Interview With ‘Castle’
Co-Star Seamus Dever:
Hoping There’s Only One
‘Farewell’ For Him This Year
By Lisa Caputo
2015-03-30
Seamus
Dever gives us the scoop on playing Detective Kevin Ryan, his new indie film
project ‘The Extraordinary Farewell’, and how he is dealing with the “will they
/ won’t they” (return for season 8) situation on ‘Castle’
For
seven seasons, the ensemble cast of Castle
have proven, time after time, that supporting characters are an integral part
of the success of a series. After all, Castle and Beckett simply would not be
as compelling without one another, but their story would also not be as
endearing to us without their friends, family, and co-workers to share their
journey with. Likewise, the stories of these supporting characters have so
often proven to add even more depth and enjoyment to the series, allowing us to
explore new sides to these characters while allowing the talented actors who
portray them to step into the spotlight as well.
Seamus
Dever has been a member of the ensemble cast for all seven seasons, portraying
the kind-hearted, sentimental, and all-round good guy, Detective Kevin Ryan.
From his bromance with Esposito and his idolizing Castle to his brother/sister
relationship with Beckett and his loving role as husband and father, the
character of Kevin Ryan has always provided a perfect combination of comic
relief and heartfelt drama and it would be impossible to imagine anyone other
than Dever in that role on the series.
This
past week, Dever took time out of his busy schedule to give us the scoop on all
things Castle as well as his new
indie film project, The Extraordinary
Farewell. Speaking to us from his car on his way home from the vet with his
beagle, Daisy (yes, you can all swoon over that!), Dever discussed last week’s
Ryan-centric episode, what’s coming up on Castle,
and how he and the cast are approaching the uncertainty over the future of the
series, as well as his role in The
Extraordinary Farewell and what fans can do to help support the project.
LC: This past Monday, we got to see a
little bit more about Ryan’s on-the-side security job and his relationship with
his sister and brother-in-law, but we also got a really fantastic look at how
he reacted to having a case hit close to home, being the prime witness to a
murder he thought he should have been able to prevent. What was this experience
like for you and what are you most proud of in terms of this episode?
SD:
“The idea of being kind of front and center and being the through line of the
entire case, really having the load on myself, that’s what I’m kind of proud of
is being able to do that. It’s not like Ryan was just one component, he was the
through line, the drive to solve everything and to sort through everything. So
how to do that in a plausible manner when you don’t really have your co-stars
to work against was just a different challenge. What I’m proud of is being able
to carry this and show that I can be a lead, personally as an actor, and also
really having that responsibility and being up to the challenge. Unfortunately
for Kevin Ryan, maybe not necessarily unfortunately for the Castle audience, it was kind of back to
normal for us [after this episode] so I doubt there’s going to be anything left
in this season for Kevin Ryan exploring.”
LC: Is there a script that you’ve ever
gotten where you were surprised to see a certain storyline being tackled or
have you sort of gotten used to the surprises your writers churn out?
SD:
“I’ll be honest, I don’t really pay attention to the mystery or the ghoulish
murder. I guess you kind of get desensitized to that. I think I did early on, I
was like “this is a really freaky one” but now I don’t really do that. [But] I
remember reading the “The Wild Rover” script a couple of years ago and just
being astonished. I was like, “this is going to change, right?” You go through
the process of network drafts, studio drafts, and you say, “okay, but when I get
to it, it’s going to be Beckett and Castle as the heroes, right?” And no, it
was Kevin Ryan, so I was surprised when that made it through and the ease by
which that actually happened was really surprising. [Also], there was a really
funny script we did for “Swan Song” a few years ago, it was the mockumentary
episode that we did, and I had heard about what it was going to do and I was
like, “they’re not going to let us shoot this, are they?” And they did! It was
fun and it was funny and I’m very proud of all of our work collectively on
that, writers as well as actors and filmmakers.”
LC: The show has had incredible
success. You’re seven seasons in and despite the age of the series, it
continues to resonate so strongly with the audience. What would you attribute
that success to?
SD:
“I think it has been a good combination of classic television elements, where
we’re not just a law and order procedural, where we have humour and we have
comedy and we have romance, so everything sort of comes together. I think, on
our network, in order to capture our audience there has to be a lot of other
kinds of elements. There has to be the drama, there has to be the comedy as
well, more of a balanced attack towards making a show and I think it’s that
balance that has allowed us to grow in our audience. I think we tend to
surprise people with our comedic elements as well. Nathan’s very funny, Jon’s
very funny, Stana’s very funny, and we let that come through and I think the
audience appreciates it.”
LC: Speaking of Jon Huertas, I’ve heard
that you two are working on something together and being a little secretive
about it. Is this something relating to Castle?
SD:
“It’s definitely related to Castle.
Yeah. I can’t say anything more, it’s really awesome.”
LC: So you’re keeping this one under
wraps?
SD:
“Yeah, I think we have to. We’ve been working on it, we worked very intensely
on it [this past week] and it’s pretty cool. I think some people’s heads are
going to explode. It’s great.”
LC: What can you tell us about what’s coming
up on Castle as you near the end of
the season?
SD:
“We delve back into a “where the hell Castle was instead of being at his damn
wedding” episode. We come back into that and hopefully satisfy people’s
curiosity about how that all shook out at the end of last season and the
beginning of this season. We’ve got a really funny one coming up [after that].
Terence Winter tends to have a lot of comedy in his stuff so it’s fun. I think
it’s called “Saturday Night Dead”. There’s a lot of classic ‘Saturday Night
Live’ moments so look forward to that. I don’t know how we’re going to end the
season. I’m just looking at [episode] 22 right now and we’re going 23 so [who]
knows what that last episode is going to be about.”
LC: Obviously, the question on
everyone's mind is whether the series will return for an eighth season, but I
promise I'm not going to ask you what you know about that because I do believe
that when you know, we'll know soon after...
SD:
“You guys know about [things] before we do. That’s how I get all of my
information, from everybody else not connected to the show, that’s sort of the
chain of information the way it exists. So yeah, you’ll probably know before I
do.”
LC: So you’ll find out on Twitter that
you’ve been renewed?
SD:
“Exactly, exactly.”
LC: Does not knowing if you’re coming
back for another season change at all the dynamic on the set or the way that
you approach these episodes? Or are you all sort of just approaching it the way
you would the end of any other season?
SD:
“We’ve been trying to treat it like, “this is it, this is the end, these are
the final days.” There’s nothing indicated in the scripts that there’s any sort
of finality or even from the network so it might be the end and yet we’re not
being told that it’s the end so it sort of messes with your mind only because
you can’t really say “this is the end”. We don’t really know. I’m trying to
treat it as if it were the end, that way I can appreciate the moments of being
with all of these people because I’d hate it to be where we finish and find out
a month and a half down the line that we’re at the end and that way, I didn’t
have those moments of “alright, guys, it’s been really great and I really
appreciate how we all spent time together and what we did here.” So I’m mentally
preparing myself that this might be the end. And, if so, I’m trying to let
everybody know how much I’ve appreciated working with them and how great it’s
been. That puts us in a weird position, certainly mentally and emotionally. You want something to end with a punctuation
mark but we might end with an ellipsis and that would be strange so I’m trying
to create an imaginary punctuation mark that we end with.”
LC: Moving on to some happier topics,
you’re currently working on an independent film called The Extraordinary Farewell about magician H. Henry Locke and it
looks truly fascinating. What can you tell us about this project?
SD:
“It’s a Faustian tale of a man selling his soul for extraordinary powers and
fame, which sort of leads to the idea of someone being barest of a soul and
what is that like. Then, when he’s headed to his final performance, he finds a
glimmer of hope and proceeds to maybe create his ultimate trick, which is
outwitting the devil. It’s the idea of someone who’s been sort of spent and
used by an evil power and where that leads them, having one final push of hope.
It’s fascinating. There’s a magic element that’s there but also, the best part
of it, it makes you sort of question if real magic is even possible and what it
would mean if it were.”
LC: You have a really great and
innovative online campaign going at indiegogo.com to help fund the project and
you’re offering some great perks to fans that donate to sort of give back to
them for taking the time and investing the money to help fund this project.
Tell us a bit about that campaign and what people can do to help out.
SD:
“You can go to indiegogo.com and learn about the project and watch our teaser
trailer. We put together an awesome minute and a half trailer that gives you a
little sample. We have an amazing [Director of Photography] named Zoltan Honti,
who was a protégé of Vilmos Zsigmond, so he’s got a very great look. We
basically only filmed it in a day, shot a couple of scenes, and stitched it
together for the purposes of the trailer. It will give you a good idea about
where we’re headed, the atmosphere of the movie, the energy of the piece. And
take a look at the perks [available with donations]. We’re really making it a
transparent experience to be a part of filmmaking. We’re allowing the idea for
people to get really involved in the filmmaking process who have maybe been
very curious about it but didn’t know where to start or didn’t think that would
ever be possible from the comfort of their home. I think there’s an element where
people are sort of fascinated with the way this all comes together, so this is
a way to get it from the ground floor and see the entire process from start to
finish.”
LC: Is there anything else you want to
share with us about your experience on Castle,
any parting words for anyone reading this?
SD:
“It’s been a lot of fun and if this is the end, it will be sad to leave these
friends of mine that I’ve become very close with. I’ve never worked with a
group of people as long as this on any job, or really anywhere. I’ve become
very close to this group of people that I get to see every day and have the
pleasure of working with. The saddest thing is going to be not seeing Jon
Huertas every day because we’ve become really close and good friends and
creative collaborators. I’ll miss Nathan and Stana as I’ve gotten very close
with those guys as well and seeing them every single day. It’s been a great
experience and it opened up some doors for me and if this is the end, I guess
you have to embrace that it might be the end. We’ve been in limbo for about
five or six months and I kind of knew that we would be approaching this time,
that we might not have any definitive word on whether or not it’s continuing.
So I’m just trying to be positive about this whole thing and appreciate the
experience.”
While
the Castle cast and crew may finish
filming this season before any decisions have been made and fans around the
world are left in limbo as well, hoping for the eventual news of a renewal,
Dever’s words are perhaps the wisest words to live by as we all wait to find
out the fate of the series.
To find out more information about The Extraordinary Farewell, including
the film’s teaser trailer, or to donate and select one of the great perks for
helping to fund the project, visit: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-extraordinary-farewell
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