Australia Q&A
Sunday, July 4th, 2010 - TVDozcon - YAY AUSTRALIA!!
courtesy of @Photoshopwhore/@_diamondblack/@TrevinoLockwood
As our first guest, Michael Trevino, waltzed out on to the stage, it was apparent that this day would be unlike any other. The squeals and wolf whistles (pun intended) were deafening, and it took everything I had to remain seated, although many of the other women (and some men) surrounding me did not stay as composed.
Shortly after, Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley and then Ian Somerhalder all graciously answered questions for the adoring crowd, and made us laugh, and cry, and love them even more.
Among stories of 'alien encounters', 'practical jokes', 'scene bloopers' (Michael knee'd Zach fair and square in the family jewels with full force!) and 'favourite moments' we learned a lot about the cast; but mostly, we learned that they are completely humbled by the fans.
It became clear fairly early on that Paul and Ian were as close as two 'brothers' could be, with Paul telling the crowd to ask Ian who a particular cast member was who they had played a practical joke on, informing us that we should tell Ian that "Paul's a pretty cool guy, he told us to ask you.." and that he "is a bit dense... he'll probably tell you."
Nina also told us that she had been told once what a social life was, and said that "it sound's cool... I'd like to try it sometime," making it apparent that her hectic schedule made it difficult to hang out with anyone other than the cast and crew. It was very obvious however that the four guests who were in Australia for this fantastic event (and I have to thank The Hub Productions for hosting it for us!) were all very close. I'm sure this would have extended to the rest of the cast and crew also.
So without further ado, I bring you the Q & A from TVD OzCon 2010.
Michael Trevino
A: Lycans.
Q: Did you know how your character would develop, or were you suprised by it all?
A: I read the first two books, so I had a bit of an idea of how Tyler was, but then when we started filming, every scene was either Jeremy and Tyler, or Matt and Tyler. They were always fighting. I thought to myself 'show that Tyler has some humanity', but its a big cast with a lot of story lines. I can't wait for season two though. It should be very interesting.
Q: What's your favourite scene so far?
A: I think when he punches Jeremy in the face, and he's kind of like 'what's going on with me? What's happening?'. Fans who have read the books will know what's gonna happen, but those who haven't are in for a big suprise.
Q: Did you know that they're casting your Uncle?
A: He's kind of the 'cool' uncle. He comes back, and he might pull Tyler aside or something and say 'Tyler, buddy, I got something to tell you.'
Q: How did you get in to acting?
A: I didn't actually do any acting classes in school, but it was something that I thought I could do, so I got myself in to some theatre classes, worked my ass off and capitalised on every opportunity that came my way.
Q: Which character would you have liked to play?
A: Damon.
Q: Who on set do you get along with the most?
A: All of them! We all live within five minutes of each other. Most of my scenes are with Zach (Roerig) and Stephen (R. McQueen) so I usually hang out with them a lot.
A: Show that he isn't such a prick, and that show some more about his family. Perhaps show some of the Lockwood ancestors in the flashbacks to 1864 - maybe they were bullies back then. Maybe they could show a reason why he is the way he is.
Q: Which episode is your favourite so far?
A: The finale, because we finally get to see a glimpse of what Tyler is.
Q: If you could be a character on any show, which would it be?
A: A serial killer on Dexter.
Q: What would you be if you weren't acting?
A: I'd either be a lawyer, or when I was younger I wanted to major in Marine Biology because I wanted to do the shows at Seaworld, you know, with Shamu?
Q: What do you get up to when you aren't filming?
A: Usually just hang out with friends and family.
A: It's history repeating. We see the success of shows like Buffy, and Angel, and it's timeless. And then there's the new generation. The Vampire Diaries wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for the success of
Q:
A: Damon.
Q: Why?
A: I think Damon and Tyler come from similar worlds. Both of them have inner demons, and both of them are flawed.
Q: Will Tyler get a love interest in season two?
A: [hesitates] Yes. He will, but that's all I can say.
A: I really do listen to everything.
Q: What are you favourite t.v. shows?
A: Dexter, Modern Family,
Q: Would you mind if your character went to the Dark Side?
A: Not at all. Not. At. All. We're going dark.
Q: Who is your mentor?
A: My grandfather. He worked hard. He lived in the southern side of Texas. That's who I look up to.
Q: Have you tasted Vegemite while you're here?
A: Yes, I had it on toast! One of the local Sydney people did it so I wouldn't mess it up. It's an acquired taste, but it could grow on me. I didn't spit it out.
A: I dislike that he's in fights all the time. It's repetitive. He's super cocky too. I want them to show something normal, like that he has a heart. There's too much in season 1, but I believe we will get to see it in season two. And I LIKE that he's the big man on campus. He won't take no for an answer.
Q: Where do you think you'll be in ten or twenty years?
A: Swimming with Shamu at Seaworld... no, no, [laughs]. I'm hoping to be in films by then. Maybe directing. That would be amazing.
Nina Dobrev
Q: Would it be hard for Elena and Katherine to come face to face, in the acting sense?
A: I have to assume that it would be. I've also been instructed to say that because there's someone standing up in the back corner over there who will sniper me if I give you guys any answers about that [grins].
Q: What's your favourite episode so far?
A: Children of the Damned, with all the flashbacks, and I played Katherine and I got to kill three people in the first few minutes. That was fun. And Lost Girls. I loved it with Vicky. She was and is my best friend and we used to live together, and now I live alone, but that ep was fun.
Q: How did they cast the part of Elena?
A: I was there (at the audition process) for 12 hours, and I had to audition with 9 other guys, plus Paul. Paul was like a loner in the corner, just going over his lines and he wasn't paying any attention to me. He was just like Stefan. All the other guys were trying to offer me coffee and stuff. I'd come out of the bathroom, and someone would be standing there going 'hey, how are you? Do you wanna get a coffee?' and I'd be like 'no, I'm good.' Then five minutes later, same thing. I'd be like 'no, I'm still good.' And that's how we got cast, I guess. We had the best chemistry, then Damon got cast because they had the best chemistry, and now we're here.
Q: Did you know that most people think that you would have made a better Bella in Twilight than the girl who plays her now?
A: Really? Thanks, I guess. But I got to play two characters so I guess I got the better deal. But I know all of the Twilight guys, and they're all really cool people.
Q: Do you like playing Katherine or Elena better?
A: I like both. They're both different. Elena is strong and couragious, but Katherine is fun because she's crazy.
Q: What do you think of when you see yourself acting.
A: I get really involved in the storyline, so it's weird. It's like when you take a pic with your friends, and you just wanna go 'delete, delete, delete'... well, I can't delete.
Q: Who do you think you are more similar to? Katherine or Elena?
A: I think I am more like Elena because I'm just a regular girl, but I'm not dating a vampire.
Q: What have you done since you've been in Australia?
A: Well, I snuck in one and a half weeks earlier than the boys, with my best friend who lives here. We went to the Great Barrier Reef, Brisbane, Steve Irwins Zoo, I spooned a koala... no, spooned a kangaroo, and cuddled a koala, and I have picture proof!
Q: What do you think when people have tweet-alongs when the episodes are on?
A: It's cool to hear what people think and how much they freak out over things.
Q: What kind of pranks have you pulled on set?
A: We pull lots of pranks on set, and I'll probably get myself in to trouble if I tell you anything [bursts in to laughter]. Actually, there was this one prank; one of our cast mates really believes in
Q: What kind of music do you listen to?
A: All kinds of different music. I listen to The Fray, Kings of Leon, a lot of pop, Guilty Pleasures,
Q: How do you feel when Stephen R. McQueen has to yell at you on the show?
A: Elena is like the underdog. She's always getting screwed over. She just tries to do the right thing, and he's always yelling at her. I feel pretty bad for her.
Q: Which actress would you want to be?
A: Angelina Jolie in Salt, or Wanted, or even Tomb Raider. That would be cool. That Kristen chick, in the vampire movie. (The crowd starts yelling out Twilight and laughing). No, no, that other one, with
Q: Did Elena choose the right brother?
A: I think she still hasn't decided. When you're her age and you have two beautiful brothers after you, why choose? She's gonna realise her ancestor (had the right idea).
Q: Do you have any nicknames for the other cast members on set?
A: Yes, we all do. Candice is
Paul Wesley
Q: How did you start your acting career?
A: I was sentenced by my parents to go to an all boys christian school with uniforms and stuff. All I wanted to do was play Ice Hockey but I got kicked out of the school, so then I had nothing to do, so I started acting and I realised that I loved it.
Q: If you got to pick any other character in the series, who would it be?
A: Are you forcing me to pick another character, 'coz I like Stefan! Okay. I'd be Caroline. [Crowd laughs] What? I can be a bubbly blonde!
Q: How did you get the role?
A: I basically auditioned, but I wanted to read for the part of Damon. I read three times, but they didn't call me, so I forgot about it. But then I got a call for Stefan. They said that they were shooting in 10 days, so I read 7 times, then I had to do a chemistry test with Nina, and that's how it happened.
Q: Do you have any souvenirs from the set?
A: I carry a locket of Ian's hair for good luck, and I wear Vampire Diaries underwear. The same pair, all the time. Not really. [Laughs].
Q: Have you tasted Vegemite while you've been in Australia?
A: You know what? You guys have this product called frigging TimTams, and I just had a TimTam Slam right before I came here, now I'm nauseous.
Q: Which character would you prefer to play? A vampire or a werewolf?
A: Pfft. Vampire, duh! I think it's because vampires are thinkers. Wolves do things on instinct. Vampires have this amazing depth that wolves don't have.
Q: What's your most embarrassing moment on set?
A: We have a blooper reel that no one has ever seen. I think the producers made it as a joke. When I try to be smooth, as Stefan, I always mess up. I go to kiss Elena, I'll slam her in the face. One time I had something in my teeth when I had to do a sexy make out scene.
Q: What similarities do you have with Stefan?
A: In high school, believe it or not, I felt that I didn't have many friends and that I was a loner. I can relate to Stefan's feeling of being shunned by society.
Q: What do you have to do to get in to character?
A: Watch Ian Somerhalder and try to be nearly as good as him. He's so hot [laughs]. I try to absorb the idea of having 160-something years of knowledge in 1 human brain. One of the things I love the most about this role is that it is so challenging.
Q: Do you do your own stunts?
A: Not all of them. There are certain things that our stunt guys do. The part where I jump off the roof in the pilot episode, I did that, and they had a harness on me and I thought that they would just glide me down, but no, I free-fell for 50ft then they pulled it up at the last minute. I couldn't walk for days afterwards.
Q: Which would Stefan prefer, now that Katherine's back?
A: I don't know where it's gonna go in season two. I think Stefan is genuinely in love with Elena and he gravitated towards her because she looked like his ex-girlfriend. It will be interesting to see how he responds to Katherine's power in season two.
Q: Do you have a tattoo?
A: Yes, its a rose, and its a cover-up for a tattoo I got when I was 16. It was designed by a Japanese artist. I stood over him while he designed it and I just loved it. [Smirks] maybe there's a different meaning, and I just don't wanna tell you about it because I don't know you well enough.
Q: What has been the funniest moment on set?
A: There was this one moment, when Nina had to wear this really long corset dress in the flashbacks, and it was the first time she had worn it. She was running backwards going 'catch me boys' and she fell over and Ian and I didn't even try to help her, we were just laughing at her so much.
Q: In a fight with Edward Cullen, who would win? Stefan or him?A: I dunno, who's Edward Cullen? Stefan would kick anybody's ass, but I don't know much about Edward Cullen.
Q: How do the fangs feel?
A: I sort of have fangs, already. But (the ones on the show are) custom fitted, made by professional fang makers. Yes, somebody went to College to learn how to do that. They pop right on, so they're really comfortable.
Ian Somerhalder
.
Q: Which do you prefer? Modelling, or acting?
A: There's no comparison. There's a huge difference between a magazine page and 48 minutes of television.
Q: You clearly have a very successful acting career, but when you were younger was there something else that you wanted to be?
A: A Marine Biologist. That's literally what I wanted to do. I think I was about 10 years old, and I remember one of my parents friends saying was that what I really wanted to do. I grew up on the Gulf Coast, I grew up in an Estuary, in like a fresh water bayou, which is like a small river going in to a salt water lake, and it was one of my parents friends that said 'do you really wanna spend the next 60 years of your life asking people for money for a cause that no one really cares about?' and I thought 'oh my gosh' and then I found myself in Hollywood, being a young actor, and being a young producer, and asking people for money for things that really no one cared about. So I thought, 'Damn, I could have been in the Maldives right now, studying some walking shark.'
Q: Being on a show like Vampire Diaries, the plot is very superstitious, very supernatural, and we were just wondering, are you superstitious, and if so, what do you believe in?
A: We all have our superstitions. I think the world is worse off because of all these superstitions that exist - Stevie Wonder wrote a great song about that, you should listen to it - but we all have our own crap, our own little superstitions that we truly believe exists and for some reason helps us sleep better at night, but, you know, being from New Orleans, there's the Vampire Lore and the Vampire Mystique that sort of surrounds that city. There are a lot of supernatural aspects of things that we can not explain, which, by the way, we are humans, we have insane imaginations, but there are a lot of things that I think are still cause for a lot of research and understanding.
Q: What's your favourite Damon scenes?
A: well, there's a couple of them. One of them was dancing around with a half naked Kayla Ewell for about a week. That was never a bad thing. There have been some great scenes with Stefan and Damon, some stuff back in the 1860's, the stuff when Stefan and Damon were friends, when they were brothers, before they turned into vampires, is always fun for Paul and I to do. As much as we love each other as people and brothers, we're literally brothers, I spend every waking second with that guy, as much as I want to shoot him, I can't coz I love him, and our jobs depend on each other. We spend so much time together that we have this sort of brotherhood. When Stefan and Damon were young, they were friends. It was such a stark contrast to the way that they usually are, where they're sort of always at each others throats. The scenes where they hadn't turned in to vampires yet, they were sort of transitioning, and finding out what was going on, Paul and I went through a lot in that episode, emotionally. Those scenes were really really really powerful. And then theres other scenes, like the ones where I get to make out with Katherine, that's never the worst.
Q: Which storylines would you like to see played out in season two?
A: Anything where Damon doesn't get staked. Paul and I were just talking about this, and we talked to Kevin Williamson about this over and over and over again. We have to push and push and push for better storytelling, better acting, better directing, better everything in season two. We're gonna really explore some new relationships. I think Katherine is gonna, I don't know how much she's gonna be in it, but I think thats gonna be some serious stimulus... I think she's gonna wreak some serious havoc. And you know, Damon in the first season was the catalyst for everything that happened in Mystic Falls. I mean, if Damon burps, something happens, you know what I mean? And he likes it that way! But that's gonna change. He's not the most powerful dude he knows. There are other forces out there, that are really gonna test him. I think this second season is definately going to test him in a lot of ways that he wouldn't necessarily go seeking.
Q: What was the process of getting the part of Damon?
A: Oh, this part was hell. Im not kidding. Ask Nina. If you understood the process of booking for a tv show, ask Paul. I think Paul initially read for Damon, and he went back in to the room like, five times or something, before getting a test deal. Holy cow man, it was like, seven or ten days, but when you find something you love, and you want it, then all of a sudden you're vested in it. You get scared. You think you're gonna throw yourself off of a building. That process is so intense, so liberating sometimes. I started working with Kevin and Julie, and finessing this character. It was like seven or ten days later, and I got a call from my manager, and she said 'how do you feel about playing a vampire?' and I said 'did I get it?' but apparently I wasn't happy enough about it, so she said 'we'll give you a call back. You don't seem very excited about this,' and she hung up on me. That was about a year and four months ago.
Q: What have you been doing while you've been in Australia?
A: Working! Ive always wanted to come to this place and I had this very romantic idea that I would spend a month here, travelling around but it hasn't exactly worked out that way. It's been amazing though. I've been up in Port Douglas, and I went scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef, this country is just unbelievable. You guys are extremely lucky to have it, please take care of it. I would (stay here) however, I might get fired, because in two days I have to shoot the new advertising campaign for The Vampire Diaries season two, and I think the studio might be a little pissed off if I don't show up.
Q: Damon, on human blood. Stefan, on human blood. The prize, Elena. Who will win?
A: Is that a
Q: Nina told us about a prank that you played on a cast mate. We did ask Paul and he gave us some sort of an indication but he said to ask you because you would tell the truth to us.
A: Well, we have a certain cast member that I think if you read his tweets you would probably get an incling that he is a very interesting Alien thinker-abouter. He may or may not be a teacher on our show. And he is pretty awesome and we love him for his love of
Q: What's your favourite Stefan/Damon moment?
A: When Damon's talking to Stefan and he's trying to be sincere and tell his brother that he doesn't want to hurt people anymore, and Stefan is kind of mesmerized by him, then he turns around and starts laughing his ass off. That was pretty fun.
Q: If you could have super powers, what would they be?
A: If I had super powers, if Damon really existed right now, which I kind of wish he did, I'd dive right in to the fricking Gulf of Mexico and fix this damn oil leak. It's destroying my home. That's what I would do. I mean, I know its like 5,000ft, but James Cameron went down to the Titanic like 25 times, so that's what I would do. Or, I'd have that mind compulsion thing that Damon does, because that would be cool.
