spn family

 

 

If you steer clear of people with yellow eyes, call your car Baby, or recognize the value of salt in places other than the kitchen, chances are good that you’re fan of the series “Supernatural.” And if you are, you know that the Winchester brothers have had their fair share of friends and family come into their lives throughout the course of the show’s first 13 seasons, though none have left an impact quite like Sheriff Jody Mills. Now the maternal ass-kicking ally, portrayed perfectly by Kim Rhodes, is on the verge of spearheading her own spinoff series, “Wayward Sisters,” which viewers will get a taste of tonight when “Supernatural” returns to The CW following its mid-season hiatus.

We recently sat down with Rhodes to discuss her “Supernatural” road so far, the power and magic of the fandom, and what she’s most excited to explore with Jody in the new series.

TrunkSpace: “The road so far…” is a popular phrase associated with the series. Could you have ever expected that your “Supernatural” road would lead you here today, on the verge of your own spin-off series, “Wayward Sisters?”
Rhodes: I was so grateful every single second on that set. It never occurred to me to wish for more. And then when people started whispering, “Wouldn’t this be a good spin-off? Wouldn’t this be…” like, in my darkest heart there was a tiny little flicker of, “Yes, please! Please! I want to do this forever!”

But really, no expectation. No belief. I am astonished and I have no idea how this happened, with the exception of a group of powerful, vibrant, unbelievably joyous fans that were like, “No, no, no. We’d like this. Look what we can do.”

TrunkSpace: Obviously the fandom is very strong, but to be able to have a creative say and help a network venture towards a particular idea or concept is a very rare thing.
Rhodes: I’ve never heard of it happening before. Ever. Now, “Supernatural” has a very unique relationship with its fans. I remember being on a different show, and they actually said, “You’re here because of your fandom. We want to know how to do that with our show too.” I was like, “You can’t.”

I think the magic of “Supernatural” and the relationship with the fans, it cannot be recreated, because you can’t tell people what to do. This is the other thing. The fans are all individuals. It’s not a hive mind. You can’t just feed it. It is not a foregone conclusion that this spinoff will go. Because you can’t just seed somebody something and say, “Here, we call this ‘Supernatural,’” and have them say, “Yes, we love this.” They’re smart. They’re opinionated. They’re vocal. And they’re powerful. And it all comes from different ways of expressing love for the show “Supernatural” and for themselves and their own relationships and place in that. It’s pretty miraculous.

TrunkSpace: And because of that, it is called the SPN Family for a reason. They’re not afraid to say what they love and they’re not afraid to speak up when they don’t love something, but even then, it comes from a place of love.
Rhodes: It is, in all aspects, a family. I was talking to somebody else and I was like, “You know, nobody pushes your buttons like your family because they installed them.” It’s very easy for fans to be passive in this world, because nothing’s expected of them. But the “Supernatural” fandom expects a lot of itself, and they are passionate. I love that. It makes me identify. I’m like, “Yep, you’re me, I’m you! Yes!”

TrunkSpace: We know creatively the table has been set for “Wayward Sisters” throughout the course of the season, but this week’s episode really serves to put viewers at that table. Are you experiencing any sort of nerves in terms of how it will be received by the fandom?
Rhodes: You know how Holly Hunter cried in “Broadcast News?”

TrunkSpace: Yeah.
Rhodes: There you go. That’s me. I was fortunate enough to have four episodes on a completely different show, playing a completely different character. I’ve been on “Criminal Minds” for the last couple months, and it kept me distracted. Today is the first day I’m not on “Criminal Minds.” I was like, “Oh, maybe I’m not completely okay. Maybe I’m just repressing all of the terror and hope I’ve ever felt in my entire life that has culminated in this moment.” Yeah, that’s far more likely is that I’ve just been repressing it.

TrunkSpace: Would you say tonally that tonight’s episode of “Supernatural” is going to be representative of what “Wayward Sisters” will become?
Rhodes: Boy, I wish I could answer that. I don’t know. They haven’t told me anything because they know I don’t keep secrets well. That said, what is definitely indicative of everything they’ve said they want is how high the bar is set. We didn’t cut corners as actors. We didn’t cut corners with storytelling. It is brutal. The fights are hard, the work was tough. We trained, all of us, trained. Both physically and with weapons. The bar was set high. I can safely say that should this go to series, we will only keep raising the bar for ourselves. We want to exceed the fans’ expectations. And their expectations are pretty damn high.

TrunkSpace: That’s the thing. Sometimes expectations can be a blessing and a curse, because people are excited but at the same time they have their own set ways of what they envision something will be.
Rhodes: Yes. Now that is definitely something we are aware of. I had said before, I would like to say again, give it a chance. Just because you don’t see all of your expectations met in one episode doesn’t mean we aren’t laying the groundwork, particularly in terms of representation. “Wayward Sisters” has really opened up the number of voices and perspectives that the stories are being told from. Within that, if you don’t look at something and go, “Oh, well they forgot this…” Maybe not. You can’t eat the entire meal in the first bite.

TrunkSpace: Yeah, it’s not a movie. It’s not an hour and a half. It’s a long journey.
Rhodes: Yeah. And also, you’ve seen the episode so you know what I mean when I say there’s probably going to be a moment when the fans feel a little betrayed. When they’re going to be like, “Wait a minute, you did it again to us?”

TrunkSpace: Right.
Rhodes: Just hang on. And that’s going to be my motto for the entire journey, is just hang on. Just hang on. You think you know. You don’t know. Just hang on.

TrunkSpace: Obviously you’ve seen the character Jody grow over the course of your time on the series. What are you most excited about from a character’s journey in terms of what we could possibly see her go through over the course of her own series?
Rhodes: I am so excited to see Jody make some mistakes, and watch other people have to clean up her mess. Jody’s been pretty on-target so far, because that’s how she’s served the show. We know she’s made mistakes, but we haven’t needed to watch any of them because that wasn’t pushing the storyline of “Supernatural” forward. I would like to think that within “Wayward Sisters” Jody’s going to make mistakes. And she’s going to have to learn some stuff, which is hard as a senior member of a group. Because a lot of my identity as a person when I’m in a situation like that is, “Oh yeah, I got this. Let me tell you how to get this.” And Jody’s going to have to realize that she ain’t always got it and she’s going to have to learn from the girls around her. I’m looking forward to seeing what she learns from them.

TrunkSpace: Jody’s always been very supportive of Claire, Alex, and Patience in terms of them taking on the responsibilities of being Hunters, but as she becomes more invested in the group and as dangers increase, do you think she’ll have second thoughts about that?
Rhodes: I think that’s always going to be with her. I think that’s definitely a note to her, because she’s experienced loss at the hands of the supernatural. And really, nobody else has lost the kinds of things that she’s lost. Jody is the one who’s painfully aware of what’s at stake in this kind of life and so she’s always going to have to struggle to allow people to be who they need to be, to fight the fight that needs to be fought.

TrunkSpace: She’s taken these girls under her wing at a time when they needed her, but we would imagine that Jody needs them just as much, if not more given those holes left to be filled in her personal life?
Rhodes: Well, I also think for me, I prefer to phrase it not so much filling the hole – because those holes have unique shapes and nothing will ever fill them – but to remember that someone’s capacity to love, and I have personally experienced some pretty traumatic losses in my life, the loss will never be replaced. But the love continues to be expressed when I choose to love someone else. And love myself. I think that is something that Jody is aware of. She’s never going to replace her husband and her son. However, being of service and finding hope again is the best thing she can do for their memory. And those girls give her both of those things. She can love again, and she can hope again, because those girls are in her life.

TrunkSpace: Finally, Kim, you sort of touched on this at the start of our chat… how grateful you were to be on the set each and every time you got the call. Everybody we have spoken to who has been involved in the series or who has worked on the series, they all have that same point of view, which is that they genuinely love the experience and being a part of this universe. Having been in this industry for as long you have, is that rare? Because it seems pretty rare from an outside perspective.
Rhodes: Do you believe in love at first sight?

TrunkSpace: Actually, yeah.
Rhodes: Have you experienced it?

TrunkSpace: Yes.
Rhodes: That’s pretty fucking rare isn’t it?

TrunkSpace: It is.
Rhodes: It’s like that. It exists. People who have never experienced think it’s a myth. People who have experienced it know how precious it is and how rare it is. It’s magic.

“Supernatural” returns tonight on The CW.

Being a child of the 1980s, A.J. Buckley grew up playing with G.I. Joe action figures, so it comes as no surprise that his inner child is gung-ho about getting to portray a gun-toting soldier with swagger on the hit CBS series “SEAL Team.” As the cowboy Sonny Quinn, Buckley has ventured far away – in a Black Hawk helicopter no less – from those previous characters who thrust him into the spotlight, including Ghostfacer Ed Zeddmore from the long-running genre series “Supernatural,” which he hopes to one day find some narrative closure with.

We recently sat down with Buckley to discuss dreams come true, beard functionality, and why the SPN Family needs to Tweet out #bringthefacersback.

TrunkSpace: You’re in your early 40s, which means you were a kid when “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” took off in the ‘80s. What would eight-year-old A.J. think if he was told his future self would get to play an on-camera G.I. Joe one day?
Buckley: I would play for hours and hours with G.I. Joe. Me and my cousin, Alex, had pretty much every one of them. All the tanks, every character – I was obsessed with it. And as a boy running around the neighbourhood playing guns, and reading a few red dot sight reviews on sites like Sniper Country! I was doing all that sort of stuff was really part of my childhood, so this in a sense is every little boy’s dream. I get to show up to work and fly around in Black Hawk helicopters and shoot big guns and blow things up. It’s a dream job, it really is.

TrunkSpace: Is it one of those things where you show up on set and there’s a new set piece or prop and you get just as excited as you did on your first day?
Buckley: Oh, without a doubt, and we haven’t even touched half of it. I got to drive on top of a Hummer firing a 50-cal and blowing things up. I got to shoot live rounds out of it. Not during the filming, but just to understand what it felt like to shoot a live round. My character carries all the big guns, so it’s really fun to show up and they hand me the gun and a big pack of ammo and I just unload on something. I don’t know how I ended up so lucky but there’s not a day that I don’t drive to set thinking, “Holy shit, this is the greatest job in the world!”

TrunkSpace: And you get to have a beard, which is pretty awesome for an on-camera gig!
Buckley: Yeah, it’s true. Last season it was a little more crazy because when Navy Seals deploy – our tech advisor for the Seals said that you don’t shave at all. You don’t cut your hair and you don’t shave. One, to blend in, but two, it’s sort of like a badge of honor to how long you’ve been there. So depending on how long your hair is and how long your beard is, it shows the length of time that you’ve been over there.

We went, I think, seven months without shaving once… any sort of trim or haircut. And my hair and my beard were so long that my daughter… one night she had put a LEGO person in my beard and I totally forgot about it. I got to set the next day and the lady’s combing my beard and she was like, “What is that?” And I reached into my beard and it was a little LEGO person.

TrunkSpace: It’s like a wallet!
Buckley: It was a long beard. I found toothpicks in there too. We’d be on the Black Hawk and my character would have a toothpick. Because you’re all geared up; it’s hard to reach into your pocket, so I would just put them inside my beard and then if I lost one I would just pull one out of my beard. It was very useful.

TrunkSpace: You mentioned having the Navy Seals as advisors. How important was it having access to them to sort of not only secure the realism of the series, but to understand who Sonny was?
Buckley: We would 100 percent not be the show that we are if it wasn’t for the men and women that are veterans on our show, who have now become producers or veteran writers, or are behind the camera or in various different departments on the show. They were so full of advice, even on what to do if we ever wanted to go into the navy ourselves; they recommended Long Beach jones act lawyer for example, because apparently you need a specialist who deals with maritime law which is totally different than land law! I wonder if that will ever come in handy to me. Sixty percent of our crew are veterans and they’ve gone out of their way to do that, so there’s a real sense of pride in the show that we’re making. And I feel that with our executive producer, Chris Chulack, he sort of set the tone that said we want to have the authenticity of what these guys do. Although we’re making a TV show, we want to be as authentic as possible. And our veterans on the show, our tech advisor producers, they have the ability – which never happens – that if a guest director is shooting something or any director is shooting something and if it’s not the way that we would move or it’s not the way that we would do it, the veteran has the ability to step in and say, “Cut.”

TrunkSpace: You mentioned the love of coming to set, but what is it about Sonny himself that you’ve enjoyed throughout these first two seasons?
Buckley: He’s a real cowboy. It’s such a fun character. I’ve never played a role like this before. There’s a guy that my character’s loosely based on, and I got to spend some time with him and he’s got this kind of swagger to him, this cowboy, and he’s got the one liners and sort of that dry sense of humor. He’s a fun, whiskey-drinking, beer-drinking, red meat-eating cowboy that kicks some ass. It’s kind of a dream role for any guy.

TrunkSpace: Did it come with a bit of pressure when you first signed on, knowing that he was specifically written for you?
Buckley: Yeah. Ben Cavell, the writer of the first season, when I spoke to him he had said, “I wrote this with you in mind for the character.” And knowing that this is based on a real group of guys and that they’re with you every day on set, yeah, there is a certain amount of pressure. But I like the pressure because it keeps everybody on their toes and it’s our responsibility to portray this group of men and women in a certain light… and portray them right by giving them the respect that we should and honoring them in that way, so it’s a good thing.

TrunkSpace: You’ve played a lot of diverse characters over the course of your career… guys with different internal ways of thinking. Was that a conscious decision… trying to keep each new role different from the previous one you portrayed?
Buckley: I think so. I would say more in the second part of my career. I always like to find each character I get to kind of push the envelope or create something that’s really different from who I am. Coming off of “CSI: New York” and “Supernatural” – I was a regular on “CSI: New York” and a recurring on “Supernatural” – I was fearful when the show ended that I was going to be typecast. And for me, my favorite character growing up was John McClane, that sort of every man that can do the impossible. And that’s where I wanted my career to go, so I really had to put the time in and shift gears in the sense of being laser focused on the roles that I choose, and physically how I looked. It became really a nine to five job where I had to hire a nutritionist, Kevin Libby, to really dial in sort of who I was and the characters I wanted to start portraying.

TrunkSpace: Was part of that physical transformation an extension of getting executives and casting people to see you in a different light?
Buckley: Yeah, it was. And I think it was for me, too. I needed to feel that way, to kind of get there. In a sense you kind of become the character a little bit or whoever this idea you have… it’s obvious if you’re a superhero or an action hero, you’ve got a good chance of working, and pudgy little dad bod wasn’t going to cut it. So I said, “Fuck it!” and I just decided that I was going to put everything I had into it, and in a sense, manifesting this next chapter.

TrunkSpace: We had read that your “Supernatural” character, Ed Zeddmore, was one of your favorite characters that you’ve ever played. What would Dean Winchester think of Ed if he showed up all jacked? Dean’s such an alpha male, how would that play out?
Buckley: He’d be terrified. (Laughter)

I always thought it’d be really funny because the Ghostfacers are the longest living characters. And Travis Wester, my partner on that, on Ghostfacers, who plays Harry, he also started doing a lot of crossfit and he got pretty jacked. I always thought it would be funny if they brought us back, and through the years that they hadn’t seen us, we come back and we are who we are now and sort of give the boys a run for their money. I think it’d be fun. Those guys, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, are two of the nicest human beings you could possibly meet. For our characters, when we came on the show, we kind of took over it. It became the Ghostfacers show, and some actors wouldn’t be cool with that, and they were just… they’re as successful as they are for a reason, because of just the types of guys that they are and how open minded and cool they are. They’re just a good group of guys and I would love for our characters to go back and at least… like kill us or do something, because it ended just so oddly. We separated and we never came back.

The Ghostfacers were Eric Kripke, who was the original show writer, they were kind of like his babies. Him and Tre Callaway were the writers who gave birth to them, so to speak. Eric Kripke really got behind us and kind of gave us our spinoff. We got to write it and direct it, and it was a whole thing, but once Kripke left, we both felt that the new showrunner wanted to take the show in a different direction, which happens and that’s totally cool, but Ghostfacers just wasn’t on that direction train.

TrunkSpace: You’ve been on a bunch of high profile projects over the years. Do any current fandoms compare, at least passion-wise, to the SPN Family?
Buckley: There’s no other fans like “Supernatural” fans. “Supernatural” fans are the most loyal fans that are out there. They’re diehard. Our characters, the Ghostfacers, became who they were and we got that spinoff and that incredible run because the fandom really got behind us and talked about it.

The fans, if they’re reading this, they should do this thing and hashtag #bringthefacersback.

“SEAL Team” airs Wednesdays on CBS.

Andrea Drepaul joined the “Supernatural” universe this season as the sharp-toothed werewolf Melanie. As part of the archangel Michael’s fiendish (and still secretive) plan to destroy the Winchester’s reality, she appears to be involved in the bigger apocalyptic picture, though she’s not giving us any clues as to how the writers will use the character in the future. Thankfully, we’re a patient faction of the SPN Family and will be tuning in each week until we find out.

We recently sat down with Drepaul to discuss werewolf geek outs, the loyal fandom, and why our Jensen Ackles man crush is fully justified.

TrunkSpace: You recently made your “Supernatural” debut as the werewolf Melanie. Did getting to play a classic movie monster fulfill any long-percolating childhood dreams? You’re in great on-screen lycanthropic company now!
Drepaul: You know… I’ve always wanted to play a werewolf. This stems from (along with the other millions of people) I was obsessed with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” I remember watching it as a kid and was so terrified and yet enthralled with this notion of monsters and werewolves. So my inner geek, really geeked out.

TrunkSpace: The series is continuing to excite its fandom in Season 14, which is hard to even fathom given how short-lived even successful series are these days. We hear it is one of the most welcoming sets to step onto in the business, but is it difficult to go into something that is such a well-oiled machine and not feel like the new kid at school? Were there nerves?
Drepaul: No, not at all. There is zero tension on this set. Everyone is so friendly and lovely. A great deal of fun happens – the cast and crew are infamously known to gag the actors on set. There are lots of jokes and shenanigans, it’s a wonder how they get anything done. But they do and they do it so well. I was confident I had done my work and I knew Melanie inside and out.

TrunkSpace: We would imagine it is very helpful debuting in an episode that was directed by long-time “Supernatural” actor and director Richard Speight Jr. Beyond what he brings to his role as director, were you able to tap into him as an overall “Supernatural” resource as well?
Drepaul: Richard is amazing! We hit it off right from the audition. He loves actors and you can tell by the way he directs you and his insightful motivations for character. He has quite an infectious energy on set, which also makes you feel comfortable and lifts the energy of the set as well. We didn’t talk much about “Supernatural,” more about the motivation for the scenes.

TrunkSpace: Have you had the opportunity to feel the reach of the passionate fandom – the SPN Family – since your episode premiered last week? Has any of it come as a surprise or did you have a sense of how big the fan base was before being cast?
Drepaul: Wow, I’m absolutely blown away by the fandom. Truly, I have received only praise and welcome from the SPN Family. I knew the fan base was big, but you don’t really have a sense of it until you are on the other side. It’s so wonderful.

TrunkSpace: It seems like Melanie is part of a larger story arc that will creep back into play later in the season. Can you tell us about what we can see from her down the line? Is she going full, angel-powered super wolf?
Drepaul: I’d like to think anything is possible on “Supernatural,” but I feel that this would be a question only the writers could answer.

TrunkSpace: You grew up in a small farming town in Ontario. When did the acting bug first bite you and was pursuing it always the only path you considered traveling?
Drepaul: I’ve actually had a very unconventional path to this career. I was a model when I was 15. But I was raised that you had to go to college and get a “real” job. My parents were immigrants to Canada. I love them for that, for teaching me the value of education. I became the first woman in my family to complete college and graduated with an Honors degree in Business Administration. But afterwards I still felt the calling to be a performer. I moved to New York for a bit, but that didn’t feel right so I landed back in Toronto. Toronto gave me my start. My first job was with Taye Diggs! This career continues to be an evolving journey for me but I know that it is my journey.

TrunkSpace: What job has been the most important to your personal journey thus far? What role and project taught you the most about your craft and profession?
Drepaul: Great question! I’ve had the opportunity to be on amazing sets and work with incredible actors, but the job that taught me the most was my role as Rubina Jafari on “Covert Affairs.” I was working with Sendhil Ramamurthy, who was fresh off of “Heroes.” He was so generous with not only his performance but he really took the time to guide me through how to have a longstanding career. He was the first person to encourage me to get my working papers to the USA and offered to help me through that process. He also was my first on-screen kiss, which I was incredibly nervous about! He walked me through it and really respected my space. He taught me that being a lead wasn’t just about the performance you bring, but also about how you conduct yourself on set – the energy you bring to the table. I never had a chance to properly thank him. Sooooo, if somewhere in the internet ethers he reads this… THANK YOU!!!

TrunkSpace: As you look forward, what type of career do you hope to have when all is said and done? If you could pave your exact path the rest of the way, what would that path look like?
Drepaul: Another great question. I think immediately in the vision of my mind I would be working on a Netflix, Hulu, Apple or Amazon series that is a mystery, thriller or fantasy. I’ve always had a pull to the mysteries of this universe as a person, so naturally I think that a show in this genre would be wonderful for me. Personally I have a heart for the underdog, and always willing to lend a hand to help others see their light. Currently I have started posting my own quotes (on my Instagram) called “Driven” and started to work on a way to launch a platform for young people to help them achieve success in a meaningful, lasting way. Long term I would be working on a cool mystery, thriller show, become an author of a book and have a platform for the youth.

TrunkSpace: That being said, if we had a time machine and gave you the keys to take it for a spin, would you take the journey ahead 10 years to see what your career would look like a decade from now, and if not, why?
Drepaul: (Laughter) If you had asked me this question six months ago, I would say yes. But now… no. I want to be surprised by all the twists and turns. I want to learn the lessons, experience the highs and lows. There is magic in not knowing what lies ahead. But I do know with certainty that the future is very bright

TrunkSpace: Finally, Andrea, our wives give us a difficult time because they say our Jensen Ackles man crush is not normal. Having now worked with Jensen yourself, come to our rescue here… he’s worth every ounce of our unbridled bromancing attention, right?
Drepaul: (Laughter) Yes, he is. He’s actually more handsome in real life.

“Supernatural” airs Thursdays on The CW.

Last week the “Supernatural” fandom was treated to the storytelling potential of the spin-off “Wayward Sisters.” Eager viewers received a long-awaited look at how the characters who would make up the new series come together to serve as another Winchesterless line of defense against all varieties of evil. One of those characters, Alex Jones, has had parts and pieces of her story told throughout the course of “Supernatural,” popping up occasionally as an ally of the demon-hunting brothers Sam and Dean. But what “Wayward Sisters” offers is a chance to see beyond the surface layer of these recurring characters who are adored by fans, and instead, delve into the core of who they are and why they are, something that is extremely enticing to the actress who portrays Alex, Katherine Ramdeen.

Able to breathe a little easier now that the fandom has seen and embraced the direction of “Wayward Sisters,” Ramdeen hopes to explore the character and universe for years to come. Refreshingly candid and admittedly awkward in social situations, she is modest and surprised that people care about who she is, but is preparing herself for a wider spotlight should the spin-off make it to series.

We recently sat down with Ramdeen to discuss why “Wayward Sisters” works, the areas of Alex’s life she’s most excited to explore further, and why her background in psychology helps her to tap into the characters she portrays.

TrunkSpace: Now that the “Wayward Sisters” episode has aired, are you able to breathe a little easier knowing how the fandom received it?
Ramdeen: Yes, and actually it’s interesting, because I knew that it was going to be good, just from reading the script and shooting it, but actually seeing it edited, I’m like, “Holy fuck, it’s actually really good!” It’s really good. I was just talking with Robert Berens yesterday morning. He was like, “Oh, it’s been really warmly received by so many places, and you know what, I noticed that a lot of people, they like Alex. They like her, her story, her character.” That was really exciting to hear, because I obviously want this show to happen.

TrunkSpace: So often with a spinoff, it’s either too close to the original or too far removed from the source material, but “Wayward Sisters” really felt like the perfect blend of both. It is its own thing, but at the same time part of the world “Supernatural” created.
Ramdeen: Yes, exactly. It’s artistically different. “Supernatural” is such an iconic show. It’s been around for what seems like a billion years. I was a kid when it came out. I don’t know how to describe it. I feel like watching “Supernatural,” it’s very comfortable almost. Maybe it’s nostalgia, I don’t know. But it’s a comforting show to watch. Then “Wayward Sisters” is like, you start off and… it’s not comfortable. It’s the same universe, but it’s just shot differently. It’s different enough so that you’re like, “This is a different show, but it’s also still ‘Supernatural.’”

TrunkSpace: The great thing about “Supernatural” is that, although they hunt monsters, at the core it is a show about family, and that seems to be a theme that will be carried over into “Wayward Sisters.”
Ramdeen: Yes, totally, and I think that’s what’s really important, because I think that’s the really important thing about “Supernatural” and why people like it, so that’s a good thing for us to have.

TrunkSpace: You touched on the longevity of “Supernatural.” If “Wayward Sisters” was to go 13 seasons, would you feel creatively fulfilled getting to play the same character for that long?
Ramdeen: Oh, that’s a really good question. That’s really interesting. My first instinct is yes, because I think that for me acting, I love Alex. I don’t know how I would get sick of playing her. This is my guess, but I don’t know, because I can only imagine what it would be like. If “Supernatural” can do it for 13 seasons, and we have a lot of the same creative team coming from that, should this be green lit, then I think the writing won’t be a problem. I mean, it’s like a family already. I remember actually, the last day of shooting Wayward… when I was wrapped, it was sad because I didn’t want to go. I don’t know, presumably I would love to do it for as long as I could.

TrunkSpace: If “Wayward Sisters” gets picked up, what are you most excited to explore with your character that you haven’t been able to delve into within the “Supernatural” universe?
Ramdeen: Oh my God, there’s so much – so much. I talked about this at length with Robert Berens and the rest of the cast. We don’t know where her parents are – it was never really discovered. They didn’t talk about it. Her parents were gone for some reason. They didn’t say how they were gone. Then she lived with her grandmother. Then she was kidnapped. Then her grandmother is really old. And then she has no family. She is presumably an orphan. So it’d be interesting to know, does she have any family? Is she really an orphan? That would be cool to find out.

As far as Alex’s particular character development, I would love to explore the conflicts that she has with killing things, because she grew up killing people, and not necessarily all of them were bad people. It was sort of Dexter-esque. She’s underage, she’s in a bar, and she’s taking home men that want to be with her. That’s really messed up. She feels like this is kind of justified. These people are bad people. But of course, as we saw in “Don’t You Forget About Me,” anytime that she has been an accomplice… it would interesting to explore that, and to learn more about her guilt.

TrunkSpace: When we first met Alex, she was very angsty and now, especially in the “Wayward Sisters” episode, she has sort of suppressed that. Do you think that angst is still a part of her or has she moved on from it?
Ramdeen: No, no, no, no, it’s definitely still part of her. That’s a lot of stuff to go through for a person and so her behavioral response is to feel… to kind of act out but she… it’s still within her and I guess it’s something I’d be interested in seeing her deal with.

One of my friends that watched the episode, they told me that they thought that Alex gave off this vibe of being sort of dead inside, which was interesting. I wasn’t aware of that but it actually does make sense in that I guess she has a lot of pain and kind of the only way for her to survive right now is just to soldier on.

TrunkSpace: We kind of viewed the performance as, from Alex’s perspective, she needed to be strong because she knew there was a chance Claire couldn’t hold it together, so it fell on her to be the glue.
Ramdeen: Exactly. Yes. That’s actually a really perfect way of putting it.

TrunkSpace: In terms of your own personal journey, one of the things that we found interesting was that you studied psychology. Does that background help you to discover the characters you’re playing and their motivations?
Ramdeen: Oh my God, this is a great question and I love this question. It was interesting because studying psychology, that is the study of human behavior – why people do the things they do. When I discovered acting, I realized the parallels were crazy. They’re so similar because acting is all about living, the behaviors of people living their stories, and why they’re doing things. And the way to dissect a character, the way to try and understand a story, is very similar to what, say, a social psychologist would be doing – trying to understand a person or their neuroses. Actors have a lot of those too, so that’s just part of the parcel.

TrunkSpace: And given all of the different types of personalities involved in the business itself, it must help you with that aspect as well?
Ramdeen: Oh my God, yes. And you know what though, honestly, it’s show business, you know? I’m not great with business. The thing is, I know it’s not going to make sense, but I’m rather socially awkward and I don’t like going to parties and… I’m just not good with most people. So I’m not good at that but it’s an interesting part of the job because it is absolutely necessary for an actor to do these things. An actor has to go to an awards ceremony, an actor has to go to a premiere, so it’s interesting, the business side of the industry and me dealing with it because it’s sort of… I’m not gonna say that it’s another form of acting for me, I don’t equate them, but it’s definitely something that I think being an actor helps me with – dealing with situations that I might find awkward. Like interviews, actually.

TrunkSpace: Totally. It’s an odd thing. You have a stranger asking you questions and in a way you’re having to present yourself and your projects.
Ramdeen: Yes, exactly and I’m so self conscious because… this is something very new to me. Wayward is the biggest thing in my career, I guess it’s like the “big break.” I’d say it’s a big break. I don’t have that perspective because I’m within it and all the craziness, but from the outside perspective, people are like, “Katherine Ramdeen, who’s that?” With that being said, I just don’t wanna come across as, I don’t know, not great because of my, maybe, social ineptness. Also, I curse a lot and that’s really hard to stop and so I don’t want to make people feel bad or their kid can’t meet me or something because I’m gonna swear.

I consider myself very chill, or relaxed, or laid back, or easy going, so I think my casualness is weird for the industry because it’s different. It’s like the thing with presenting – I feel like I’m not presenting. I feel like I’m just this person who is an actor and I happen to be normal and just like everyone else.

TrunkSpace: So with all of that in mind, if “Wayward Sisters” became this huge success, would you be comfortable having that massive spotlight shining on you?
Ramdeen: I can’t comprehend that but I’m getting a little taste of that. I’m doing “Supernatural” conventions – I did two last year. I went to Blackpool, England and Seattle, and this year I’m doing three so far. I just came back from Orlando this weekend and I’m going to Vegas and then somewhere in England again. With that, I go to these conventions and these are fans and these are people that really like me and they would pay money, I guess like a box office fee, to see me. And that’s just absurd – that’s just crazy. I can’t understand that. I feel sort of like an imposter or I feel like, “Why do you wanna?” It’s a weird feeling, so to have that on just a bigger scale… I guess people always say that they get used to it so I assume you would get used to it. I don’t think it’d ever stop being weird or undeserved, because I think there’s a lot of people on this planet that should be getting recognition for a lot of different things than they get. I think it’s really interesting, celebrity, but anyways…

I think I would just take it because it comes with the territory and I want to be an actor and I love acting and I love telling stories and I just love making movies.

TrunkSpace: You touched on the fans who come out to the conventions, and one of the things we have always loved about the “Supernatural” fandom is that it’s almost like a secret club. Those who know and follow the show are extremely passionate about it, and those who don’t, may not even know it’s still on the air.
Ramdeen: And that’s actually one of the things about “Supernatural” and being part of this potential universe, if the spinoff goes… man, the fandom is just amazing. They’re just all really nice people. Going to these conventions and meeting them, it is a family because people just are nice to each other and it’s like going over to a friend’s house and being like, “Oh, so I have a bunch of friends, we’re just all hanging out and talking.”

“Supernatural” airs Thursdays on The CW.

The fandom is still waiting to hear if “Wayward Sisters” will be ordered to series. Stay tuned!

* Feature originally ran 5/18/17

It is not often that someone can be so profoundly affected by a job that it not only changes their life, but their outlook on it as well. For actor Osric Chau, the role of Kevin Tran in the long-running series “Supernatural” did just that. He holds the fandom up on such a high pedestal and doles out gratitude like fruit-flavored candies from a Dean Winchester PEZ dispenser, making his appreciation for his place in the “Supernatural” universe an infectious component of his natural charm.

Now starring in “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency,” Chau is roaring forward in his career, currently in the midst of filming season 2 of the BBC America series while also appearing in the recently-released comedic action film “Boone: The Bounty Hunter.”

We sat down with Chau to discuss getting to smash things for a living, Hollywood’s grasp on audience diversity, and the impact of “Supernatural” on his life.

TrunkSpace: “Boone: The Bounty Hunter” was released last week. As someone who dreamed of being a stunt professional as a kid, we have to imagine an action flick like that is right in your wheelhouse?
Chau: Oh, it was so much fun. I didn’t get to do much stunts. It was almost all John Hennigan, who was the lead in it. He is incredible. Just being around that kind of energy… I was so blessed to watch these performers do their thing. It was a very enjoyable experience for me.

TrunkSpace: There were also a lot of action hero legends making appearances, which had to be pretty exciting.
Chau: Yeah. I knew everyone that was doing a cameo in it, which was really cool. To have those performers who are so well versed in film or action or anything really… it was cool to know everyone who was coming on set.

TrunkSpace: It was also recently announced that you were upped to a series regular on “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.” Was that expected?
Chau: I mean, I had an idea, but you never know. They always change their minds, but for the most part, I kind of had an idea that they were going to go a little bit bigger with my character next season. And when they finally did it, there was still a long wait because they had to get the network and the studio to approve it. And they did. I’m super excited to be on in such a capacity for season 2 because it’s such a fun show. I’m really excited. I start next week.

TrunkSpace: We know that you can’t give too much away, but do you have any idea where we’ll see your character Vogle go in terms of a story arc?
Chau: So we ended last season with me running off with Amanda, so in terms of the specifics I cannot go into too much, but I do get to talk a lot more. I think in season 1 I just ran around yelling and smashing things. This season I actually have conversations. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: Running around and smashing things must be good for getting some internal frustrations out? (Laughter)
Chau: Oh my God. It’s incredible. (Laughter) Season 1 was such a dream. To be able to show up and just destroy everything? Like, that’s your job? How insane is that? It’s a dream come true. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: The way we consume media continues to change at a breakneck pace and both “Boone: The Bounty Hunter” and “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” are prime examples of how unique, quality content can find a home and find an audience in places that, ten years ago, wouldn’t have been possible. Have you been able to see that change in the industry happen from the inside and from an actor’s perspective?
Chau: Well, from the perspective of a minority actor, it mostly definitely has. Even a decade ago, I wouldn’t have been up for any lead roles. It wouldn’t even be a consideration I don’t think. Obviously experience is one thing, but there weren’t that many non-Caucasian leading roles back then. Even now, they’re few and far between, but at least they exist and they’re starting to come in as studios and distributors and everyone start to realize audiences have all types of representation. Just being in this new era, you definitely see more open ethnicity and they’re just looking for the best actors. Of course they have to find a good balance for everything, but I’ve gotten the chance to audition for characters that are not just specifically Asian. And that’s kind of all I wanted to do when I was growing up. I just wanted to play a person. I don’t want to play a Chinese person. I just want to play a person that has nothing to do with his race. Of course that’s like a flavor, but that doesn’t have to be the thing.

TrunkSpace: It’s hard to imagine that just a few decades ago, most notably in the 80s, many minority characters were used as a punchline and not really presented as people with layers.
Chau: Yeah. Part of that is also because there is more representation and people have more to draw from. Not everyone will be able to relate to… with most people, you’re just unable to relate to everyone from all backgrounds and ethnicities. It’s just impossible to know all of that. So where do you draw it from? Usually if you’re trying to write a character and you don’t know anything, you either take the time to research or like most people, you don’t take the time to because it takes a lot of work, and you just write based on what you know, which happens to be what is already out there in TV and movies. So, it ends up being this cycle of if you see one stereotype you’re just going to reinforce that stereotype and someone else is going to reinforce it based off of the thing that you made.

We’ve gotten to the point where, with more and more actors… like, if I see a character that has an accent for no other reason than for just being the butt of a joke, I just won’t audition for it. I think more and more actors are starting to do that. It’s not an easy career, so I still understand that some people will have to just do it to pay the rent, so I’m not looking down on them or anything, but I think more and more people are starting to voice their opinions with, “Hey, this is not okay. It can still be funny without them having an accent. There’s a better angle to go after than that.”

TrunkSpace: Is part of that also making sure that those who are making the decisions high atop the Hollywood food chain also are representative of every ethnicity and background?
Chau: For sure. It’s happening already. There are a lot of Asian and minority executives, but even then, they don’t have the final say. It all comes down to the numbers and it always comes back to the consumers. What are they watching? What are they paying tickets for? If we as a community start paying for minority faces on screen, then at some point the decision makers are going to buy those products and the people who get to put those products together will realize and then they’ll do more. There have been instances where Asian American executives have to whitewash characters and maybe they didn’t want to but they felt that their hands were tied by whatever other outside forces. I think it’s all going to come together in a couple of years. I think we’re headed in the right direction.

TrunkSpace: One would imagine that social media is going to come into play with that as well.
Chau: Yeah. There’s also that. There’s a lot of metrics now… a lot of quantifiable numbers that we can show. That definitely helps to dispel all of the myths. And women have had that for… I mean, they still have it. For the longest time they’d say that women couldn’t lead movies. They represent HALF the population. More than half of the population. And to say that they can’t lead movies is just ridiculous. In fact, I think numbers have shown that they’re doing better than a lot of male leading films.

TrunkSpace: “Supernatural” is a show that does both drama and comedy really well. Do you think having appeared on the show and portraying Kevin enabled you to show off various sides of yourself as an actor?
Chau: Oh, the arc that Kevin went through… I’ve never had a chance to play a character who has gone through so many changes and it’s been really, really fun. Kevin hasn’t really had that many comedic moments for the most part. He’s always been in the meat of the story, so he has been at the height of pretty much every dramatic moment, but, yeah… it is such a fun role to play and one of the few minority characters on that show. But, they’re starting to be aware of that and they’re getting better. But yeah, with ‘Supernatural,” the cast, the crew, the fanbase… they’ve been incredible through and through.

TrunkSpace: What is great about Kevin is just how important he became to the overall mythology and universe. Even his death has a lasting impact on the characters in such a way that it’s still being carried forward. Did you ever have any sense that Kevin would be a character who would leave such a lasting impact?
Chau: Oh, absolutely not. I originally turned it down because it was only two episodes and I was going to die in the second one and I got another offer from another show. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: Wow!
Chau: Yeah. It was such a crazy time. I originally turned it down and turns out that both shows were with the same business affairs person and they were just like, “We don’t want to lose an actor to our own shows.” So they made it work and the other show didn’t end up going and “Supernatural” changed my life. Sometimes things just work out and that was one of those times.

TrunkSpace: Life certainly moves in a direction that you can never plan for.
Chau: Exactly. I am very thankful for the way it worked out. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: And you must still feel the impact from the fanbase to this day?
Chau: Yeah. The fans have changed my life… really flipped it on its head. One, I’ve never been so active on social media. I mean, I’m not that active, but I’ve never been this active on social media ever. I’ve never been so aware of so many different types of people. They’ve really helped me empathize and sympathize with all walks of life. That’s one thing that I’ll always thank the “Supernatural” community and fandom for is that, for the most part, I’ve just kind of gone through life thinking about myself and this was one of the first times where I was like, “There is a better, less selfish way to live this life.” I’ve really tried reaching back out, just to try and thank them, and the more I do it the more I enjoy it and the more I want to do it. So almost everything that I try to do nowadays is for a greater purpose than just myself, which is nice for a change.

TrunkSpace: It’s so funny to hear you say that because it just seems like everyone who has been involved in that show is so thankful and appreciative to have been a part of it. It’s a really rare thing.
Chau: Because for most of us, we’re still working actors. There’s no guarantee for our future and there isn’t for most people, and so we’re so thankful of not only being able to work, but having the fandom… they’ve changed every single one of our lives and we never expected it. It takes a really special person to say, “Oh, what is this garbage?” No, we appreciate it so much and for a lot of us, we want to reciprocate. We want to thank everyone and we don’t know how. So of course we have to appreciate it because turning your back on that is crazy and not wanting to thank the people who have kind of taken you to this place is… to me that’s crazy too. It’s just a form of appreciation of how we got here and I wouldn’t be here without this fandom.

TrunkSpace: It sounds like the fandom changed your life more than the show itself?
Chau: Yeah. I will argue most definitely that. The fandom is… it’s the engine of the show. The show would have gotten canceled numerous times by now if it weren’t for the outpouring of support from the fans. They keep the show going. They keep the actors going. They keep the crew going. There really is a “Supernatural” family. I thought it was just a word you said at the beginning, but it really feels like that. Every time I go back on that set, it feels like that. Yeah, it’s a really strange thing and I really hope Dirk Gently’s will kind of have that same type of feel, but there’s no guarantee because I’ve never experienced anything like that before.

Featured Image Credits:
Photographer: Diana Ragland
Groomer: Nikki Deroest
Wardrobe Stylist: Yesenia Cuevas

For many diehard “Supernatural” fans who have been watching throughout the course of these 13 seasons (and counting!), identifying actors who have appeared in multiple roles has become a bit of a side game. With such a vast universe to inhabit and more than 260 episodes already under their demon-hunting belts, it’s virtually impossible to have so many guest stars written into the series and not have them reappear a few years later. And when their as talented as Canadian-born Billy Wickman, it makes just as much creative sense as it does the logical variety.

We recently sat down with Wickman to discuss how he put physical separation between his two SPN characters, the handsomeness of the Winchester boys, and getting to play a Hallmark Channel villain.

TrunkSpace: You’ve played two characters within the “Supernatural” universe, which as we understand it, is not uncommon with that particular show. That being said, is that a common occurrence with other shows or does the tenure of “Supernatural” just make it impossible not to have that option available to the casting directors?
Wickman: That’s exactly right, when a show has been around as long as “Supernatural,” they have to start dipping back into the same talent pool. Most shows won’t see you twice, or even once, if you’ve appeared in the same “universe” on another show.

TrunkSpace: What is that experience like? When you’re playing two characters within the same universe, and knowing how passionate that fandom is, do you purposely try to separate yourself from what you’ve done previously, both physically and through performance?
Wickman: Absolutely. For my second time around we darkened my hair and beard and I played Elvis as an experienced extrovert, as opposed to “Brian”, the fresh-faced fearful youngster.

TrunkSpace: For us, your more memorable turn was as Elvis Katz in the season 12 episode, “Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox.” The episode itself had a classic horror vibe, but more importantly, the character was very memorable. What did you look to bring to the role when you first read the sides?
Wickman: I wanted him to be warm and human, even during his friend’s memorial, to remind us why Hunters fight for our side. Demon hunting is serious, but you have to live to be human.

TrunkSpace: In that episode you played a Hunter, which in our book, really puts you in the meat of the lore because there’s so few Hunter’s within the universe. Do you feel like that by playing Elvis you have left your fingerprint on the franchise in a way?
Wickman: Hunters are a pretty elite group and I am very proud to be in the company of such great characters and the amazing actors portraying them.

TrunkSpace: The “Supernatural” fandom, or the SPN Family as they have come to be called, is extremely passionate and fully invested in the world and characters who inhabit it. Over the course of 13 seasons, there’s a lot for them to love, but have you felt that fandom’s reach directly following your performances within the series? Is that fandom as welcoming to guest stars as it is their favorite series regulars and reoccurring characters?
Wickman: The SPN Family is incredible, and your reach is huge! I have received my largest Twitter bump yet from you all. The Fam loves Jared & Jensen so much that it’s probably easy to miss a guest, but I still feel a lot of appreciation for our work and I appreciate it right back!

TrunkSpace: As we previously touched on, the series is currently in its 13th season. In your opinion, what is it about the show that has driven so many people towards it for such a long period of time? Why has it been successful for so long while other shows can’t maintain that kind of longevity?
Wickman: It doesn’t hurt that these are two of the most handsome dudes I’ve ever met, but they’re also super friendly and hard working. I’ve known them each for a long time now, and they’ve always been fun, open to ideas, and constantly improving. Also, the show has such credibility that we can get a legendary director like John Badham to come in and lead us.

TrunkSpace: You have also guested or reoccurred on some other great shows with passionate fandoms, including “The X Files,” “Arrow, “Falling Skies,” and “Hell on Wheels.” When you’re joining a show that has been filming for such a long period of time, even as a guest star, is there a level of anxiousness coming into something that already has a particular tone and way of doing things on set? Does it feel a bit like you’re the new kid in a school where everyone already knows each other?
Wickman: (Laughter) That’s exactly what it feels like! It takes a minute to get that out of your head, but you have to remember that everyone there is on your side and wants you to succeed. It can really help if the director and lead actors express their trust in you early, but usually they’re busy doing their jobs too. The best you can do is stay confident in the talent that got you there, and you’ll be welcomed into the family quicker than you think.

TrunkSpace: You come from a big family with lots of siblings. Did that upbringing shape you into the actor that you’ve become? Did having a lot of siblings put you in a position to entertain and have an audience from a young age?
Wickman: Being the sixth of seven kids taught me to fight for, and earn an audience. You don’t get much stage time at a busy dinner table, so you need to be quick and interesting!

TrunkSpace: You were born and raised in Canada and work there extensively. From what you’ve seen, has the Canadian production industry continued to grow and expand since you started your career and has it presented more opportunities for actors to stay in Canada without having to consider moves to Los Angeles or New York?
Wickman: I have seen our industry fluctuate, but it is definitely on the incline now. Vancouver used to be a training ground for LA, but with the quantity and quality of productions here now, and the stunning natural beauty, many successful actors are choosing to stay here.

TrunkSpace: You’ll be appearing in the upcoming Hallmark Channel holiday movie “Finding Santa” premiering November 24. Can you tell us about your character and where he falls into things?
Wickman: I play Clint, he’s the closest thing to a villain you’ll find in a Hallmark Christmas movie. He is the epitome of entitlement, the mayor’s son, who still lives in her basement. Clint is given the part of Santa in the annual parade, much to the disappointment of the entire town. I had a great time on that set, with a lot of hilariously talented people. It was my second time working with director David Winning (first was “Van Helsing” episode “Big Mama” airing November 23). He is one of my all-time favorite people.

TrunkSpace: The Hallmark Channel holiday offerings are always extremely popular and come with a built-in audience. Why do you think they consistently do so well year in and year out?
Wickman: Hallmark fans know what to expect with those films. As in life; family, community, hope, and happiness are major themes visited in every project. Hallmark has a direct line to America’s heartstrings. (Ooh, that sounds good!)

Thanks for inviting me to chat, it was my pleasure, much love to the SPN Family!

Feature image by: Bryce Bladon Photography

“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”

According to the current “Supernatural” universe, that’s technically true, at least as it concerns this particular plane of fictional reality. And although it wasn’t a trick that he himself pulled, trickery was involved.

Playing out in the finale of season 12, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles), along with the help of angel Castiel (Misha Collins), demon-turned-devil Crowley (Mark Sheppard), and their mother Mary (Samantha Smith), trapped Lucifer, played brilliantly by Mark Pellegrino, in an alternative universe where Hell on earth is an actual thing. Never one to go down without a fight, the fallen archangel did some serious damage to the Winchester crew before popping out of existence, serving as the catalyst for Crowley’s sacrifice (permanent), murdering Castiel (semi-permanent), and pulling Mary into the alt-dimension with him.

Lucifer is the bastard of big bads, that much has been made clear since he first appeared on the series back in season 5, but we just may be seeing a different side of him moving forward, one that replaces his devil may care attitude with an all new Prince of Not-So-Darkness. Stuck in the alternative universe with Mary and no longer the most powerful being within finger snapping distance, a vulnerable and reliant Lucifer is emerging and it’s a character journey that Pellegrino is excited to see play out.

We recently sat down with the Los Angeles native to discuss how his relationship with Mary will be forced to change in the alternative universe, why he feels fans may start rooting for Lucifer to do the right thing each week, and what makes the SPN Family the best fandom in the business.

TrunkSpace: Heading into season 13, Lucifer is stuck in a strange land with a sworn enemy, but from what we’ve seen teased out, it looks like you may have to rely a bit on each other. Is that accurate?
Pellegrino: Yeah. And I think that makes for good drama and good comedy, because we are the odd couple, for sure, and sort of chained together at the hip, and definitely need each other to either escape this place called the “alternate universe,” or get out of it.

Yeah, and I feel like in doing the scenes, we were sort of like an old married couple, to be honest with you.

TrunkSpace: Because of that, are viewers going to see a side of Lucifer that they haven’t seen before?
Pellegrino: I think so. I think we haven’t seen Lucifer really vulnerable. And I think in this new universe, even though he tries not to show it, there’s quite a bit of vulnerability revealed because he, as powerful as he is, and he proves it while he’s there a couple of times, he’s also out of his depths in a lot of ways. And so I think it’s going to be kind of a cool thing for the fans to see someone so powerful struggling with realities.

TrunkSpace: With the death of Crowley last season, fans are without a lovable bad guy to root for. Is Lucifer going to step up and be that guy that fans hope will do the right thing week to week?
Pellegrino: I hope so. I mean, that’s what I like to think. I like to think Lucifer has some redeeming qualities to him, and they’ve so far written a Lucifer that really goes against the archetype that we’re used to. And I like that. I like that a lot.

You know, they say parenthood changes you. And I’m hoping that there’s something to that with Lucifer. He seems to be yearning to have a connection, and I think that is sort of the opening, the door opening, to spaces that he’s had to keep closed since being alienated from the universe. So yeah, I’d like to think there’s doors opening in Lucifer’s character, and that it’s going to bring out that latent good thing that I sort of hope everyone has.

TrunkSpace: Lucifer is yearning for a connection, but at the same time, the writers did such a great job setting up that same yearning in Samantha Smith’s character Mary last season. Are the two characters, stuck as they are, going to find a kinship in each other?
Pellegrino: I hope so. I mean, I really see… it’s just good writing. I see those dynamics playing all the way through with all of the characters. They’ve got very similar issues to resolve, just on sort of different levels. And I think that’s great. I think that’s what makes them, even as enemies, familiar.

TrunkSpace: Lucifer wants out of the “alternative universe,” but at the same time, isn’t this exactly what he wanted? Wasn’t he looking for a world with this kind of end result, especially one that is free of Winchester brothers? What’s keeping him from wanting to stay there?
Pellegrino: I think I sort of played that when he originally came into the world. He was like, “Whoa. Cool. This is interesting…” But I think Lucifer reveals a respect for creation. I think he reveals a sense that, “Hey, we could do this better than has been done.” He actually has an ideal that isn’t about destruction, and pain, and death, but something else, something noble, believe it or not. And so at first, he might have enjoyed the chaos, but I think he has something that stretches further than just that. I think that’s sort of superficial.

TrunkSpace: It also kind of feels a bit like Lucifer, as powerful as he is, needs the Winchesters in his life because, if for no other reason, they’re the only ones who aren’t afraid to stand up to him and that seems to excite him a little.
Pellegrino: Oh, I think Lucifer loves people who are smart, loves people who are courageous, who have the chutzpah to go against, I mean, even God. The Winchesters are ballsy, and he can respect that. If you remember when Crowley shows up in the alternate universe, Lucifer sort of hops around on the ground like he loves that Crowley had the chutzpah and the intelligence to beat the odds.

And there is that element to Lucifer’s character, that respect for defiance, and that respect for courage, that he has in spades. He’s always sort of pushing the limit as far as he can go. And he’s that guy that likes no-limit men and no-limit women. And when he sees it in them, he can’t help but smile at that quality. So I think there’s a lot of layers that are going to come out with Lucifer, and you’ll see that perhaps he’s not as desirous of chaos and destruction as one would think. He just has a better idea.

And the revolutionary is one that thinks that it has to be burned down before you rebuild it again. I want to rebuild it, and make it better than it was before. That’s kind of noble.

TrunkSpace: You mentioned that Lucifer respects ballsy people. How would Lucifer get along with himself if he came across a version in an alternative world like the one he’s stuck in now?
Pellegrino: (Laughter) Well, in this world, luckily or unluckily for him, Lucifer doesn’t exist. Lucifer lost the battle in a big way. So he’s going to be that guy in that world. And the question is, will he measure up to the alternative universe Michael, who’s a very, very different cat than the one in the world that we knew?

TrunkSpace: Who we’re actually going to meet in tonight’s episode, correct?
Pellegrino: Yes.

TrunkSpace: Sounds like complicated roads are ahead! Finally, Mark, in terms of your ride on this journey so far… in your experience, is there anything that compares, fandom-wise, to the SPN Family and their commitment and loyalty they have to the show?
Pellegrino: Oh, no. Not at all. And I think that’s in part due to the unique relationship we have with them. It’s reciprocal. We help each other out. And unlike most fandoms, they don’t see that barrier between us and them. And it’s kind of cool, you know? And it’s great being part of that sort of passionate group of people.

Watch Lucifer come face-to-face with alt-Michael tonight when “Supernatural” airs on the CW.

Featured Image By: Manfred Baumann

Travis Wester grew up a fanboy. He attended conventions, geeked out about “Star Trek,” and spent prolonged periods of time rolling 20-sided die. He was a proud, card-carrying member of nerd culture long before nerd culture became the cool faction. And now, as a grown up, Wester has found himself a part of the most passionate fandom universe of the current pop culture age thanks to his turn in “Supernatural” where he reoccurs as Harry Spangler, founding member of Ghostfacers.

We recently sat down with Wester to discuss the SPN Family, going from con attendee to invited guest, and what it was like to work with Tim Curry.

TrunkSpace: You’ve acted in so many great shows over the years, but in your experience, did any of their fandoms compare to that of “Supernatural” when it came to the passion and love for a particular show?
Wester: There’s no comparison between any fandoms. I was kind of one of the proto “Star Wars” fandom people, I think. I still remember wearing “Star Wars” T-shirts to school back in the early 90s.

I just dated myself.

I kind of came up in the geek community. I used to play “Dungeons & Dragons” in high school and stuff like that. In fact I’ve recently been told about Magic: The Gathering and want to give that a go, a friend even sent me these mtg arena codes I might try. I went to “Star Trek” conventions when I was 12. That kind of stuff. So I’m very familiar with fandoms and I’ve got to say, the “Supernatural” fandom is absolutely a thing of beauty. The fact that they think of themselves as family, it’s really something else. It’s all the good parts of tribalism in my opinion. It’s all about togetherness and community and maybe I’m sort of outside the bubble perhaps, but I’m not super aware that they go out and attack people and make people from other fandoms feel bad or anything like that. Like I said, it’s all the best parts of tribalism where you feel like you’re part of a community and everyone supports each other.

When you’re out and about and you see someone with an “Assbutt” shirt or something like that, you kind of give them the knowing nod. It’s really cool.

And it’s also sort of underground, which I like about it too. People who are into it are super into it, but people who aren’t into it are barely aware of it. It almost kind of reminds me of a “Vampire: The Masquerade” of fandoms. Once you’re in the “Supernatural” fandom, you can exist in all of these other fandoms, but you’re in this other dimension when you step into the “Supernatural” fandom.

TrunkSpace: It seems like every actor and actress who has appeared on the show is genuinely and wholeheartedly excited to have been a part of it.
Wester: I think a lot of that has to do with the guys… J & J, Jared and Jensen. You go up there and you feel like part of a family while you’re up there. I think what happens with a lot of actors is that they get up there, they do the work, and they kind of feel like they’re a part of that family because Jared and Jensen are so welcoming and they’re just such awesome guys to have on set. I don’t think anyone has ever gone up there and has been like, “Aww, man… Jared and Jensen! They hardly talked to me. God, they’re such jerks!” (Laughter) I have never spoken to anyone that has been on the show that has thought that. The culture of family really starts with them. They’re both from Texas and they both have families themselves and I think it kind of starts there.

And then when you’re done with the show and you get invited out to a convention or something and you show up and you meet the fans… you see how that culture has spread out into the fandom. You can’t help but get excited. You can’t help but be stoked that you’re a part of this project. People use the word systemic a lot and a lot of times they misuse it. Systemic means it’s root to tip. It’s root to stem… it’s the whole system. I think that when it comes to “Supernatural” it is systemically a family because it starts right with Jared and Jensen and it goes out to everyone in the community.

TrunkSpace: You were working in TV for over a decade before you stepped into the role of Harry Spangler on “Supernatural.” With the show being so early in its life cycle at that time and when the network itself was kind of in flux, did you have any idea that you’d still be talking about it now and participating in conventions and all sides of the fandom?
Wester: None. No. You’re right, I did a lot of work in TV up until then and I’ve done plenty of pilots and shows where it was like… show number three, their third episode ever. And then five episodes later the show is in the wind and it’s gone. If you look at my resume, I’m sure you’d see a lot of that. So, you get on a show like “Supernatural” and it was kind of at a time when the WB was a thing and the CW was still a thing. They were two separate networks. I remember, I think it was while we were filming that episode, we got the news. I remember Jared coming out of his trailer and telling Jensen, “Hey, the WB and CW just merged.” And they were looking at each other and Jensen was like, “What does that mean for us?” And Jared was like, “I don’t know, bro!” (Laughter)

It was at a time when the WB was throwing a lot of stuff at the wall. They had a lot of success with “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” so I think they felt like that there was something in that genre and it wasn’t the only thing like that that they were trying at the time, but I think the reason it stuck is… it all comes down to the story. The universe that Eric Kripke created allows us as an audience to play ourselves in the narrative in a way that is fairly rare and something that I think most show runners are striving for.

TrunkSpace: You mentioned that as a kid you used to go to “Star Trek” conventions. What is it like for you now being on the other side of the convention table?
Wester: I think I’m fairly unique amongst actors. I don’t think too many of them have ever actually been paying members of any conventions, much less paying members of like, a role playing game convention, which I have also been to. (Laughter)

One of the best times I’ve ever had in my entire life… I think I was like 15… and I got my dad to agree to allow my buddy and I to go to a convention and actually stay overnight at the hotel. For two nights. We were able to go Friday to Sunday and we just played games for hours and hours and hours.

Anyway… so I don’t think too many actors have had that experience, so for me, it was kind of emotional at first to be on the other side of it.

TrunkSpace: Knowing that you are a fanboy yourself, how cool was it to work opposite Dr. Frank-N-Furter himself, Tim Curry in “Turbocharged Thunderbirds?”
Wester: It was intimidating. Just seeing him on set, I was like, “Oh my God, it’s Tim Curry!” I actually met my wife at “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

TrunkSpace: Nice!
Wester: Yeah. I first went to Rocky when I was like 15. Being able to be around Tim Curry and to say that I’ve worked with him, it was pretty exciting.

Nice dig, dude! That was a deep dig. That was actually my first narrative TV gig too.

TrunkSpace: You did quite a few episodes, right?
Wester: Yeah. We did like 13 or something like that. It was back when “Power Rangers” were hot, so they were trying to find something in that space… something in the space of mixing their own live action with stock puppetry that they had already purchased. Tim Curry was like the main bad guy. It was awesome.

Honestly, I don’t care what they do with the new “It.” Tim Curry’s always going to be “It” to me!

TrunkSpace: One character that you played who really seemed to deserve more fleshing out because there seemed to be a side to him that the audience never got to see was Billy Mac from “Justified.” He was a pretty straight forward guy on the surface, but there was some stuff going on underneath it all that deserved some exploring.
Wester: I thought so too, but I guess the narrative demands of season 1 of “Justified” called for someone getting shot in the head. (Laughter)

That was actually one of the more challenging characters that I think I’ve ever played just because I had to be straight up racist to a black man to his face while we were acting. For sure, that was maybe some of the most uncomfortable I’ve been on set, but it was also kind of the most transcendental because I rarely feel like I’m just completely synthesizing and fabricating a character. Most times I feel like there’s something in there that I’m tapping into that’s really a part of me. Obviously acting is always kind of like that, but with Billy Mac I felt like I was having to tap into the mirror version of me… the Travis with the evil goatee and what I would be in that other evil dimension. I was kind of having to reach through the dimensions and tap into that. So that was intense.

TrunkSpace: Timothy Olyphant’s character was such a bad ass on “Justified” and Jensen Ackles character is such a bad ass on “Supernatural,” so if the two universes met and Raylan Givens and Dean Winchester had to go toe-to-toe… how would that play out?
Wester: (Laughter) Well, guns or no guns?

TrunkSpace: They both like their guns, so it would make sense that they’d be packing.
Wester: If it’s a straight up duel… they go out into the middle of the street and it’s just a showdown… I’m going to go with Raylan. But, if it’s just kind of a bare knuckle, shirts off, guns are cast aside thing like that, where it’s sort of Captain Kirk meets the lizard guy type of situation, I’m going to go with Dean.

TrunkSpace: You just got the fandom in a tizzy because you said “shirts off” in the middle of that.
Wester: (Laughter) Yeah. So if Raylan’s shirt is off and Dean’s shirt is off and they’re just bare knuckling it, yeah, I think Dean’s got the edge.

TrunkSpace: So looking back over your career and at all of the projects that you’ve worked on, what is the one that has had the most profound impact on you?
Wester: I’d have to say the “Supernatural” role. It’s been the most fun ride. It’s sort of carried on. And it kind of inspired me the most creatively. A.J. (Buckley) and I got together to make a number of shorts, which I think are still available on the internet somewhere. We put together a quick thing of us going down to San Diego Comic Con back almost 10 years ago. We were both just really energized by these characters and I don’t think I’ve ever been so inspired after a shoot wraps to try to continue to explore that character because I enjoyed it so much.

TrunkSpace: With that being said, has there been talk to bring the Ghostfacers back?
Wester: There was talk of it, but A.J. is on this new “Seal Team” show on CBS, so he’s going to be out there taking down ISIS or whatever on CBS. (Laughter)

But we were… those talks were happening.