TLOEG: What is your favourite role to date? What did you like best about it?

Robert: Without question, Declan is my favourite role. To find myself running around chasing monsters with a laser gun really is exciting. It’s also great to have found such a fun and welcoming cast and crew to work with – I am happy to have made some great friendships both on and off screen.

TLOEG: Who would you do anything to work with (whether actor, director, producer, playwright, etc…)? Who would your ultimate co-star be?

RL: I would really like to work with Director, Cameron Crowe – I love his work, especially Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous – wonderfully written and directed stories with real depth of character. Obviously if George Lucas ever makes another star wars movie – I’d do anything to be in that, I’d even play a droid! As for acting heros – I think an ambition would have to be to work with Al Pacino or Robert De Niro, who share the same pedestal for me – and Tim Robbins of course ever since Shawshank Redemption, arguably one of the best movies of all time.

TLOEG: What would your dream role be? What would be the ideal plot you’d like a lead role in?

RL: I love epic stories and a dream role would be a character such as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings or Harrison Ford’s portrayal of rogueish characters such asHan Solo or Indiana Jones, brilliant!

TLOEG: Would you like to do more theatre work?

RL: Absolutely, its sounds cliché but my first love is theatre, and musical theatre at that. I cut my teeth as an actor from being a kid in musical theatre, in countless musicals mainly from Rogers and Hammerstein and Gilbert and Sullivan – a particular favourite memory from my childhood was singing the opening number in Annie Get Your Gun, when playing Charlie Davenport. I did loads of theatre during my Drama degree in York and at the Edinburgh fringe festival – my favourite role was playing Macduff in Macbeth, with a huge sword fight choreographed running around a fantastically built set. I hope in the next year or so to be able to find a balance in my work commitments to allow me to get involved in some theatre here in Vancouver.

TLOEG: What was it like moving from the UK to Canada?

RL: Challenging, in many ways – so many little things seem the same on the surface that turn out to be very different. I would recommend anyone looking to make a move like that to read people’s blogs on the net – of which there are numerous, and get a balanced view of the benefits and pitfalls. There are also many groups run by expats offer essential advice – right down to where you can buy decent tea bags. Vancouver is fabulous though, and the combination of the ski hills and the ocean and a vibrant and culturally diverse city make it easy to settle here. It’s also just a short plane ride to LA, and all that the US has to offer.

TLOEG: Is the industry any different in Canada vs the UK?

RL: It’s not really. Except perhaps that the divide between film and television seems less defined here than in the UK – there seems to be more of a crossover for actors here.

TLOEG: Would you consider making appearances at conventions?

RL: Yes, in fact myself and several of the regular cast of Sanctuary will be appearing at the first ever Sanctuary convention at the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver Jul 30th – Aug 1st. I am really looking forward to being involved and meeting the fans of the show, who make it all possible. Its being run by GABIT events and is made more special as nobody is taking a fee, and all the proceeds from ticket sales are going directly to “Sanctuary for Kids” the charity set up by Amanda Tapping, Damian Kindler & Jill Bodie, which the show supports throughout the year. It’s being run by GABIT events.

TLOEG: Do you have any other projects lined up? If so, what can you tell us about them?

RL: I am hoping to work on a feature back in England, which has been on and off due to funding problems. In the meantime, I have been auditioning for some really cool stuff and I am involved as a voice artist in a number of exciting projects here in Vancouver. I have done voice work for a number of years, and the industry is really growing here especially as Pixar have recently opened a new studio in the city.

TLOEG: Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind?

RL: I am performer at heart, and have loved acting ever since joining youth theatre as a 12 year old. That said, I have always thought I have a lot to offer as a director, and have directed in the theatre in the past. Having worked with Amanda Tapping on Sanctuary when she directed an episode last year, I can see how an actor can bring something special to the director’s chair. Amanda developed her directing skills after shadowing Martin Wood, who I believe has also worked as an actor,Martin is quite brilliant in the way he brings a complete vision of every scene along to filming, and can communicate that effortlessly to the cast and crew. Looking to the future for my own career, it would be great to have an opportunity to learn from someone like Martin at some future point in my career, as directing has long been an ambition that lies dormant within me.

TLOEG: Do you have a favourite musician or band? What are you currently listening to or reading?

RL: British band James is my favourite act of all time – I have seen them live too many times to mention, including the fantastic gig at Alton Towers in 1992. I am listening to Damien Rice’s most recent album at the moment, and always have Paul Heaton on my ipod – mainly in the Beautiful South. I haven’t got time to read much at the moment, but the last novel I read was ‘The five people you meet in heaven’, by Mitch Albom, which I would highly recommend. Oh, and I’m reading Harry Potter to my 7 year old son!

TLOEG: What do you like to do when you’re not working?

RL: I like to ski, which is great here, with three mountains on my doorstep and Whistler a couple of hours away, there is plenty to choose from. I like to socialise and have been fortunate enough to have made some great friends here including Ryan Robbins who brilliantly portrays Henry Foss in Sanctuary.

TLOEG: Regarding your character in Sanctuary, did the producers give you Declan’s back story, do you get to make it up or is it something that was a group effort? Can we expect to see more of Declan’s back story on screen?

RL: When I first met the producers at audition I was given an outline for Declan which informed my characterisation. Since then I’ve been fortunate enough to be given great freedom from the producers to develop Declan who have supported my character decisions as an actor. Back story really is a group effort, partly expressed by the producers but fleshed out in my own mind to inform my own acting decisions.

TLOEG: Do you know how many episodes you’ll be in next season?

RL: I don’t know exactly as the storylines are still being developed, but we have shot 6 episodes so far and I’ve been involved in half of those. I can tell you that there are some amazing story arcs coming up in season three, which should be extremely exciting and very, very cool.

TLOEG: What kind of plots or story arcs would you like to see Declan a part of? Any part of his character you’d like to explore?

RL: Declan’s role within the wider Sanctuary network was more clearly defined during the episode Veritas last season – It was great to play opposite Robin Dunne inthat episode – following Hero, where the two characters teamed up – it placed us in a fiery confrontation over the suspected murder of Bigfoot, but also hinted a lot about the politics of the Sanctaury network which became a big part of the season finale. One thing Veritas did do was to establish my character as a great ally of Helen Magnus and it would be great to explore further his history in the network and the relationship he had with his mentor, James Watson.

TLOEG: In “Veritas” the finger was pointed at Declan for a while, would you ever want to see him go “dark side” or stay good? Would you ever want to play a bad guy or evil character?

RL: I think it would be an interesting storyline to see Declan faced with challenges that question his support of the Sanctuary network, or rather a temptation to the “Dark side” – but my favourite thing about Declan, is his strong will and devotion to a cause he believes in, after dedicating too much of his life to other people’s wars. I would really like to play a twisted evil character – perhaps with the amount of horror being produced here the opportunity will arise at some point.

TLOEG: Did you ever worry about fan reactions to Declan taking Watson’s place as the head of the UK Sanctuary after Watson’s death?

RL: I didn’t really think about it to be honest. I was really excited to be joining the show and just got my head down and focussed carefully on the role. Peter Wingfield did a great job as James Watson, and this really helped to inform myown development of Declan’s character. We are both originally from England so share that commonality – and I have been delighted with the fans’ reaction to Declan’s arrival.

TLOEG: If your character was trapped with another character or creature in Sanctuary, who would you want it to be and why?

RL: It would have to be the mermaid. Childhood fantasy! No, seriously, given Tesla’s history with James Watson and the obvious friction between Tesla and Declan at their introduction in End of nights part 2, I think would be really interesting to explore the interaction between two characters who are very different but who are similarly ambitious and have great resolve. Jonathon Young is a fantastic actor, and has a background in Theatre like myself, I would like to have more scenes with him

TLOEG: First off, how did you first get into acting?

Aleks Paunovic: I first got into acting, I was playing in a hard rock band, in my home town. And the casting director was there and asked if I would audition for an HBO movie with John Cryer and Ed Asner.  I thought it was quite interesting. I thought why not, ’cause I like to try stuff and I did.  I got it and started dabbling in between my rock band and acting. And then decided a few years after to seriously pursue it.

TLOEG: Cool. Which part was that, by the way?

AP: It was a movie called Heads. I played Roddy McDowall’s butler.  Yup, My name was Roderick.

TLOEG: Do you have a favorite role to date?

AP: Yea, so far right now I think it’s the movie Personal Effects with Ashton Kutcher and Michelle Pfeifer. ‘Cause I could really go into a different character, putting on about 60 pounds to do it. Yea, I was really proud of that role.

TLOEG: Cool, You’ve worked in many different roles on set, how do you prepare for the different types of jobs and things you do on set?

AP: Each role has its own life and I really respect the people who are behind, creating a project. I respect the role as much to give it it’s own life instead of just an actor doing it.  So, there’s different preparations for each thing that I do.  At the end of the day you want to get some sort of back story and I like to make up a version of where this person would’ve come from, outside the pages of the script.

TLOEG: You’ve appeared on both Stargate Atlantis and Stargate SG1, did you have a favorite out of the two? Which was your favorite to work on and experience you had?

AP: I really loved Atlantis, just because I became friends with Jason Mamoa and the role on it was quite extensive.  So I liked Atlantis a lot better, but everybody on the franchise has been fantastic.

TLOEG: Is there a type of role you would most like to play, that you haven’t played so far?

AP: Is there a part that I’d most like to play, that I haven’t done so far?

TLOEG: Yea.

AP: Honestly, I’d really love to get into a CIA, FBI kind of detective role.  An extensive detective role, something that I could really just fall right into.  Basically I loved, oh what is it called now? It just escaped me… What’s that Brad Pitt one with Morgan Freeman?

TLOEG: Um, Se7en.

AP: With the deadly sins. Se7en!

TLOEG: I’ve seen that one.

AP: Yea, that type of role, where it’s just gritty, you know?  I like the, not necessarily the cagey veteran, but you know, the go getter of just trying to break it. He becomes emotional with it.  I love those types of characters. I’d love to do a cop role like that.

TLOEG: On Battlestar Galactica, as well as playing the character of Marine Sergeant Fischer, you were also the boxing coordinator.  How did you go about coming up with and setting up the fights?

AP: Well, especially the one with the father-son, the Adama’s, that boxing one, we just made it like how, what would be the realistic end of it? And I just had… Eddie’s role as the cagey veteran, he doesn’t necessarily need the speed, he just needs the smarts.  And Bamber’s more aggressive and styled and quick. So when we did that fight, we just made it like a really young and older, kinda teaching him the way to go, basically how I did that boxing sparring session there.  And with the other ones, for the fight episode, we just tried to get really raw and gritty, that it’s not necessarily has to be sexy, it just has to look like it’s a real fight.  So just to coordinate it and work with everyone there, it was pretty fantastic.

TLOEG: In the TV movie Fireball, your character Tyler is burned pretty much all over his body. Did you have to wear prosthetics at all? Or was it makeup?

AP: It was all make up, no prosthetics just a lot of makeup.  Probably about 3 hours in the chair, when we did some of the bigger scenes.  Actually I shaved my head for that too, so that was quite an event.  And they had me working out probably about 4, 4 1/2 hours a day for a good 15 days to try to get… It was probably about 4 months after Personal Effects was when I got that.  So I had to go from eating pizza and ice cream to working out like a fiend.  So it was quite a little switch.

TLOEG: Not a nice change.

AP: (laughs)

TLOEG: Have you ever suffered a serious injury on set?

AP: Nope. No, just minor bumps and bruises.

TLOEG: Well that’s lucky.  One of my favorite roles of yours is your role on The Dead Zone, Matthew Meter.  What’s it like playing a character so different to the other ones you usually take on?

AP: That was interesting because I just, when I went in for that audition I literally decided to do the character that I did. Probably, just the night before, I rehearsed it in a normal aspect, and I thought “you know, I think this guy is way more quirkier” and I took the risk and chance of going in with the character you saw on Dead Zone and it paid off.  That one was really fun for me.

TLOEG: A few years ago you made a film named Taming Tammy, for which you were not only acting in, but writing as well. What was it like working on and adapting such a famous play?

AP: It was fun, I mean it was a crazy schedule and we had some amazing people a part of it.  Especially the crew, because during the week they would be shooting the shows that they’re on, and then on weekends, I think it was 8 weekends we did, where they just came and hung out with us and helped us make this movie.  Because it’s such a huge ensemble of a cast to have Dan Payne and Tahmoh, a part of it, I was just blessed to have such great, talented friends that would want to help me out.  So even though it was crazy and hard, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, because it was quite an experience.

TLOEG: It is a very good film, it looks like it was a lot of fun to make as well.

AP: Yea, it was a lot of fun to make.

TLOEG: You will be appearing in the second season of the television series Sanctuary.  Can you tell us anything about your character and the episode you’re in?

AP: Of which show?

TLOEG: Sanctuary.

AP: Sanctuary.  You love that show, don’t you?

TLOEG: A little bit, yes. (giggles)

AP: (laughs) I love that you do.  I play a character named Duke, who is an abnormal and his race are basically rage fiends. They don’t have a feeling for rage, they just trip out all the time.  I’ve gotten this rage inhibitor put on my temples and I’ve gone from being a thug to the top of the mob, because of it.  Sometimes it doesn’t work as well as it should and the rage gets out of me.  It was a really fun role to play, knowing that I have to have that rage, but have to bottle it at the same time.  Working with Robin and Amanda was absolutely great.

TLOEG: I can imagine…

AP: Michael Shanks too. Michael Shanks is guest starring in that also..

TLOEG: In the same episode?

AP: Pardon me?

TLOEG: In the same episode, yeah.

AP: Yea, yea I love the guy.  He’s one of the best guys I’ve met.

TLOEG: He’s really good, yea.  Do you have any other upcoming projects you could tell us about?

AP: I did a really off the wall character in a movie called Charlie.  His name’s Ernest, it’s a quick little cameo but it was really fun to do. The director just gave us a lot of room to improvise, so a lot of the stuff is improvised.  That should be out, and I just shot Fox’s Human Target with Emmanuelle Vaugier.  And Mark Valley is in it.  I just did a really interesting guest part, cause I’ve played Russians before, and this was a Russian accented part but with, after I got the role, they asked if I could learn the actual language, to give a speech.  So that was quite fun, just to sit down and learn a language that you’ve never learned before and it’s strictly for, you know not only do I have to learn the pronunciation and learn the context, but I have to give it the intention as if I’d spoken the language since I was born.  So, I had like five days to get that.  But it was fun, it was awesome.  I had a really good time with it.

TLOEG: You also did a, is it a movie, called Riverworld? I’m not sure if it was a movie or the television series.

AP: Yes, it was good.  It’s a miniseries, a sci-fi series.  Again with Tahmoh Penikett. So we did that together for, we worked together for about 10 or 15 days.  So it’s fun working with your best friend.

TLOEG: I can imagine. What I’ve heard about it, I haven’t heard much but it does look like it’s going to be a really good miniseries.

AP: Yea, looking forward to it.

(This interview was recorded a year a go, so somethings that are mentioned in the interview have happened/changed.)

Shelley: First question. How did you get into acting?

Dan: Wow, as a high school student I caught myself getting a little bored so i’d sort of be the kid who got in trouble acting up. And the teachers had a lot of difficulty trying to give me reprimand because I was getting… I was a nerd. I was an annoying nerd I guess. Because i’d get great grades and they couldn’t really go (puts on voice) ‘look, your school works suffering’. I’m just like ‘no it’s not’. So being applauded and rewarded for being a goof kind of inspired me to carry on. I played pro-sports which put me in front of an audience. And I kind of put two and two together and when the volleyball ended I thought wow, I like being a goof and I love audience response, that kind of equals acting!

Shelley: Haha, most likely yeah.

Dan: And then thats kind of… I think brother and my dad and my sister all, and my mom too. But mostly my dad, my brother and my sister are very, very comedic minded. Very, very funny people and we grew up in a house laughing. So, it’s kind of the one thing i’m truly addicted to is either laughing or making people laugh, thanks to them. That’s why i’ve always had a strong desire to be a part of comedy and comedy related things. And again that’s where it started. My brother and I wrote a comedy show and I did stand-up for a while. And that was sort of the beginnings of getting infront of people in a performance manner other than sports.

S: Oh that’s cool.

D: Yeah.

S: I’ve got to say, I never knew you did stand-up for a bit. I never knew that bit.

D: Yeah, well it was one of those cut your teeth when nobody knew you thing so that you could, if you sucked nobody would know about it, you know?

S: Yeah. How long were you playing professional, was it professional volleyball or part-time or something like that?

D: Yeah, professional volleyball. I played for the University of Calgary here in Canada for four years. Then I went and played National B, one for National B team. Then I actually wound up going to Holland to play professionally in Capella. Many, many moons a go when I was youthful and exuberant.

S: Haha.

D: Now i’m broken and old. Yay!

S: Hahaha. What kind of role would you like to play that you haven’t played so far?

D: I’ve just finished with the Mulligans, which we might talk about later. I got to play the love lorn, struggling, depressed, emotional kind of rollercoaster character which was a lot of fun to explore that. I think now what i’d really like to do is try and make a villain appealing, you know? Try and be the absolute baddie that people love.That would be fun.

S: You’ve obviously played a few bad guys that people have loved to hate in the past and i’m sure… it would be good to see you do one where you actually get to not wear make-up.

D: Yeah, exactly. Those baddies were a lot of fun but in a way I get to hide behind the make up and they are sort of meant to be disliked because they are the ones that almost always get killed. Not that baddies don’t always get killed, they do, pretty much. But, these ones were like the creatures that are of dislike so the big bad wraith was a lot of fun, but, again, destined to get his butt kicked because he was not a nice guy. I’m talking about those villains that people root for. That they want to win, almost, you know? It’s a difficult dance to be a guy who has a moral ambiguity or what ever and kind of causes people harm. But in the end you’re like ‘boy, I hope it all works out for him’ you know?

S: Yeah. There are a few characters, villains, that people love and they want them to succeed.

D: Yeah, exactly.

S: One that springs to mind, there’s a Joss Whedon thing called ‘Dr Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog’ where the main character is actually a villain played by Neil Patrick Harris. And you actually root for him instead of Captain Hammer played by Nathan Fillion. It’s like how the hero is portrayed as the bad guy almost.

D: That’s great. Nathan Fillion and Neil Patrick Harris. Neil Patrick Harris is a great comedian.

S: And it’s a musical aswell.

D: Pardon?

S: It’s a musical aswell.

D: Oh my goodness. I’ve got to see that.

S: I know it’s available… I think it’s available on Itunes. I can pass long the web address for you.

D: That’d be great.

S: You spoke about your characters in SG1, did you hae a favourite out of the Stargate SG1 characters you’ve played and why?

D: Sg1, are we going to include Atlantis aswell?

S: Yeah and Atlantis. Yeah, sure.

D: I enjoyed being the Super Soldier just for the longevity of it and the kinda creating the creature part of it because they really were cool about involving me in making it less robot, more human sort of descendant type thing. That was fun, but I think the most actual fun I had in the doing was the big bad Wraith. The Uber Wraith was just so much fun to see it evolve. Even in the makeup chair, to see it come to life that way and then to just got out and woop some Ronon ass was pretty cool.

S: It was pretty cool to watch as well because there was a behind the scenes bit for it on the dvd. You got to see what it was like behind where you talked about the character a bit and we saw you there and we saw some of the preparation for the fight aswell. Which was really good to see. What is like when the makeup for the Uber Wraith or the Super Soldier suit… is it uncomfortable or do they adapt it to make it more comfortable?

D: Well the Super Soldier suit they actually built a body cast specifically of my body so that they could build it to completely to function for my specific frame. So the comfort was built in and they were really aware and very conscious of the fact that i’d be in it for multiple hours a day, sometimes up to fourteen hours a day and that comfort would be sort of a key thing. And that had a great person looking after me named Nancy, who always made sure that if anything was uncomfortable, she would fix, repair, alter immediately. So, yeah, that was great and then the Uber Wraith, I didn’t really care, I was only gonna be in it for, I think four, five days max. I just wanted to be that guy, so… But it wound up being very comfortable aswell because everything was very pliable and mobile, because it needed to be for the fight. I mean, some stuff was a little bit heavy on the Uber Wraith but, again, we… they knew they had to make it work and they alwas… they do do that. They keep you in mind first, so, it’s kinda cool. That’s why I call it a family. The family… Family looks after one another and they really do look after one another. Not that other shows don’t, but these do more than most. They go that little bit above and beyond.

S: Yeah. I get that feeling when i’ve met the cast. They always speak well of each other and it does seem like quite a nice family unit in the world of Stargate as it were.

D: Yeah, like Amanda Tapping, everytime I showed up on set, she’s such just a beautiful person. She’d come over and say hi. And even when I was just getting to know people there, she was always very gentle and kind. And when you kind of working your way into a set, so to speak, there’s some trepidations or what ever. She always erased any kind of nerves, just be coming over and just such a beautiful and open person. Give you a hug and make you feel welcome and it stemmed from there down. Everyone else there was great too. The directors, they were all just like ‘We’re here to have fun, kid, so do your thing’.

S: Many of the characters you’ve played have required you to wear some form of make-up or prosthetics, like the Supersoldier or the Uber-Wraith. What is it like to play a character where you’re actually kind of hidden from the camera anddo you change the way you act or prepare for it differently?

D: Well, often if they’re gonna put a prosthetic on you, or that much make-up, there’s no real presidence set. Like there’s no… we can’t go travel to the beginnings of wraith-dom and find out what those people were like. So it’s kind of a fun freedom to be able to just run a muck. To just go crazy and the director and everybody else will help you shape it so it’s not too big, too small or off the mark. But there’s no real presidence set so it’s just a lot of freedom to create. Which is an amazing, amazing opportunity cause where if you’re playing a real person, unless you’re a looney tune in a happy bin you kind of have to stick to the what people are like thing. But Supersoldier’s and Uber-Wraith, there’s no real presidence set. You get to just really create a whole other world. So there is a freedom involved. And when you’re hiding behind the mask, so to speak, you also get that sort of nobodies gonna know it’s me so I can take a little extra risk and i think that’s something I learned from wearing those costumes is that, taking those risks is almost essential. Whether you’re wearing a mask or not and that’s only the freedom given to me by wearing those masks that I realised that, you know?

S: Yeah.

D: Did I answer that question? I’m not sure, I might have just rambled my head off there, i’m not sure.

S: I’m not sure either.

D: We’ll go with yes.

S: I just asked did you change the way you prepare for the character?

D: Ah, right. Yeah, but it bled into other characters, thankfully, because of the freedoms involved. There we go.

S: There we go.

D: All that in two seconds versus…. yeah.

S: I know. Another of the sci fi shows you’ve appeared on is the web version of Sanctuary. What was it like working on a show that used so much green screen? Was it a challenge or was it easier than normal?

D: Again, for people who just love to be creative and use their imagination, it’s just a fantastic opportunity. Sometimes it’s more difficult for eyelines, if you’ve got to be looking in a specific direction, at a specific thing and there’s nothing there. And there’s like little x’s and stuff. That might be difficult, but the creation, imagination factor is huge and it’s a lot of fun to just go to a completely different world.

S: The most notable character on the show was the Corporate Vampire, for which we saw you with and without prosthetics. What was it like playing a character which required two different looks like that?

D: So much fun. It was nice to be able to not be wearing a mask, a,  and play that way. Not that we got to invest too much into it, in terms of creating and developing the character. It was a bit of a brief jaunt over all, but it was a lot of fun. And to vamp out, I guess is what i’ll call it, was just awesome. I love the make-up cause it was kind of… you could kind of tell it was me. But you get to be all super strong and masterfully evil. It was unbelievable fun and, yeah, there is two totally different worlds there, which is great to switch, you know? It’s ideal. I would love so much for that character to still be around.

S: Well, hopefully, you never know, a lot of the fans i’ve spoken to want the character back, so fingers crossed they’ll bring him back because that’s what the fans would like. That i’ve spoken to, anyway.

D: Oh, that’s fantastic. Yeah, the fans have been absolutely brilliantly supportive. I remember there was a little bit of a poll as to favourite characters per episode and the vampire snuck in on top a couple times, which was pretty awesome.

S: Yeah, definitely for the webisode 8 that that character was in, he was voted the top character. Helen was about the same, or might have just beat him to it, but she’s the main character.

D: Yeah, ofcourse yeah.

S: What was your favourite thing about playing the vampire?

D: The physicality, I guess the physicality. Once you vamp out, then you get to be just.. I don’t know, I was a humungous fan of ‘Lost Boys’. I don’t know if i’m gonna share to much here, people’ll be like ‘Really? You’re a huge nerd’. Anyway, ‘Lost Boys’ was awesome and I thought Jason Patrick was like, just the kick ass character of characters, where you’re just caught in between worlds and he’d kind of vamp out but then he’d kind of keep himself from crossing that line and it was fun to just go into that physicality without the obstacles of goodness, I guess. Although I think the Corporate Vampire did have a conscience because he would of killed more freely-er or intensely with the powers he apparently possessed. So it was fun the physicality of knowing you could just toss people around and play with peoples minds, it was great.

S: Through the tv shows you’ve appeared on, you’ve been to may conventions. Do you have a favourite moment and do you have any moments that are memorable for another reason?

D: Well, I think the best… the biggest and best feeling I most recently had and it’s possibly only because it’s the most recent because i’ve had so many amazing experiences at conventions and it’s all because of the people that you meet and the people you get to hang out with, which is overwhelming at times. But, the most recent experience was a friend of mine, well actually my cousin and my aunt, brought to my attention a young girls plight for medical assistance regarding her pituitary gland, which she had surgically removed by them removing the top of her head, had to pull an eye out to lift her brain and get to the pituitary gland. It’s just unbelievable and intense and she’s lost her pituitary gland and is unable to produce growth hormone and the Canadian government only covers so much so they’re financially strapped. Well, I came to the only people I knew that could make a complete difference in a big way and that was the fans and at the last convention I had an auction which raised $8,600 for this little girl which was the most amazingly massive expression of love that i’ve personally been a part of that directly. And I just, if I can, want to thank Kim Fox, Alex Zahara, Sylvia, Mike, everybody involved with all the planning and helping and also all the fans obviously for their donations and their generosity. It was just an amazing experience.

S: I’ve heard a lot about that and it does seem like it went very, very well.

D: Thats the altruistic experiences of experiences but the sort of selfish one that was a lot of fun was just farting around with Mr. Zahara, doing our show and interacting with fans. That’s just good times, no matter what.

S: You’re also appearing in the upcoming comic book adaptation Watchmen. You play the character Dollar Bill. Can you tell us anything the film or your role?

D: I got in on the Watchmen just kind of by, I guess not by fluke, but I got to be the reader for a very kind casting agent named Michelle Allen and in doing so met Zach Snyder and after going through all the auditioning of other actors and what not at the end he’s like you know what your physicality and demour is pretty much spot on for ??? if you’d like to take a whack at that. You know it took me all of a nano second to be all “Yeah uhuh, uhuh”, just to be a part of it. So He said theres not much of a role it’s a bit of  flash back scene and obviously your death scene and I’m like “I don’t care if I’m bringing ya doughnuts Sir!”. So Yeah it came about by great right place right time random events and its not a big role by any means but just being in such an amazing production is exciting and I am honored to be there. And I met some cool people too in doing that, you know like Jeffery Dean Morgan  and hes a pretty cool dude!

S: He is yup, he is! Have you ever worked behind the camera or if not do you ever consider it?

D: Yeah in the interests of trying to figure out everything and anything about the industry that I can that’s how I came about understanding that I love to write as well. But I made, I wrote my own short and I cast it, I produced it and I directed it, co directed it with a friend. I never want to direct right now because oh my goodness I might have just been wearing too many hats at the time. But producing is a skill as much as people might want to think it might not be totally a skill and those who have it have it and those who don’t should just not produce. I really think that if you invest enough time into learning that skill then you can go ahead. It didn’t interest me as much directing is just an art form that is separate from acting I mean it helps you understand acting. But I think you don’t really scratch the surface of directing unless you really feel for it, have an innate desire to be a part of that world and a lot of people cross over. I may do so as I get more and more involved with acting and deeper into the world of acting but at the moment I just want to see it as an art that I don’t yet understand. It’s a bit Picasso for me- so I’ll stick to the acting.

S: You’ve recently appeared in a feature film called Mulligans what can you tell us about the film and your role in it?

D: Probably one of the most, I am most proud of that character, that effort and that film. It was a low budget indie feature that had recently got distribution so all you people in North America, UK, Australia, I’m not sure where else have a look. But anyway that was my plug and back to the programming. Its about a forty year old Dad who late teens seventeen, eighteen becomes a father and is sort of thrown into fatherhood and parenthood without having time to explore and experience his life before going to that place. He marries the high school sweetheart and somethings just not quite right through his life and as he sort of goes through his mid life crisis he realizes that things are different for him and when his twenty two year old son comes home with his college roommate the father outs himself. Actually comes out of the closet in his mid life crisis by falling for his sons best friend. It throws the family into a whirlwind of change and an emotional rollercoaster beyond belief which is so much fun to explore. Its not a Disney ending I’m not going to blow it for you but its definitely not a Disney ending and its, Charlie David who wrote it, its his first feature and I just think that he knocked it out of the park for a first time effort. So yeah that’s the gist of the story and the character was just so much fun the layers and depth of that character were so much to explore.

S: It does look fantastic from what I have seen of it. Did it have several different film festivals its been around North America I believe?

D: Yeah its been an experience the first time for me to be going to festivals and you know different festivals, different levels, different budgets. All the ones that have been able to have flown me out to their festivals to have been a part of the premiere of the show, and we’ve premired on opening nights on some of them and some of them on closing nights. Which is great! Its an honor to be on opening or closing its been really cool. I’ve been to Pitsburgh, Seattle, Chicago is coming, I’m not sure and then Calgary, Vancouver. Anway a lot of places and its been pretty intense to actually watch a movie with an audience because your watching it with your knowing what’s going on and they’re watching it for the first time and there reactions are immediate. Your sitting there listening to there reactions you know it was tense the first couple of times but after we started to realize that we had done a good thing here, the audiences have always been very, very partial to open and warm about the project it has been just exciting, just cool!

S: I can imagine, it does look fantastic from what I have seen of it hopefully fingers crossed I will be able to get it when it comes out on DVD here in the UK.

D: Thankyou, I’d love to hear your feedback.

S: Hopefully it won’t be too long until it comes out.

D: They are telling me that it is going to be April. April of 09.

S: I’ll save up for it.

D: Thankyou. That is the latest that the distribution contract says by April it will be on shelves so that is pretty cool.

S: That’s cool. If you could play any other character on one of the shows or films you’ve worked on which would you play and why?

D: (whistles) Shelley and the questions that’s a deep question. Good question, something that I have been in?

S: Or if you’d like it could be something that you would like to be in if possible, if you wanted instead?

D: Well that makes it easier as I have to think more on the other one but the one that I have always said that I have wanted to be was Tristan from Legends of the Fall.

S: (laughs)

D: Yeah, not I want to be Brad Pitt not that that wouldn’t be pretty awesome but that character was just, I love that movie and I love that character. Huh! That was just off the top of my head I don’t know what to think, think deeper. Lets see stuff that I have been in. Well how about you help me with a little bit of history in some of the things that if you know I have been in that you though were cool.

S: That is putting all the difficulty on me now.

D: Exactly. Now I am just going to hang on and I’ll find out  I guess if I was young enough I would have enjoyed being Superman in Smallville.

S: That would have been interesting.

D: Yeah well I’m old now so obviously-

S: No you’re not!

D: Well for young Superman I should be.

S: Well there is always movies and stuff like that you never know.

D: True enough.

S: Very true!

D: Got to stay in shape damn dingin’.

S: Because I know there is a picture of you dressed up as Superman and I do believe its on your website. Several people have said, and have actually mentioned it and said that’s a good look for a Superman  as it was different. It would work well.

D: Cheers, that was just a Halloween that I just went around and goofed off. Stuff that I’ve been in you know I think that as a nerd, I think I would like to be, well I guess as Universe is the new show coming out I would love to be one of the core team members on that but again it sounds like I may be out of the age range.

S: Well if I am remembering correctly the main member of the team, I think they were trying to cast somebody that the fans are familiar with. It might be somebody from outside Stargate but I believe I think he is about your age range actually and all the rest are going to be young ones.

D: I’ve heard rumors of who they are going after. They are going after a name obviously and I have heard rumours about who it is. Have you not?

S: Theres not really been much we’ve seen different bits, we’ve synopsis’ of each character but we’ve not heard that I know of about who they are going after.

D: I guess I’ll have to keep that spoiler to myself incase I will get myself into big trouble.

S: If they asked you would you be in it?

D: If they asked me?

S: If they asked you if you would like to be one of the main roles.

D: Well if it was one of the main roles it would pretty much be a no brainer because it would obviously be something that I could invest in.  Even a recurring role where there is a character arc of whatever, for sure! I’m not a hundred percent sure that I want to be some sort of unambiguous creature. I’m not sure anymore I feel like I have paid my dues  pretty hard there. Again I’d like to be a part of that family but I’d like the reciprical putting in my time to be rewarded with something of a character of caliber rather than buried in prosthetics. Nobody would know, one time thing, like, but you know, saying that I’d still love to work and be a part of it so, if they asked me, I’d still do that and no one would know it’s me so I could obviously come back for something else that was my face. I guess my answer is, yeah, I’d do whatever they asked. I can’t say that of every project, but yeah.

S: It’s handy, when you’ve appeared in prosthetics they can include you as a different role later on. Like Jewel Staite in Stargate Atlantis, the other was the Wraith girl in an early episode and now she’s playing Doctor Jennifer Keller in the show as one of the main characters.

D: In a roundabout way to answer your question about what character would I want to be, I guess I’d want to be one of the Watchmen in “The Watchmen” as opposed to one of the extinct Minutemen. Yeah, because that’s an unbelievable story and, again, Zack Snider is pretty kick-butt.

S: It does look fantastic.

D: Yeah. Apparently one of the most highly-anticipated movies of the last fifty years or something. Or twenty years? I don’t know.

S: Yeah, there’s a lot of fuss being made about it and everyone’s getting excited.

D: Probably not fifty years ago. I don’t know if there were movies being made fifty years ago.

S: There were.

D: Silent, right?

S: Yeah. No, there were voice ones in the fifties.

D: Is that right.

S: I think.

D: I can barely remember what happened yesterday. I’ve got the goldfish memory. Hey, look, castle. Ooh, look, castle!

S: I get like that sometimes as well. There’s nothing wrong with that. I have one more question and it’s something I want to run for the website. It’s where people can submit like random questions that some people sometimes ask. I was wondering if you’d be all right with answering one that someone submitted to me that I just picked randomly from the ones that were submitted to me.

D: Absolutely.

S: Okay. “What is the furthest you’ve ever travelled from home?”

D: Oh! Well, for awhile it was hard to define home because I lived in Australia, I lived in London. So I would say, I guess I would say because now that I call Vancouver home, Australia would probably be the farthest. With the exception that I went to Papua, New Guinea and Indonesia, which I don’t know technically if they’re farther… and New Zealand, which, oh, okay, so New Zealand would be farther. Wow. Lots of places. I travelled like crazy. I was as much of a nomad as I could be for many, many years. Yeah, I bounced around all over the planet. I’ve probably been the farthest point from home ever.

S: It does sound like it from the places you’ve been, most likely.

D: And just for the record, no I’m not on the run. No, I’m not wanted. So nobody go check out for rewards for finding me. I didn’t do anything evil. Oh, you know what? One thing that’s cool. I worked exploration in the Yukon. This is sort of a ‘farthest from home’ thing in a way but, working up in the Yukon, I’ve actually apparently been dropped off by a helicopter and walked where no man has walked before.

S: Oh, fantastic. That sounds excellent.

D: I mean, there have been people there but I’ve most likely put a footstep where no other footstep has been. So that was neat to know.

S: That is, yeah.

D: And luckily they came back and picked me up, too. So that worked out.

S: That is very lucky, yeah. Well, that was the last question I had. Is there anything else you’d like to be asked or anything like that?

D: Uh, not really. Thank you very much to you for always being an amazing fan/supporter/friend; I appreciate all you do  and I want to extend that gratitude out to all fans and friends who have looked after and followed my career. I appreciate beyond comprehension, and I hope they know what that means to me. That’s why I love conventions because, if they want me there then I want to be there even if it’s the smallest gesture possible. Just to be able to be there and say thank you to those people who wanted me to be there.

Massive thank you to everybody and I hope that these petitions and these things you’re a part of to help me get on 90- um, on Universe — just joking — Universe and Sanctuary work out because I’d like to be back in the swing.

S: Cool.

D: Yay!

Contains minor spoilers for Sanctuary season 2.


You’re originally from the UK, how did you come to live in Canada?

My dad was an engineer and we moved to Montreal from England when i was three.

You have appeared in both television & film productions, aswell as stepping behind the camera aswell. Do you have a preference?

Acting is my first love. but there is something incredible about starting a project and seeing it to the end. i love seeing a vision carried out, and being completely creative. i find writing a lot harder for me than acting, but I like the challenge. acting is tough too, but i guess i trust my instincts more as an actor. i’ve never directed, but maybe one day i will. but for now i have my hands full!

Was there any one thing that has inspired you more than others in your work?

People and a desire to see change. i’m a voyeur. i love observing people and the way they interact and react to situations. I love trying to get into their brains. I’m interested in the human condition.

I’m also really inspired with creating change in the TV/film world. Being a woman of color, it means a lot to me to play such a strong character in a show like Sanctuary. Growing up I rarely saw anyone that looked like me on TV. And it’s a dream for me to know that in some way I am creating change in this industry, and that it might inspire other young girls.

Do you have a favourite genre to work in?

No. I’ve been so fortunate in having the opportunity to have done both. Comedy isn’t easy, but when you get into the rhythm its so much fun. It’s about being honest and playing. If the writing is good and you’re having fun and you allow yourself to play, chances are it’ll be funny. But I also love drama. I love scaring myself and pushing myself and being dark, because I’m not really a dark person in real life, so it’s a challenge. I also love thinking and being really cerebral about characters. I love them both, and they both challenge me in different ways. I think actors like Jim Carey and Robin Williams are so great in dramatic roles. There is something really touching and bittersweet to see humor in darkness and vice versa.

You appear in the upcoming Roland Emmerich film 2012. What was it like to work on the film & can you tell us anything about your role?

2012 was pretty amazing. I play Aparna, the wife of Jimi Mistry’s character (Blood Diamond, East is East). It’s a huge blockbuster Hollywood film. I did that role a year ago and it was the first time I worked with a green screen on such a large scale. There is a scene where me, my husband and my son walk up a mountain along with hundreds of extras. The mountain was built in a studio and around us was a green screen. It was enormous! And so much fun to play in such a big space. Little did I know that it was an experience that would prepare me for Sanctuary!

You have recently joined the cast of Syfy channel series Sanctuary. What was it like joining the team?

You’ve met them all so you know how much fun and how sweet they are. I felt totally lucky to be a part of such a great cast of talented sweet people and such an awesome crew. They really made me feel at home. I really worked hard though, because they had all had a year and more playing their roles. And I felt like I had to catch up. I wanted to make myself and my team to be proud.

Have you experienced any of the pranks that are played on set?

I have was lucky! I think they all felt like I was the new girl, so they were nice to me. But I witnessed a few crazy pranks. Robin is generally the culprit of a lot of them. You can’t trust him!!

What is your favourite thing about your character, Kate Freelander?

I adore Kate! Because in a lot ways she’s the opposite of me in real life. She’s brash, rough, tough, likes to play with guns and beat up boys. She is fearless a lot of ways. I call her my personal alter ego. I feel like I naturally know what she’ll do, and how she feels because it’s opposite of what I would do. I’m much more cautious than she is. But what I really love, is that underneath all her roughness and jarring attitude is a venerable girl. That’s the characteristic that I connect to the most with Kate.

Does your character get to see much action & if so, did you have to do any stunts?

Episode 3, you’ll see Kate getting some action! She loves guns, and I play with a lot of them throughout the season. I did some fighting and got to be really physical. At one point in an episode, I’m hanging off bigfoot’s arm and we’re suspending in the air. It was crazy! I had to do a lot of climbing and jumping. It was a challenge but tons of fun.

The majority of the series is filmed using green screen? Was it a new experience for you & did it take much getting used to?

Yeah, a lot of the show is green screen. I had worked on green screen in the past like on 2012, but not as much as I have with Sanctuary, and it’s surprisingly easier than I expected. It feels like doing a play. There isn’t as much to distract you. It’s you, your imagination, a few props and your fellow actor(s). So you have to really believe in the world that you’re creating in your mind. What I love about it, is there is a lot of freedom in it.

If you found out that your character was going to be given an abnormality & you could choose what it could be, what would you choose & why?

So far I haven’t heard if Kate is an abnormal of any kind. But I have been trying to persuade Damian to make Kate into a vampire! I love Vampires, and have had an obsession with them since Interview with a Vampire. I would LOVE to play a vampire one day! I love their sensuality and strength and passion and brutality. I love the fact that Vampires are really beautiful but really dangerous. It’s an attractive combination.

What can we expect to see from your character? Is there a favourite moment coming up on the show, that you can tell us about?

Kate is a tough girl, and a con artist. She’s abrasive and rough. But throughout the season you’ll see her melt a little more. We start to see a lot more of her vulnerability and a side to her that she doesn’t show just anyone. So this season is going to be a lot of getting to know the mystery behind Kate.

My favorite episode is Penance, with guest star Michael Shanks who plays Jimmy. He was so great to work with and so committed. And Kate and Jimi have a very special relationship — what that means, I can’t say. But it reveals a whole new side of Kate that is really exciting to watch. I was thrilled when I read the episode, and I think people will love watching it.

Is there any type of role you you would like to play or any type of production you would like to produce?

Oh my gosh! what a tough question. I want to play it all!!
I would actually love to do a musical someday. I would love to be a Vampire film or show. I also really love dark or quirky characters.

Riesetheseries.Com


How did the idea of Riese first come about?Has anything inspired the production or story?

The story first originated as an idea for a short film, actually. The original concept detailed a young girl, who was traveling with a wolf, visiting a strange and anachronistic town with morally questionable customs. We wanted to parallel the idea of innocence that was captured in the Little Red Riding hood stories, while also paralleling it to the conflicts and moral dilemmas and ambiguities in our own, something we still hold true to in the series as it is now.

As for the production, once we decided to convert it into a series, the real fun began with fleshing out the world that this character was inhabiting. That’s when we borrowed from a variety of historical patterns and genres for inspiration. Aesthetically, we’ve been heavily influenced by the steampunk genre as well as dark, textured works such as “City of Lost Children”. For story inspiration, we drew from both traditional fables, like Little Red Riding Hood, as well as Norse mythology.

One prominent villain in the show is a group called The Sect, which works in conjunction with Eleysia’s new ruler, Empress Amara. For this relationship we really dug deep into the histories of our time, all way the back to the era of inquisitions. Historically, there was usually a dichotomy between the rulers and religion, so it seemed appropriate to incorporate this into our show. Plus, it sets up conflict between the villains themselves, which we believe will be more interesting than just a black and white ‘bad guy’.

Have any of your intitial character story lines changed since working with the cast because of their abilities or input.

Definitely. When we first introduced the character Trennan, he was fairly small in relation to the other players in the story. Once we saw what Patrick could do with him, however, he quickly blossomed into an incredibly dynamic and multi-faceted person in this world, which is awesome. That’s been the best part of getting to work with our actors so closely ahead of shooting. By really getting to see how they experience and take on the character, it shows us the depths we can go with them.

Can you tell us about how & where you filmed the series? Were there any specific locations you used?

For our first episodes we used a few big locations – one pretty famous one that many shows use is Crease Clinic at Riverview, an abandoned hospital in Vancouver that’s been out of use. It’s probably the creepiest building I’ve ever been in, mainly because of its strange history. We also filmed a great deal of the show in the woods surrounding Vancouver, which turned out absolutely beautiful.

All in all, it was really important to us that our shooting took place in real, tangible locations. While green screen shooting is definitely one way to get the set you need, we thought it’d give the audience and the actors so much more to experience if we took the time to hunt down and find the places that you’d really see if you were in Eleysia. And we’ve got even more awesome places lined up for the next batch!

Did you have any of the cast members in mind whilst writing the scripts?

I”d have to say ‘yes and no’. When writing, certain actors came to mind as inspiration for the look and feel of the character, but I don’t think we ever had anyone specific in mind that we were writing for. We had our wish list, definitely, and we’ve been lucky enough to get pretty much all of them so far. It’s great too, because the more buzz we get, the more people want to be a part of it, so we’ve been having a lot of great actors want to be a part of it, which we’re very grateful for.

Is there anything you would like to use in the series that you haven’t used so far?

I’d love to see more of the technology that’s in this world – airships, for example. We have these great designs for how they’re constructed, their operational capabilities, all sorts of fun and nerdy stuff. As we progress further into the show you’ll begin to see more and more of those types of elements appear.

What can we fans expect to see?

Lots of drama and ass-kicking. Because of the caliber of actors we have, they’re really able to pull off some very powerful and emotional scenes, which makes the story that much more compelling. And let me just say, the s*** is going to hit the fan in the next set of episodes. That’s when we really begin to enter the depths of these characters and their own interpersonal drama and histories.

And yes, lots of fighting. We’re really fortunate to have an incredibly talented stunt and fight coordinator on board who’s worked on a lot of the big shows shot in Vancouver. I know in the next set of episodes there are going to be some really epic battles.