Interview - Haven, William and Lexie
Audrey's become Lexie, and stranger William seems to know something...so what's happening in the town of Haven? Stars Emily Rose and Colin Ferguson weigh in on the fourth season of "Haven" via conference call. The show airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on Syfy.
Q. Can you talk about what role William may play for both of you? Are we going to learn about his past, is that going to be revealed anytime soon?
Colin Ferguson: We are going to find that history about who William is, and what their relationship was. How much history, we can’t really say, although I think I can say that it’s not going to be left completely up in the air. As the season progresses, you find out the problems and strengths of their relationship and you find out if it’s going to be an addition or subtraction to the town. So that stuff definitely plays out. But there are bigger questions up in the air right now. Is it Lexie or Audrey, and what will happen with all that? So my part plays out for sure, but I guess that’s about all I can say.
Emily Rose: There is a bit of a fog surrounding William. Who is he? What is their connection? Why is he so familiar with her? All these things. And leaving the audience wondering in that way, it really puts them in on Audrey’s, or Lexi’s, mindset about who is this person just walking into my life and shouting off all this stuff about me. What their history is, that is the cool part - if there is any. And Colin does such a good job of keeping that veiled for a time, and then giving at the end there.
Colin Ferguson: We’ve had a really fun time playing into it. They’ve done a really good job of writing both sides of that equation, so that you genuinely don’t know, hopefully, gosh, is he nice but just a little off, or is he off and pretending to be nice? And I’m really pleased with the casting - stunning casting.
Emily Rose: It’s been really fun. Colin and I started hanging out at these Syfy media tour deals, just the sort of [thing] you do with your friends when you hang out...but it just blasted out, “Hey, it would be so fun to have you on ‘Haven,‘ it‘d be so cool if we got to do something together.”
There’s a scene where I am in a prison cell. That was a really fun scene to play, because the tables were turned and it was really enjoyable, the listening that happened and just the scene itself that played out. I really like in those early bar scenes in episodes 1-4 because it’s so early on the journey, and they’re both kind of naive, or at least you hope they are. That’s really fun to play.
Q. What do you like best about each of your characters?
Colin Ferguson: What I like is that they [the writers] have given me so much to play. When you come in to a show, the fear is that you’re going to be the plot hammer. You’re just going to come in and blah, blah, blah, and everybody else [has to react]. But they’ve actually written this great role that has so much subtext, because you’re not really sure what he’s doing from time to time, and that was a huge gift for me. So I think probably that’s what I’m most grateful for, and what I like the most - that he does that with humor.
Emily Rose: Audrey is such a fun character to play in general, because she gets to be all these different people. So with Lexie, I feel like one of the fun things for me to play with her was all of the external things that she was - her hair, her rings, her nose ring, the dark edgier point of view, and just the humor. Audrey is so serious all the time because she has to be. So playing [Lexie] was like a breath of fresh air because she didn’t take anything seriously. She’s there to have a good time, party a bit. And if she gets freaked out, it’s kind of cool and crazy. But she’s mainly there razzing everybody and just a party girl.
The thing that always caught me off-guard when I was getting to film was, I get to say that line in a completely different way, and it’s hilarious. That’s really fun. So that was the part I enjoyed the most with Lexi.
Q. How much did you know about these characters before you started playing them? Did you have an idea of where their relationship was going to end up?
Colin Ferguson: The funny thing about that is you’re told things, but whether they’re true or not is the hard bit, because the writers don’t know. They’re writing episode 401 and they say, yes, we think it’s going to this direction, we’re fairly certain it’s going to go like that. But until they actually write it, it could go another way. A lot of times, they’re watching. So they see the chemistries, their interaction. So you try - or at least, I try, to prep based upon what they say, but keep the trap door open just in case it snakes right or left without you suddenly.
Emily Rose: I feel like it’s constantly my desire to want to know and to get as much information as I can so I can make informed choices as an actor. But in some regards, with this particular character of Audrey Parker that I’m playing, the not-knowing is just as relevant. I do push at times when there are things that I do need the answers to, I feel. But then there are other times when I realize, “You just need to use this, Emily. Use the mystery, the unknowing. No one knows where a relationship will end up when it starts unless they’re looking back in some regard. So from my point of view, it’s constantly trying to open up whatever there is to discover.
Q. Emily, would you say we might be able to see a more vulnerable side to the Audrey character in Lexi?
Emily Rose: Yes, you definitely just hit on something that was an interesting character point for Lexi with the writers and between me, as I was constantly like, she’s acting like she’s afraid of this fight but yet she’s super-tough and pulls out a gun, and is playing a tough girl but sort of isn’t. And I had to come to peace with [the fact that] there are people that, because they’re scared to death, they do cover with a lot of toughness, but when that rubber meets the road, are hiding behind things or whatnot, and are scared even though they talk a big talk. That’s where I landed with Lexi, that she is all about the exterior toughness. I definitely do think, of course there’s a vulnerability to her.
Q. Colin, do you know what will happen with William? How important will he be to the show?
Colin Ferguson: That will be really, really interesting. There has been discussion about that and I asked about it pretty early on...I was like, if he goes good, how would he integrate, and answer that question? And then if it goes bad, well, I know how it goes if he goes bad. He dies or something. There are ways that you could integrate into town for sure. I’m trying to answer your question without giving anything away. This is a tough one.
Emily Rose: Don’t give it away! Stay strong.
Colin Ferguson: How about I say this. How Audrey interacts is a problem.
Q. Colin, was there anything about William that wasn’t originally scripted that you added to this role?
Colin Ferguson: I’d like to think there was something I added to this role. It’d be awfully sad it there was nothing I added to this role. I think that that’s a funny line, that you definitely try to shove as much in that box as you can so that it’s a very rich character. But having said that, they did right. They definitely wrote to my strengths. And either it was just a happy coincidence or they actually watched what I was doing and knew who I was and wrote to that. So, it’s a chicken and egg. I don’t know what came first, but it came together really, really well.
Q. Emily, how much input did you have into building this new Audrey character?
Emily Rose: A little bit. I more so have the freedom with the characters once they’ve been given to me. I don’t really get to say, this is what kind of character I would like to play. But once they’ve been given to me and we talk about who they are - I do tend to fight tooth and nail for some things if I really believed that it’s a really great character choice. But that is about as much freedom as I have.
Colin Ferguson: The funny thing about execution of a character - when you get one, you know, because having been in your own body for 20, 30, 40 years, you know what works, you know what doesn’t. As much as you’re open to trying new things, you know how you do it and what works better on you. And that’s what you bring to the table. So when a character is created, for me anyway, you know the version that you do well. So you go, oh, that’s great. If we can do this instead of that, that will accomplish what you want, that’s where I like to weigh in - when it’s coming down to costume and tone.
Q. Can you talk about what role William may play for both of you? Are we going to learn about his past, is that going to be revealed anytime soon?
Colin Ferguson: We are going to find that history about who William is, and what their relationship was. How much history, we can’t really say, although I think I can say that it’s not going to be left completely up in the air. As the season progresses, you find out the problems and strengths of their relationship and you find out if it’s going to be an addition or subtraction to the town. So that stuff definitely plays out. But there are bigger questions up in the air right now. Is it Lexie or Audrey, and what will happen with all that? So my part plays out for sure, but I guess that’s about all I can say.
Emily Rose: There is a bit of a fog surrounding William. Who is he? What is their connection? Why is he so familiar with her? All these things. And leaving the audience wondering in that way, it really puts them in on Audrey’s, or Lexi’s, mindset about who is this person just walking into my life and shouting off all this stuff about me. What their history is, that is the cool part - if there is any. And Colin does such a good job of keeping that veiled for a time, and then giving at the end there.
Colin Ferguson: We’ve had a really fun time playing into it. They’ve done a really good job of writing both sides of that equation, so that you genuinely don’t know, hopefully, gosh, is he nice but just a little off, or is he off and pretending to be nice? And I’m really pleased with the casting - stunning casting.
Emily Rose: It’s been really fun. Colin and I started hanging out at these Syfy media tour deals, just the sort of [thing] you do with your friends when you hang out...but it just blasted out, “Hey, it would be so fun to have you on ‘Haven,‘ it‘d be so cool if we got to do something together.”
There’s a scene where I am in a prison cell. That was a really fun scene to play, because the tables were turned and it was really enjoyable, the listening that happened and just the scene itself that played out. I really like in those early bar scenes in episodes 1-4 because it’s so early on the journey, and they’re both kind of naive, or at least you hope they are. That’s really fun to play.
Q. What do you like best about each of your characters?
Colin Ferguson: What I like is that they [the writers] have given me so much to play. When you come in to a show, the fear is that you’re going to be the plot hammer. You’re just going to come in and blah, blah, blah, and everybody else [has to react]. But they’ve actually written this great role that has so much subtext, because you’re not really sure what he’s doing from time to time, and that was a huge gift for me. So I think probably that’s what I’m most grateful for, and what I like the most - that he does that with humor.
Emily Rose: Audrey is such a fun character to play in general, because she gets to be all these different people. So with Lexie, I feel like one of the fun things for me to play with her was all of the external things that she was - her hair, her rings, her nose ring, the dark edgier point of view, and just the humor. Audrey is so serious all the time because she has to be. So playing [Lexie] was like a breath of fresh air because she didn’t take anything seriously. She’s there to have a good time, party a bit. And if she gets freaked out, it’s kind of cool and crazy. But she’s mainly there razzing everybody and just a party girl.
The thing that always caught me off-guard when I was getting to film was, I get to say that line in a completely different way, and it’s hilarious. That’s really fun. So that was the part I enjoyed the most with Lexi.
Q. How much did you know about these characters before you started playing them? Did you have an idea of where their relationship was going to end up?
Colin Ferguson: The funny thing about that is you’re told things, but whether they’re true or not is the hard bit, because the writers don’t know. They’re writing episode 401 and they say, yes, we think it’s going to this direction, we’re fairly certain it’s going to go like that. But until they actually write it, it could go another way. A lot of times, they’re watching. So they see the chemistries, their interaction. So you try - or at least, I try, to prep based upon what they say, but keep the trap door open just in case it snakes right or left without you suddenly.
Emily Rose: I feel like it’s constantly my desire to want to know and to get as much information as I can so I can make informed choices as an actor. But in some regards, with this particular character of Audrey Parker that I’m playing, the not-knowing is just as relevant. I do push at times when there are things that I do need the answers to, I feel. But then there are other times when I realize, “You just need to use this, Emily. Use the mystery, the unknowing. No one knows where a relationship will end up when it starts unless they’re looking back in some regard. So from my point of view, it’s constantly trying to open up whatever there is to discover.
Q. Emily, would you say we might be able to see a more vulnerable side to the Audrey character in Lexi?
Emily Rose: Yes, you definitely just hit on something that was an interesting character point for Lexi with the writers and between me, as I was constantly like, she’s acting like she’s afraid of this fight but yet she’s super-tough and pulls out a gun, and is playing a tough girl but sort of isn’t. And I had to come to peace with [the fact that] there are people that, because they’re scared to death, they do cover with a lot of toughness, but when that rubber meets the road, are hiding behind things or whatnot, and are scared even though they talk a big talk. That’s where I landed with Lexi, that she is all about the exterior toughness. I definitely do think, of course there’s a vulnerability to her.
Q. Colin, do you know what will happen with William? How important will he be to the show?
Colin Ferguson: That will be really, really interesting. There has been discussion about that and I asked about it pretty early on...I was like, if he goes good, how would he integrate, and answer that question? And then if it goes bad, well, I know how it goes if he goes bad. He dies or something. There are ways that you could integrate into town for sure. I’m trying to answer your question without giving anything away. This is a tough one.
Emily Rose: Don’t give it away! Stay strong.
Colin Ferguson: How about I say this. How Audrey interacts is a problem.
Q. Colin, was there anything about William that wasn’t originally scripted that you added to this role?
Colin Ferguson: I’d like to think there was something I added to this role. It’d be awfully sad it there was nothing I added to this role. I think that that’s a funny line, that you definitely try to shove as much in that box as you can so that it’s a very rich character. But having said that, they did right. They definitely wrote to my strengths. And either it was just a happy coincidence or they actually watched what I was doing and knew who I was and wrote to that. So, it’s a chicken and egg. I don’t know what came first, but it came together really, really well.
Q. Emily, how much input did you have into building this new Audrey character?
Emily Rose: A little bit. I more so have the freedom with the characters once they’ve been given to me. I don’t really get to say, this is what kind of character I would like to play. But once they’ve been given to me and we talk about who they are - I do tend to fight tooth and nail for some things if I really believed that it’s a really great character choice. But that is about as much freedom as I have.
Colin Ferguson: The funny thing about execution of a character - when you get one, you know, because having been in your own body for 20, 30, 40 years, you know what works, you know what doesn’t. As much as you’re open to trying new things, you know how you do it and what works better on you. And that’s what you bring to the table. So when a character is created, for me anyway, you know the version that you do well. So you go, oh, that’s great. If we can do this instead of that, that will accomplish what you want, that’s where I like to weigh in - when it’s coming down to costume and tone.
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