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Steve Lund as Nick Sorrentino in the Bitten episode "Prodigal." Photo copyright of Syfy.
There is no denying that werewolves have had a bad rep since the early days of black and white feature films. Hairy, howling and usually boasting a bad disposition, these creatures of the night hung out under the full moon just waiting to put the bite – no pun intended – on some innocent passerby. These nocturnal beasts have since been given quite a makeover, including in the TV series Bitten. Its werewolves are depicted as realistic wolves – beautiful animals that while just as dangerous as their fictional ancestors, manage to keep their killer instincts in-check, unless they are pushed to the edge. It took a bit of time, but actor Steve Lund finally succeeded in joining the Bitten pack when landing the role of Nick Sorrentino.
“I first heard about Bitten when I was down in Los Angeles for a couple of months last year,” recalls the Canadian-born Lund. “It was one of the first projects that I auditioned for when I got there, and I initially went in for the part of Clay. Several months later I discovered why I didn’t get the role as soon as I looked upon the man that is Greyston Holt. I completely understood why they [the show’s producers] didn’t go with me for that part, but I did get a callback for it, which was pretty cool. That’s when I started to do a lot of research into the entire Bitten storyline and kind of got hooked on all the material they had put together in a package for each of the auditions.
“Once I heard I didn’t get the job I moved on to other things. I had actually flown back to Toronto from Los Angeles to shoot an episode of [the TV series] Beauty and the Beast, and when I returned to LA, my agent called to tell me that I was being considered for another of the lead roles in Bitten. She asked me, ‘Can you drive to Toronto in three days?’ I said, ‘I guess crazier things have been done.’ I packed up the car and hit the road. I slept in my car for maybe a couple of hours a night, and the rest of the time was spent on Route 66. I made it to Toronto in time for the audition and read three times for the Nick role, each of which I had to take my shirt off for,” he jokes, “so in-between auditions I was pumping out pushups like a madman. A short time later, I got a call telling me I had the job, so I think it was all meant to be.”
(L-R): Jeremy Danvers (Greg Bryk), Nick Sorrentino (Steve Lund), Clayton Danvers (Greyston Holt) and Elena Michaels (Laura Vandervoort) in "Grief." Photo copyright of SPACE.
Based on a novel of the same name and the first in The Women of the Otherworld series by author Kelley Armstrong, Bitten stars Laura Vandevoort as Elena Michaels, the only female werewolf in existence. Having spent a year in Toronto trying to a make a new life for herself while also trying to repress her true animal nature, she receives a phone call from her pack leader, Jeremy Danvers (Greg Bryk). A rogue werewolf (or mutt) is murdering humans on land near the Danvers’ ancestral home of Stonehaven and needs to be found and stopped. In the series opener, (Summons), Jeremy calls the entire pack home to assist in the hunt, including their best tracker, Elena. When Nick Sorrentino (Lund) got his call, he was in the middle of doing something that he probably hated to leave.
“My first day on the Bitten set was quite a rewarding one for me as an actor and my character,” says Lund. “I just remember being very scantily clad in front of an entire crew of strangers that I knew I was going to spend the next five months with. I couldn’t have asked for a more ideal icebreaker than to be standing there in very limited clothing, shaking everyone’s hands and getting to know them. That was definitely a memorable first moment for me on-set.
“Brad Turner directed both episodes one and two [Prodigal] and we block-shot them, which means we jumped back and forth between filming those two episodes from day to day depending on locations and things like that. It’s funny looking back now and seeing moments onscreen where, for instance, I’m hugging Greg, who plays Jeremy, as if I hadn’t seen him in a very long time and he’s someone I’ve known my entire life. In reality I’d just met him two hours prior on-set. Looking back on scenes like that it’s pretty interesting to see where the friendships are now versus where they were at back then. It feels like such a long time ago, but at the same time it feels like yesterday. So the first two episodes have a very special place in my heart.”
Nick Sorrentino (Steve Lund) in "Grief." Photo copyright of SPACE.
Despite having to leave in the middle of what appeared to be for him something very pleasurable, Nick had no hesitation answering Jeremy’s request to return home. While he may like doing his own thing, he knows that his loyalties lie with his pack. “Nick has clearly grown up looking up to Jeremy,” notes Lund. “With Clay [Jeremy’s adopted son] running around and Nick’s father Antonio [Paulino Nunes] doing his own thing, Jeremy and Nick find themselves together quite a bit in the show’s first season. They share a very special bond and almost become like brothers, but there’s this Alpha and Beta sort of dynamic between them too. Jeremy takes my character under his wing in a really caring way, and Nick becomes much more involved in the day-to-day dealings of the pack than he ever was before.
“Nick actually has a very nice story arc in the first season,” continues the actor. “For those who aren’t familiar with the storyline, you’ll see him confronted with very impactful and monumental adversity and how he’s forced to sort of grow up in a very short time and assume a different responsibility than he’s ever had before. Nick is described as someone who’s not always taken so seriously, and I don’t think he has a problem with that so much until it comes time for him to step up to the plate. He really wants to prove himself as a reliable werewolf who will do anything to get the job done and fight to the death to preserve the pack. That’s a really neat journey to watch this man go on.”
In rejoining the pack, Nick gets to rekindle some old friendships. “He and Elena have a really good relationship,” says Lund. “They have sort of a brother/sister-type dynamic I guess you could say. There’s some playful teasing and a lot of fun back and forth banter. He’s very much there for Elena and kind of idolizes her in certain ways. So there’s a wonderful chemistry between the two of them, and Nick completely understands the importance of Elena’s role within the pack.
Nick Sorrentino (Steve Lund) and Antonio Sorrentino (Paulino Nunes) in "Prodigal." Photo copyright of SPACE.
“As far as Nick and Clay, in my character’s eyes, Clay can do no wrong. They’re best friends and nothing will ever change that. There’s an undying love for one another, and I can only empathize with his scenario in terms of the love that he has for Elena and how he can feel it slipping away at times and the guilt that he lives with.”
What types of acting challenges did Lund encounter when first stepping into his Bitten alter ego? “Well, we joke about the fact that Nick isn’t much of a stretch for me,” he says with a chuckle. “It felt like I was able to sink into the role fairly quickly. Nick is a fun guy and likes to have a lot of fun as well. He certainly enjoys the fruits of life and I think that’s something I would say about myself, too.
“In terms of specific challenges, playing a werewolf generally is tricky for an actor. There’s a unique intensity that you have to try to achieve, and any sort of supernatural storyline brings with it a variety of challenges. For me, this was my first time doing stunt work to any great degree. So that was difficult for me, trying to make that stuff look realistic when I’m this pretty lanky guy who only knows how to fight with hockey skates on.
Jeremy Danvers (Greg Bryk) and Nick Sorrentino (Steve Lund) in "Grief." Photo copyright of SPACE.
“There was a fight sequence I did with Laura in episode two that was the most fun I’d ever had on-set. It was pretty awesome and I’m really pleased with how it turned out. We worked very hard at it and used every spare moment we had to rehearse. This was my first fight, so I was really nervous. Of course I didn’t want to hurt Laura because I probably would have been fired on the spot, but I was also intimidated by her. She has a martial arts background and literally kicked my ass and sort of showed me up at first. So there was this healthy competition between the two of us for a while, but I really think she got the upper hand onscreen as well as during rehearsals. We had a ball doing that sequence, though, and all the action stuff we did throughout the first season was a big thrill for me. We were very lucky in that our fight coordinator, John Stead, is an amazing, generous, compassionate and extremely caring person. His attention to detail trickles down throughout the entire cast and crew. John taught me everything he could in a short period of time, and I still wear my scars and bruises with pride.”
In addition to exercising his physical prowess as Nick, the actor also had the opportunity to further tone his acting muscles. “Episode seven is a big one for me as an actor and the first time that I had to do something that intense in front of the camera,” explains Lund. “I’d done some work like that before back in theatre school, but this was a whole new stage for me. I was able to get the material in advance and set aside every spare moment possible to work towards getting to the emotional place that I needed to be for episode seven, and it even sort of carries on in episodes eight and nine. I worked tirelessly at it and I think we got some pretty nice moments.”
From the time he was a child, Lund dreamt of performing in front of a crowd, but his chosen performance platform changed when he grew older. “I wanted to be an actor since I was two years old,” he says. “Then I sprouted like a weed and my father put a hockey stick in my hand. That was that for many years, and it looked like professional hockey was the direction that my life was going to take. However, when I was 19 years old I suffered a few very serious concussions and was warned by doctors that I should never play hockey again. That dream of being an actor, which never really died but rather just sort of sat simmering on the backburner, suddenly came to the forefront. I jumped at the opportunity to go to school and I guess the rest is history.”
Actor Steve Lund.
Lund made his professional debut playing one of the leads in the 2011 web series Yukonic! In which his character is one of two friends and Vancouver film makers who trek to Canada’s Yukon in search of gold treasure to fund their next film project. While working on this series, the actor first crossed paths with someone who he would later be working with on Bitten.
“Daegen Fryklind, the creator of and an executive producer on Bitten, was also an executive producer as well as a head writer on Yukonic!,” says the actor. “When I walked into the audition room and found out she was involved with Bitten I got really excited. There were so many little things like that, though, with Bitten that clicked for me, and like I said earlier, I could almost tell that this was meant for me.
“Yukonic! was the highlight of my life at that point. It was my first acting gig ever, and an opportunity to travel as well as work on an independent-type of production. It was a passion project for so many people and it taught me a great deal about the industry and how soulful it can be. It was a really nice first impression and first glimpse into this business and I’m extremely thankful for that, not to mention all the camera time that I had and all the fun stuff that we did. I couldn’t have asked for a better first job.”
Steve Lund as Nick Sorrentino in Bitten. Photo copyright of SPACE.
Alphas, Being Erica, Blue Mountain State, Lost Girl, Hemlock Grove and Defiance are among the actor’s TV credits. He also played the role of James Cogan/The Colorado Kid in multiple episodes of the Syfy channel series Haven. “That was an amazing opportunity,” he enthuses. “Haven was my first recurring role and was sort of the next milestone to achieve on my resume. They filmed in my home province of Nova Scotia, and I got to travel home in the summertime, which, of course, is the most beautiful time of the year, and enjoy the coastal town of Chester. I worked with one of the friendliest casts and crews, including Laura Vandervoort, who played my onscreen wife. So that was quite the treat.”
There is no denying that the entertainment industry is a tough one to break into, and even once you get a proverbial foot in the door, you have to persevere, especially when jobs are scarce. “I’ve always maintained that finding the small victories along the way is how you progress and stay positive in this business,” muses Lund. “It’s also important to understand that if your journey hasn’t been as fruitful as you want it to be, that you need to stay the course. You need to be patient, stay active and continuing learning as well as progressing and absorbing as much as possible so you can be ready for the times when the phone does ring.
“Even the merit that can be found in delivering a good performance in the audition room can be fuel enough for me, at least, to want to keep going. Obviously it’s fantastic when you get a job; the paycheck is nice and so is the recognition and the fact that you get to work with other actors is wonderful as opposed to just driving yourself crazy acting opposite yourself in the mirror. This industry has a lot of benevolence to it. There are quite a few people who are willing to be there for you, coach you or lend you some advice. To be open and receptive to that is the only way to continue and learn, and I think I’ve been lucky enough to recognize and identify when those instances come for me.”
Steve Eramo
Bitten airs on Canada's SPACE Channel on Saturdays @ 9:00 p.m. EST/PST and in the States on Mondays @ 8:00 p.m. EST/PST. As noted above, all Bitten photos copyright of SPACE or Syfy, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) pops the question to Rosalee (Bree Turner) in the Grimm episode "The Wild Hunt." Photo copyright of NBC.
On the hit NBC supernatural crime drama Grimm, the good guys are (usually) the humans, and the bad guys (usually) belong to a race of creatures called Wesen. Like most things in life, though, there are exceptions. Our heroes have encountered some not-so-nice human beings, while not all Wesen are out to cause mayhem and commit murder. Monroe and his fiancée Rosalee Calvert are among the latter. A Weider Blutbad and a Fuchsbau, they are members of the Wesen community who help the program’s resident Grimm, Detective Nick Burkhardt, in his battle to keep the dark forces that threaten humankind at bay.
Using their knowledge of the Wesen along with the various herbs, potions, powders and ancient texts from Rosalee’s spice shop, they have saved not only Nick’s life more than once, but also the lives of other innocent humans as well as Wesen. In the show’s (current) third season, Monroe and Rosalee have become engaged and will soon be planning their nuptials. Being the first Wesen wedding in TV history, it will be anyone’s guess what will be involved. Needless to say it will unlikely be a smooth sailing to the altar, but that is to be expected on Grimm.
Last week, actors Silas Weir Mitchell (Monroe) and Bree Turner (Rosalee) spent some time on the phone with me and other journalists to talk about their characters and navigating the Wesen world. The following is an edited version of our Q&A. Enjoy!
Can you both talk a bit about filming the scene (in the episode “The Wild Hunt”) where Monroe proposes to Rosalee, and have they (the producers) talked with you about how they will eventually do a wedding or anything like that?
Bree Turner: That whole episode was super fun to shoot. We packed a lot into it, from the actual night of the proposal and getting engaged to Monroe’s parents arriving at his house in the end. It's a really big episode, but the proposal scene itself was adorable, fun and silly to shoot.
Slias Weir Mitchell: As soon as you think everything is fine, the parents show up and it gets extremely difficult. But yes, the shooting of that scene was really fun. I mean, it's fun to watch this imaginary life unfold, and the way that it happens is so sort of unique.
BT: I feel like what's been enjoyable about exploring Monroe’s and Rosalee’s relationship is that there's been just this very truthful consistency right from the beginning about who these characters are and how they treat each other and handle these different moments in their relationship. I think the proposal is such a pure, touching and honest moment and very much in the vein of who these characters are.
SWM: There’s a rich interracial kind of vein with Monroe and Rosalee becoming a couple and that the writers are going to mine, but this is, after all, still Grimm. As sweet as this relationship is – and it totally is - what I like about what the writers do is that they allow for the show’s complexity and darkness to come out as well, do you know what I mean?
I wanted to touch upon last week's episode (“The Good Soldier”) where Monroe and Rosalee visit Rosalee's mother and sister. Could you talk a bit about filming that episode and what that was like for both of you?
BT: Well, the whole dinner scene with Rosalee’s mom and sister took place in one day, so it was a very long 18-hour day out in Hillsborough (Oregon) and it was exhausting.
SWM: Yes, that was a big day.
BT: It was a biggie, and there was a lot of emotional stuff going on for Rosalee, and so, again, I think exhausted would be the word I would use by the end of that day.
SWM: That was like the most awkward dinner in the history of man. Monroe felt bad for Rosalee to be in a situation where there’s so much tension between her and her sister. That was hard, especially because I think there's a great deal of truth to that familial dynamic. So I felt the awkwardness as well as the love.
Can you also talk about the Christmas episode (“Twelve Days of Krampus”) that explores a bit of Rosalee’s past and her feelings about that particular holiday?
SWM: Be honest now. Do you really want to know how one person could put all those Christmas decorations up and/or take them down in one night (he jokes)?
BT: Rosalee must have been morphed out when she did that because only a fox could gather and put together everything that quickly (she jokes).
SWM: A bottle of wine, a couple of morphs, no problem.
BT: Every time I walk onto our set, and this is not an exaggeration, I'm blown away by what our construction and set design teams can pull together so quickly with no time between (episode) turnover.
SWM: Yes, it's really amazing what the art department can do. So much of the show has to do with its look, and those guys are incredible.
BT: So there was not a lot of acting needed when I walked on the set with the house being decorated as it was because it was truly like Christmas “threw-up” (in Monroe’s living room), so I didn't really have to pretend about it. But as I mentioned earlier, what's been enjoyable to me about the arc of Monroe’s and Rosalee’s relationship this season is that it’s been a complicated, real and very adult relationship. I think it's been really fun that an adult late-30's couple is being portrayed onscreen as opposed to the high drama of your 20's or silliness of your teens. It's these two people who've lived a very full and complicated life coming together and finding harmony.It's not a straight path, it's a twisted one, but there's always respect and love, and you get to see how they deal with the complexities of their relationship.
Silas, you certainly have a talent for playing the lighter side of your character as well as the seriousness surrounding a mixed Wesen relationship/marriage. What has that been like for you?
SWM: From the inside it's just these two interesting people trying to figure something out. So whatever the story demands, whether it's the sort of awkwardness of a proposal or the seriousness of a fight with your parents, that's where I go. What's nice about the show is the writers use a lot of bandwidth as far as the emotional vicissitudes, which are pretty great, and that's what makes it fun.
BT: With Grimm as a whole, there are funny and serious moments as well as the fantasy elements, procedural drama, etc., and we flow in and out of all these spaces when we're creating the world within each episode. I think what Silas is saying is that as actors, we're not trying to be serious, funny, comedic or dramatic. It's just about living as truthfully as possible in this world we've created, and as we’re honoring that, the sort of comedic moments just naturally emerge and you respond to them because they're just truthful.
The two of you have really nice onscreen chemistry together; what do you like about working with each other?
SMW: I can't stand her (he jokes).
BT: He's such a pig (she jokes). No, seriously, I love Silas, especially his big heart. He's a sweetheart of a man and also a true professional to work with. I think from day one I knew it was going to be a very cool journey with Silas because he's all in 100% and brings so much to the character as well as to the script that's not even necessarily down on paper. It's just very exciting and fun to work with him; that's how I feel.
SWM: That's such a lovely thing for you to say about me, Bree. For me, working with Bree is delightful because she’s all in,too. There's no bullshit or fussiness with her. Bree is interested in the honesty of the story, and when you work with actors who are interested in the honesty and truth of it, then you look at him or her and they're playing the same game as you, so you're both on the same field. It's not like you're trying to play badminton and the other person is bowling.
With Bree, I really feel like we're on the same team. That’s true of the whole cast, which is what makes Grimm sort of special in my heart above anything I've done before, the fact that we're all on the same team and playing on the same field. Bree and I we know that we can trust each other and we're both playing the same fun game. That's really a delight. It makes it a joy to go to set when you're all playing the same game.
BT: Thanks, Silas. That was nice.
SWM: Well, it’s the truth, Bree.
What do you guys think of the fact that your characters are really sort of the normal ones and sort of the grounding for the other characters on the show? Do you find that sort of odd or ironic or what do you think about that?
SWM: That's a good question.
BT: I think Wesen know history in a very different way than non-Wesen, and maybe what you're saying is the grounding is coming from experience and being around for a long time. I just think there's a lot of historical weight that comes with being a Wesen that non-Wesen maybe don't quite understand, I guess.
SWM: Yes, I would totally agree with that, and just back it up with the idea of I think there's a sense of worldliness to our story where Wesen actually know how the world works. The non-Wesen are looking at the world in a certain way, and the history they’re witnessing or reading about is actually a whitewashed version of what most Wesen know to be true. So I think the anchoring element is exactly what Bree was saying; there's an historical element to it as well as a kind of, “we know the truth.” There's a wisdom to it, like, for example, Hitler supposedly wasn't just Hitler, which we’ve seen on the show.
What is it about your character that you each love?
BT: Well, I love Rosalee's compassion. She's dealt with a lot of complications in her life and is someone who comes from a very fractured family and a lot of sadness. What I think has been a very cool journey from the introduction of Rosalee to now is that when she came on the scene, she was a person who did not understand her strength and light. Rosalee comes from a family of healers and apothecaries and is the one who’s the most gifted in this world, but was the most fearful of her talents.
I think her choosing to hide out was a way to escape the responsibility of who she is and the true strengths inside herself. In coming back to Portland and befriending Nick (David Giuntoli) and meeting Monroe, it's been a journey of reinforcing her confidence as a healer and an apothecary. Last season was her understanding her strengths and talents and owning them as well as opening up her heart and finding love again and trusting another person.
What I think has been really fun about season three is her going back to the struggle that she was dealing with in terms of her relationship with Monroe and allowing another person to really understand who she truly is and not being able to hide from those issues anymore. Rosalee is such a beautiful spirit and embraces her complications and is very quiet and still about them now in this new phase of her life. I think that takes a lot of bravery and trust, which I see as being very cool. Jeez, Louise, that's a very long-winded answer to a very short question.
SWM: That was so intense. I see Rosalee in a whole new light now, and it's a beautiful warm, glowing kind of safe light.
BT: Can you add some things?
SWM: I cannot. What would I add to that? Talk about gilding the lily, I have nothing to add.
BT: No, no, no, about what you like about Monroe?
SMW: Oh, you know, we've all heard what I think about Monroe a thousand times. If it’s just a matter of what I like about him, then I will go talking on for another hour-and-a-half because I love living inside that man's head. I can tell you that he has a deep fear of pickled vegetables. Even though he’s a vegan, it's that vinegar thing that freaks Monroe out. That's something that nobody has known about him until now.
Bree, I'm really enjoying the developing relationship now that Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) is part of the Scooby Gang, Are we going to see more of that the rest of the season as it plays out?
BT: Yes, definitely. We just did a standalone web series that's going to air around Valentine's Day that focuses on Juliette and Rosalee and their friendship. It's really fun and playful and a bit of a departure in tone from the show but we had a great time. We kind of got to express all our girliness that we can't really quite do in the world of Grimm.
As noted above, photo copyright of NBC, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
Peter Capaldi as The Twelfth Doctor! Photo copyright of the BBC.
A brand-new era of Doctor Who begins as the Time Lord dons a new look. Each incarnation of the Doctor has his own original style, and BBC America has just released the first photo of the Twelfth Doctor’s costume. Sporting a dark blue Crombie coat with red lining, dark blue trousers, a white shirt as well as black Doc Marten shoes, the look was created by Doctor Who costume designer Howard Burden. Commenting on his costume, Peter Capaldi said: “He's woven the future from the cloth of the past. Simple, stark, and back to basics. No frills, no scarf, no messing, just 100 per cent Rebel Time Lord.” While lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat added: “New Doctor, new era, and of course new clothes. Monsters of the universe, the vacation is over - Capaldi is suited and booted and coming to get you!” This new look will be featured in the series when Doctor Who returns to BBC America later this year. Filming on the upcoming season, which also stars Jenna Coleman (Death Comes to Pemberley) as companion Clara, is currently underway in Cardiff.
As noted above, photo copyright of the BBC, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
Mark Ryan as Gates in Black Sails. Photo copyright of STARZ.
From the English countryside to New York’s Carnegie Hall and even the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral – these are just a few of the places that the long and distinguished career of actor/writer/swordmaster/fight director Mark Ryan has taken him to in pursuit of his craft. He can next be seen sailing the high seas onboard a pirate ship as Quartermaster Gates in the highly-anticipated STARZ Channel period drama Black Sails. His role in this project came about as a result of his previous involvement in a popular feature film franchise.
“I’d worked on the Transformers movies with Michael Bay [who is also an executive producer on Black Sails], and when this role came up, he thought of me,” says Ryan. “The Gates character is very much the inner voice of the show and part of the audience’s eye-view of the politics as well as chemistry amongst the characters. I think they wanted a character not unlike the one of Jetfire that I voiced in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. That character was in the middle of all the action but could also explain the history of everything going on.
“When I met with Jon Steinberg [Black Sails executive producer/writer and co-creator] here in Los Angeles, we had a really good talk about the show and Gates. I understood the character and the quartermaster’s political position onboard a pirate ship in those days, part of which had to do with my past in the military and serving onboard warships.
“The rapport between what they now call on some ships the captain’s purser, or the quartermaster, and the crew is the political nexus point between the crew and the captain. Contrary to a lot of folklore, it was a very democratic system onboard a pirate ship. The crew voted in the quartermaster, the bosun and the captain, and if they didn’t like them, they could vote them out. The system wasn’t just one of, ‘OK, I’m the captain, so therefore you do what I say.’ Don’t forget, these are all guys who were rebelling against British rule, so it needed to be done in a way that would please everybody onboard, and that is played throughout the storyline of Black Sails.”
L-R: Billy Bones (Tom Hopper), Captain Flint (Toby Stephens), Gates (Mark Ryan) and John Silver (Luke Arnold). Photo copyright of STARZ.
Set in the mid-18 century and 20 years prior to the classic tale Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, Black Sails follows the adventures of Captain Flint (Toby Stephens), the smartest and most feared pirate of his day, who takes on a young and ambitious addition to his crew named John Silver (Luke Arnold). Together they and the rest of Flint’s men fight to maintain the existence of New Providence Island, the most colorful and infamous criminal refuge of the time. It provides a “safe” harbor for pirates, prostitutes, thieves, fortune seekers and others of questionable repute who are looking to make a life for themselves in a place where the conventional rules of society do not necessarily apply. Taking the leap into such a world was an exciting prospect for Ryan.
“We filmed our episodes out of order, as most TV series and big films do, and I say this because Black Sails is an evolution in television drama,” explains the actor. “I think it’s much more significant as far as what it stands for in television and film drama than just another series. During the course of filming, I said, ‘You know, we’re filming an eight-hour movie here,’ because the scale of this production is probably one of the biggest that has ever been mounted, not just for STARZ but for television drama as a whole.
“The sets, the number of extras and stuntmen, the props, everything is just bigger than most of your sort of medium-sized film productions. They built two full-scale gunboats, and the gun decks, cargo holds and even the captain’s cabin were all on gimbles so that they could rock as if we were really at sea. I looked at this and thought, ‘This is quite unique and is going to be a landmark in television history,’ because they took the production values of a Michael Bay-type film and put them into a television series.
“When we first started shooting, Toby Stephens and I, whose characters are like the yin and yang of the moral stories that run through the first episode, formed quite a strong bond. The two of us did a lot of theatre in London’s West End and spent a great deal of time working in other film and television areas, so we got on very well. Toby and I share a similar sense of humor and gave each other a tremendous amount of support, all of which reads onscreen. In fact, the producers came to me and asked, ‘Did you guys know each other before this? It looks like you’ve been friends for years.’ It was just one of those things where the chemistry was immediate, and what cemented it was that sense of humor. So for me, right from the beginning, I said to myself, ‘This is going to be great.’”
L-R: John Silver (Luke Arnold), Gates (Mark Ryan) and Captain Flint (Toby Stephens). Photo copyright of STARZ.
As season one of Black Sails unfolds, Ryan delighted in watching his character grow and develop as Gates reacted to the various situations and those around him. “As you will see as the story progress, and in no way am I complaining, Toby and I had very complex styles of sequences to do,” he says. “I have to be careful what I say as not to spoil things, but we had some scenes that were maybe eight pages long. There was one where I had an almost two-minute monologue. The [acting] challenge was therefore trying to anchor that process into the making of a TV show so that it remained true to the character as well as the story’s overall throughline, which I have to say wasn’t difficult.
“Before filming began, I thought a lot about the character and did my research in order to get into the part. So I’d already sort of locked that down in my head, which meant when the scripts began to arrive, it wasn’t hard for me to read them and think, ‘OK, this is how my character reacts.’ It was very clearly defined in my psyche as far as who this individual was, what they brought to the show, and what their position was in the chemistry as well as the politics of the story that we were creating on these boats.
“I understood very clearly who Gates was, where his morality lay, why he was where he was, and why people trusted him. He’s a very wily character and extremely loyal. He’s also a very straight type of character in many ways and sort of profoundly anchored in the reality of fairness and, again, loyalty. Gates realizes that in order to hold onto the support of the crew, you have to appear to be evenhanded. Despite being one of Flint’s oldest and most trusted allies and friends, he still has to be seen to be fair and tries his best to do so.
“Again, I’d have to say because of Jon Steinberg’s and Robert Levine’s [series co-creator/executive producer] writing, they had already mapped out these storylines in intricate detail,” continues Ryan. “By that I mean each of our characters has a backstory and storyline that is worked out psychologically as far as what drives them and what gets them from A to B. We had, I think, three or four scripts when we arrived to work that first week, and reading the first one we discovered it was really the anchor point for this whole thing. When Jessica Parker Kennedy [Max], Zach McGowan [Captain Charles Vane] and I were at Comic-Con last year, we restated this. On the very first cast readthrough of the first script, we all stood around afterwards and said, ‘Wow, this is really well-played out.’ Each character had a very individual and distinctive voice in that reading.
Mark Ryan at Black Sails event.
“So it was a pleasure to then read the next script and the next and the next and think, ‘Yeah, I get it. I know why he’s doing that and I know where he’s going.’ I couldn’t wait to get a new script and find out what was coming next. You know, this is the kind of job that comes along once in a lifetime. Gates is a gift of a part and a milestone. It’s one of those roles where if you had asked me what would I like to be playing at your age and at this stage of your career, this would be it.”
Ryan is in a slight quandary when asked if he has a favorite scene from season one of Black Sails. “It’s difficult because I genuinely enjoyed the entire experience,” he reveals. “In the first episode there are three scenes that I really enjoyed, including one where Gates is explaining to Flint why the crew is about to vote him out and that there was a page missing from the log. That was really the establishment of the sense of humor between these two where Gates is continually almost nagging at him. Gates is like, ‘I suppose you have some sort of explanation for this. What are we going to do?’ He then goes on to say to Flint, ‘I know you’re lying and you expect me to go along with you. OK then, are we agreeing to do this?' There’s that element of humor in those types of scenes between Toby and I that are just a joy to play.
“Another scene I especially enjoyed doing was with Hannah New [Eleanor], where Gates is basically going to ask her character for money. You have to see the first episode to understand why, but that was a great scene to play because it called for a different range of emotions. One of the neat things for me with Gates is that I get to play a wide range of emotions that actors rarely get to play in a single production. I get to be funny, bossy, conniving and violent as well as getting to play the sense of loss, fear and drama that comes in living and battling on a pirate boat. So I was extremely lucky and grateful to be given the opportunity to bring out all these aspects of this character.”
L-R: Captain Flint (Toby Stephens), Billy Bones (Tom Hopper) and Gates (Mark Ryan). Photo copyright of STARZ.
Born in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, the actor’s first foray into the entertainment industry was through music. “That was a large part of my life – including while growing up – doing stage plays and musicals,” recalls Ryan. “I always knew, though, that I would eventually have to make the transition to ‘straight’ acting. I was being offered more musical work in London’s West End, but I realized that if I didn’t do something of a straight film or television nature, I would be typecast as a musical performer, and I didn’t want that. I also didn’t want to be just an actor, and I don’t mean that to sound disparaging about the acting profession. It’s just that I wanted to flex my ambitions in a whole range of things, including the literary field, which I’ve done by writing books and comic books. I wanted to work behind the camera as well, and I’ve ended up doing that as a swordmaster and fight director.
“So I’ve been very fortunate to have had the chance to do all types of things. My father, who was a musician and singer during World War II after he left the RAF [Royal Air Force], always encouraged me, as did the rest of my family. However, I think it was a long shot for them, a bricklayer’s son from Doncaster making a career and living out of this strange business we call the entertainment industry. I’m sure my father wanted me to have something else to fall back on, but as it happened I was quite lucky. When I went to London I got the chance to do a show calling Being in the West End, and that was followed by Evita. So it was one of those things that once the die had been cast, I had the opportunity to follow it to the full extent. My father once said to me, ‘I don’t care what you do, just as long as you give 110% to anything that you try.’ So I’ve always done that and been dedicated to trying to be the best that I can be in that situation and not limit myself by my own fears.
“When it comes to acting in front of the camera, while I was still up in Yorkshire working the clubs and singing at various festivals, I wound up doing a lot of extra work for Granada Television in Manchester and Yorkshire Television on shows like Coronation Street, Crown Court and Emmerdale Farm. I learned a lot as a young man about being on-set and how things function. My big break, I suppose, after Evita, was [the 1982 feature film] Who Dares Wins, where I got to do scenes opposite Judy Davis, Richard Widmark and a number of other famous folks, including [the late] Lewis Collins, who played the lead. Ian Sharpe, who directed the movie, saw me in a West End play and that’s how I ended up playing Mac in Who Dares Wins, which is called The Final Option here in the States. Ian was very much instrumental in subsequently casting me in Robin of Sherwood.”
The Phantom of the Opera, First Knight, Evita, Special Ops: Delta Force, The Prestige and Transformers: Dark of the Moon are among Ryan’s later feature film credits. His other TV work includes roles on such series as Dempsey and Makepeace, William Tell, Peak Practice, The Bill, JAG, Alias, Community and the aforementioned Robin of Sherwood, in which he played the regular role of Nasir.
Mark Ryan as Nasir in Robin Hood.
“That was another situation like Black Sails where you could bring something to a character that the writers were willing to let you explore and personify,” notes the actor. “With Gates I’ve brought a little bit of personal stuff to that role, including esoteric things regarding the tattoos on the back of my head and hands. It’s all about personalizing it and bringing some of your own experiences to your performance. That’s what acting is; it’s reaching into all these little corners of your psyche and thinking, ‘Oh, I felt like that in this situation or that situation and had to manage it in a sensitive or sometimes forceful way.’
“With Robin of Sherwood, Richard Carpenter [series creator/writer] contacted me and said, ‘I don’t really know yet what we’re going to do with your character. We’ll work it out, but do you have any ideas.’ I told him that I had just been reading about The Crusade and the Knights Templar as well as The Order of Assassins, and would like to somehow work that in and make it a part of Nasir’s background, which they did.”
In addition to Black Sails, the actor’s fans can look forward to more of his work in the upcoming Transformers: Age of Extinction. “Once again it was exciting to be working with Michael Bay. We always have a laugh and good fun,” enthuses Ryan. “He’s a very ambitious and dynamic filmmaker. I have no doubt that this movie is going to be as big if not bigger than Dark of the Moon, which was absolutely monstrous. This is my fourth source of interaction with the Transformers and it was just as thrilling and interesting as the last three.
“Again, I have been extremely lucky. On Dark of the Moon I got to stand on Launch Pad 39-A right next to the Space Shuttle Endeavor before it took off on its last flight. NASA workers were coming up to me and saying, ‘After this one launches, this is all going to be demolished.’ Michael came down at one point to sit next to me on the launch pad. He said, ‘Isn’t this the coolest thing,’ and I said, ‘Yes, it is.’ It’s easy to be blasé about this kind of stuff, but for me to talk to the NASA guys who worked on all these space programs and just literally being on that hallowed ground was a tremendous honor.”
Actor Mark Ryan.
Sometimes a single person can affect how another individual looks at a part of their life. That happened to Ryan, and since then it is something that he has taken with him and passes on to others whenever possible.
“When I was doing Evita I was walking through Soho one day and I saw this man walking towards me,” says the actor. “It was Anthony Hopkins, and this was in 1980 before Silence of the Lambs. Obviously I couldn’t just go up and say hello to him, but as I passed him on the pavement I tapped him on the shoulder and said, ‘You don’t know me, but I’m doing a show around the corner. I just wanted to tell you that, for me, you are the greatest actor of your generation.’
“For the next 15 or 20 minutes, Anthony Hopkins stood in a rainy Wardour Street talking to me about the difference between stage and screen acting. He said it’s all about stillness. He said stage acting is about communicating with a live audience and sometimes in order to get an audiences’ attention you have to pull it externally from the outside in, whereas screen acting is all about inside out. You have to be able to thought-process what the eyes are doing to tell the story. I carried that with me into Who Dares Wins and my scene with Judy Davis, and subsequently into Robin of Sherwood where I virtually had no dialogue at all in three years of the show. It was all done by stillness and being able to project what’s going on from the inside out.
“So that was all down to Sir Anthony Hopkins, and it’s his kindness that I try to pay forward. I love talking with the fans. I’ve actually been told off for spending too much time with fans, but if anyone has a question I’ll answer it as intelligently and coherently as I can. You never know when something you say to someone is going to resonate with him or her for the rest of their lives. Robin of Sherwood still has a following today because it resonates with people in a certain way, and I am totally unashamed of saying that I love that show. I have friendships from it which I have kept for 30 years, including Ray Winstone, Jason Connery and Clive Mantle. We’re still close friends to this day. That’s one of the gifts that I’ve taken with me from Black Sails, and I know these people are going to be friends of mine for the rest of my life,” says Ryan.
Steve Eramo
Black Sails premieres Saturday, January 25th @ 9:00 p.m. EST/PST on STARZ. As noted above, all Black Sails photos copyright of STARZ, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
A 15-minute presentation Game of Thrones Ice and Fire: A Foreshadowing will debut Sunday, February 9th @ 8:45 p.m. EST/PST, exclusively on HBO, just before the debut of a new episode of True Detective. Offering a look back and a look forward to the fourth season of the hit HBO series, the show features clips from upcoming episodes, behind-the-scenes-footage, interviews with talent, and cast members’ answers to questions posed by fans.
(L-R): Richard "Ritchie" Gecko (Zane Holtz) and his brother Seth Gecko (D.J. Cotrona) as they famously take over Benny's World of Liquor. Photo copyright of the El Rey Network.
Two new images have been released today from the Austin, TX set of From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, featuring the series’ leads, D.J. Cotrona (Dear John, G.I. Joe: Retaliation) and Zane Holtz (Holes, The Perks of Being a Wallflower) who play the notorious Gecko brothers from the cult-classic film of the same name, and Eiza González (Lola: Érase Una Vez) who recreates the role of Santánico Pandemonium, credited for launching Salma Hayek’s film career.
Based on the thrill-ride film, the supernatural crime saga is centered around bank robber, Seth Gecko (Cotrona) and his violent, unpredictable brother, Richard “Richie” Gecko (Holtz), who are wanted by the FBI and Texas Rangers Earl McGraw (Don Johnson) and Freddie Gonzalez (Jesse Garcia) after a bank heist leaves several people dead. The series, created and executive produced by network Founder and Chairman, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, will premiere on El Rey Network, Tuesday, March 11th at 9pm ET/PT.
Ritchie Gecko (Zane Holtz) and Santanico Pandemonium (Eiza Gonzalez). Photo copyright of the El Rey Network.
Based on the thrill-ride film, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series is a supernatural crime saga centered around bank robber, Seth Gecko (Cotrona) and his violent, unpredictable brother, Richard “Richie” Gecko (Holtz), who are wanted by the FBI and Texas Rangers Earl McGraw (Johnson) and Freddie Gonzalez (Garcia) after a bank heist leaves several people dead. While on the run to Mexico, Seth and Richie encounter former pastor Jacob Fuller (Robert Patrick) and his family, whom they take hostage. Using the family RV to cross the border, chaos ensues when the group detours to a strip club that is populated by vampires. They are forced to fight until dawn in order to get out alive. The series deepens the tone and expands the storyline of the film, adds new characters and backstories, and explores the Mesoamerican mythology behind the creatures inside the club.
From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series is an El Rey Network production in association with FactoryMade Ventures. Executive producers are Robert Rodriguez, Carlos Coto (who is also showrunner) and FactoryMade Ventures and El Rey Network co-founders John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa. Diego Gutierrez is writer and co-executive producer. Robert Rodriguez will direct the first, second and fourth episodes.
As noted above, photos copyright of the El Rey Network, so please no unauthrozied copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
