Yesterday I had the opportunity to listen in on a conference call with Sam Witwer (Aidan) of Being Human. I have to admit, I was very excited! And very nervous. I have never had an opportunity like this before. I can count on one hand the amount of “famous” people I have had the opportunity to talk to—I got a hug from Nicholas Lea at an X-Files convention, and I sold a set of runes to Melissa Etheridge back when I worked at The Goddess of the Seven Sisters on the weekends in school. Even though I wasn’t going to be talking to Sam face to face, this was still a major deal to me! The anticipation I felt waiting to be connected to the conference was crazy! Steven Cox of Syfy got on first and told us how to register/unregister our questions, and then Sam came on…
Sam got right to taking questions. He didn’t have any kind of statement prepared. This was probably a good thing since the questions went for about an hour and a half as it was! Right off the bat, questions were asked about the chemistry. The BBC version is known for the crazy chemistry among the characters, and do they feel that sense of chemistry with each other? Sam assured us that they all gelled so well together, they were told to tone down the chemistry, at least in the beginning when their characters were just supposed to be starting the friendships. He indicated that this Sunday, they are all going to Hawaii together! So how about that for chemistry!
Of course the question came up about how Sam feels about the BBC version of the show. Sam admitted that he saw the first episode of the BBC version, but didn’t want it to impact the way that he played Aidan, so he hasn’t watched any other episodes. It does sound like he has the first season on blu ray though, so he plans on watching. On a side note, I am actually happy he said this, as that was my feeling when I started watching this show. I didn’t want the BBC show to impact how I felt about this one. He did admit later that the general blueprint of the season is the first season of the BBC version, however the US version will have 13 episodes in the first season. The BBC version only had 6. He also indicated that sometimes the US version will take a very different turn from what the BBC version did. All this based on what he has heard, because he has not watched himself.
The other thing he said about the US versus the BBC version is that the tone began differently. I have not seen the BBC version, not even the one episode he has, but it seems that version starts with the three sharing the house. In the US version, it starts at the BEGINNING of them all living together. They can’t gel right away, they have to work up to it. Sam indicated that the beginning episodes are about them getting to that place where they have that kind of chemistry—work into the banter. Sam teased that people have been surprised about the darkness, and it is going to get a lot darker. Sam assured us that “the sad stuff gets sadder, the funny stuff gets funnier and the dark stuff gets darker.”
Many questions were asked of Sam about how he got the role of Aidan. It appears that Sam hasn’t kept up with other television/movie vampires, and had no idea what someone meant when he was asked not too long ago if he “sparkled”. When he received the first two scripts (parts 1 and 2) to review to audition, he flipped through the first three pages only! But a friend who has never steered him wrong made him read the whole script and he thought it was amazing. He became invested in the characters. As far as creating the character of Aidan, Sam didn’t seem to look to a lot of vampire archetypes, other than Bela Lugosi and Dracula, but focused on the drug addiction parallels. Aidan is an ex-blood junkie and the similarities are intentional.
Sam is very fascinated with supernatural mythology. He enjoys reading about it. He indicates he is a big Star Wars and Star Trek fan. Sam then talked about how what he really likes is what is really being talked about in these Sci fi/Fantasy shows. If we try to talk about real life situations, the sensors come down, but a lot can be gotten away with in the Sci fi/Fantasy realm. Sam said “throw a ray gun in there and it throws them off the scent.” But it doesn’t throw us off the scent—we get it. I was so happy to hear this. Personally, I have had horrific conversations with “dates gone bad” where talk like that has made the guy laugh at me. Yes, apparently I am the Sci fi/Fantasy geek in the relationship.
Side note, Sam corrected someone when they made it sound like Star Wars was Sci Fi! He said it was Fantasy! Sam is making a fangirl out of me...
Regarding relationships, Sam sees Josh as like a younger brother to Aidan. Sally is a little like a younger sister, maybe more like a daughter to Aidan. He also feels he can share more with Sally than he can with Josh. Aidan sees them as “safe” as he cannot harm them. Vampires have no interest in drinking werewolves and Sally is obviously not in any danger.
He states that one of his favorite relationships on the show is the dynamic between Aidan and Bishop. One gets the sense that these two guys really love each other and care about each other. Sam says that according to Mark, Bishop sees Aidan as a wayward son. Aidan is very disrespectful of Bishop, and he really pushes it sometimes. Strangely, Bishop lets him. There is the potentiality for Aidan to be a major threat to Bishop, even in his weakened state.
Sam indicates that he and Adam Kane talked about the relationship between Aidan and Rebecca. “Rebecca is bad for Aidan because she is so potentially good for him.” In the opening of the first episode, he is sharing something very personal in the Prometheus story. Aidan never shares personal information, and he was sharing it on the first date. He lost control with her, which is why it went down so horribly. Bishop knew that Rebecca must have been special to Aidan for him to make a mistake like that, which is why Bishop brought her back—to use her to get to Aidan.
Some little tid bits about the future!
• Other family members will turn up.
• We will see Aidan and Bishop in different ages via flashbacks.
• Aidan in the past was a lunatic. A real sociopath, and a psychopath.
He will do something you won't see coming.
• More will come of the vampire/werewolf feud.
• That Celene tattoo is significant.
We also received a screening for Monday’s episode! I don’t even know what to tell you about it, except that I would have to say that it may very well be my favorite episode yet! The title of the episode is “The End of the World as We Know It”. Talk about revelations! Josh and Sally get real shocks handed to them. We find out more about Bishop’s plan, and Sam’s “passive resistance” to that plan. I hope everyone is as excited about where this show is going as I am! If you have any specific questions for me about Monday’s episode, comment here or tweet me. I will attempt to answer without giving too much away...
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