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Q&A: Robin Dunne on 'Sanctuary'
As sci-fi nerds across North America wait breathlessly for Season Two of 'Sanctuary' to premiere on Oct. 9, Moviefone caught up with one of the show's stars, Robin Dunne. He divulges details about what to expect this season, the weirdest thing he's ever seen at the San Diego Comic Con, and what he misses the most about Canada when he's at home in LA.
As sci-fi nerds across North America wait breathlessly for Season Two of 'Sanctuary' to premiere on Oct. 9, Moviefone caught up with one of the show's stars, Robin Dunne. He divulges details about what to expect this season, the weirdest thing he's ever seen at the San Diego Comic Con, and what he misses the most about Canada when he's at home in LA. What initially drew you to 'Sanctuary'?
I had done a movie with [producer] Martin Wood about 10 years ago. He called me one day and said "I have this project for you, would you read?" I read the script, which turned out to be for 'Sanctuary'. He told me that there were two things about this show I should know: The first was that it was going to launch on the internet. This was about three years ago and I was kind of like, "Oh really?" Even now it's still a difficult thing to get people to watch shows online - it still hasn't taken off. So you can imagine what it was like three years ago.
And the second thing was that it was going to shoot mostly with green screen and again, I was like "Oh, really?" I mean, I had worked with green screen in the past, but not to the extent that 'Sanctuary' was aiming for. Martin said "Look, trust me, I think we're onto something really cool. Come up to Vancouver and we're going to shoot a couple of test scenes." So I went up and I met [writer and director] Damian Kindler and [co-star] Amanda [Tapping, of 'Stargate SG-1'], and the gang, and everything really felt right from the get-go. We had a solid team.
One of the few vampires who can out-sexy Brad Pitt in 'Interview With the Vampire', Bill Compton's (Stephen Moyer) sallow cheeks and tall, dark and handsome features set the heart of our 'True Blood' heroine aflutter. Telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) knows falling for a vampire could mean imminent death, but Compton's old-fashioned charm (he is 173 years old) and passion for the woman who saves his life is too tempting to ignore.
Top 10 Sexiest TV Vampires
Bill Compton, 'True Blood'
One of the few vampires who can out-sexy Brad Pitt in 'Interview With the Vampire', Bill Compton's (Stephen Moyer) sallow cheeks and tall, dark and handsome features set the heart of our 'True Blood' heroine aflutter. Telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) knows falling for a vampire could mean imminent death, but Compton's old-fashioned charm (he is 173 years old) and passion for the woman who saves his life is too tempting to ignore.
HBO
Eric Northman, 'True Blood'
Eric is the vampire 'Sheriff' of Lousiana Area 5, and is over 1000 years old. As such, he has even more mesmerizing power over women than ladykiller Bill, and what better place to troll for his next victim than in his bar, Fangtasia? Sexy Swede Alexander Skarsgard's ice blue eyes and blond hair defy the traditional stereotype of the dark, shadowy vampire.
HBO
Angel, 'Angel'
There can't be anything worse than being a hungry vampire with a conscience. In a past life, the vampire Angel (David Boreanaz) tortured a gypsy girl and was cursed with a soul, turning him into a man with blood lust combined with guilt. Starting out as a reluctant hero, this gentle giant turns into an altruistic member of humankind who strives to atone for his sins, and seduce us all while he's at it.
WB
Spike, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'
Platinum blonde and black leather never looked so good together. With his snow-white hair and cheek bones that could cut glass, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Spike (James Marsters) was no doubt the sexiest undead anti-hero on the show. An old companion of Angel's, he is initially Buffy's arch rival but later seduces her, as well as the rest of womankind, and regains his soul. How could that not melt every woman's heart?
20th Century Fox
Drusilla, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'
Nicknamed 'Dru' (and played by Juliet Landau), she is incredibly powerful - her advanced age grants her abilities that other vampires can only dream of. She's also gifted with psychic powers and can hypnotize feeble-minded humans. Dru is overtly sexual with nearly all the male 'Buffy' characters, and uses it to get what she wants.
20th Century Fox
Henry Fitzroy, 'Blood Ties'
He may be 480 years old, but Henry Fitzroy (Kyle Schmid) doesn't look a day over 30. The vampire from 'Blood Ties' is the illegitimate son of Henry VII and the love interest of mortal investigator Vicky. He is the sort of man who chooses mortal love over familial duty and lives a simple life as a graphic novelist. "Art and literature have always been my passions. I finally found a medium where I could fully realize the both of them," Fitzroy says as the women around him collectively swoon.
Citytv
Stefan Salvatore, 'The Vampire Diaries'
The youngest of two centuries-old vampire brothers, Stefan (played by Paul Wesley) is sweet, caring, and as square-jawed as they come (his resemblance to Robert Pattinson doesn't hurt, either). He is tortured by his own vampirism, and feels irredeemable until he meets Elena (Canada's own Nina Dobrev). The two fall in love, but of course nothing can be that simple, can it?
The CW
Damon Salvatore, 'The Vampire Diaries'
Enter Stefan's older brother, Damon (played by Ian Somerhalder). Damon is everything Stefan is not - evil, twisted, and eager to suck the blood of anyone around him. Eventually he will do anything to ruin the relationship his brother has with Elena, and continually antagonize him along the way. 'The Vampire Diaries' has the formula right, that's for sure - evil brother, good brother, hot leading lady. Substance takes a back seat here!
The CW
Nikola Tesla, 'Sanctuary'
Nikola is a part-human, part-vampire who became a member of The Five, a group of people who are connected by a deep, dark secret. Born in 1856, he worked side-by-side with Thomas Edison. Along the way, he was injected with pure vampire blood, which allowed him to become an "abnormal" with the ability to morph into a fast and deadly vampire-like creature (his vampire genes providing the source of his power). Though he may not be the biggest looker of the bunch, his immense power can be a gigantic turn-on.
Space
Merrill Young, 'Vampire High'
Being a teenager is bad enough, but having the added baggage of being a teen vampire must take the proverbial cake. Bit it can't be that bad for 'Vampire High's Merrill Young (Ilona Elkin), who may be shy but is also smart and beautiful. Merrill may be even more beautiful for suffering unrequited love for a fellow vampire who is lusting after a mere mortal.
Citytv
Are you a sci-fi fan yourself?
Yeah. It's a cliché, but the original 'Star Wars' trilogy is something that I got into as a kid. It's a big reason why I wanted to get into the film business. So to be working on a sci-fi show is really a treat, in many aspects. It's not like doing a cop show where we're chasing robbers every week. We're really doing some unconventional stuff, and because it's sci-fi and green screen, it's really limitless.
What's the strangest thing you've ever seen at the San Diego Comic Con?
Wow. Do you have two hours? [Laughs] I saw a whole bunch of people dressed up as Harry Potter. Like about 12 or 15 of them all together. Men and women. Also, I wasn't there to see it and I'm not entirely convinced it actually happened -but I'm told there was a Boba Fett wedding where everybody was dressed up as Boba Fett and there were two Boba Fetts getting married. I actually saw a bunch of Boba Fetts, so I guess it could have happened. Though I didn't see a Boba Fett actually wearing a lace wedding dress.
The Comic Con is a total blast. And people can say "Oh, that's weird, they're geeks, why do they dress up?", but it actually is a lot of fun. I'm lucky because I get to dress up and play getting chased by monsters every day of the week, so I have a lot of respect for people to be able to do that one day out of the year. I really look forward to it every year. And I get to buy 'Star Wars' Lego. I take it home and I cannot put it together for the life of me.
Are you part of an ex-pat community of Canadians in LA?
[Laughs] Not intentionally, but yeah. There is a tight-knit group of Canadians in LA. It just happens organically. You go there, you know a couple of people from Toronto or Vancouver or Montreal and they say "OK, hey, welcome, let me take you out to dinner," and you meet some of their friends and you get into this social circle and all of a sudden you realize you don't know any Americans. We're like this little island in LA. It's kind of strange that you can go there and find the guy who's got CBC satellite and you can watch the hockey games. It's fun.
What are some things about Canada that you miss when you're in LA?
I miss Swiss Chalet sauce. I don't know why there isn't a Swiss Chalet in LA. I've taken the powder stuff. It's pretty good, but it's not the same. I miss being around my parents, I miss being able to go to the Blue Jays games and not just having to watch it on my computer. I can't really put a pin on it, but Canada just feels like home to me. That's one of the nice things about shooting in Vancouver. Even though Vancouver's not my hometown and it's very different from Toronto, it still feels like home to be there because it's the same country. I get to have Swiss Chalet anytime I want, even though I'm not really allowed to have it all the time, otherwise I wouldn't fit into my clothes.
Can you give us some hints about what to expect from season two of 'Sanctuary'?
Season Two is all about the fact that Will has realized that the sanctuary is his home and this is where he's going to stay for now. The relationships between the characters, now that they're established, really deepen this year. We ended season one in a crisis. We're still at that cliffhanger for a lot of season two, trying to keep things from crumbling around us. If you thought season one was a roller coaster ride, season two is 10 times the amount of craziness. It's going to be a wild ride.
The second season of 'Sanctuary' premieres on Friday, October 9 at 9 pm ET.
