs him in the chest with a screwdriver.

Elizabeth Mitchell:     Well sorry. It’s really horrible. When you hear it it’s horrible.

Eric Kripke:    Yes but it’s what she has to do to survive and protect her children and I think people understand and go with it and it just makes her – I think it just makes Rachel that much more awesome.

Elizabeth Mitchell:     Everyone that I’ve talked to has been like yes.

Q: You had said that Grace was going to be a bigger part of the storyline in the second half of the season. Can you talk at all about that?

Eric Kripke:    Yes that’s true. I mean, we see a glimpse of her or you’ve all seen a glimpse of her already at the end of episode seven and episode eight to reveal that – where we reveal that Randall has brought her to this kind of – to this particularly mysterious location.  And really starting with episode 11 we start to reveal what that place is, why Randall has brought her there, what he wants from her and then the story progresses from there. But the location – the place where they are really starts to become important to story to the point where it starts to have its own gravitational pull in the story, not literally, figuratively, and every character starts getting drawn closer and closer towards it because it’s such an important location and because what Grace is doing there is so important.

Q:  In your opinion, why do you think Revolution has worked where other shows didn’t?

Eric Kripke:    Well let me preface this by saying any writer who knows why his stuff works is lying. But I have my theories but mostly I’m just grateful that people seem to be connecting with it and I’m greatly appreciative that they’re watching is mostly my reaction and response to that question.  As to why, you know, my theory or my hope is because we actually put the – yes it’s a genre show but we try very hard to put the genre on the backburner and put the characters front and center. And our focus in the writer’s room is not what’s the trippy mind-bending concept although we certainly love those, our focus is well how do those concepts bring out new dimensions of our characters and how do we make it as emotional as possible and how do we make these characters as fraught and complicated and tortured as possible.  Because look here’s the truth of episodic television which is you really want every episode – you want every episode’s storyline to be great but the reality is the sheer volume of work means that some are great and some of your stories as a writer suck out loud. But if the characters take and the actors create amazing characters which I think they’re doing, then viewers get invested. I don’t think they get invested in any particular storyline, they get invested in the characters. And if the characters are working then the series works. And conversely it doesn’t matter how cool your concept is if the characters aren’t appealing or relatable to the audience then it will never work.  I used to say this a lot to making a reference to Lost when I was talking to J. J. and Bryan and all the Bad Robot guys in the beginning, we talked about it a lot and what I said to them and they totally agreed and I think it’s why Lost worked so well was we said look I’m interested in, I’m fascinated by what’s on that island but that’s not why I’m watching, I’m watching for Matthew Fox and Elizabeth and John Locke and all the characters and they’re the ones that you love and that’s why that show was so successful and hopefully Revolution is trying to – hopefully Revolution is coming close to approximating that same formula.

Q:  Elizabeth, you’ve been on shows like this with large casts before, what do you think is the key to keeping everyone happy and engaged and how would you say that Revolution is doing that for you?

Elizabeth Mitchell:     Oh what a great question. I love ensembles I think mainly because I started in theater and I love that idea. What keeps people happy and engaged is good work, great words and then I think coming together there’s a lot of…Lost was the same way. We were all very supportive but everybody came ready to play and I think if you have that attitude and there’s not ego which is also the case on Revolution which I really like then it’s fun.You go in and it’s fun and you play together and you antagonize each other on camera and you love each other on camera and you hate each other on camera and then you go off and you try to figure out how to make it even better and you come back and you try to do that. And that’s the collaboration of a group is and has always been very exciting to me. I think it elevates everybody. You rise to the occasion and I love that. I hear that from all of the actors when we’re walking around. How did that go? Oh I had scene with Giancarlo and I learned so much, it was fantastic. Or I did this or I did that. So I think just that respect and passion so yes. That keeps it going and makes it really nice.

Q:  Elizabeth, you’ve talked some about Lost, could you compare the whole filming process maybe how it’s the same and different to Revolution?

Elizabeth Mitchell:     You know, it’s really interesting and I don’t know if this will make sense to anyone but it is slightly different. Lost we started with wide, we’d come in the middle, we get right into tight and we’d go for the eye like we’d get in really close. And on Revolution right now we’re shooting a lot of long lenses which means that I don’t necessarily know when the camera is right on my face so it’s been something of a surprise.  And what is done is that it felt more like in some ways like a play. You’re doing all of this, our operators are catching all of this but they’re not right exactly there. So it’s been really interesting, really fun.

Eric Kripke:    That is really interesting.

Elizabeth Mitchell:     Yes isn’t that kind of – it’s been really interesting how that is because I was so used to having the camera just right there. But the thing that I have found very similar is that we as the actors are all very exciting to know what’s happening next and I love that. I love the fact that we want to sneak in and who has a script and has anyone seen script and does anyone have a script and should we call Eric, should we ask Eric. Oh let’s not ask him. Oh maybe we will. Everybody kind of (unintelligible) and everyone’s like okay I asked it. And I was like did you, what happened? Well you know it’s about my character. Come on!  So I love that we’re all so excited and we were that way on Lost too and that to me is a huge and wonderful commonality.

Q:  What’s been the most challenging about Revolution?

Elizabeth Mitchell:     Well I like challenges, I’m weird that way. I’m the one who ran stadium stairs as a kid. Challenging…I always find shooting outdoors to be challenging. It’s loud, it’s dynamic and you can either raise your game accordingly or you can get incredibly frustrated so I suppose that I enjoy that particular challenge of making all of that work and shooting a show with no electricity in a very powerful world. So there’s the cars, there’s the planes, there’s the (unintelligible), there’s the cell phones so that’s definitely a challenge but it’s pretty funny.

Eric Kripke:    Yes. I would say for me it’s the story breaks are remarkably challenging. It’s definitely very, very rewarding but it’s also the most difficult to show I’ve ever written for. There’s so many characters, there’s so many storylines. They all have to hit the targets of being emotional and true and honest and action packed and exciting and genre and it’s a son of a bitch to break this show.  And I can’t tell you how many times we’ve gotten an entire story up and then I went back and read it over — we put them on these giant dry erase boards — and we’d show back up in the morning and read it over and literally just erase the whole thing and the writer’s come in and they see the empty board and their faces fall and it’s so tragic and it happens so often. And we say okay let’s go back, let’s talk about what we want this episode to be. Let’s go back to theme and then do it all over again. But they’re all in and we’re all excited to do it because we want it to be great and everybody really cares and hopefully the viewers will see that in the payoff because we really take very meticulous care with these stories.

Elizabeth Mitchell:     It’s in the scripts. I mean, it’s really truly is. And I feel like we need to have a reality show of you guys in the writer’s room now.

Eric Kripke:    Yes and then you should see me – because it’s just my show-running style where I’ll act out every part as we’re working through the scenes.  I’ve always threatened to have like a DVD special features which is like a video of me acting out the part with how the actor ended up doing it professionally.

Elizabeth Mitchell:     I’m going to hold you to that.

Eric Kripke:    But I will say this that in my version of the performance I would say every other word is fuck or shit and so my version of Revolution is much more R rated and blue and it’s much more like as if David Mamet had written Revolution than what ends up on the screen, like a lot of the fuck and shit in the writer’s room becomes hell and damn by the time it gets to the screen.

Elizabeth Mitchell:     That’s awesome.

Eric Kripke:    Yes I’m telling you it’s a sight to see.

Q:  Eric, I have a question about Tracy and JD’s characters. I seem to be rooting for a romance at the beginning of last season and will we see anything develop?

Eric Kripke:    Yes we definitely will. JD’s character is named Jason, it was Nate, but his real name is Jason. Jason goes through some seismic shifts with his father, who’s Giancarlo, with his relationship with the militia and that Charlie has a front seat to a lot of those really dramatic turns in that there is this sort of static friction between the both of them that draws them closer. And then we blow it all up because these types of relationships in these types of shows are about the push/pull and about the friction of will they get together or won’t they and what obstacles do they have to overcome.

Elizabeth Mitchell:     And they’re freaking gorgeous together.

Eric Kripke:    They’re good-looking people.

Q:  Elizabeth, how will your character’s stakes be raised, just give us one clue?

Elizabeth Mitchell:     Well with the things that happen in the first episode back I think that my character’s stakes I mean I’m sure they probably could get higher but right now I can’t imagine how, what she wants to accomplish, what her goal is. The protection of her daughter, her family it’s operating at such high stakes that at times I’m always amazed she doesn’t just burn out and extinguish. So I think that people are going to – I mean, I’ve enjoyed the shifts for her. I’ve enjoyed both her strength and her I don’t know sometimes sociopathic intensity but I always go back to the mother in her and I’m fascinated by that.

Q:  How important was it for a lot of questions to be answered now at this point in time? Was there a sense of urgency?

Eric Kripke:    I certainly felt having gone back and having a had a minute to go back and analyze the first ten episodes I thought our pace of mythology reveals was probably a tiny bit slow. At the time you’re so focused on establishing character and establishing world and especially on a genre show where it’s an entirely new world with new rules and you spend a lot of time making sure that you’ve got those straight and that you’re setting it all up properly.  But once I looked back at all the completed episodes if I had a criticism in the storytelling it was that I was feeling I think the same impatience that the audience was feeling over the last couple and they were good stories and good episodes but I had that kind of vibe of like okay get to it, get to Danny, let’s see what’s going on, let’s get to the next part, I’m ready, I get it, let’s do this thing. And once we realized that then the writers sort of collectively looked at each other for the second half and said, “Okay let’s course correct and let’s blow the doors off it and let’s get everybody together. And there’s probably a lot of answers that we’re giving in the second half that probably could have waiting until season two but we felt that we should smoke them if we’ve got them and we knew what some of our answers were and we knew that we had these big reveals up our sleeve and they’re just wasn’t any reason to withhold them. So we just started spending our coin and I think the episodes reflect that. I think you’ll look at the second half and there’s probably no one episode that doesn’t have at least one big moment that either unveils more mythology or is a seminal moment in one of the character’s lives that transforms them and we really work hard to make sure there’s something like that in every episode.

Q:  Elizabeth, when the show resumes where’s Rachel’s mindset with regard to Monroe, the rebels and being with her children?

Elizabeth Mitchell:     She wants to be with her children. She wants to kill Monroe. I think that Rachel is somewhat, in my mind of course but everyone feels that way about their own character, such a tragic figure. She’s tried so hard to do the right thing for so long and she’s possibly one of the worst people I think. I think that her mindset is on survival and her mindset is on revenge and in a horrible awkward way her mind is on good parenting which she’s not very good at. But I think the sad thing was that she probably at one time truly was. So it’s just what this world has created and she’s a direct reflection of that.  So her mindset is revenge, love and trying to do the right thing. We’ll see if it works.

Q:  Elizabeth, in episode ten the scene with you and Tracy where you come face to face, I mean that was so powerful, so raw, what was it like to shoot that?

Elizabeth Mitchell:     Well Tracy and I – Tracy and I really like each other and we have a very kind of easy and lovely relationship so we didn’t bring too much of that into the room. I think that we were both feeling just as awkward as the characters were because you want things to be so amazing with the people that you love the most. You want to be the perfect mother, the perfect person, the perfect whatever is and we both wanted that. And what came out of our mouths and what happened was so awkward and stilted and raw and kind of horrible and that was the feeling the whole time. I mean both of us were like oh we just wish we were nice, you know, that and I liked that. I liked how awkward and raw and kind of horrible it felt in the room. I felt like there was something really real there and Tracy and I looked at each other and I don’t know who said it but we were both like this is exactly how it would be. This feels so real to us and that’s kind of what we walked away with, I mean this sad, awkward horrible thing where you just want them to just hold onto each other and be like I’m so happy to see you.  So it was awkward and horrible and kind of wonderful and raw so I think that Eric did a perfect job on that one. I really do.

Q:  How far in advance did Eric give you guys the script?

Elizabeth Mitchell:     Well we got the scripts before and we both of course memorized it the day before and then we walked in, we read it through but we didn’t actually work on it together. It was more what’s going to come out when we’re on camera together and that’s basically what came out. It was very fresh and very raw.  And as far as being sprung, sure episodic television is the best because you get the script and then a couple days later you’re doing these crazy huge scenes and I love that, I really do. It doesn’t give you time to think before you jump off the cliff, you just jump and I’m a fan of that.

Q:  I wanted to know a little bit about the dynamic with Rachel and Charlie and actually just the family dynamic as you guys move forward to this back part of the season. Is it a lot of conflict that’s going to take awhile for them to kind of gel as a unit or will they come to some kind of even ground in a relatively short amount of time.

Eric Kripke:    I think there will be lots of conflict. I mean I think for us it’s really the three of them is such a center of gravity for the show and of the Mathesons and the show is really at its heart a family show and the issues we discuss and the thematics we explore are much more about family than they’re about anything else and can this family stay together in the face of these overwhelming odds. And if you had to make a choice between for instance revenge or keeping your family safe, if you had to make a choice between fighting for the greater good or protecting your children, these are the types of questions and conflicts we really explore on the show. And I think between all three of them there’s a very rich amount of material to play both in the character histories and the beautiful job that the actors are doing.  And Rachel and Miles have a very complicated history which we’ll begin to unveil and explore and more and more in the second half. I think Rachel and Charlie have a very complicated present because Rachel hasn’t been in her children’s lives for years and now suddenly she’s coming back and both mother and children have expectation as to how it’s all going to go but of course it doesn’t go at all like that because they’re different people and they’re basically strangers. And even though you don’t want to feel resentment you can’t help but feel resentment and you don’t want to feel frustration but you can’t help but feel frustration and we want to play it. And the actors are beautifully playing it in a very realistic way of what this reunion would be like which is it wouldn’t be all wine and roses, it would be actually very painful and awkward and complicated.  But I think what’s really important and I think all of these characters’ saving graces are that they’re all really trying and that they really want to overcome those obstacles and they really want to be a close family and they really want to correct the mistakes of their past and they’re not always successful and sometimes they make newer and even worse mistakes but they’re always really trying. And I think that’s really important.  I think that’s what makes them all – that’s why I’m rooting for all of them and that’s why I love all of them because they all want to be better and they all want to overcome their pasts and for me if there’s a major thematic on the show it’s that which is trying is the thing and that we’ll all be – it’s like we might not be able to make the world a better place when it’s all said and done but if everyone keeps trying then I think that’s what important and we try to reflect that in the characters as well.

Q:  Eric, do you see the show at all as a warning or a cautionary tale or sorts?

Eric Kripke:    Oh yes it is. Yes no I think we are as a culture really over reliant on technology. I think it used to be a convenience and now it’s a necessity and I think we are dangerously separated from our food and water supplies. I think very few of us would know what to really do in any kind of calamity, and how to find your children and how to provide the basic necessities of survival. And you know, I think this show really, you know, hopefully makes a few people think about that.  But even on a more emotional level, you know, it’s a really interesting age we’re living in now because, concurrently, I don’t think we as a culture we’ve ever been more connected and at the same time have ever felt more alone. And I think it’s because everybody is sort of walking around with their smartphones.  And there’s just been such a seismic shift just over the last couple of years. It’s happened so quickly that everyone has basically like plugged into like the first generation matrix and they’re so focused on the world that is on their screen, that they’re not looking up and seeing the world around them and connecting in the moment with the people who are literally standing across from them. And I’m very guilty of it too, I mean everybody is. But I’m as bad as anybody with it. But, you know, yet the other thing I think we think about this world because it’s not all about, you know, it’s not just despotic, it’s not this brutal hard scrabble. You know, we’re not making the road here.  And I think one of the points we want to make is that human connection in the absence of technology would probably flourish. And if we can make people think about that if we can, you know, make people maybe unplug from their smartphones for a minute and connect with their families and fight for your family, then you know, that would be the best possible outcome.  But that’s all like high solute and douche bag shit to say. And mostly, you know, I just hope people enjoy the characters and dig the sword fights.

Q:  Are the dynamics between Rachel and Miles, clearly there’s a lot of back story there. There’s also some parallels in that; their willingness to protect people they care about, kind of manifested during the blackout.  So can you talk a little about how we’ll be seeing that dynamic explored the second half of the season?

Elizabeth Mitchell:     Well I mean I can say that in my mind it’s lucky that we do explore it. I think there’s a lot there. It’s deeper, richer than I at first thought. I mean I knew there was something, but I didn’t realize how much.  And there’s – the two of them – there’s a theory that people come together because of shared pain. Like you think, “Oh, I have things in common with someone and that’s why I love them.” But in some ways, it’s actually what your pain is, what the worse thing is for you, where your secret fears are.  And I think that Miles and Rachel are at heart in their sorrows very much the same. And I think that their tendency towards their ability to protect the ones they love is also very similar.  But they’re, you know, they’re (friends); it’s a great word for them. I mean they have been through all kinds of things which we really do get almost completely laid out for us by the end of the season. And it’s interesting.  And I don’t want to use the wrong word to lead it in the wrong direction, but I would say that if you can use passionate in the way that it was intended, being filled with emotion, that is how I would describe them and the revelations that we come across.  So I’m excited to see people’s response. But I’ve had a great time playing it and I really enjoy working with Billy. I think his (smile) is completely different than I ever expected him to do anything. So I’ve been having fun watching him.

Q:  The promos suggest that Rachel is going to actually recreate power for the good guy.  Can you tell us a bit more about how your character’s role changes because if she’s in charge of that then she would have a much more powerful role as the season progresses, right?

Elizabeth Mitchell:     Yes, well Rachel has a lot more to do in the second half of the season which is really fun. And yes, I mean as the preview suggests, that’s the quest, that sums it all up for her, and trying to, you know, patch her family back together and trying to figure herself out and sending her child again; that’s the worst and all of that.  So Rachel’s quest is specific and she’s incredibly proactive. She’s making a straight line towards what it is that she needs to do.  And the fun part that, you know, Eric had talked about before is that she also unloads everything; the entire secret, the entire history in one crazy conversation in Episode 1 – 13.  So I think that people will enjoy the fact that she has a lot to say and that her admonition or her quest is very powerful and proactive which I love in a character. It’s always nice to see women, people, anyone – your protagonist going after what she wants full force. So I think that’s going to be fun.

Q:  Can you say whether we will see something more personal in this story for her in terms of maybe a romance?

Elizabeth Mitchell:     Yes, you will see – we will see echoes of what has been and what could be and what might be now, and there’s definitely more passion for her in the second half, which by the way if really fun. I mean I always find it kind of interesting to see where people’s hearts lie. So we get to see that for sure.  And yes, I think that some things were deliberate, some things just happened because it’s the chemistry that was in the room. I mean that’s what always happens and then the writers are like, “Gosh, that’s interesting. Let’s go further with that.”  But you know, in some of the scenes, the tension is deliberately written in, it’s in the lines. And then sometimes it’s simply just there, it’s just in the playing of it. And I do think that there is, as they say, a thin line between love and extreme hate.  So we’ll get to explore that a little bit more. But yes, that tension was definitely there, (unintelligible).

Q:  Could you describe Revolution in three words?

Elizabeth Mitchell:     Adventure, love – I want to put swash buckling there. How about this? A swash-buckling love adventure.  That might do it. I’m missing a few things but I feel like swash-buckling is such a great word. And there are sword fights, so it may not be the best word but I feel like I need to use it; it’s a good one.

Shawn gets a mysterious party invitation delivered by a – what’s a stripper-gram without the stripper? – anyway, you know what I mean. He brings Gus (Dule Hill) along as his “plus one” after Juliet (Maggie Lawson) gets a call to investigate a missing person’s case.  Always up for a mystery, especially with the offer of free food, Shawn and Gus turn up at the mansion on a dark and stormy night half an hour early. They are greeted (after pressing a doorbell that is somewhat alarming) by the Butler, named Clizby (Garrett Morris) – can you figure out how it is pronounced – who shows them around the house, which was built by a chocolatier who, legend has it, even built a secret chocolate room.

The other guests arrive shortly thereafter: Lesley Ann (Lesley Ann Warren) – the Groupie who speaks with a stutter, Martin Kahn (Christopher Lloyd) – the Author who introduces himself as a Harvard graduate, and “Highway” Harry (Martin Mull) – talent Manager. Shawn quickly deduces their mystery Host is Billy Lipps (Steve Valentine), the rock star who he and Gus had helped the SBPD put away for murder five years earlier.

Fresh out of prison, Billy is a new (Jewish) man and wants to celebrate new beginnings with all the people who had testified against him in his murder trial. The celebrations take a dark turn when one of the guests is murdered right under their nose…or maybe not? Everyone is a suspect but what would be their motive?

Coincidentally, the missing person case that Juliet is working on leads her and Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) to the same mansion, and they are soon leading the interrogations of all the suspects, including Shawn and Gus. However, before they can resolve the murder, they get another surprise visitor and it is none other than Curt Smith (played by Curt Smith) but he does not get a very welcome reception!

I couldn’t tell you how it all unfolds and who dunnit even if I wanted to.  You will have to tune in to the show, vote on twitter or on psych.usanetwork.com, to determine which ending is shown to identify the true murderer. It could be a different ending for each coast!

What I can say is that this is the funniest episode I have seen and the folks at USA Network have gone all out on this one.  Here are some teasers and my favorite moments from “100 Clues”:

• Gus has a fear of toupees and it’s not a pretty sight when he faces his fear
• Shawn and Gus do a wonderful happy chocolate song-and-dance
• If one of the guests is dead, what happens to his meal?
• Do you know what people in prison do to people who brag about going to Harvard?
• Is there really a secret chocolate room?
• How did the panther get out? Whaaaaaat?
• Just how do you pronounce the butler’s name?
• Curt Smith sings

PSYCH “100 Clues” airs on USA Network on Wednesday March 27 at 10/9c and don’t forget to vote to see who the real killer is!

Guest Stars: Christopher Lloyd, Lesley Ann Warren, Martin Mull, Curt Smith, Steve Valentine, Garrett Morris

Working with Al Pacino:

Philip Martin:  Al is a fantastic human being and he’s just an absolute pleasure to be on set with and work with.  As a young actor, growing up and going to NYU, you look to Pacino, De Niro, and Brando.  The ability that Al has and the passion to really access his soul is – when you’re next to that it really inspires you to be the best actor, the best human being that you can be.

Familiarity with one of the most famous cases in Hollywood history:

Philip Martin:  Prior to doing it I wasn’t really familiar with it, but when David Mamet had offered me the role, he told me he was writing something for me and he asked me if I would like to do it.  When he brought up that it was about Phil Spector I had to do some research and understand a little bit more about him.  He’s a fascinating character.  I think that the way that David explores it is going to be very interesting, and to have Al play him, it’s really going to be a very intriguing film.  I think the audience is really going to enjoy it.

Working on the film:

Philip Martin: It was a great pleasure to work on set.  I think I got spoiled for my first opportunity to work with such high caliber writers, directors, producers, and actors.  To really see that type of work and be part of that and be able to bring my best self to it; it was like an actor’s dream come true.  Acting for me has a special place because when I was a teenager, I was going through a tough time and when I found acting it was the one thing that made me feel like I had a purpose in life.  My goal through doing work and being an artist is to help other people find their passion.  I think the more people that find their passion, and keep moving forward on that, the more peace that people will have with themselves.  The more peace that people have with themselves the more the world will be a peaceful place.  I’m just trying to do my part as part of the bigger picture.  The acting, directing, and the writing are top-notch.  HBO are arguably one of the best.  I grew up watching HBO and they are able to put the caliber of people and caliber of stories together.  They are like a fine oiled machine.

James Lee:

Philip Martin:  My character is a defense attorney for the defense team.  He works specifically for Bruce Cutler, Jeffrey Tambor’s character.  I’m kind of his protégé, and I’m with his defense team throughout the whole trial.  The thing that was very interesting about playing a lawyer and understanding a lawyer in that situation was that I did a lot of research to really understand the process that they have to go through; the months that they spend in discovery going through all the paperwork to fine-tune the language in which they present the case.  It was very fascinating.  All of that influenced my character and Bruce Cutler was the person that got Gotti off.

Working with Helen Mirren:

Philip Martin:  I have to tell you that Helen has a very special place in my heart.  She was one of the most professional, loving, and giving actresses that I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with.  She’s there for other people’s close-ups.  She’s there to support the other actors.  When it comes to her work, she’s just so effortless and present.  She would notice when an extra was off and tell David.  I would talk to her and tell her that she is very present and observant of all the small details.  She said, “Phil darling, that is the best thing about this job, to be completely in the moment and notice all of the details.  That’s what the real excitement comes out of.”   She was absolutely amazing and I think my first professional close-up ever, for a job like this, was with Helen.

Returning to the theatre: 

Philip Martin:  I would love to return to the theatre.  For me, theatre is probably the most, when you are on that stage and it’s just you and the audience, it’s one of the most vulnerable places to be, but at the same time going through a play is soul gratifying.  You learn about what you have inside and I would love to do a play of David’s.  The playwrights out there today are phenomenal.  I would love to go back to the stage and be in New York because the city has a beat and a pulse and a soul.  I remember waking up in New York and you could feel the energy.  I miss it dearly.

Link: http://nbc.co/vid/n33841

MPI/Dark Sky Films announced that June 14th will be the official release date for HATCHET III, the third entry in the popular franchise created by ArieScope Pictures’ Adam Green. The film marks the directorial debut of BJ McDonnell who previously has handled A and B camera operations on such features as Rob Zombie’s Halloween remake, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and Adam Green’s first two Hatchet films.

HATCHET III is set to open in New York City’s Cinema Village and in Los Angeles at Laemmle Music Hall. Opening week will feature special appearances by cast and crew, followed by Q&A’s at each location. Additional cities will be announced at a later date.

Danielle Harris and Kane Hodder return in HATCHET III and are joined by Zach Galligan (Gremlins), Derek Mears (Friday the 13th 2009), Caroline Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Sean Whalen (The People Under the Stairs) and others.

HATCHET III continues the tale of the now-iconic villain Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder). As a search and recovery team heads into the haunted swamp to pick up the pieces and carnage left behind from the first two films, Marybeth (Danielle Harris) hunts down the true secret to ending the voodoo curse that has left the ghost of Victor Crowley haunting and terrorizing Honey Island Swamp for decades.

Katie Couric talks about some of the experiences she’s had during her first season of her show, “Katie.”

Pictionary with Katie Couric

Jimmy and Katie Couric pair up with audience members and compete in a game of Pictionary.

Freddie Highmore

Jimmy recalls working with Freddie on a project, and asks him about his classes at Cambridge.

Young Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake Sing At Summer Camp

Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake are kids at summer camp, singing “Africa” by Toto.

Justin Timberlake: Strawberry Bubblegum

Musical guest Justin Timberlake performs “Strawberry Bubblegum” off his new album

Ragnar and Rollo Argue

Nick Offerman on being paid to act in plays and his roots as an actor.

Nick Offerman, Part 2

Nick Offerman on Parks & Recreation and new movie, Somebody Up There Likes Me.

Lena:   I loved the episode of Supernatural (“Shut Up, Dr. Phil”) that you did.

Charisma Carpenter:  Thank you.  It was so fun.  That was a really good time.  I don’t know if you could tell but we had a lot of fun.  I loved working with James (Marsters) on and off set, and I love Vancouver.  Anytime they want to have me back, I’m there.

Lena:  That’s what I was going to ask you.  Do you know if they have any plans on bringing you back?  [Supernatural has been renewed for a ninth season.]

Charisma Carpenter:  That show is like the new Smallville.  That was on for about eleven years.

Lena:  It’s so hard for a television to stay on the air, so good for them.

Charisma Carpenter:  It really is and The CW is good at that, keeping a show alive; except for Angel, it got cancelled after five season.  [Laughing.]  Those boys are great.  I’m happy for their success.  Hopefully, they will write us back in or they can create a spinoff for James and me.  That would be a lot of fun.

Lena:  The fans would really love that.

Charisma Carpenter:  I would love that.

Lena:  Before we get in to The Lying Game questions, can we talk about some of the charities that you work with because you do some amazing work?

Charisma Carpenter:  I’m an honorary board member of the Nevada SPCA.  I try to do what I can to raise awareness, and when they have galas I always try to show up for them, being that that is my hometown.  I’m a big animal lover.  I wouldn’t say I’m an activist; I’m just a lover.  I just want to promote adoption as much as I can.

I’m involved with The Ronan Thompson Foundation.  If you don’t know Ronan’s story, he’s a three-year-old that passed away from Neuroblastoma cancer.   When they did the Stand Up to Cancer concert Taylor Swift made a song and sang it at that live performance that was broadcasted internationally and at the end posted his photo, that’s Ronan.  The Ronan Thompson Foundation was started by Maya Thompson, his mom, in an effort to increase awareness and funding for pediatric cancer, which is the least funded cancer of all cancers.  If you can believe it or not, even with the Ronald McDonald House and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, childhood cancer does not get the funding that other cancers do.  The board that is in charge of it, in the government, doesn’t fund pediatric cancer as much.  Neuroblastoma, which is what Ronan passed away from, is nearly never heard of.  Basically, Neuroblastoma is if you are one or older, you will most likely die.  If you are diagnosed with Neurolastoma at one year or younger, you have a higher percentage of survival with aggressive treatment.  He’s a friend of my family’s and we were very close so I do what I can to raise awareness of his foundation, which specializes in funding and research.  They are building a research center in Arizona with all the funds that they get.  Thanks to Taylor Swift, all of the lyrics to Taylor’s song were written from Maya’s blog, so she made Maya a co-author.   Maya was able to share in all the residuals, which is such a generous thing for Taylor to do.  She can use those funds to go into the foundation as well.  That’s a beautiful, beautiful story.  They kind of don’t need me because they have Taylor [laughing], but I do what I can.

The other charity is The Thirst Project.  Seth Maxwell started it in his early twenties.  He started it based on the fact that there are people in third world countries that don’t have access to safe, clean water.  The problem with not having access is that people are dying from waterborne diseases.  The diseases are crippling, especially the young and old, and are preventable.  He’s come up with a concept of raising 50 million dollars to put into clean drinking water for the whole entire country.  He does school tours.  He received some funding from Coca-Cola. Warren Buffett has expressed interest and I think he did give him some money.  When they get that to work they are going to be able to use that as a template for other countries.  They are going to be able to get the globe access to clean, fresh water.

While I was in Uganda, I funded a well in Uganda.  I was also on a donor trip where we were visiting all of the villages in a certain region.  While I was in Uganda, I came across a school called The Bethlehem Parents School.  It’s a primary school/orphanage.  There are 350 kids that live there, give or take, 652 attend school during the day, and 42 of them are HIV-positive and gravely ill.  The school made such an impression on me, their optimism, their spirit, their courage throughout all this adversity – they are starving, they have sanitation issues, they don’t have shoes, beds, clothes (that are not tattered and falling apart).  I just fell in love with them.  There was a little boy there that I would have loved to adopt and take him home to America with me.  I want to raise money for the whole school and get them all food.  I did a lot of research and brought in some teams.  I fed them for a few months when it was really bad times and ultimately, what I realized is that I don’t have enough personal wealth to write them a check for $40,000 a year to keep them all fed, but what I could do is have a fundraiser and just try to take a little bite out of it at a time and learn the process of fundraising and hopefully, get them beds; something workable and tangible by my means.   My boyfriend is in a band called The Public Trust.  We decided to have a fundraiser and call it Bands For Beds.  Mike’s (Rossi) band can play and one of my costars on The Lying Game, Allie Gonino, is friendly with his band and her band is named The Good Mad.  I called up all of my actor friends that I could and in one night we raised $5,600.  Now we need to raise just $4,400 more to get every single one of the kids new beds, mattress covers, proper linen, beds that are metal instead of wood, and get them outfitted with that.  That was my first goal.

Every time I do an interview an interview, I always like to talk about it so I can’t thank you enough for asking about it up front.

Lena:  You do some wonderful work.

Charisma Carpenter:  Thank you.

Lena:  Your fans sent me some The Lying Game questions for you.  Do you think that Rebecca has any allies left?

Charisma Carpenter:  No.  She’s worked herself right into a corner, hasn’t she?  I feel like she really doesn’t have a lot of allies at this point.  Right now I think the only one that she’s kind of winning over is Ted (Andy Buckley).  But if he goes to jail for murdering Derek, I don’t know what is going to happen.  I really believe that Ted could trust Rebecca with anything.  He could tell her the most horrible thing, I won’t even speculate on what that could be, and I think Rebecca would still love him, which is such a head scratcher for me.   I don’t get it.

Lena:  A lot of people think that Rebecca is responsible for Derek’s (Ben Elliott) and now possibly Theresa’s (Yara Martinez) murder.  Stepping away from your character, just as a viewer, who do you think is guilty Rebecca, Alec, or someone else?

Charisma Carpenter:  I have to think about what the motives are and I try to think as a creator or writer, who do I think is the most unlikely suspect.  It’s usually that person; the one person that you would never think of like Kristin (Helen Slater). Kristin would never do it.  So if Kristin ends up being the murderer I will be so shocked.  I wouldn’t be surprised because this show is full of twists and turns.  You never know what is going to happen.  If I had to speculate whom, over Alec or Rebecca, I would have to say Alec.  I don’t think Alec would be stupid enough to do it with his own bare hands, but I think he would hire somebody.  I think it’s possible that Rebecca would, but I don’t think she does.  We really don’t want the twins’ mom to be cooped up.  She can be devious, a little misguided and amoral, but we don’t want her to be straight up pathological or psychopathic.  Right?  That’s hard to work around likeability.

Lena:  That’s true.  What is it like working on the show and with the cast members?

Charisma Carpenter:  This is probably one of the most amazing casts that I’ve ever had the fortune to work with.  I loved working on Angel.  It was like a tiny family, and we were together for so long.  I went over to Veronica Mars and I’m surrounded by all these amazing twenty-year-olds who are involved with Invisible Children.  Here were these kids that were making huge changes in the world; it was so inspiring.   I come to this show and I’m surrounded by mature hardworking, thoughtful, Allie and Alice (Greczyn) are very thoughtful analysts that are politically involved.  When I brought them in to The Thirst Project, we bought a well together.  They really care about the world.  I just think to myself, where was I?  I was on a soundstage in Paramount and I was in such a bubble.   I just admire them so much and I love working with Adrian (Pasdar).  There is not a day that goes by that he isn’t there on the set, in terms of if there is a guest, he takes it upon himself to make sure that they are all situated, that they get a nice tour, that they get a little souvenir when they leave.  When you are in a scene with Andy there is just no getting through without laughing.  He’s the biggest prankster and joker.  Everybody is great; I love everybody.  When I had this impromptu tailgate party for Julie Benz, my friend, her husband would come to town because her husband is an alumnus from Texas so we would have an impromptu tailgate and every single person came.  When I had Bands For Beds every single person came.  As far as I’m concerned, this cast is like family to me.

Lena:  That’s great to hear.  I interviewed Randy Wayne, who played Justin Miller, last year and he was really nice.

Charisma Carpenter:  I didn’t get to work with him that much.  He was kind of going out while I was coming in, unfortunately.

Lena:  Without giving too much away, what can you say about the finale, something that will get the fans really excited?

Charisma Carpenter:  I think the Derek murder suspect will be revealed, and somebody’s future is in peril.  The cliffhanger is that we don’t know if that person is going to live or die, and I’m not talking about Theresa.  [Laughing.]  Somebody else’s life is in peril.

Lena:  They talk about one of the twins facing a danger that they didn’t see coming in the preview.

Charisma Carpenter:  I don’t know what they mean by that.  That’s very interesting.  I think it’s either Alec or Rebecca as the culprit, the most deeds or evil doing suspects or murders, or what not.  I think those are the two to watch out for.

Lena:  So they are going to leave us with a cliffhanger.

Charisma Carpenter:  You’re going to have a cliffhanger, sorry.  Hopefully, with this season, they will not leave with that cliffhanger for ten months.  They have to keep us on the air and keep the momentum going.  I hope that they do and give us that chance.

For Will Graham, profiling killers for the FBI can take its toll.

The Wesen code of honor comes into question when Nick, Hank and Monroe discover a series of bank robberies with Wesen using true natures as their disguises.

Shirtless Rage: Renard and Adalind

Renard and Adalind get back to nature with a passionate encounter in the woods.

It’s a Date

Nuva Ring

Justin Timberlake: Suit & Tie

Weekend Update Favorites 3/9/13

Weekend Update: Stefon on Spring Break

Caligula

Maine Justice

Justin Timberlake: Mirrors

Romantic Comedy

Moet & Chandon

Shawn and Gus don’t believe in Bigfoot but don’t want to pass up the chance to make a documentary about a documentary about the mythical creature, and so, armed with their own camcorder, they set out to prove that it is all a hoax orchestrated by the students, who turn out to be a very horny couple.

Of course, things are never boring when Shawn and Gus are involved, and before you know it, the group finds themselves being chased by something big and furry and come across a pile of corpses that mysteriously disappears moments later. Obviously there is something bigger that Shawn and Gus have accidentally stumbled upon, must more dangerous than they can deal with on their own, so thankfully, Lassiter (Tim Omundson) and Juliet (Maggie Lawson) come to their aid after some hikers report that they have seen the Blueberry abandoned on the side of the road.

How will a bunch of city-slickers cope when they are stuck unprepared in the woods without adequate supplies and not even a map? Surprisingly, Lassie does not deal as well as he would expect and it is up to Jules to prove she is no ordinary Girl Scout.

Some of the best and funniest moments:

• Gus’ appetite defies logic – why would anyone not question the fact there is a delicious turkey leg just hanging on tree branch?
• Juliet has an almighty kick that ends up saving Lassie’s life
• A perfectly-timed swoop by a hawk causes Shawn great upset
• Lassie leaves a video message for his beloved Marlowe
• A little singing by the campfire, anyone?
• Bigfoot does exist – only in Santa Barbara

Written and directed by James Roday, “Lassie Jerky” shows off Juliet O’Hara as a detective not to be trifled with, even bringing out the sentimental side of her partner.

PSYCH “Lassie Jerky” airs on USA Network on Wednesday at 10/9c.

Guest stars: Kurt Fuller, Kate Rogal, Alex Enriquez, Big Show

Grimm is back, and Nick’s out for vengeance. Grimm returns with all-new episodes March 8!

The Cast Tells All

The cast of Grimm gives you a sneak peek at what’s to come this Friday!

Toni:  I was wondering if we’re ever going to get any back story on Renard, the royal bastard, and anything about his mother, the hexen beast who bore him? Is she still alive or are we ever going to meet her? And how did he get into police work? Was it before he knew he was a royal or after?

Sasha Roiz:     That’s a lot of back story. I – well, I think we will uncover more about the royal bastard, which is my favorite terminology these days. But yes, you will. You know, we’ve already introduced members of his family. We’ve already displayed and will continue to display more things from the old world and how things work there and had worked there and continue to work there. And so you will get some more on him and the world that he comes from. As far as police work, I don’t know. I mean we’ll have to touch upon that but I think if I was to wager a guess it’s probably because it’s a great way to have a certain level of power and authority which is really all he’s after.

Toni: And pick up chicks.

Sasha Roiz:  And pick up chicks. I mean when you put on that uniform. When you put on those blues, hubba, hubba.

Toni: Is Eric Renard (James Frain) coming back in the second half?

Sasha Roiz:  I believe he will come back at some point. I can’t tell exactly when though.

Toni: He’s a great actor.

Sasha Roiz:  He is.

Toni: I know the hexen beast put that obsessive spell on both of your characters but do you think there is any genuine affection between them?

Sasha Roiz:     I would say probably not. I would – well, you know, I got to be honest. I mean – but, you know, I think that it’s forced us into a situation that is probably pretty unnatural.  I mean not to say that she’s not an attractive woman but I don’t think that Renard would even allow himself to even venture in that, you know, territory if he was not under the spell.

Bitsie Tulloch:            You know, the truth is they barely knew each other. The assumption is they may or may not have met at a couple work functions.  So who knows if they want to sort of play with this more down the road but the reality is when they first came under the spell they didn’t really know each other so this sort of lusting and obsession really is, you know, for lack of a better word, manmade, you know, it’s chemical. Not chemical in like the pheromone way, chemical like literally poison and they’re both under a spell kind of a way. No love at first sight.

Sasha Roiz:  Yes.

More Press Conference Call Interview Highlights:

Q:  Could each of you pick one or two of your favorite episodes and tell us why they are?

Bitsie Tulloch:  I really like – from Season 1 I really like the episode Game Ogre just because that was sort of the first time Juliette was inadvertently drawn into the fray in a sort of physical way. I think it was Episode 10 or something.  And I also liked from Season 1 the thing with feathers, which is the one where Nick and Juliette go away for the weekend to that romantic cabin and all hell breaks loose. And again, I think one of the reasons I like it is because she ends up, you know, having to hunt down and sort of save Nick.  And then there’s been a lot of great stuff from Season 2 but I would say from Season 2 so far my favorite episode is the one that’s going to premiere – or going to air on Friday night.

Sasha Roiz:     Yes, I would agree, the one that airs Friday night is pretty amazing and it’s – I think it’s got something for every character so I think that is really what appeals to me is when everybody’s kind of featured and there’s such high stakes.  I think from Season 1 is probably Three Coins (unintelligible) I believe it’s called because it was the first time we get a sense or a glimpse into the Captain and some of his personal life and some of his ambitions. So that was a lot of fun for me.

Q:  Sasha, did you expect that the showdown with Nick would be happening so soon?

Sasha Roiz:     I was actually surprised it’s as soon as it is. I thought it could even be dragged out until the end of the season. But I – I’m really glad that it’s happened. I’m really glad that we had a chance to finally confront each other because I think it’s something the fans had been waiting for a long time. And we – as characters and actors had been waiting for as well.  So yes, I don’t think it’s a moment too soon.

Q:  Bitsie, (Juliette) has gone through some pretty extreme measures. Has playing her different ways given you a better understanding of who she is or helped you to mold the character more than had you just played her the one straight way?

Bitsie Tulloch:            Yes, absolutely. I mean in Season 2 I’ve had a lot of – I’ve had so much more to do with her which is not to knock the storyline from Season 1 because – you know, at the beginning of Season 1 this guy who I’ve been dating, who I loved, he lost basically the woman who raised her.  And I know a lot of fans were sort of saying how can she be so naïve, how is she not seeing this, but she was just being really understanding and sensitive to Nick’s situation.  But waking up in Season 2 in a coma and then having just this big empty hole where this man once lived is – has been sort of crazy and I have to say you have not seen the worst of it. What goes on with Juliette gets much worse before it gets better. So they’re just sort of starting to lay out what’s going to happen the rest of Season 2.  So as an actress it’s definitely been so much fun for me to really go into these deep dark depths of the character and her mental space. And she’s really starting to lose it kind of.  I mean as you can imagine she – it’s crazy to wake up and see pictures of this guy – this stranger all over your house and be told that, you know, you guys were going to get married and all this stuff and you have no recollection whatsoever.  And then all of a sudden she’s lusting after someone she barely knows and can’t control herself. I mean it’s enough to make anybody mad. So that’s been a lot of – that’s been fun for me.

Q:  Will fans be surprised to see how far Juliette and Renard’s relationship will go?

Bitsie Tulloch: Well, what happens on Friday night we’ve not see the likes of on Grimm so far. I think it’s really fun and I think it’s kind of a – I think it’s just a great way to sort of deal with what’s going on between the two of them and also to highlight how little control they have over it, that this is not some – you know, slow burning love like they literally are both – they can’t control the lust.  And obviously it gets to a sort of violent place and neither of us – neither them is really wanting this to happen, they can’t help it. Obviously Sasha’s character understands more of what’s going on coming from that world and Juliette is just like all right, well, I guess par for the course, I’m already losing my mind.

Sasha Roiz:     Yes, will they be surprised? I think they’ve seen it escalate and this will be a great payoff I believe. It’s fun, it’s fun to explore new ground, new territory with Grimm. It’s almost like Grimm after dark, a little – you know, racier version. So I think they’ll be pleased and it’s a good payoff after this long hiatus.  I have no idea if it’s a payoff, sorry.

Q:  Bitsie. I heard there’s a love scene that required a lot of rehearsal. Can you talk about how that fits in and why it took so long?

Bitsie Tulloch:            It took so long because we had to have a stunt coordinator sort of help us out, particularly me. I’m not – I’m sort of known among the cast members of being like – I don’t know, Sasha, what would you say?

Sasha Roiz:     She’s a little clumsy.

Bitsie Tulloch:            Yes, so – yes, and then because it was so – and that love scene also got edited down massively but when we were actually shooting it, it took something like eight-and-a-half hours to get through which is incredibly long for basically one scene because it was so complicated and it did require such coordination.  But yes, you know…

Sasha Roiz:     That said, Bitsie always wants a stunt coordinator there when she has a love scene so who knows.

Bitsie Tulloch:            That’s right, that’s my style.

Sasha Roiz:     Yes, no, but it was intense. I mean I think it was definitely a shocker for us when we read it because we didn’t believe – we really didn’t believe it when we read it. We thought it was a bit of a joke. But they went there. Yes, but it was just a lot of fun.

Bitsie Tulloch:            It was so intense that we both – we thought it was a joke. We didn’t think it was – we literally thought it was a joke that when we read the script. We were like, ha-ha, where’s our real script.

Sasha Roiz:     But it was – I think it came out well. I haven’t seen it but I presume it came out well.

Q:  Well, now that Nick knows about the Captain and Juliette, can you talk about the impact that it has on the three characters going forward?

Sasha Roiz:     Well, it’s going to be very delectate moving ahead and, you know, I don’t want to say too much because we’ll see what happens because it’s really Nick’s choice at this point whether he wants to move ahead, whether he wants to stay Portland, or whether he wants to, you know, deal with me with her.  So there’s going to be a lot of fall out and that’s going to occupy I think the remainder of this season to see what will transpire and how pieces will fall and – where they fall I should say. So that’s really going to be a very delicate balance I think moving on.

Q:  Bitsie, you have had a lot of success in all of the various acting mediums, including the Internet.  So I was wondering your opinions on how far online entertainment has come and where you see it going crossing with television? And Sasha, if you want to chime in too that’d be great.

Sasha Roiz:     Sure.

Bitsie Tulloch:            I think – you know, I read something recently that the Nielsen people, you know, the ones who do the Nielsen ratings are actually going to start counting people’s watching (unintelligible) online which I think is a huge deal because so many people do watch. You know, I was – when we did Quarter Life it was the first television show that had gone from the Internet to TV and so that was, like, a huge deal for me. And that was only back in 2008 and here we are five years later and it seems like that’s sort of par for the course. And the reality is I think that every thing is sort of – they – to me they go hand in hand with this stuff. You know, I tried to – just the fact if I’m not shooting on a Friday night I try to live tweet with the fans so there’s Internet and social media to me goes hand in hand with our show. Like this Friday I’m going to (unintelligible) to the West Coast (unintelligible) with the fans and, you know, that’s something that I love to do for them but it also just feels like if you’re on a (unintelligible) – if you have access to your fans you want to do be able to do stuff like that.  And the fastest way to get access to your fans and sort of develop a personal – you know, a somewhat personal relationship with them is using the Internet.

Sasha Roiz:     Okay, I would say that – as far as Internet content, I mean we can – the line is – the divide is completely being reassessed right now because – or redefined because – I can’t even tell sometimes with me if I’m actually online or watching TV just in the way I view the television now because I stream things from my iPad to my television and vice versa.  Netflix is releasing series now that I – you know, really getting critical acclaim and they’re changing the format by releasing an entire season. I mean I think television viewing is really at a crossroads now and a lot of things are going to change in the new few years the way we view it.  And ultimately I think as viewers it’s going to benefit us because it will just cater to our viewing patterns. So I think it’s all kind of moving in a really interesting direction.

Q:  Speaking of social media, I saw that you’ve been retweeting fans on both sides of the whole smack down Grimm wise.  If you had to pick your favorite and least favorite thing about each character to be fair on both sides of the smack down, what would they be?

Sasha Roiz:     Favorite is – let’s see, well, I like – I mean I like and dislike how secretive Renard is because on one hand it’s really fun to play. On the other hand, you know, sometimes even I don’t know what he’s up to. Like, he’s just very – you know, he’s just a very mysterious character and the writers keep me guessing because we don’t always know. So it’s a very difficult balance to strike sometimes but it also keeps me very engaged as an actor and viewer.  The Grimm, I think – what do I like and dislike? You know, I think he’s a – I mean I don’t know. The Grimm – Bitsie, what do you like and dislike about him?

Bitsie Tulloch:            I can’t answer that question. I don’t – at this point my answer would be I don’t know because I don’t even remember him.

Sasha Roiz:     He’s a – what I like about him is he’s remarkably likable, I think both Grimm and David Giuntoli, remarkable likable. I don’t know. I don’t know if I have anything.

Q:  How much of the fight scenes do you actually have to do? And is it difficult?

Sasha Roiz:     It’s – yes, it can be taxing after a while. With Bitsie and I it was actually – it wasn’t bad. I was surprised we both walked away from it I think fairly unscathed. The one with David and I, you know, it was 2 o’clock in the woods on a Friday. We were just exhausted from the week and we’re doing our best for this really long fight sequence where there were some stunt men in fact because there were some things you can’t do. But we…

Bitsie Tulloch:  They won’t let you do.

Sasha Roiz:     Yes, exactly. We did most everything on our own and we did kind of end up hurting each other, David and I. But, you know, that’s par for the course and – you know, but it’s fun to do it and it’s just challenging. It’s just another challenge I suppose.

Bitsie Tulloch:            I had a scene – without teasing too much, I had a scene recently where I did my own stunts and I had to be rigged to something so that I wouldn’t fall off. And I’m supposed to kind of go to the edge and literally on the first take I almost fell off.  And I would have just been dangling there. And then the – our stunt coordinator was just like, maybe we should have (unintelligible). It was really funny. And then I was fine the rest of the time but I think it’s pretty fun. I really like – I don’t know…

Sasha Roiz:     The fact that you’re still in one piece after 40 episodes is remarkable.

Q:  What is the most difficult scene or episode you’ve had to do so far and why?

Bitsie Tulloch:            Mine hasn’t aired yet. There’s a lot of really, really intense emotional stuff coming up for Juliette, just really heavy and pretty serious. And so that’s probably the hardest that I’ve had to do but I don’t think – that episode is something to look forward to I guess.

Sasha Roiz:     This past episode – well, this upcoming episode I should say was pretty hard for me. It involved – I think it was challenging on all levels because physically it was a lot of, you know, Bitsie spoke about a lot of fight choreographies and sequences and long hours.  And then emotionally as well, it just kind of took Renard to every – I think sort of realm of emotion and so it was pretty challenging.

Q:  Sasha, can you tell us a little bit about what’s going on between Renard and Adalind in this episode and moving forward?

Sasha Roiz:     Okay, well, they’re always – it’s very antagonistic and it’s – you know, she’s definitely a thorn in my side and she’s out to thwart all of my plans. She’s also incredibly conniving and manipulative just the same as I am I suppose – or Renard is.  And so she knows how to play him and, you know, what I love about some of the writing is you really don’t know who’s playing who sometimes. I think, you know, there’s always a turn of the tables and so it will be interesting to see what transpires.  But she certainly has presented herself at a very difficult time for him at a very – he’s very vulnerable at this point and so she’s found a weakness and her timing couldn’t be better.

Q:  Do you think there would ever be a time when the two of them could hook up, that she could give Juliette a little run for her money?

Sasha Roiz:     I think…

Bitsie Tulloch: No.

Sasha Roiz:     Well, I mean I think you’ll have to watch on Friday because who knows. It certainly some challenge to it there, yes.

Q:  Sort of in the same vein, at the same time that Juliette and Renard’s relationship is exposed Renard’s sort of secret identity is maybe about to be exposed and people are circling around the key. Will we see a resolution to that storyline in this back half or at least see it come to a climax?

Sasha Roiz:     You’re definitely going to see some form of resolution to it. And yes, it’s a major storyline for us and it’s going to be dealt with. But it’s – you know, again, it will be – it will take the course of this season to deal with it properly.

Q:  Sasha, do you see any way that that this goes back to being a – sort of a cop drama with – anyway that Renard and Nick can work together as police officers going forward in coming seasons?

Sasha Roiz:     Yes, I mean I believe so. Like I said, there’s going to be a lot of – there’s going to be – well, we’re going to have to deal with a lot of issues and see if we can put aside our differences and work together again.  So a lot of that depends on Nick and whether he’s able to forgive, able to move forward. But I think he could, you know, move ahead and if anything it could open up a whole new chapter now that we’re in the know and there’s no secrets anymore. There’s the possibility to certainly be better partners.

Q:  Sasha, what was it like having not one but two love scenes in the episode?

Sasha Roiz:     It was a lot of fun. It’s – they definitely kept me busy in that episode. I mean there was, you know, a lot of love, a lot of hate, a lot of fighting, a lot of – you know, not fighting.  But you know, there was – it was a very busy episode from (unintelligible) find himself into some very interesting situations. So yes, an action-packed episode I believe.

Q:  Yes, and because there’s so many game changing incidents throughout the episode what can you preview for people after they see it – what’s going to happen next?

Sasha Roiz:     Well, I think at least for Renard there’s going to be a real challenge in keeping the Grimm loyal, keeping the Grimm in Portland, keeping the plan that he had concocted for so long in place, keeping Adalind at bay.  And making sure that, you know, we could continue as a police force and continue as also this mythological team to keep outside influences and forces at bay from encroaching on our domain.

Bitsie Tulloch:            I think – well, what’s been going on – what happens in the rest of Season 2 I think has been really fantastic. I mean literally every episode once we got back from our hiatus at the end of January every episode – I mean they’re really doing huge episodes that are just very grand in scope that – you know, I’ve read some of them and been, like, are you guys crazy, there’s no way you’re going to be able to shoot this in eight days.  You know, really fun, crazy, you know, new Wessen and they’re sort of in a – you know, they’re delving deeper into – I want to say it’s not just the mythology or the way that we’ve been referring to the mythology but literally mythology, almost like a God-like creature. They’re really going in new directions and the episodes really – you know, I’m not just saying this, they get better and better. And I’m really proud of, you know, what we’ve been able to do in Season 2 and where it’s going. And I think the fans are going to be super, super excited about the last ten episodes of Season 2.

Q: Do you have a favorite Wessen?

Bitsie Tulloch:            I’m a huge – as everybody knows, I loved the ice beavers, I loved the actor who plays the (unintelligible), Danny Bruno. He’s fantastic. I’m so proud of him.  They’ve written him – smartly they’ve written him into a pretty major recurring just because he’s just so lovable and, you know, it’s nice to have a Wessen that’s not necessarily, you know, a scary blood thirsty Wessen. You know, (Henry) (unintelligible), sorry.  And then I also like as far as the scary ones, I really like the (unintelligible) who was the sort of – the saber tooth tiger Wessen from the first two episodes of Season 2.

Sasha Roiz:     I don’t think anything would make Bitsie happier if they wrote in, like, a French bulldog Wessen she would be in heaven, sort of a lovable, sloppy, slurppy French bulldog. I know, right, one day.  I like the reapers, I like what they represent mythological, the scythe that they carry, the fact that they come into, you know, reap revenge and that they’re after the Grimms and they have this very specific purpose in the world.  I also like my own character in a way because – I mean I like the hexen beast but what I love about it is that I – we never had any half breed before. And so the fact that you could cross pollinate – you could have all these, you know, part creatures, you know, part Wessens, that makes it really interesting for me. And I’m really curious to see that develop and to see that whole sort of other culture that exists that, you know, just has a trace of Wessen blood in them.

Q:  What did you guys do in your hiatus?

Bitsie Tulloch:            I shot an incredible movie that is being released worldwide in November opposite Paul Giamatti and Jacki Weaver and Marcia Gay Harden and Jackie Earle Haley and Billy Bob Thornton called Parkland that Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman produced for Playtone.  And it will be released in November around the anniversary of JFK’s assassination because it’s a period film about – basically about the assassination so that’s what I did.

Sasha Roiz:     I went to Australia and surfed, there you go.

Q:  Earlier you all discussed about the Internet being kind of like the new television. And of course, network is fighting against both, you know, that and cable and stuff like that. Why do you think a show like Grimm continues to come up on top despite all these other obstacles?

Bitsie Tulloch: Because it’s fun. And I think it – you know, I think this is something that all the cast have been saying ad naseum but it’s true is that the show has a little bit of everything for everybody, you know. For people who like procedurals you have that, you know, you have the romance. It’s funny, especially with characters like Silas Weir Mitchell’s character and Reggie Lee’s character, they’re pretty funny. And then, you know, you have the fantasy, you have the sci-fi, you have these monsters, you have the visual effects. There’s really a lot going on and I think – go ahead.

Sasha Roiz:  I agree with Bitsie. I think we struck a really delicate balance where there’s so many different styles at play and there’s so many different things that can appeal to the viewers. But I think ultimately we also don’t take ourselves too seriously. Like, there’s a humor to the show that underlies – that – the entire thing. So it’s just very palatable. I think it – you know, I was impressed at how wide a net they could throw and how varied our demographic can be.

Bitsie Tulloch:            No, I was just going to say, you know, the show unsurprisingly does very well internationally because, you know, it’s – because, you know, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. I mean you’re dealing with heavy things but you’re dealing with it in a sort of light and fun way.

And it’s not one of those shows that’s lost in translation. You know, everybody’s familiar with – people are familiar with these fairy tales so it’s sort of fun to tune in and see how they’re being reinterpreted in a modern way.  And it doesn’t surprise me at all that the show does so well internationally and that – you know, some of our main diehard fans are – have come from other countries all over the world. And it’s just expanding into more and more territories.

Q: Are we going to see that ultimate girl fight?

Bitsie Tulloch:            I think that’d be some super fun but I guess that’s sort of a I don’t know if the answer quite yet but I think – I definitely think I’ve always been pushing – you know, whether it’s Adalind or somebody else I’ve always been sort of trying to plant the seed of Juliette being – becoming a bad ass.

Sasha Roiz:     With this show you never know. There’s likelihood of anything happening.

Bitsie Tulloch:            Yes.

Q:  Even with Bitsie being a little bit accident-prone?

Bitsie Tulloch:            Accident-prone equals more damage done.

Sasha Roiz:     We’ll just get her a helmet.

Renard finally tracks down Aunt Marie’s trailer and is shocked by what he finds!

Guest Stars Eddie Izzard and Noel Gallagher

Thursday, March 7 at 11:00 PM ET/PT

****NEW TIME****

Los Angeles, CA – March 5, 2013 – Russell Brand will take BrandX back to his hometown roots in London, England on Thursday, March 7 and Thursday, March 14 for his full-hour live show on FX. Both shows will take place at the Duchess Theatre in Soho and broadcast at its new time of 11:00 PM ET/PT. Emmy® nominated stand-up comic Eddie Izzard and musician Noel Gallagher will guest star on March 7; (Guest stars for March 14 are TBD).

EDDIE IZZARD

Already one of the most acclaimed comics of his generation, Eddie Izzard is developing an equally stellar reputation as a film, television and stage actor. Izzard was last seen as Grandpa Munster in NBC’s Mockingbird Lane. Izzard released his latest DVD, Eddie Izzard: Live at Madison Square Garden, a recording of his brilliant sold out show. He further proved his unique versatility by hitting all entertainment mediums, including his stint on Broadway in Race and in the independent film, Every Day. He also became the first solo stand-up comedian to appear at the Hollywood Bowl in the celebrated Eddie Izzard: Stripped to the Bowl. In 2010, Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story, the original documentary which portrays his rise to fame received an Emmy nomination. His bizarre, tangential, absurd and surreal comic narratives, lauded for their creativity and wit, have him recognized as one of today’s foremost stand-ups.

NOEL GALLAGHER

A founding member of the British rock group Oasis, guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher became as well known for his catchy, soulful songs like “Wonderwall,” “Champagne Supernova” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” Oasis was the most successful music act in their native country, with 22 Top 10 hits, most of which were penned by Gallagher. Gallagher launched a new act, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, while retaining his position as one of the U.K.’s most respected musicians, as well as one of the country’s top headliner.

“PACK A SUITCASE”

You can’t lie your way out of this one. The addicting new social game “Pack a Suitcase,” inspired by the hit SHOWTIME comedy series HOUSE OF LIES, tests the valuable, and often underrated, skill of packing like a pro. Users across platforms can select their favorite character – Doug, Marty, Jeannie or Clyde – in a race to cleverly pack the most items before time runs out. The key is to fit as many character-specific items as possible in their suitcase, leaving the least amount of spaces empty, in order to save up time for the following round. Players are invited to share their scores on Facebook and Twitter, as well as to join the Facebook leaderboard to see how they stack up against the competition. Available on all mobile and tablet devices, “Pack a Suitcase” is the perfect security line companion to your next trip to the airport.

Have a few minutes to kill, then get packing and click on http://www.sho.com/sho/house-of-lies/extras/pack-a-suitcase.

After such a long courtship between Shawn and girlfriend, Juliet (Maggie Lawson), it seems he is finally maturing and ready to move on, but what will his move back home mean for their relationship? After all, Jules has given every indication that she is ready to let him have more than a drawer in her house.

Watching your best friend moving on is not always easy and clearly Gus (Dule Hill) is looking for his own perfect match.  Gus’ recent record has not been good – as he reminds us that for the past year, all the women he has dated have either been killers or had dated killers. He tries his luck with online dating through soulmateconnect.com to find his “perfect Indian princess”, Rachel (Parminder Nagra), but accidentally stumbles across the profile of one “Helene” – aka Juliet!

It takes a while for Shawn to realize that his girlfriend is not cheating on him but is, in fact, working undercover following the murder of two women in their 20s who have been strangled and their bodies dumped in the woods. Their only connection is that both women’s dating profiles featured on the same dating website, with a shortlist of six prospects, including one man nicknamed “Mr. Possibilities”.

Despite being a little distracted by the possibility of his divorced parents getting back together, Shawn is just as concerned with his best friend falling so quickly head over heels for Rachel, suspecting that she might also be somehow connected to the serial killer.  Gus believes the Oxford-educated nutritionist is “The One” but Shawn questions if she is “The One for Us” – how could Gus go out with someone whose idea of a snack is an apple?!

Here are this week’s teasers and they all center around Gus’ ideas of a great date – would these work on you?

• Mini golf
• A night at the movies
• Getting fingerprinted
• Being accused of murder…whaaaaat?

Oh and Rachel is definitely hiding something – can you guess what?

PSYCH “Juliet Takes A Luvvah” airs on USA Network on Wednesday at 10/9c.

Guest stars: Cybill Shepherd, Parminder Nagra, Sage Brocklebank, Ethan Sandler

Musical guest Prince performs his song “Screwdriver.”

Prince: Bambi

Musical guest Prince performs his song “Bambi.”

With the unexpected ousting of Reese Hughes (James Rebhorn) as the head of the FBI’s white collar crime division in Manhattan, Amanda Callaway (Emily Procter) comes out of the blue as his replacement.  Neal and Peter (Tim DeKay) are suspicious of Callaway’s allegiance given her meteoric rise and ambition. We last saw her make a phone call to Senator Pratt (Titus Welliver) – but is she in his pocket or will she convince Peter that she is on his side?

Meanwhile, Hughes proves his longevity with the Bureau prior to his forced retirement comes in handy as he provides Peter with some intel that means they no longer have the luxury to take their time to plan their retrieval of the evidence box which they know is on the 50th floor of the Empire State Building.  The FBI has 48 hours to find the box, meaning Neal and his merry band of scavenger hunters that includes James, Mozzie (Willie Garson), and a London-bound Sara (Hilarie Burton), have even less time than that to beat them.

As has become the custom of every WHITE COLLAR finale, there is a cliff-hanger that will leave you yelling (or at least wanting to yell) at your television set, at Peter, James, Neal and most of all, at series creator, Jeff Eastin (who makes a Hitchcockian cameo that you may miss if you, like me, are too busy being shocked by what goes down in the final moments). There is no jumping between Roosevelt Island trams or swinging on banners across museum balconies in this season finale, but there is a magnificent MacGyveresque moment that makes me really, really want a personal prop master like Duke Scoppa.

There is a lot of action going on inside and atop the iconic Empire State Building – what better tribute to the great city than to show us somewhere not usually open to the public. To avoid giving away too much, I want to tease you with a few of my favorite quotes (minus the final act) but you will have to tune in to find out who utters these lines:

• “Sometimes you have to re-draw the lines to stay within them.”
• “Don’t worry, we specialize in crazy.”
• “Family is not someone who shows up at your door after thirty years. They’re the ones who are there when you need them.”
• It’s no eighteenth century music box, but then again, what is?”

And if I’m not mistaken, the music accompanying the closing scene is the same as that used in “Under the Radar”.  And then we have to wait till next summer for more.

WHITE COLLAR season 4 finale airs Tuesday March 5th on the USA Network at 10/9c.

“In the Wind” written by Jeff Eastin

Guest starring: Treat Williams, Titus Welliver, Emily Procter, James Rebhorn, Hilarie Burton, Diahann Carroll, Sprague Grayden, Gregg Prosser

Lena Lamoray:  Hi Clive. I love the show.  Now you’ve already worked with Michael Hirst on Camelot, so can you talk about working with him again?

Clive Standen:  Hey Lena.  I didn’t really get to work with Michael in Camelot. When I got the role in Camelot I was very excited. I’ve wanted to work with Michael for a very long time and, you know, I’m a bit of a history nut at the heart.  And, you know, I grew up – as a child my parents would take me to all sorts of castles and monasteries and I got my fair fill of history through my parents and, you know, I’d always play with my older brother. We’d play warrior and Vikings and knights.  But I’m a bit of a – I like to consider myself as a bit of a history nut and Michael, what you get with Michael, is not just a scriptwriter you get a historian as well. I mean he really is genuinely excited by getting it right and researching. And it’s just really inspiring to work with someone like that.  But he wasn’t really involved in Camelot. He’d moved on by the time it started shooting to the ((inaudible)). Chris Chibnall was the writer of Camelot. So even though when I auditioned I thought I was going to be working with Michael I had to wait a little bit longer to get my dream job, but it’s all paid off in the end.  And, you know, he really is an inspirational person to work with and you really feel – you have to uphold his vision and to do justice to what I think is a culture and a story that I don’t think has ever really been told and never, definitely never, had justice paid to it.  Everything we think we know about the Vikings – I thought I knew loads about Vikings. Like I said, when I grew up and all of the castles and monasteries that I visited and went to ((inaudible)) farm when I was very young.  But when you start talking to Michael you start doing your own research because what Michael has done is he’s kind of really invested from the inside out and gone to Scandinavia; and looked at the sagas; and the history books; and talked to the Vikings; and, you know, Scandinavian people over there; and worked with our Historical Advisor, (Justin), and created, you know, a fact-based show that obviously is historically accurate as much as a TV show can be. You have to piece together the holes, you have to make it accessible and you have to kind of tell an entertaining and exciting story.  But, you know, the Vikings have always been the hired help, they’ve always been the raping, pillaging, murdering scum that came from the sea with their horned helmets sent from the devil himself, you know, and that’s not the story we’re trying to tell.  And I think hopefully when people watch this show they’ll have a completely different idea and perspective on an amazing culture of people, colonists and market traders and who lived in a really harsh climate and, you know, a miserable time.  And, you know, they did do questionable things. They did raid and they did colonize other countries, but we’ve never seen it from their perspective why they did it and, you know, they were living, breathing multifaceted human beings just like us.

More Press Conference Call Interview Highlights:

Q:  What did you find the most challenging about the role?

Clive Standen:  The most challenging? Well what I love about Rollo is that just like any human being he’s kind of very multifaceted and what I always look for for a character is the flipside of the coin. You know, the character seems heroic on the surface, what are his fears, what are his insecurities, what are his hopes? Just as if someone’s a villain the same thing applies.  And I think with Rollo I kind of get a free reign to kind of – to really play with the many layers that he has and that just comes from, you know, the great writing of Michael Hirst. He’s, you know, he’s a sociopath, but you never really know what’s going on behind his mind. You know, he’s capable of great things, but is he in his brother’s shadow? And it’s all of these questions that you never really quite trust Rollo, but you never really want him in the opposite corner to you. And, you know, all of these things come together and I just think it’s a fantastic character to get your teeth into as an actor. You know, it’s far more fun playing a character in the gray.

Q:  Can you tell us a bit more about your character?

Clive Standen:  Rollo is, just as Ragnar is based on a real character in Viking sagas and historical history books, he was the Duke of Normandy; he was the Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather to William the Conqueror. He is a – he’s a phenomenal fighter and warrior.  He is the brother of Ragnar Lothbrok. He’s very much the kind of – if Ragnar is the farm boy, he’d be considered the city boy. They’re brothers and they’re very close and, you know, they can’t live without each other. But as I’ve got brothers myself, you know, sometimes you don’t always like your brother; sometimes you disagree with your brother; you lock horns, but at the end of the day you’re brothers and you’re stuck with each other.  And, you know, Rollo is very different to Ragnar, you know, as where as Ragnar is very much a thinker, I mean he’s on a quest for knowledge and to escape and to rise in the Viking kingdom, Rollo is very different to that. He’s very an old school Viking, he thinks he knows what he knows and likes the way his life – he’s a hedonist, you know, and he’s a sociopath and I love him and, you know, every actor, I think, needs to love their character and I love him in his own special way.

Q:  Can you tell us a little bit about the physical training you had to go through to get in shape for the role?

Clive Standen:  Well you have to be – I’ve been sword fighting since I was 14 years old. I used to be part of a – when Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves came out at the cinemas, I grew up just up the road from Sherwood Forest, and they were looking to kind of put on a kind of stunt team of kind of full experience of walking around Sherwood Forest with tour guides and kind of live action.  And when most of my friends at that age were kind of working in shoe shops and McDonalds and things my very first paid job, way before I was into acting, was doing, you know, stunts and jousting and jumping out of trees as Wulf, Little John’s son at Sherwood Forest.  And I did a lot of Thai Boxing as well. I was – that was a very big part of my life when I was younger. And so I’ve done, you know, I’ve done a lot of horse riding; and sword fighting; and martial arts and things beforehand, but one thing I hadn’t done before I got the role of Vikings is we did a very big boot camp before we started filming to man the boats.  History were very adamant that we, as actors, would be able to sail these boats ourselves. And so every time you see the actors on the boat we’re really rowing, we’re really manning, you know, the boat, we’re sailing. And that was a very long process where we’d go out in the sea and many actors would get seasick and it was a grueling process.  But at the end of it we got to the stage where all of the marines that taught us would get off the boat and there was this one guy hiding under a sheet of tarpaulin with a walkie-talkie just so they could communicate with our actors and the cameramen and dry land.  But, you know, we got to a stage where we could sail our boat and we become – we became real Vikings. So that was something that I wasn’t prepared for and had to work really hard to achieve.  In terms of physical fitness we did lots of stuff. Johan Renck, the first director, who’s very much involved in the whole look of the show, didn’t want another muscle man. He didn’t want, you know, lots of guy’s kind of, you know, doing kind of crazy spot and training sessions and things.  He wanted Vikings to be, you know, live and sinewy and real because, you know, these were hard guys. They lived in a harsh climate and they weren’t bodybuilders. They, you know, so everything we did physically with rowing and – it was all generated to kind of try and create that kind of physic that a Viking would have.

Q:  Was there something about your character that wasn’t scripted for you that you added to the role?

Clive Standen:  Well it’s – it was very much – Michael was very good at sitting down with you. I mean I think when Rollo was originally written in the very first draft of the script he was written to be played by someone that was very much older than me.  But what’s very good with Michael is he’d sit Travis down, he’d sit myself down, he’d sit Katheryn down, he’d sit Gustaf down, and Gabriel down and sometimes sit us all down together before we started filming and talk through our characters and how we interlinked with each other and what we wanted to do and how we interpreted them.  And it’s a very good collaborative process and the crew in Ireland have been fantastic about that as well where we’ve, you know, we’ve been able to kind of put our own input into the characters.  And Michael is very good at, you know, kind of adapting and amalgamating ideas and, but he’s also very good at, you know, telling you to shut up when it’s the right time to shut up and to tell his story.  He’s got amazing vision and you don’t really question Michael’s vision because he’s often thought about lines and what your character’s done a lot more than you have. He really is that good.  But yes, you know, there’s lots of research and we’d all be coming in each day and kind of sharing our research with each other and it was a very good collaborative process.

Q:  So you have a lot of experience working in period pieces like Robin Hood and Camelot. Is there anything that you are using now, like experience or training, that is carrying over from that?

Clive Standen:  Yes I think so. I mean you learn on every job and every time you approach any character, regardless if he’s a lawyer, or a geography teacher, or a knight, or a pirate of the sea, you always have to kind of start with clean slate, you know, you have to work the canvas clean and build your character from scratch, so every character’s different.  But it’s been quite handy to kind of, you know, just to keep immersing yourself in that kind of time period and the research you do becomes a little bit easier. And, you know, to try and keep that kind of passion of keeping, you know, as accurate as possible and fighting anyone who, you know, doesn’t necessarily have the same regard.  Because I think as an actor and in a period piece you have a responsibility to kind of – especially if the character you’re playing and the society that you’re portraying is based on fact, then you have a responsibility to those people to do the best job you possibly can. So it’s made, you know, it’s given me more of a passion for kind of doing justice to things.  And what I always like to think that when you’re playing an historical person or figure that you kind of have to imagine them either in the back row of the theater or, you know, in the studio with you or, you know, maybe on the battlefield with you and you imagine that you’re playing him and you have a, you know, responsibility for kind of doing your best job of getting it right and doing him justice and it’s kind of a nice little thought to have.  It’s bit like having that angel and devil that you see in the little cartoons. You just have to imagine that, you know, the real Rollo is on, you know, your shoulder whispering into your ear and you have to kind of do him justice.

Q:  Rollo, you said, is a sociopath and he’s not a very nice guy a lot of times. Is it hard to kind of get into that mindset?

Clive Standen:  It is tough. I mean it’s, you know, we have a lot of fun on Vikings as well and it sometimes can be hard to kind of pull yourself back from that when you’ve got a day where you’re playing Rollo and Rollo’s being Rollo. But we made a bit of a joke about it. There was, you know, people were very good at giving me my own space and they’d see when I was, you know, I was having to do something and I was having to get myself in the right mind frame for it and it became known as “Clive is giving you the deadeye.” Rather than the stinkeye. You know, people would be talking to me and, you know, Tadhg Murphy, one of the actors, would come up and going, “Clive’s giving you the deadeye. You know, I think you should just move on. He’s not really listening. He’s looking right through you.” You know, and they were very good at kind of knowing – to give you that time and space to play that.  But, you know, you have to go to a very dark place to play Rollo, I think, and it sometimes is tough. And, you know, he does do some questionable things, but you do have to find a way of loving the character you’re playing to be able to, you know, to access him.  And I don’t think he’s a bad person, so to speak, I think he does very questionable things and I think many people – we do things we’re embarrassed about and we also often do things that we automatically regret and would wish we could, you know, change time and change history, but we can’t. And I like to think that he’s capable of greatness, he’s just in his brother’s shadow.

Q:  You previously described yourself as a bit of a history nut. How much research did you put into the role before you started shooting?

Clive Standen:  Well before I started shooting I mean we had a good period of time, you know, after we’d met with Michael for the first time as well and he set us on the right track. Like I said earlier, you know, there’s a lot that you think you know about Vikings and everyone, you know, thinks that they’ve read a book on Vikings or they’ve seen a film on Vikings and I had to really kind of completely, you know, like I said, wipe the slate clean and sort of start from scratch.  And Michael is very good at giving us a shedload of revision and books to read to set us in the right direction. And then obviously as an actor you choose to run with that and do as much research as you want, or do as little research as you want.  And I just all through filming, right up until, you know, the last day, I’d be annoying people on set and the crew just telling them about more stuff that I’d found out. I never stopped learning and I think that’s a good lesson in life is never stop learning and never stop, you know, questioning.  And yes I’m still doing research now and I’m still finding out things. You know, just the other day I was finding out about how in Iceland they were – the way they used to use the moss that would collect the iron ores and they would put it in a kiln and burn the moss away and be left with raw iron so they could make weapons with it.  And I’m always, I’m always learning and I’m just obsessed with just taking in new facts, new information, reading new books, watching documentaries and, you know, the more you’ve got there the more of an arsenal you’ve got if you ever need it for a scene.  You know, there’s been some fantastic facts that we’ve learned through this about, you know, Vikings, for instance, would never throw their fingernails away because they believed that Ragnarok when Floki would come back as Floki, I’m getting mixed up with character, it’s Loki would come back, he would come on a boat made of human fingernails. So if you were throwing your fingernails away you were kind of helping Loki build his boat.  So your Vikings would often, if they were to bite their fingernails or cut their fingernails, they would put them in this locket on their neck or they would throw them in the fire and make sure that they weren’t, you know, flicked idly on the floor. And if you watch closely you might see Gustaf doing something with his fingernails.  But there’s, you know, there’s this plethora of stuff out there and it’s just such a massive world. And I think with Series 1 we really are just hitting the, you know, the tip of the iceberg of Michael Hirst vision for it. You know, there’s so many amazing characters in these sagas, you know, (Ivan) (Larongness), who hasn’t yet to make an appearance and, you know, there’s (Hospan) and, you know, you can go right up to the end, especially in Britain with Alfred the Great, there’s all sorts of stuff.  And, you know, Michael has a massive, massive Bible that he calls, he calls it the Bible, the Viking Bible, of the, you know, the ideas and the storylines and where he wants to take the show over maybe five or six seasons, so we’ll see. But, you know, all I can say is that if you like Series 1, you know, we’re just getting started.

Q:  So you said that during your training regimen you did a lot of rowing, but what was your diet like?

Clive Standen: What’s so great about our cast is we’re very eclectic. You know, I think, you know, when you’re approaching a drama based on Vikings if you have, you know, if you’re kind of taking that train of thought where you think Vikings are all just kind of raping, pillaging, you know, mass murderers then it would be very easy to cast, you know, very alpha male type actors that, you know, are more concerned about pumping iron than acting.  And, you know, that would be a very unhappy place on set and I think what’s so great about our cast and the way we all gelled as a family is we are so eclectic and I think that shows in the characters, you know, ranging from Floki, and Rollo, and (Dragna) and Torstein, and, you know, Leif and Arne.  You know, they’re all so different and, you know, it’s exciting to be a part of that to have, you know, to have living, breathing characters, three-dimensional characters, rather than, you know, just murdering barbarians that don’t seem to have, you know, any backstory or, you know, any layers. So I mean, but I haven’t been to a gym myself in two years. Anyway I strongly believe that you should – everything that comes from, you know, physicality should be something that’s enjoyed and something that’s, you know, that you, you know, if it’s cardio, for instance, you know, you don’t go running on a running machine, you get out there and you run, you know, and you play sports and you rock climb, or whatever it is you do, the diving for me.  But I do have, you know, kettle bells, and I have resistance bands, and I have a Power Plate, which I use now and again. And so I think it’s – but with Vikings it was very much that. It was onset we’ve had resistance bands and things. We’d – it was – we’d having rowing machines. We would row, we would do – I mean most – we’d do handstands, or I would do handstand pushups, because it’s obviously about your shoulders and the strength in your shoulders for the rowing and things.  But we didn’t really have any kind of, you know, massive chaos training regime that some shows adopt because it was, you know, it was about creating real people rather than, you know, bodybuilders.  Yes I did eat like a Viking. I was – yes we – it was very funny when we first arrived and Ashford Studios, it’s a brand new studio, it’s all solar powered and wind powered and it’s all state-of-the-art and we were the first people to film there.  But the canteen, you know, they kind of – they did fill it up with lots of chips and all sorts of food that was the kind of food that was great for the crew out in the cold, but the kind of thing that would send you to sleep.  So yes we very quickly got the menu changed a lot sooner, lots of protein and lots of chicken and things like that. So we ate a lot, but we ate very healthily because it was all about just keeping that kind of, you know, sinewy kind of, you know, tough, you know, hard, weathered body.

Q:  Do you have a particular favorite moment or scene that stands out in your mind?

Clive Standen:  Many, I mean the whole experience it was – I mean week in, week out we’d have something that was a challenge or just a joy to be a part of. I mean a lot of the boat stuff was fantastic. We, because like I said earlier, we had to learn to do it, so you get a great, you know, sense of pride out of actually kind of being able to feel that you can sail it yourself and we all had different jobs on the boat, you know, manning the rigging, you know, rowing, you know actually sailing the boat.  And some of those scenes you’re just going out in the open ocean and the lakes. And we had one particular scene where the mist was rising off the sea, rising off the lake, and it was like being in Apocalypse Now or something. It was – you could have been sailing down, you know, Cambodia or something like that with the amount of mist so you couldn’t see what was in the trees. We also had a load of night shoots, which were a lot of fun to film, grueling and tough. Me and Travis had a really – I mean he’s a bit of a practical joker and we were always, you know, one upping each other and it was a lot of fun filming with Travis. And we made this stupid pact that we had a night shoot on the boat on what they call a gimbal, which is we have a real long boat that we can sail and man in the oceans and the lakes, but we also have one on a gimbal, which a hydraulic machine that can throw the boat from left to right, backwards and forwards to simulate waves. And they have gigantic what looked like skate ramps attached to the side of it, maybe four or five on each side, with diggers and dumper trucks full of water that which on queue would dump the water, which would cascade onto the ramps and fire onto the boat and drench you. I mean it was at 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 in the morning. It was ice cold and the water was ice cold. And Travis and I made a pact that we got offered if we would wear wetsuits underneath our costumes to keep us warm and we decided that we were going to be real Vikings and we didn’t need wetsuits.  And we thought we would get through the whole night shoot with wearing just like one thin layer of leather. So that was fun and grueling and tough, but it was a big bonding time for me and Travis, I think, because we were in it together.  And after you’ve done take one and you can hear that click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click of the dumper truck about to dump the water on you and you know what’s going to come and holding onto a rope trying to seem like you’re a seafaring tough Viking and getting thrown halfway across the boat. And the gimbal itself is about 10 foot up in the air as well and outside of the boat is just concrete, so if you go overboard you’re going to know about it. But it was fun and there were days like that all of the time where you just feel like, you know, it’s tough, it’s grueling, but you get, you know, you get up at 4:00 in the morning, you get home at 9:00 at night and you’ve achieved something and you feel exhausted, but you wouldn’t give up your place for anything in the world. You know, and we have that motto that if, you know, if you’re going to complain about something, if you’re having a bad day then you signed onto the wrong job because you know what’s going to come with the show and it’s fun, you know, but if you’re not cutout for it then shut up.

Q:  You described Rollo as being a sociopath, but also spoke of enjoying having to play the character because he is so multifaceted. Did you draw any influence from any other television shows or movies to help you kind of craft that character?

Clive Standen:  Not so to speak. I mean I had lot of conversations with Johan, the director at the beginning, about different characters that he’d seen that he, you know, there’s certain things that (Michael) ((inaudible)) does in shame, which inspired me.  But no, I mean I did a lot of research on sociopaths, and psychopaths, and behavioral things. I can’t think of any character that I based it on. I mean are you looking for an answer, which is kind of he’s half Hans Solo, he’s half this, but no I can’t think of anyone that I, you know, it’s, you know, I think I – just certain places. And, yes, there was conversations that we had, you know, Johan and myself, but there was one thing that we, I think I’ve just talked about it.  But there was one thing that we – I put on my mirror so I could see it every morning before I got into costume, which I think sums Rollo up quite well, which is everybody wants to be loved, and if they can’t be loved then they want to be admired, and if they can’t be admired then they’re willing to be feared, and if they can’t be feared then they’ll be hated. And I think that’s kind of quite a prominent thing that kind of stuck out to me that I kind of put in my – put on my mirror to kind of remind me of each day.

Q:  Was there instant chemistry when you began working with the cast or did it take a bit of time for it all to gel?

Clive Standen:  No there weren’t – they put us all up in a hotel together, which is in the middle of nowhere. I mean we were filming in the Wicklow mountains and Dublin, you know, is the biggest city around there, but they put us nowhere near Dublin City Center, so we were stuck for about two weeks kind of literally living out of each other’s rooms and having our kind of communal space in the hotel where we’d all kind of get to know each other. And we, you know, to be fair we all really hit it off. We’re all kind of a very similar age and we all come from different backgrounds and, like I said, we’re all very eclectic. You know, on paper we shouldn’t all get on, but yes there is no competition, there’s no, you know, there’s no bad thoughts.  And, you know, I’ve been really privileged to be a part of this cast with these guys because they really are a band of brothers to me now and, you know, I’m including (Alysa) and Katheryn in that as well.  We, you know, it’s quite special. I’ve done shows before where, you know, you do turn up to work and you love your job, but you don’t necessarily have to get on with everybody, but it’s not the case in Vikings. And I think hopefully that chemistry comes across onscreen because, you know, we are, you know, Travis is a very good leading man. He’s a very good, you know, he’s very good at playing practical jokes and if that’s what needs be to kind of lighten the atmosphere. I’ve got many stories, but I’ll leave him to tell them to you, it’s not my place.  And, you know, and Gabriel, as well, is a very inspiring actor to work with and very easy to work with, very accommodating and very kind. And I’ve never really had the experience I’ve had on any other show really. And that’s to be said that, you know, this show is a show that I am – I would be excited about watching even if I wasn’t in it.

Q:  Can you talk about filming in Ireland?

Clive Standen:  Ireland is the most amazing and incredible place to film. It really is very similar to the, you know, the Norwegian fjords, the lakes that they’ve got there, and the vistas are just incredible.  But it’s not just, I mean the landscape is fantastic, but what’s so special about filming in Ireland is the crew and it really is. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. The crew that I worked with in Ireland, and I was very lucky enough to work with quite a lot of them on Camelot as well, which was also filmed in Ireland, they’ve done five years of Tudors together; they’ve done a season of Camelot together; they’ve done Vikings together. They’re like a family and they’re very good at bringing, you know, the kind of foreign actors in and making us feel a part of that family.  And they’re brilliant at what they do. I mean, you know, when you’ve done seven years of all working together on different period dramas, you know, they really know what they’re doing. And when you get out there in the field and are on the top of a mountain or, you know, on the front of the seafront, they’re just so well gelled together that it makes your job a privilege and, you know, so easy running.

Clive’s closing remarks:

Clive Standen:  Well I’m really proud of the show. Like I said, it’s – I would be – from the beginning it was a very long process for me to become a part of the Vikings. I really chased this job. When I was working on Camelot I was lucky enough to find out from Morgan O’Sullivan, who was one of the executive producers on Camelot, that Michael was working on this and he’d been working on it for a very long time. It was a bit of a pet project of his.  And at that time they were looking for a collaborator and they were looking at different channels and networks to go into partnership with, but I was lucky enough to read the first two scripts and even at that point, which is a long, long time ago, way before we were into pre-production, it was special and Michael is a very special writer.  And I think when History came onboard as the channel there’s no better channel for this to be on. I mean they really have built – spent a long time building up a core audience that expects, you know, some kind of historical accuracy and they have that to uphold.  And I think with this script to draw on, especially after the Hatfield and McCoy’s, which I thought was excellent, they really are the best channel to have this show on. It’s visceral, it’s gritty, it’s epic on scale and I think sort of maybe when you first start watching it you probably won’t even know what you’re looking at, but you won’t be able to stop looking at it and it’s exciting.  And I don’t think this is a story that’s ever been told before and I can’t wait for people to see it. And I hope that people enjoy it because I really want to come back and do some more.

“Rites of Passage” begins with victory and a vision. It sets the tone for what is to come. Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and his brother, Rollo (Clive Standen), demonstrate their skills and prove that they are true warriors. The ravens take their place amongst the remains of war. This is just the beginning of the awe-inspiring visuals that you will see throughout the series. Ragnar and Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) usher their children into adulthood by teaching them how to provide for themselves. Lagertha has reservations.

Earl Haraldson (Gabriel Byrne) presides over a meeting where he rules on criminal offenses and where they should set sail. Ragnar has other ideas that are met with resistance. He has “something that will change everything.” He also seems to have the answers to everything. Just ask Rollo.

You will learn about the rules and the laws that govern the Vikings and the price that they must pay for disobedience. Ragnar looks to another for advice but doesn’t get the help that he was looking for. Perhaps the answer lies within the proper question?

We meet one of my favorite characters, Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård), who enjoys spending his time lurking in the forest fondling the curvaceous trees. Ragnar refers to Floki as “shy.” Floki takes his shipbuilding seriously. You will fall in love with Floki.

Lagertha and Rollo definitely have some issues to work out. Rollo should know better than to mess with a powerful shield maiden. They excelled by casting the beautiful and strong Katheryn Winnick as Lagertha. She does a phenomenal job holding her own against the men.

This series has everything. The beauty is in the intricate details of the storytelling. Watch Vikings if you want to escape and join the quest for knowledge and adventure. It is a superb series that gets more intense each week. Next week, one of my other favorite characters Athelstan, played by the exceptionally talented George Blagden, is introduced. You do not want to miss a single episode of this remarkable series premiering tonight on History at 10.

Lena:  You’re having a great year between Les Misérables and now Vikings.

George Blagden:  I am, thank you.  I’ve been extremely lucky and I’ve loved every second of it.

Lena:  I absolutely love Vikings.  I saw the first five episodes and it’s a visually stunning masterpiece.

George Blagden:  Thank you.  You’ve seen more than me.  I’ve not seen any of them and I can’t wait.  I can’t wait until Sunday.

Lena:  We don’t get to meet your character, Athelstan, until the end of the second episode but when he finally comes in, and we get to know him, he really adds another level of humanity to the series.

George Blagden:  Thank you.  I think what Michael Hirst was trying to show with Athelstan, what he’s trying to do with Athelstan, is that he really is supposed to be the eyes of the audience.  He’s the one character in the piece that the modern western society can relate to, or that they are nearest to, if you like.   Hopefully, as the viewers watch more episodes and they discover more about the Vikings culture that they get to learn all the new and exciting things about the Vikings through Athelstan’s eyes.  I think he is that kind of audience’s friend.  If you’ve seen the first five episodes, I’m sure you’ll agree that there are quite a lot of surprising human aspects to the Vikings that I think a lot of people will be surprised about as well.  We really tried to show that the Vikings weren’t this psychopathic race of barbarians, and that they fall in love like we do nowadays.  I don’t know.  What do you think?

Lena:  I definitely agree and they even tried to include your character in on the love aspect of it.  [Laughing.]

George Blagden:  [Laughing.]  Yes, they do.  That was actually the first scene that I filmed on the whole series, that scene that you are referring to.  When Ragnar (Travis Fimmel) and Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) proposition Athelstan.  It was slightly terrifying having a half-naked Katheryn Winnick and Travis Fimmel opposite you.  [Laughing.]

Lena:  Can you talk about what it’s like to portray such a meaningful character, and what you did to prepare for your role?

George Blagden:  Firstly, I absolutely loved playing Athelstan.  He’s such a gift of a character for an actor to play.   When you have a character that has such a big arc in the first series, and you only got to see half way through, but the journey that his character goes on is just amazing.  To be able to play a character like that by Michael, it is such a gift.  You can only have fun with something like that, I think.  I think when I first got to Ireland, Michael asked me where I went to school and I said that, “I went to boarding school at age seven.”  He said, “That is so perfect for Athelstan.  Athelstan has grown up, from as a young boy, in this completely isolated monastery on the island and I want you to bring as much of you as possible to the role.”  You know, in comparison to something like Grantaire, which I had just been filming in Les Misérables, which is so far away from me.  I’m not a drunken womanizer.  [Laughing.]  So to be able to come in to a role where the director and writer are saying, you know, really, please just bring yourself to the role; it’s actually quite hard.  Sometimes it is easier to play roles that are quite far removed from who you are, and to turn up every day and bring as much of George possible to a role is actually quite challenging and revealing as well.   In terms of research, as well, I actually asked if I could go to Lindisfarne and I spent a couple of days in our pre-production weeks on the island and it’s amazing if you’ve not been, the landscape, and it really is a mile out to sea.  It’s very similar to The Woman in Black with Daniel Radcliffe.  It’s just one of the islands that you can only get to across these mud flaps with a causeway so when the tide goes out you have to rush across the mud flaps so you can drive across them.  In 793 AD, these monks would have to wait until the tide starts going out and then peg it across to this island and people would often drown.  It was a very dangerous place to get to and once you were there it was very isolating.  Just being there and soaking up the atmosphere was quite exciting and I think it helped a lot with that initial raid that we filmed in episode two, that terrifying life-changing raid for Athelstan.

Lena:  Did you actually shave your head?

George Blagden:  I did actually shave my head. [Laughing.]  To be honest, I would not have had it any other way.  Beforehand, it was quite a daunting thing to think about, having to shave the top of your head.  Actually, as soon as I had it done I immediately started noticing the result of it.  I remember coming back to London, after I had the haircut, and walking around and young guys would walk past in groups and would shout at me, “ Alright mate, you look like an absolute dickhead.” [Laughing.]  I kind of thought that they don’t know that I’m an actor and that I’ve had this done for a role.  I could have been recovering from brain surgery or something.  It was, kind of, really useful when we started filming all of the sequences where Athelstan is brought into this Viking culture because everyone starts laughing at him and at his appearance.  I was actually getting to experience that as George in London or Dublin, you know.  [Laughing.]   It was really great having it done for real.  It really helped with the character.

Lena:  I was wondering about that because you can see stubble growing in and I didn’t think it was some kind of hairpiece (or a lack of) but I figured I would ask.  Way to commit.

George Blagden:  It was the hardest challenge, apparently, for the hair department was keeping my hair, the continuity of my hair.   In episodic television you don’t film everything in sequence.  You jump back and shoot episode four and then you go back to episode one, you know, so jumping around the length of my head stubble was a really interesting challenge.  They had this kind of black hair powder that stuck like static.  I can’t really describe it; it was genius.  You put it on and you pass this static bar over it and it kind of stands up on your head, and it really does look like stubble.  It was genius.  Yeah, it was a big challenge for the hair department, my shaved circle.  [Laughing.]

Lena:  I’ve heard that Travis is a prankster so can you share a funny story from the set?

George Blagden:  Oh, goodness.  I know that you’ve talked to some of the other cast members so they’ve probably told you all the stories but every day there would be something new.  You know, with Travis Fimmel every day you never knew what you were going to get.  Everyone had to be on their toes, and not just the actors, the crew and camera teams; he would go in and mess up what they were doing.  It was all in the spirit of having a laugh.  I guess you’ve heard the story of him filling up someone’s car with hay and putting a couple of chickens inside the car.  He got in to kind of a prank war with one of the other actors called Jefferson Hall, who plays Torstein.  The prank started small and then they got to the stage where and when I say filled I mean from the bottom footwell in the front driver’s seat to the roof at the boot full of hay with chickens in amongst the hay.  It was quite something when he came out and found his car turned in to an animal farm.  [Laughing.]

Lena:  [Laughing.]  Oh, those wacky Australians.  [One of the reasons why I adore Aussies. I’ve never been around one that hasn’t made me laugh until I cried.]

George Blagden:  Oh, yeah.  He’s amazing, Mr. Fimmel. We love Mr. Fimmel.

Lena:  Did you get to keep the leash?

George Blagden:  [Laughing.]  You know, I didn’t actually.  I really wish I could but they are kind of quite tight on being able to keep stuff because on any kind of set in episodic television where you would want to keep stuff Vikings was the one.  I mean, if we started saying I want to keep that for a souvenir axes would be gone, swords would be gone.  Could you imagine them allowing you to keep props on the Vikings set?  Everything would disappear.  [Laughing.]  It’s all so cool.  I was glad to get that rope off.  It didn’t feel great being on a rope.

Lena:  What was your experience like filming the scenes on the boat?

George Blagden:  I don’t know what everyone else has said but the boat was actually built in Eastern Europe the way that the Vikings would have built it.  You could not get more authentic.  It was shipped to Ireland in our first month of filming.  No one really knew if it would work.  [Laughing.]  Genuinely, in the scene where they fill this boat and set sail and you see Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård) get overly excited because his boat actually works, that was for real.  It had never been on water before so you didn’t know whether it was actually going to float or not.   It really did and then some.  It was amazing.  I remember standing on the pier in Loch Dan in the Wicklow Mountains and getting on to this boat and sailing off and thinking, I remember thinking back to when I was fifteen, or something, when Pirates of the Caribbean came out and I just remember seeing scenes and thinking if I could get to film something where I’m on a pier getting on to a boat sailing out to the sea…  I just stood there thinking oh my god; I’m getting on a Viking ship and sailing down a lake.  It’s just amazing.  It’s a boy’s dream really.

Lena:  Were there any injuries?

George Blagden:  Some of the filming, they put the boat in a green screen studio on like, I’ve forgotten what they call it, it’s like a simulator kind of arm thing that can make the boat rock from side-to-side and forward and back.  I don’t know if any of the other cast members talked about it but they had these big, kind of, water cannons above it that would spray the boat and we would all get drenched.  I don’t think anyone got injured but quite a few people may have lost all of the feeling in all of their fingers and toes.  [Laughing.]  It was freezing.  It was just a lot of fun really.  I just love all that stuff.  I love it.  It was like a Disneyland ride for me.

Lena:  Was that one of the most enjoyable parts of filming the show?

George Blagden:  Yeah, one of the most enjoyable parts is one that I’m not allowed to tell you about I just realized, sorry.  Towards the end of the series there is a lot of kind of exciting adventures that go on and I think for Athelstan he really is sort of the slave and the outsider towards the start of the series but by the end he gets to have a bit more fun, shall we say.  Maybe come back and ask me again in a month or something?  [Laughing.]  You can come back and ask me the same question.

Lena:  I do really love what they do with your character because he starts off as the outsider and then we discover that there is some common ground.

George Blagden:  Yeah, I think his whole world is turned upside down and his initial sort of outlook on life is all about survival, it’s all about getting through the next day because he doesn’t know these aliens to him, that’s what they are to him, he doesn’t know if they are going to cut his head off.  It’s really about surviving and then when he realizes that he’s actually getting through the next day and survival is not the main priority, it’s about how he has to integrate himself within the society.  There are moments when he loses himself and starts having fun with them and actually enjoys being in their company and them enjoying him being in their company.  It’s a really nice, very slow, but very nice journey that he goes on that I can’t wait for people to see.  I’m hoping that when they watch the last episode that some people might want to go back to the first episode and watch the show again.  I want people to go back and say about Athelstan, “Oh my god, is that the same man.  I can’t believe that that is where he ended up.”  You know what I mean?  Hopefully, that’s what Michael and I have done with him.  We’ll see.  [Laughing.]

Lena:  Yes!  You guys did an amazing job.  I really can’t talk up the series enough.

George Blagden:  Thank you.