“Moonlight” Premieres Friday, September 28th at 9:00pm ET/PT on CBS.
Q : Are you shooting in LA?
Sophia Myles : “Yes, in LA at Warner Brother’s Studios. Also, we are shooting in various locations all around LA. “
Q : Are you commuting back and forth from London?
Sophia Myles : ” No, I just flew in as we started a week ago and I haven’t had a trip home yet. Judging by the way the schedule works here not sure when that is going to happen. You can’t really go to London for a weekend trip, it’s just too far.”
Q : How is it different shooting American television versus British television?
Sophia Myles : “It’s a lot of work. It’s more than just a job. It’s like a lifestyle. In the working week we shoot five days a week and you’re literally working with no time for anything other than the series. But that’s great because I’d rather be busy then home twiddling my thumbs.”
Q : Mick seems to be sort of a guardian figure for your character, Beth?
Sophia Myles : “You see in the first episode that Beth is an Internet news reporter and goes to a horrific crime scene and does a live feed to a Internet site called Buzzwire News. She meets Mick at a crime scene and she thinks she knows him, but doesn’t know from where. She feels there is some sort of connection between the two of them. They do have a history that will be revealed to the audience, but my character won’t be let in on the connection right away. It makes for an interesting story and potentially a great love story.”
Q : Is there a chance you will be back on “Doctor Who”?
Sophia Myles : “I don’t know, I’m totally up for that, but I want an action doll first! I’m deeply offended they never made a doll (lots of laughter). Seriously though, I’d love to if they asked me, but in a way it was such a fabulous episode that to push it might be a bit greedy.”
Q : Will Beth be reporting on all the crime scenes Mick is working?
Sophia Myles : ” Yes, Mick is a private investigator and they meet on a crime scene. She sees something in him so I think that’s the kind of vibe we’re after. There will be kind of a Mulder and Scully type of working partnership.”
Q : Talk about the love triangle with Mick, Beth and Coraline?
Sophia Myles : “Coraline is part of Mick’s history and turned Mick into a vampire back in the war. She’s incredibly beautiful, played by Shannyn Sossamon, very seductive and she reappears throughout and she was kind of involved in my abduction when I was younger.”
Q : How is the overall tone of the show?
Sophia Myles : “It’s going to be very scary in parts, but there’s a real lightness to it, quite a lot of irony. It’s funny and adult.”
Q : Any chance that Beth will become a vampire?
Sophia Myles : “ I’m absolutely positive that might happen. I don’t know, but I’m sure at some point it might happen. “
Q : Are you following the “traditional” vampire rules?
Sophia Myles : “No, our rules are slightly different and we are sort of bending the vampire rules. Garlic doesn’t affect them. They can go out in the sun.”
Q : Are the viewers going to want Beth and Mick to be together?
Sophia Myles : “Yes, but they are not going to be boyfriend and girlfriend straight away. I think you are going to want to watch them fall in love with each other. It’s going to get messy and really complicated because he’s not going to age and she is.”
Q : Does your character know that Mick is a vampire?
Brian J. White : ” I do not. I don’t know anything at the onset other than that Beth and I have had an ongoing working relationship. Mick’s a private eye and I’ve seen him around but I have no idea he’s a vampire and it will be interesting to see where they take my character and how closely they bring Beth and I together.”
Q : Will your character be keeping an eye on Mick because of your relationship with Beth?
Brian J. White : ” Yes. Mick knows everything and everyone else around him is playing catch up. Mick and Beth are introduced in the first episode and I slowly become aware of their connection. It will be interesting to see how much Mick lets me in on him being a vampire because I am in law enforcement and we do cross paths a lot. Plus there are some considerations like making sure I don’t get in too much trouble around him because he is very protective of Beth. It will be interesting to see how that triangle works out.”
Q : How does the cast fit the show?
Brian J. White : “It’s incredibly well written and effortlessly funny. The casting is spot on. Alex’s natural demeanor is very charismatic and he has that whole Australian thing. He’s a tough guy without trying to be tough. Strong silent type, but has the witty banter. In Sophia they have cast an award caliber film actress for the TV medium so everything is small and right in the pocket and I think everyone will immediately connect with Sophia and Alex and their story. Shannon is the beautiful bad girl, the femme fatale. Jason is such a strong actor and so funny and he is just wicked as Mick’s best friend. We have a nice cast mesh and everyone is able to feed off each other and nothing feels forced. It’s really like a film.”
Q : Talk about the casting changes?
Brian J. White : “It’s the right way to make TV. A lot of times you do a pilot and you know if the concept is working and you also know if the people aren’t working. They knew right away they had a star in Alex and just rebuilt around him. The table read was strong. There were laughs, there were tears, there was real emotion and real relationships.”
Q : Do you get to use your gun?
Brian J. White : “Not yet.”
Q : How dark does the show get?
Brian J. White : “It gets pretty dark and very intelligently dark.”
Q : If Mick is the “good guy” does that make Josef the “bad guy”?
Brian J. White : “Yes, Josef is a very bad guy. Our protagonist is Mick and we are definitely putting vampires and vampire mythology in a positive light showing there are two sides to every culture, even vampires.”
Q : So you are playing a bad guy?
Jason Dohring : “Yeah, what a surprise ( laughing). I’m a 400 year old vampire who is a hedge fund trader who keeps concubines. It’s so cool when you think about it because he has been a part of history for 400 years. He hung out with Mozart and knows where ancient art pieces are buried. People can’t create history or re-write history because he was basically there and he can say no ‘that’s not how this happened.’ His history is a great place for the story lines to go.”
Q : Are there going to be flashbacks?
Jason Dohring : ” I’m sure we will be doing a lot of flashing back . It will be a good way to expose their age. It’s such a great tool and wealth of story potential.”
Q : Is Josef living the vampire dream or is there an element of a conscience?
Jason Dohring : ” No my guy is not that element. Mick is that because he won’t actually feed on lives and people. Mick did in the past, but has developed a conscience since then. Josef is constantly trying to bring Mick back into the vampire fold.”
Q : What are the “Veronica Mars” fans going to like about your character?
Jason Dohring : “He’s similar to Logan. He has billions versus millions. He’s very intelligent. I think what is different is this is an adult show. I’m the youngest of our cast, but the oldest vampire on the show so there is this element of command with my character. Logan had very similar qualities. “
Q : Talk about the casting changes?
Jason Dohring : “Yeah, we went to bat for these actors. They fought for us. Very similar to “Veronica Mars. I had never been cast in a show prior to “Veronica” and it was so cool to be cast and feel like the show was behind you. Makes you feel very thankful.”
Q : Would you do a “Veronica” movie if Rob Thomas called?
Jason Dohring : “YES!!!!!”
