I love, love, love, love, love the Haven cast. They clearly love each other and that comes across in every single conference call and interview I (and other CliqueClack members) have done with them. There are some actors that are so awesome that you don’t even need to interview them. Just put them in a room with each other and press record. The Haven cast are a walking, talking carnival act with Eric Balfour at the helm as the unofficial spokesperson. Adam Copeland might be new to the squad and not as outlandish as the rest of the cast, but he still speaks his mind. With only two episodes left in its third season, this call covered what their characters might want for the holidays and well wishes for the Connecticut families.

At this point, Eric Balfour’s a fledgling Bruce Campbell. However, he uses his brazen charm (in place of Bruce’s brazen personality) to win over his audience. Like Bruce, Eric’s background caters to the sci fi audience. Like Bruce, Eric basically says what he thinks. Like Bruce, Eric loves playing with his audience. He couldn’t stop charming the female (and male) writers on the phone. I think we all collectively swooned every time he spoke. Hell, an entire twitter legion swoons everytime he posts to his feed. In answer to one question he kept delaying the answer with prevarications such as “I’m just saying” …  and “I think” and eventually ending with blatantly random responses like “I enjoy chitty chitty bang bang.” He only hesitated once regarding another interviewer’s question and asked if they wanted the real answer.

What’s the perfect Christmas present for Duke? “A Teddy Ruxpin.” Isn’t it odd that Duke, the lady’s man, the man’s man, and the man about town, is always alone at night? Eric thinks so. What makes Duke and Eric similar? Well, other than their daredevil charm, according to Eric, they have striking facial features, but “Duke’s nose is bigger.” Once again, I love Balfour’s wit, self-deprecating humor (while clearly knowing how pretty he is), and ability to comment on his character and odd script plot holes (‘cus, yea, what woman wouldn’t try to ride Duke’s barge pole if she had the chance?)

He’s against an Audrey-Duke hookup. He likes the “beautiful dance.” Like Emily stated in NYCC, he feels people don’t want what they get. But, unlike Lucas Bryant, he’s an advocate for bringing characters together and ripping them apart. He admitted parts of the show are “cruel” but is really excited for the coming two episodes and discussed Duke becoming a “man.”

The reason I call Balfour the unofficial spokesperson is because he covertly served as Emily Rose’s ID. Whenever Emily wanted to say something, but wasn’t quite certain about phrasing it, she handed the question off to Eric who basically stated it outright. I noticed this in our last conference call and NYCC interview as well. How is she like her character? Emily stated she’s prickly when getting to know people,like Audrey.

During the call, Adam discussed the initially temporary nature of his character. Originally the producers hadn’t  intended Dwight as a series regular. But, he did such an awesome job, of course they had to bring him on. Dwight’s backstory isn’t yet fleshed out. But, he sees the Haven gang as the Avengers. And, he’s right, when you think about it. Audrey’s definitely the Black Widow. As he stated before he loves working with the Teagues brothers and the talents of the individual actors, Richard Donat and John Dunsworth. We’ll definitely see what’s going on with Vince and Dave in the coming weeks.

Haven returns to SyFy on January 9th. Don’t miss the final episodes of the third season!

[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B004SMDJ9U” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51eSy3D%2Bi9L._SL160_.jpg” width=”112″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B008H1Q61G” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WNrIaEQ5L._SL160_.jpg” width=”119″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B000AV6RM4″ locale=”us” height=”131″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515qQsbgoDL._SL160_.jpg” width=”160″]

Lucas Bryant and Adam Copeland might not be brothers, but they play them on TV. OK. Maybe Lucas’s curmudgeonly troubled cop, Nathan, and Adam’s curmudgeonly troubled fixer, Dwight, aren’t actual brothers on Haven, but they’re as close as brothers can get. Nathan and Dwight always have each others backs and always look out for each other. Heck, considering both wore matching well-worn leather jackets atop classic, well-loved white t-shirts, they came across as twins who dress the same way by default.  Eric Balfour jumping into the interview while Lucas answered one of my questions. The resulting Balfour-Bryant snog made the roundtable EVEN more bromantic.

Before Eric interview-crashed, Adam joked about not letting anything get between their bromance while Lucas affectionately called Adam his brother with pituitary gland trouble. Although they’re both almost-TV brothers on Haven, they have slightly differing opinions regarding the Nathan and Audrey relationship. Lucas would love to see Audrey and Nathan’s filial love deepen without shifting into the romantic realm. He isn’t a fan of TV shows that iteratively bring lovers together before tearing them apart while growing “tiresome” in the process. He believes that Audrey’s platonic friendship with Nathan changed him without the romantic connotations. By contrast, Adam admits he doesn’t want Nathan and Audrey to connect too soon, he wouldn’t mind seeing it a couple seasons down the road.

Lucas Bryant is incredibly intense. While he’s lighter, more open, and more casual than his Haven counterpart, he still has a built in BS-detector. If he thinks your question’s a shot in the dark, he’ll let you know with a raised eyebrow and a skeptical glance. It’s scary. I managed to ask him why he joined the Guard before his romantic relationship with Audrey formally instated. In my opinion, Audrey didn’t need rescuing. He looked at me with that inscrutable Arnold Drummand-esque what-you-talking-about-blogger look until I admitted that, yes, Audrey WAS kidnapped, but she’s still a pretty strong character. Once he understood, he started to explain why Nathan might join the Guard to protect Audrey from the nefarious Eric Balfour, who hearing his name spoken with vengeful ire, joined our little table. His Balfour-Bryant cheek snog made the interview even more bromantic.

After the whirlwind known as Eric Balfour left, both Bryant and Copeland agreed to their characters’ covert brotherly bond. Lucas feels that if the writers introduced Dwight in season one, we might’ve seen more resentment. However, with his father’s death, Balfour feels Nathan healed when season two rolled around and needed someone to trust 170%. Likewise, Adam feels his character needed someone to rely on 100%, otherwise he’d turn into a character who disliked everyone.

Are Lucas and Adam bromantic? Heck, yes. Are their characters brotherly? Hell, yea. Would you have it any other way? Eff, no.

Following is the transcript and video. For the bromantic kiss, click to minute five. Check out our other New York Comic Con  interviews!

(This post contains 2 pages. Please visit the website to continue reading. Thank you.)

Mary Elizabeth Ellis and Harold Perrineau are well-known to TV audiences, but their next project is taking them online. They’re the stars of Georgia, the new comedy series from writer-director Marta Kauffman (Friends) that’s the latest series on WIGS — a YouTube channel for original scripted programs that’s attracted the likes of Jennifer Beals, Stephen Moyer, and Jennifer Garner. Georgia debuts its third episode today; you can visit the WIGS YouTube channel to check out all the installments.

In Georgia, Ellis (best known as The Waitress from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) plays the title character, a yoga psychotherapist looking to bring calm into both the lives of her patients and her own. Georgia’s fiancee is Michael, played by Perrineau (who’s guest starring as Damon Pope in the current season of Sons of Anarchy). I recently caught up with Ellis and Perrineau to ask them about the differences between traditional television and web TV, their favorite parts of Georgia, and the people who make them laugh.

What interested both of them in jumping on board for the project? “There were so many things I enjoyed about this project, but my favorite part was the wonderful people involved,” Ellis told me. “I got to work with Marta Kaufman, Harold Perrineau — who I’ve had a crush on since Romeo and Juliet — Jason Gedrick, Nancy Carell, Mark Povinelli, and Rusty Schwimmer as well as an awesome crew and producers.”

Likewise, Perrineau appreciated the people he got to collaborate with. “The highlight for me was finally getting to work with Marta Kauffman,” he said. “We’ve been friends for years, and I loved her work for even longer. Also, I got to meet the fabulous Mary Elizabeth. That was absolutely fun.”

Other than the medium of delivery, Ellis explained that there are some differences between a series you’d see on television and one that’s made for YouTube. “I think there was more creative freedom for Marta in this format because there weren’t as many ‘cooks in the kitchen,’ as they say. There are usually so many people from the studio and network giving input that projects have a tendency to get diluted from the original vision. The fact that Marta wrote and directed made her vision more accessible and clear, I think,” she said. “We, the actors, also had an opportunity to talk the characters out in a way there is not always time for on a conventional set.”

The quality of what they could do wasn’t hampered because of the format. “The sets, hair and makeup, costumes, all of the behind-the-scenes stuff was not really different from any set I’ve worked on — very professional and safe,” she said. Added Perrineau, “Because the budget is a little different, some of the amenities are different, and some of our crew’s ability to move quickly is different, [but] the work is still the same.”

In fact, for Ellis, “My biggest challenge was a personal one. I had a four-and-a-half-month old baby at the time, so I was balancing breast feeding, lack of sleep, and debating whether to bring him to set or leave him at home during the days,” she confided. “It was a very kind set for those challenges, though. I truly appreciate the support I was given from our wonderful producers, who were both mothers, as well as Marta and even the daddies in the cast and crew. I think the transitional phase I was in at that time in my life helped inform my approach to Georgia’s transitional phase, which is the heart of the film to me. ”

With Georgia, the story unfolds over relatively brief installments (episode two is about nine minutes long) so the actors have to build their characters differently than they would with a conventional twenty-two minute comedy. In my previous interview with Ellis, she discussed being a writer as well as an actress, and that’s further informed how she approaches material when she’s acting. “I try to be very respectful of the writer’s words. I always ask if the writer is alright with a little improv here and there,” she explained, “because I know the process of sitting and working so hard to come up with just the right words [and] rhythms.”

Likewise, Perrineau took a similarly collaborative approach. With the role of Michael, “Development of the character really came from conversations with Marta, and what we both decided we’d like to see on screen.”

The size of the episodes aside, the character development definitely came through in the finished product. “I’m excited about Georgia because, although it is a comedy, there are also dramatic things going on in Georgia’s life so you really get a sense of her as a whole person. Georgia is one of the most fleshed out characters I have played in a while. The piece was exciting for me because of that,” said Ellis. “I also really enjoyed playing a yoga healer because I love yoga so much in my own life and respect what it can do to help people in their lives.”

(This post contains 2 pages. Please visit the website to continue reading. Thank you.)

Martin Starr doesn’t say too much when talking about his character on Adult Swim’s NTSF:SD:SUV – after all, that’d be a breach of national security. Starr plays Sam Stern, the tech expert for the super-secret National Terrorism Strike Force: San Diego: Sport Utility Vehicle, on the comedy that parodies the glut of TV procedural dramas. Each episode is only fifteen minutes long, so Starr has mastered getting right to the point.

He calls the gig “Pure enjoyment. The feel on set is a lot like making a sketch comedy show.” Who amongst NTSF‘s hilarious cast is his favorite to work with? That’s something he’s happy to declare. “Kate!” he declares, meaning Kate Mulgrew, who dropped by for a chat last month. “The rest of ‘em are okay but Kate wins by at least one million fun points.”

Starr is relatively tight-lipped when it comes to spoilers. “I believe that part of the beauty of watching a show, finding out what’s going to happen,” he says. “But I will tell you that I got divorced and remarried three times this season. In my personal life. Was that the question?”

I do get him to talk about this season’s third episode, “Sabbath-tage,” which sent him out into the field to take on a terrorist who decided to attack San Diego on a Saturday. He tells me that the best part of the Sam-centric episode was “Working with the immensely talented Alison Brie. We almost got married,” he quips. “Dodged that bullet.”

He’s got a short list of oddball things he’d like to see Sam do next: “Skydive, be the only male at an orgy full of sexy villainesses, skateboard on an airplane, turn back time and fight crime as a baby,” he says. These are not all that implausible, given that past episodes have included Mulgrew’s character Kove getting her own podcast and the city of San Diego being destroyed.

Given that NTSF parodies crime procedurals and action flicks in equal measure, I ask him to name his favorites in either genre. “True Lies. Face Off.  It certainly isn’t as amazing as I remembered as a child but it is still pretty amazing.  I mean Woo!  John Woo!” he says, adding that he’s a fan of actor Matt Bush.

When it comes to his other work, Starr tells me that his small role in 2008s The Incredible Hulk opposite Edward Norton was “a fantastic experience,” but doesn’t have a favorite role on his resume. Instead, he advises fans just to “keep thy eyes open; I’m not quitting anytime soon.”

And with that, those are all the secrets I can get him to give up. If you want to find out more about Sam, you’ll have to tune into NTSF:SD:SUV, which airs at 12:15AM tonight (or technically, Friday morning) on Adult Swim.

[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B006WXHJNU” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51mqHkprZcL._SL160_.jpg” width=”115″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B000RZGIOA” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51x8sJ-ltIL._SL160_.jpg” width=”126″][easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00026ZG10″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41a4-%2BzZNBL._SL160_.jpg” width=”110″]

I have a collective crush on Haven’s three lead actors, Emily Rose (Audrey/Lucy), Lucas Bryant (Nathan) and Eric Balfour (Duke). Just as Carla described in her SDCC interview, listening to the Three Musketeers — AKA the Three Amigos AKA three peas in a pod — interact is amazingly awesome. It reminded me of my Community conference calls with Jim Rash/Gillian Jacobs and Alison Brie/Danny Pudi. When you get a group of actors who interact well together, the energy comes across in the interview and on screen. The wryly dry-humored Lucas Bryant joked that Eric Balfour “punches like a girl,” while claiming that playing the curmudgeonly yet emotionally vulnerable sherriff helped him to find and “strap” on his “private parts.” All three joked they could see the writers on the line because they’re on a “sci-fi show” and they can do that. While I almost cried foul when Eric described himself as a nerdy science fiction fan, I realized it explained a lot about his acting choices. But, let’s be honest, no one THAT pretty is into sci fi!

The actors themselves surprised me. I know I shouldn’t be shocked when actors are self-aware; however, all three sounded incredibly smart and dedicated to their characters. During the call, Emily confessed she hates repeating herself in different interviews, which I am grateful for. As a writer, I try to pose questions that haven’t been asked before, but, sometimes, it’s difficult — especially when you just want to ask, “what happens to Nathan and Audrey?” Another item that gained my respect is Emily’s adherence to theatre exercises for building her character’s backstory. A lot of people believe that acting’s merely stating lines and looking pretty, but, if you’ve done any theatre training or taken any drama classes, there are standard drills that help an actor get in touch with her/his on-screen/on-stage self while adding depth to the actor’s portrayal. Emily described difficulty doing the standard 50-character questions that surround a character’s family life, favorite foods and favorite actions. After all, how can you describe your character’s childhood when you don’t know if your character had a childhood, let alone parents? How can you describe your character’s favorite food when it changes, depending on whose memories she cloned? Lucas admitted not knowing much of his character’s backstory or future gave him similar troubles, but he likes it because it forces him to stay in the moment as an actor.

In addition to their incredible comradarie and her usage of standard acting techniques, I liked Emily’s brutal honesty as an actress. As a woman and an on again-off again improv actor, I always hate when TV creates an unrealistic double standard for female characters contrasted with their male counterparts. How many times have you seen a female character get  punched, kicked and pushed into a wall yet  still have practically perfect porcelien skin? While describing the show’s realism and darkness, Emily’s only qualm surrounded the focus on female prettiness.  “I get frequently thrown into fights and as the lady in the show. Everybody’s like yes, she just got in a big fight but with not — no bruises on that face. Not cuts, nothing. You will look pristine at all times. So, I fight for black bruises and all of that stuff … Just let me be bloody.” Eric and Lucas chimed in begging for “just one cut.” Lloyd Segan, the executive producer on the line, tried to steer the conversation back to other questions, but I have to add in my own pleas, as well. Please, please, PLEASE let Audrey look as tore up from the floor up as the male characters after a fight. Come on now, Haven has already broken boundaries regarding writing and acting. Why not keep on that awesome path? Just one bruise, dude, I’m begging you. …

For the third season, Haven will address the continuing troubles, the pending troubled war, and Lucy/Audrey’s disappearance. New troubles will include organ stealing, mind control, and time travel. We’ll also see more Duke and Nathan team-ups (which both actors love). Nathan will kiss someone (else), but the Audrey-Nathan match-up  will satisfy fan urges. While the troubled trinity will undergo difficulties, the crux of the entire show will continue to balance on the core three. Like an angsty teenage couple, they might break up. They might fight. They might yell at each other. But, they will always love each other and they will always get back together. Duke and Nathan’s relationship especially will take a number of turns. Lucas compared it to falling in love, despite their surface nemeses, “I guess it shows many sort of love stories and Nathan and Duke are sort of arch enemies or each other’s nemesis in many ways. But, what really is under that is a great affection for each other.” Eric chimed in calling their relationship When Harry Met Sally, right after they slept together: “I like to think of Nathan and my character’s relationship as sort of like when Harry met Sally. And I think now we’re sort of in the second act of when Harry Met Sally when I think they’ve probably, you know, slept together at this point but it was a little awkward and they’re going to have to now realize how much they actually mean to each other.”

(This post contains 3 pages. Please visit the website to continue reading. Thank you.)