Stay tuned for…

Cassandra Sawtell: Hi, Will, it’s Cassandra!

Premium Hollywood: Hello! How are you?

CS: Good, thanks! How are you?

PH: I’m great! It’s a pleasure to talk to you.

CS: Thank you!

PH: I had some readers who wanted me to see if I could get up with you to ask you about your experiences on “Harper’s Island.” So how did you come to be on the show in the first place? Was it a typical audition, or did somebody know you and ask for you?

CS: It was just a typical audition.

PH: What did they have you read? I know that, in the case of some of the actors, what they read ended up being something that didn’t actually appear in the show.

CS: I actually don’t remember…but I was definitely auditioning for the role of Madison! (Laughs)

PH: So how did you approach the character of Madison? Pretty much everyone I’ve talked to has emphasized your sweetness, but they also said, “She was really creepy!”

CS: (Laughs) Well, I kind of took the sweet-and-creepy from…I’ve watched a lot of scary movies, and so I’ve seen how some of these other children are acting so that everyone thinks they’re so sweet, but then they can turn in a flash.

PH: Did you find it challenging to do that yourself?

CS: Not really, no!

PH: What’s your favorite of the scary movies that you’ve seen?

CS: So far, my favorite that I’ve seen is a movie called “The Uninvited.” I thought that was really good!

PH: Who was your favorite person to work with on the show? You had scenes with just about every actor on the series.

CS: I really liked working with everyone, but I especially liked the producers, Karim Zreik and Dan Shotz.

PH: Were you around anyone when they got their call from Karim to say that their final episode was coming up?

CS: No, actually, I was usually the last to find out!

PH: I know that many of the cast sat around and tried to figure out how their character could be the killer. Did you ever consider that Madison might have been the one?

CS: I did! Everyone else was considering it, so, y’know, I felt like I should, too!

PH: At what point did you find out for sure that you weren’t going to be the killer, and that you were going to make it to the end?

CS: Not until I got the final script.

PH: So there was never any hint from the producers that you were going to survive? Or were you in suspense, too?

CS: I was in suspense just like everybody else!

PH: Others had trouble with the outdoor scenes. Were they a struggle for you, too?

CS: No. I live in Vancouver, so I’m used to all of the weather! (Laughs)

PH: Was there any scene that was rough for you to film?

CS: There was one scene that was at 3 o’clock in the morning. That one was a little tough for me!

PH: Which scene was that?

CS: It was…well, it wasn’t one of the really important scenes. It was just when Abby was heading off with Henry and Trish to her dad’s house, and everyone else was heading down to the dock.

PH: You worked on an episode of “Blood Ties,” which starred Gina Holden, who played your mother on “Harper’s Island.” Did you work with her then?

CS: No.

PH: Oh, well. I just noticed the coincidence and thought I’d ask. So when you first got to the show, how did they treat you on the set? You were the only child actor on the series, I believe.

CS: Yeah. They treated me really well, though. They were all really nice, but it was still business, so we’d laugh a lot, and then it was back to work!

PH: How was it working with Gina and David (Lewis)? Did you feel like you had a semi-parental relationship with them?

CS: Yeah, she was really nice, and quite protective of me. It was really fun working with her. She was quite funny!

PH: I understand that you’ve had thought of writing a screenplay yourself. Is that correct?

CS: Yeah, for a little bit, I wanted to be. I enjoy literature, so I wanted to be a screenwriter and an author for a little bit, but so far, every time I try to write something, I get bored with it. (Laughs)

PH: Well, you’ve still got time. So what are you working on right now?

CS: I’m just doing auditions. And enjoying the summer!

PH: Excellent. So do you go to a regular school, or have you done the on-set schooling?

CS: Well, I go to just a regular public school when I’m not filming, and then when I am filming, they get a tutor to make up for the school I’m missing.

PH: Since this was such a secretive show, was it weird not knowing very far in advance what you were going to have to play?

CS: It was really weird. Every week, my mom and I would fight over who would get to read the latest script!

PH: Did she have any concerns about you playing on a show that had as much graphic violence as “Harper’s Island” did? I mean, it was pretty graphic for network TV, anyway.

CS: I don’t really think so. I don’t think she did. I don’t really get nightmares anymore, so I think that kind of solved the “should I be watching a scary show” thing.

PH: Plus, like you said, you already have an enjoyment for scary movies, anyway.

CS: Yeah! (Laughs)

PH: What would you say was your favorite episode of “Harper’s Island”?

CS: I think it was the episode where Cal and Chloe died. I think that was Episode 11…? That was my favorite episode, I think.

PH: What was it that you liked the best?

CS: Well, their death, which was quite good. But I just thought it was a very entertaining episode.

PH: You provided a lot of red herrings during the series, where you’d say things that were apparently true, and then the next week, you’d say, “Actually, that wasn’t true.” Which of those things surprised you the most?

CS: I actually was pretty sure that the sheriff was the killer! And I was surprised when it turned out that my mother had been threatened.

PH: So what do you plan to do in the future? Is acting something you want to continue into adulthood, or are you planning to do it for awhile and then go to college?

CS: I plan to do it into adulthood, but I also want to go to university.

PH: Have you thought about what you want to study?

CS: Well, I wouldn’t mind being an actor-slash-writer, or something along those lines.

PH: Gotta get past that boredom, though.

CS: Uh, yeah! (Laughs)

PH: Well, Cassandra, it’s been a pleasure talking with you. I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes about your experiences, and it sounds like you had a good time.

CS: Oh, thank you very much!

PH: I’ll look forward to seeing you in other shows.

CS: Well, you can look for me in “(The Imaginarium of) Doctor Parnassus.”

PH: Oh, wow, I didn’t realize that you were in that. Did you get to work with Heath Ledger at all?

CS: Unfortunately, he died just a week before I was about to start working on it. But I got to work with Colin Farrell!

PH: There are a lot worse people you could work with.

CS: Yeah! (Laughs)

PH: How was he to work with?

CS: Oh, he was fantastic. He was very nice and caring.

PH: And how was Terry Gilliam?

CS: Oh, he’s a lot of fun! He’s really funny, and he’s great to work with.

PH: Have you watched him in “Monty Python” yet?

CS: No, I haven’t!

PH: I highly recommend it.

CS: Okay! “Monty Python.” Got it!

PH: Your parents may want you to be a little bit older, but probably not much older. Well, thank you very much, Cassandra, and, again, it was great talking to you.

CS: It was great talking to you, too. Thank you very much! Good-bye!

I did, however, find myself growing increasingly enthusiastic about seeing who the Victim of the Week was. It’s hard to tell how many people were reading these interviews, since – with the notable exception of Jim Beaver – the majority of the comments tended to be criticisms of my victim numbering (in retrospect, I never should’ve started counting them in the first place, but it’s far too late to worry about it now), but I’ve certainly enjoyed talking to the various folks over the course of these 13 episodes. If nothing, I feel that, by doing these weekly interviews, I managed to bring “Harper’s Island” to the attention of some of my friends who might not otherwise have been aware of it, so I’ll take my sense of accomplishment where I can find it.

One last observation: if you dug the show, or if you missed the first episode or two and figured you’d never be able to catch up, then you’ll be pleased to hear that the series will be released on DVD on September 8, 2009. Better yet, it will be filled with loads of bonus material, including some of the scenes you may have read about in these interviews which didn’t make the cut. If you want to get your pre-order in right now, all you have to do is click right here.

And with that bit of shilling for CBS/Paramount out of the way, let us move onward and offer up the final installment in our “Harper’s Island” interview series…!

Christopher Gorham: Hey, Will!

Elaine Cassidy: Hi!

Premium Hollywood: Hey, guys, good to talk to you from your respective places! (Writer’s note: Christopher was somewhere in L.A., while Elaine was sitting pretty in Manchester, England.)

EC: Thanks!

CG: You, too!

PH: So you guys survived until the bitter end…or, at least, Elaine did, anyway. How close was it to the end of the series when you found out that you were indeed going to be making it until the last episode?

CG: Well, we found out at different times. Go ahead, Elaine.

EC: Oh, no, no, no! I’ll go after. (Laughs)

CG: Okay, well, I was highly suspicious of my character from my start, so I had a pretty good idea that I was going to be around ‘til the end, but I didn’t know know until we were almost done shooting Episode 7. At the end of Episode 8 is when Henry killed J.D., and Abby finds him standing behind her, covered in blood in crying, and the producers felt like, at that point, I needed to know what was really happening for my character. Just for what I was doing. So that’s when I found out.

EC: And for me, I kind of…nothing was ever said for definite, and I wasn’t guaranteed a certain amount of episodes, but it was always implied that Abby would be there, and I kind of just felt, from a story point of view, that she seemed quite integral to what was going on. I kind of felt that she’d be there ‘til the end, so I took out a six-month lease, and no one told me not to. (Laughs)

PH: Elaine, in the early episodes of the show, were you given the impression that Abby still had a thing for Henry, or did you feel it was just a very solid friendship?

EC: You know what? Only in Episode 1, and that was kind of…you know, it was when were with Jon Turteltaub, and there was one scene in particular – by the fireplace, after the bar fight – where, from hearing Jon’s direction, he was trying to push little subtle messages. And it was always implied that they kind of got it together…or maybe they didn’t. Nothing was ever said for definite. I thought that it could’ve possibly gone in that direction, but then when it came to Episode 2, it was like that was the end of it. There was no talk of there being a possible romance in the future of the series.

CG: I don’t think we even worked together again until Episode 9 or 10!

EC: (Laughs) Yeah! But, you know, it was just a weird one, too, with all of the confidentiality. Sometimes, you didn’t tell people things that you could tell them because you were afraid of telling them too much, so it’s just best to say nothing.

PH: Elaine, you were part of the original pilot presentation for “Harper’s Island,” but you weren’t, Christopher. How easy was it to get comfortable with the rest of the cast?

CG: It was pretty easy. Everyone was incredibly welcoming and very supportive from the beginning. It’s always kind of a weird thing, you know, doing that. But I’ve been on the other end of that, too, where I’ve done a pilot but not done the series, so I kind of know what both sides of that are. It wasn’t a problem. They made it easy.

PH: Did they actively seek you out for the series, or was it just a standard audition?

CG: It was just a standard audition. As far as I knew, anyway.

PH: Was it the same for you, Elaine?

EC: Yeah. I just put myself on tape…and they lost it, and I had to send it again! It was all very last-minute. I think it was on a Wednesday, and if I was to get the part, I’d have to fly in on Sunday. And it got to Thursday when they said, “Yeah, we want to screen test you, but you’re in London, and you won’t be able to get here in time, because we want to cast it by Friday.” So I just kind of re-did this scene and sent it over again. And in the early hours of Friday night…or Saturday morning for me…I got the call, saying that I had it and that I would be flying in the next day and would have to start work on Tuesday!

CG: Oh, man, I hadn’t heard that!

EC: (Laughs) It was a whirlwind…but a fun one!

PH: You and Jim Beaver had a great onscreen relationship. How hard was it to find the balance with your scenes with him, where you had the love for your father but the awkwardness because of your history?

EC: Oh, well, Jim is such a lovely man and a gorgeous actor, and I loved the scenes that we had together. It was a joy to work with him. You know, there was just so much back story there, so we had so much to work with. You just kind of…it came from a different place. It was nice that there were enough scenes to get to show the different stages of showing them reuniting them as father and daughter. Of course, yeah, the scene before he dies was draining… (Laughs) …because that was quite emotional, but, I mean, it’s part of the job and it’s part of why I love the job. So, yeah, I really enjoyed the scenes with Jim.

PH: Christopher, how did it change your approach to playing Henry once you found out that you were the killer?

CG: Well, you know, it actually didn’t, because the only difference was…for me, I knew why he was acting the way he was acting, whereas before I was misled as to why. But I still had to behave the same way, so, y’know, in order to do that, you still have to believe the truth, whatever the truth is for the character in that scene. If he has to make it seem like he’s in love with Trish, then I have to behave like I’m love with Trish. It doesn’t matter if I know I’m the killer or not. In fact, it becomes vitally important that I do exactly that, because you don’t want to tip your hat. There were a couple of instances where I purposely made a choice that I would not have made had I not known, but I always did it both ways and then would tell the producers that I’d done it both ways, so that they had an option if they wanted to use it.

PH: This one’s for both of you: do you have any horror stories from filming the show? I know a lot of folks had complaints about having to deal with the weather, specifically the rainy outdoor scenes.

EC: Oh, God, Episode 11, the last two days of shooting that…

CG: Yeah!

EC: …probably was the most hardcore, the coldest anyone has ever been. It was like your head was freezing, and my motivation for most scenes was, “The minute this scene is over, I’m heading straight over to that heater to get warm.” (Laughs) And the poor set designers and prop guys were shoveling snow out of the way, so it was limiting for the director and the DOP, because there were certain shots that I’m sure they would’ve loved to have gotten…but they couldn’t.

CG: Yeah, I mean, when we shot Trish’s murder, she’s running barefoot through the woods, and the set dec guys are just off the path, literally melting snow with giant blowtorches, keeping the path clear. I mean, the ground was frozen. It was just absurd how cold it got! And we were all dressed for fall, because the whole show takes place in a week, so it’s not like we could start wearing big, bulky sweaters or coats or anything! We would just pile on as many layers of thermals as we could underneath our skin-tight sweaters or whatever. (Laughs)

PH: You guys did not have the horror of getting the phone call from Karim. Were you around anyone when they got their phone call?

EC: No, I wasn’t. Were you, Chris?

CG: No, me, neither.

EC: I wanted him to call us! (Laughs)

CG: I got the different call, because…it was interesting how they told me I was the killer, and I almost blew it, because the day before, Karim had come up and said, “Listen, we’re gonna meet up at this point, and we’re gonna have a meeting with you, Katie, and Elaine – just the three of you – to talk about your arc for the rest of the show, just because we feel like you need to know a couple of things, and we want you to know where things are going. When’s a good time for us to meet with you?” So we set up a meeting, and then I of course immediately went to Katie and Elaine and said, “Oh, my God, they’re gonna talk to us, we’re gonna find out the whole end, isn’t that great?” Well, it turns out that they weren’t really planning to have a meeting with Katie and Elaine. They just told me that so that. So I had my meeting with them that night, and they told me, and I think we got on a conference call with (producer) Jeff Bell, and after the pleasantries, Jeff says, “The magic word is ‘Henry.’” And I’m, like, “The magic word? What do you mean? What are you talking about?” (Laughs) And he’s, like, “It’s you! You’re the killer!” And then after we’d gone through that, because I had a million questions and we went through the whole thing and told me everything, I said, “So when are you guys gonna tell Katie and Elaine? Are you telling them, too?” And they’re, like, “What are you talking about?” “Well, you told me that you were gonna be meeting with all three of them, so they know I’m having this meeting, so what the hell am I gonna tell them tomorrow when I can’t tell them the secret?” So they had to set up fake meetings with Katie and Elaine…

EC: …which involved no information whatsoever! (Laughs)

CG: …and I had to act all disappointed, like, “Aw, no, I thought it was going to be this whole thing, but instead they just told me a couple of little snippets and wanted to go ahead what was going to happen at the end of the next episode, with J.D.. I just don’t know what the point of these meetings are!” (Laughs)

PH: Well, I know I’m going to be shooed off the line in a moment, but I just wanted to ask you one more, Elaine: if they did decide to move forward and tell more of Abby’s story, would you be willing to reprise the role?

EC: Well, I…you know, I’m contracted, so… (Laughs) …I don’t have a lot of choice anymore! But I really think, for me personally, I think it’s more powerful if it’s left at just the 13 episodes. I mean, Abby is going to be a wreck after this, and I think there’s maybe more interesting angles that could be taken, but maybe that’s because I’m not a writer and don’t come up with ideas. I would be very interested to see if they did come up with an idea for another series, as far as what it would entail, but I like it kept the way it is, more in keeping with a film. A 13-hour film… (Laughs) …but I just think it’s stronger the way it is. But who knows? I don’t. I don’t know what they’ve got planned.

CG: 13 hours of Abby in a padded room?

EC: Yes! Now that would be interesting!

PH: Well, it’s been great talking to you guys. You did great work throughout the series, and I really enjoyed watching it.

CG: Thanks a lot.

EC: Aw, thank you! Cheers!

* Missed our interview with Harry Hamlin (Uncle Marty)? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Sarah Smyth (Lucy) and Anna Mae Routledge (Kelly)? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Victor Webster (Hunter)? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Sean Rogerson (Booth)? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Richard Burgi (Mr. Wellington)? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with David Lewis (Richard)? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Chris Gauthier (Malcolm)? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Dean Chekvala (J.D.)? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Cameron Mink (Mrs. Wellington) and Amber Borycki (Beth)? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Jim Beaver (Sheriff Mills)? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Cameron Richardson (Chloe) and Adam Campbell (Cal)? Go check it out!

The interview with the latest “Harper’s Island” corpses are only a click away…

Both: Hello, Will!

Premium Hollywood: Hello, how are ya’ll?

Both: Good, how are you?

PH: (Laughs) I’m doing pretty good. Well, given how in sync you two are, is it too much to hope for that you two were able to share the experience of being this week’s Victim of the Week by watching the episode together?

Claudette Mink: Uh, no…

Amber Borycki: (Laughs) Amber hasn’t even seen it yet!

PH: Oh, my God, I hope I haven’t given anything away, then.

AB: (Laughs) “What? I’m the victim? What’s happening?!?”

CM: (With mock horror) What? You mean I’m dead?

PH: (Laughs) I didn’t want to be the one to tell you. Sorry about that. So in your cases, like seems to have been the case with most of folks, did you come into the series through the standard audition process?

AB: I auditioned for the show, like I audition for everything else. (Laughs) I came in and got to meet Jon (Turteltaub) and Karim (Zreik) and everybody, and it was only a couple of weeks before the show actually went to camera. I was kind of a last minute addition, I think.

CM: I auditioned for the show, too, like everyone else.

PH: So when you got the word of your imminent demise on the show, did Karim come to you personally, or did you receive one of his dreaded phone calls?

CM: He started walking towards me, down this dirt road. We had just finished shooting this scene where the three of us…I’m out there with Abby and Henry, and we’re looking for the little girl, Madison, in the forest…and he just came over. It was lunchtime, and he put his arm around me and said, “So, wanna have lunch?” And I was, like, “No! I don’t! Not with you!” And he was, like, “Yep. Next week.” “Nooooooo!” And then I asked him if he was going to peel off my character’s skin, since that’s what I’d been requesting the whole time, and he said, “Uh, probably not.”

PH: Oh, well.

AB: He actually told me in person as well. Oh, no, wait, that’s not true! I just remembered: he actually called me. I remember because his number came up on my cell phone’s call display, and I picked up and answered by just going, “Nooooooo!” (Laughs) And I felt so bad, because he said, “Oh, do you have to answer the phone that way? It breaks my heart!” He just hated doing it. Well, I think he secretly loved it, but he knew that if you get a phone call from Karim, you know your time’s up.

CM: That’s sad.

PH: Claudette, when I talked to David (Lewis) a few weeks ago, he said that, during your fun little scene together, you gave him free reign to fondle at will, and yet he was still chastised by the producers for going too far over the top.

AB: (Bursts out laughing)

CM: (Laughs) Oh, yeah. “To fondle at will.” Yeah, I think I fondled him, just to break the ice. We’d worked together a bunch of times, and guys are always kind of apprehensive and they’re not sure how they’re supposed to grab your boobs. And I’m not really a frail, wilting-flower type, so I just kind of took his hands and shoved them on my boobs and said, “Okay, there, now we’ve broken the ice!” And I fondled him every time I got the opportunity, giving him a little pinch on the butt or whatever.

PH: And, Amber, when I talked to Chris, he said that the scene where Beth goes to visit Malcolm in his room was supposed to have a bit more emotional heft to it, but we didn’t get to see the build-up.

AB: Yeah, Malcolm and I had a storyline that unfortunately didn’t make it to the final cut of the show. We had a bit of a romantic storyline together. I loved the scenes with him, because he was Beth’s comfort, and that’s kind of how it starts. Yeah, there was a bit of romance, so that scene was supposed to be…when he’s dealing with all of his issues with the stolen money, obviously his focus is now on that, and he ends up leaving Beth behind at the time that she needs him the most, when all of this stuff is going on. Initially, that scene was supposed to be where I’m coming to him for comfort, and he doesn’t have time for Beth. So, yeah, the other part’s missing and there was a bit of a different storyline initially, but I think it still shows that he’s distracted. And, hey, you can’t keep everything!

PH: Claudette, did you enjoy kind of being the villainess of the show for awhile?

CM: Was I the villainess?

PH: Well, maybe not the villainess, but you were certainly painted as not being the most likeable character, just because you were the evil stepmother, as it were.

CM: No! Not me!

AB: (Laughs) She has no idea what you’re talking about.

CM: (Laughs) I enjoy being the bad girl. I am always the bad girl. This is actually one of my nicer characters!

PH: Wow. So what were your respective favorite episodes during the series?

CM: Hmmm. It’s hard to keep them separated.

PH: Well, if there were particular favorite sequences…

CM: I loved Uncle Marty’s death, and…I just really liked the gory details. I really liked Richard (Burgi’s) death. And, yeah, I even liked the very first death that we see, when everyone’s on the boat and the mariachi band is playing, and then the propeller starts and there’s the blood. I liked all of the deaths.

PH: Were you happy with your death scene?

CM: I would’ve liked to have had a little more gore in mine. But it was relaxing. (Hesitates) Did we lose Amber?

PH: Looks like we did.

CM: I was thinking that she was being awfully quiet. Oh, and I liked all of the stuff in the woods with the burnt man. All of that stuff is great. I think that episode was probably my favorite one, with the big fire and everything. All of that stuff is great.

AB: I heard “the barn.” What did I miss?

CM: He was asking what my favorite episode was, and I said I think it’s the one where we meet the burnt man, and he gets shot, then he drops his lantern and the shack begins to burn down.

PH: Amber, do you have any particular favorite episodes or scenes from episodes?

AB: Are you talking about as a viewer, or during filming?

PH: Both, I guess.

AB: Filming-wise, I loved doing the episode where J.D. is killed, because it was pouring rain, and we had guns and lanterns, and we’re running down docks, and it felt really bad-ass. I really want to do an action movie, and I got to imagine that I was Angelina, doing something really cool. (Laughs) I don’t know, there’s just something about acting in the rain that makes you feel really cool.

CM: Yeah, and you don’t have to worry about your hair and your make-up.

AB: Yeah, it’s all just pouring down…

CM: You know? It is what it is. It’s great.

AB: I love that!

PH: Do you either of you have any on-set anecdotes that particularly stand out?

AB: (Laughs) My favorite, actually, is this one scene that we were doing with Chloe, Cameron Richardsons’s character, and she had to say this line…it’s this whole serious scene, the one where she’s making the list of everyone who’s died. It’s right when Madison goes missing, and she’s trying to point out, “Look at all of these people who’ve been killed, and Madison’s gone…” And there was the line she had that was, like, “We’re all getting picked off like sitting ducks, one by one.” Something like that. And she could not for the life of her say it right. It was, “We’re all, like, ducks getting picked off.” I think we had to do it something like 15 times, and everyone was just dying. It was so funny, but it’s this serious scene, and people are crying, and we’re talking about how this little girl might be dead, but…it was hilarious! (Laughs) Talking about ducks. There were fifteen different versions of the duck line. It was awesome in the end, but it was funny at the time, just having these hilarious moments while you’re trying to film this serious scene.

PH: Claudette, do you have any anecdotes?

CM: I have no anecdotes for you at all. I’m sorry. But I do remember that day, and it was very funny.

PH: You’ve both delved into horror-themed shows. Amber, you did “Supernatural” and “Blood Ties,” and Claudette, you were on “Kingdom Hospital” for a couple of episodes.

CM: I was! And I did “Children of the Corn, Part Seven”!

AB: Oh, my gosh! Actually, I died in both of those shows you mentioned. I drowned in “Supernatural,” and in “Blood Ties,” my throat was slashed by a vampire.

CM: Nice! Yeah, and I’ve also done “Return to Cabin by the Lake,” which was also a murder-type thing, and I did a “Twilight Zone” and “The Fearing Mind.”

PH: So do you both consider yourselves to be horror fans, then?

AB: Yeah, definitely!

CM: Yeah, I’m a gore fan. I like gory horror.

PH: And, lastly, can I presume that both of you will both continue to watch the show, even though you’ve both died?

AB: Oh, yeah.

CM: Absolutely.

AB: I need to know what’s going to happen! I’m more excited for these next four episodes than the first half of the show, because I got to read the scripts for the first half. They didn’t give us anything for…

CM: Exactly. We don’t know what happens. So we have to watch, for sure!

AB: It’s kind of hard when you make all of these amazing friends while you’re working, but even your best friends won’t tell you what happens in the later episodes! (Laughs) Everyone’s being very secretive!

PH: Well, it’s been a pleasure talking to both of you. Thanks a lot!

AB: Thank you so much!

CM: Thanks! Enjoy your day!

* Missed our interview with Victim #1? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Victims #2 and #3? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Victim #4? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Victim #5? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Victim #6? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Victim #7? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Victim #8? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Victim #9? Go check it out!

Head over the interview with this week’s victim. It’s waiting for you after the jump…

Dean Chekvala: Hey, Will!

Premium Hollywood: Hey, Dean, how’s it going?

DC: Good, buddy. How are you doing?

PH: Pretty good. I’ve been thrilling to your antics for the last several weeks.

DC: (Laughs) Thanks!

PH: So how did it feel playing the black sheep in the family?

DC: I loved it! The best character on the show! No, I’m kidding…but I did love it!

PH: So how much of the character of J.D. did you go in with yourself? Do you have any tats?

DC: I don’t have any tattoos, and my hair’s normally kind of like a dirty blonde, a dark blonde. So they dyed the hair and slapped on the tattoos… (Laughs) …and gave me that wonderful dark wardrobe.

PH: I’ve heard from most of the other actors that, when they auditioned, they read sides that had nothing to do with the character they ended up playing. Was that the same case for you?

DC: No, y’know, I actually read the sides for my character, but the sides that I read were of a scene that they made up just for the audition. So that scene never came up.

PH: So at what point did you find out exactly how crazy a character you were playing?

DC: Um, define crazy. (Laughs)

PH: (Laughs) Yeah, I guess crazy is relative.

DC: Well, I booked it, then I got shipped out the next morning, basically, to go up to Vancouver, and it wasn’t until I got to Vancouver that they really closed the door and explained what the concept of the show was and what was going to be going on. And at that point, they explained the back story of the character. No, come to think of it, at my second audition, when I met with the producers, we actually chatted for awhile, and they kind of gave me the gist of who this character was, of who J.D. was, and that he was the black sheep, he was suicidal, a chip on his shoulder, an instigator type of character. So they told me early on.

PH: How far along in the process did you come to discover that you were, in fact, not the killer?

DC: Probably Episode 6 or 7. It could’ve been Episode 6. Up until then, I thought I was still fair game.

PH: So when you were playing the character, were you playing it as if he was the killer, or were you playing him as if he was just a troubled guy?

DC: A troubled guy, looking for answers.

PH: What was your favorite episodes of the ones that you were in? I guess that was most of them, right? No, wait, you weren’t in Episode 4.

DC: Yeah, Episode 4 I wasn’t in. (Considers the question) I think one of my favorite episodes was Episode 6, although I loved the very first scene…well, I guess it wasn’t the first scene, but it was the fight scene in the bar. I loved doing that one. I mean, what a great intro to a character: a bar fight. (Laughs) But I think Episode 6 was kind of where, structurally, it changed for me, because he became very proactive. I mean, he definitely had an agenda, where he was pursuing something. Previously to that, he was kind of reacting to things, but he wasn’t really instigating things to change. And that’s kind of when it got really exciting to play and very clear to play.

PH: In the third episode, when you had to suffer through a near-hanging, was that odd to play? I’d think that, at the very least, it would be a little disconcerting.

DC: Yeah, but it was actually kind of fun, I’ve got to tell you. Half of it was a stunt guy and half of it was me, but I kept asking them if I could do it, because it seemed like, y’know, “When else would I get a chance to play that?” Although that set we were on was, seriously, about 150 degrees.

PH: Yikes.

DC: The cast and crew were just pouring sweat during the hours we were in there. So it was a little uncomfortable in that sense, but it was fun to kind of experience what it was like to stand on that chair and have that noose around your neck. Well, I don’t know if “fun” is the right word… (Laughs) …but it was definitely a unique experience.

PH: So did you think that you were the killer at any point? Because, at least at my house, we were regularly torn between, “Well, that would be too easy,” and, “Well, maybe it isn’t too easy!”

DC: You know, the exact same thing happened with us on set. We kind of all thought we could be the killer, and everybody was…I think that, secretly, everybody wanted to be the killer, and everyone had a way to convince themselves that, yeah, possibly I could be the killer! Because you wouldn’t get the scripts until a few days before shooting, so everyday new information came out, and if we were still in the script, if we weren’t the one who was killed, then we were excited at the possibility that, “Oh, there might be more information that we don’t know about yet that will explain why I am the killer!” From the beginning, they asked us, “If you’re the killer, do you want to know?” I think they were asking everybody. Not that they were telling anybody, but I think they were just curious if people would want to know. And I just told them, “Look, I don’t need to know unless you think I need to know at a certain point.” But because they asked me that question, immediately my mind was, like, “Omigod! I’m the killer! Why would they ask me that if I wasn’t the killer?” And you begin to sort of convince yourself that, Omigod, this is a great possibility for me to be it! And it would’ve been fun to be the killer. I think. You know? Just to kind of explore that sort of character and figure out why they would do it. So part of me wanted to be, but then as Episodes 6 and 7 came along, I was, like, “You know, I think I’m still crucial to the information of the story, but I’m probably not the killer.”

PH: How was Cassandra Sawtell to work with? I interviewed David Lewis two weeks ago, and although he couldn’t stop talking about what a great actress she was, he admitted outright that she was creepy when she was playing her part.

DC: (Laughs) Oh, she’s the sweetest girl! She’s great. She’s a super-smart kid, and we used to joke because every time she was on set, she was reading a new and different 500- or 600-page novel, which she’d finish during the course of that day. I was, like, “Seriously? Are you kidding me?” And she speaks, like, five languages. No joke. She’s just a super-smart kid. And…honestly, I don’t find her creepy, but she’s very, in a sense, honest. She’s very aware of things that are around her. But she’s fun. She was fun to play with. I felt like we were real kindred spirts!

PH: So how did you actually find out that you were going to be off the show? Did you get tapped on the shoulder, or did you receive a phone call?

DC: (Laughs) I got a phone call. Usually, Karim was given the assignment to tell people, and he’d try to tell them in person. Usually, he’d use the line, “Listen, we gotta talk. Come walk with me.” That kind of thing. And the reaction on set was, “No! I don’t want to talk to you!” But in this case, he was leaving for the airport that night, I think. It was a Friday, and he was leaving for the weekend from the set, so he just had to call me and tell me over the phone.

PH: Were you surprised?

DC: I was very surprised. I thought it was, like, a social call. That it was gonna be, like, “Hey, what are we doing tonight?” And it turned into, “Oh, you’ve got to go.” (Laughs) So in that case, it was a surprise, but as far as the story’s concerned, you know, I think it strengthens the story because it just shows the audience that anybody can go, and I feel like they’d started to build…well, although they made J.D. look guilty, they also built up his character, so people could kind of be more engaged in the story.

PH: Yeah, at times, you were torn between accusing him and feeling sorry for him.

DC: Yeah! Which one did you think? Did you think he was more of the black sheep or the killer?

PH: Y’know, I really tended to think he was more of the black sheep, though there was certainly enough out there that I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had been the killer. But I didn’t really think he was.

DC: Were there any points when you thought, “Oh, he’s actually the savior”? (Laughs) Because after I wasn’t the killer, I was, like, “Oh, well, clearly, I’m going to save this island! Clearly!” But, clearly, that didn’t happen. (Laughs) That pendulum definitely swung the other way for me. I was thinking, “They’re trying to make me look good, so obviously I’m going to come back, swinging in on a vine to say the day!”

PH: What’s your favorite onset anecdote from your time on “Harper’s Island”? And who did you most enjoy working with?

DC: Well, I loved working with Elaine (Cassidy) and Chris (Gorham). Most of my stuff was with them and Cassandra. And there’s one kinda funny story about Cassandra…well, it’s not that funny…but it was me, Elaine, and her in the car with her, and she was saying how she was going to be a writer when she grows up. And we were, like, “Oh, that’s great! Maybe you can take that book and turn it into a movie, and en maybe you can cast us!” She kind of nodded and took a beat, then she tapped us on the shoulder and said, “Um, I don’t mean to be rude, but…aren’t you going to be too old?” (Laughs) We’re, like, “Okay, get out of the car.” So, okay, maybe that wasn’t the best anecdote, but I remember that for some reason, because it was just so charming of her to point out how old we’re going to be when she’s a successful writer. (Laughs) But mostly it’s just working with…well, y’know, I just thought the crew and cast were so pleasant to work with. You know, we all started the same day, literally in the same boat, so we all had this sense of community and camaraderie that started from the very beginning. We were sad to see people go as the numbers dwindled, but we were really a close, tight-knit group. We’d hang out all the time after filming, at dinners or having drinks or whatever, and the Canadians definitely showed us the perks of the town. (Laughs)

PH: So have you been watching the show consistently, and will you continue to watch now that you’re off the show?

DC: Oh, I’m definitely going to watch it, because I don’t know what happens! It’s great, because now I get to be a viewer, and I get to kind of see how they’re going to shape the story and see how much of what I think is going to happen is or isn’t going to happen. And I have been watching it…you know, I watch on the computer, but I watched it last week with Matt Barr, who played Sully. We just hung out and watched it together. It’s always fun to get together. If people are around and we can actually get a group together to watch it, it’s always fun to hang out.

PH: Yeah, when I interviewed Sean Rogerson, he said that he and Chris Gauthier had gotten together to watch an episode.

DC: Cool!

PH: Well, it’s been a pleasure talking to you, Dean. You did great work on the show, and I’m looking forward to seeing who the actual killer is.

DC: Me, too! Thanks, Will!

* Missed our interview with Victim #1? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Victims #2 and #3? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Victim #4? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Victim #5? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Victim #6? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Victim #7? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Victim #8? Go check it out!

If you’ve been watching “Harper’s Island” all along, then this was probably the least surprising death of the series to date. It’s not that you necessarily saw it coming this week, per se; it’s simply that, due to an event in an earlier episode, you sensed that the character had been living on borrowed time, anyway. And while I don’t want to say that I’d actually been rooting for that time to run out, I have to admit that this was an interview I’d been looking forward to, due to the other credits found within this person’s IMDb listing…one of which will be returning to the airwaves next month.

Oh, but I’ve said too much. Let’s move onward before I give away anything else…

Bullz-Eye: Hey, it’s my close personal Facebook friend, Chris!

Chris Gauthier: (Laughs) Hey, how’re you doing, buddy?

BE: I’m good, man. I was very excited when I saw you were going to be on “Harper’s Island,” because as soon as I spotted you, I was, like, “Hey, it’s ‘Eureka’ Dude!”

CG: Ha! Yeah, that’s right: Vincent. Thank you!

BE: Absolutely. My wife and I are huge fans of the show.

CG: Oh, that’s great! Thank you very much!

BE: So for the first time, I might actually get a good answer for this question: did the producers of “Harper’s Island” actually know you and seek you out, or was it just a standard audition process?

CG: Just the traditional casting process, yeah. I went out for a couple of rounds of auditioning, and all of us had originally read for the part of Booth…well, a lot of us had, anyway, and I think they were casting the groomsmen from that.

BE: So what were your thoughts when you first heard about this show, given that it’s a different kind of series model?

CG: I loved it. For me, I’m a horror-genre fan, so this was right up my alley. It was ideal for me.

BE: I was going to ask you if you were a horror guy or not.

CG: Oh, yeah. Totally. A lot of horror and sci-fi shows shoot up in Vancouver, but it also just happens to be one of my favorite genres as well. So I’m a very fortunate guy!

BE: So how much of the character of Malcolm existed before you came onboard? In particular, I was curious about the whole microbrew aspect. It just seems like a very specific detail about the character.

CG: I’d guess it was probably an idea in the producer’s head. As you may or may not know, we weren’t told a lot of our characters’ backgrounds, so when we got the first script, they did say that I had this Sacred Turtle microbrewery, but little did I knew it would lead to my seeking money for it in Episode 4. So all of it came as a surprise as the weeks went by. There were a few things, like that we were college buddies, but nothing poignant.

BE: A couple of the other cast members had mentioned that their sides had nothing to do with their eventual character.

CG: Yeah, because that was for the pilot-presentation thing that we did. Some of it was on the internet, I believe…?

BE: Right, I saw it when CBS sent out a preview DVD.

CG: But that was a totally separate shoot, once we got into filming the actual series.

BE: So how did you find out about your impending demise? Was it a tap on the shoulder, or a phone call?

CG: It was really sad. It was a phone call. Some people had gotten told face to face. I know Sean (Rogerson) was told face to face; I was there right after, which was a really sad day. And I think we assumed it was going to be done that way. For me, in Episode 6, I had a couple of days off before going in to shoot Episode 7, or before we got the script for Episode 7, and Karim had phoned me and basically said, “Are you sitting down…?” (Laughs) And I think I said something like, “Give it to me straight, Doc.” I mean, we were all aware of this as an inevitability, so I think you were waiting for it every episode. So when it finally did come, it was kind of heartbreaking, but at the same time, you were very well prepared from Episodes 4, 5, and 6. So 7 was my time, and I knew it was imminent with the stuff that had gone on in Episode 4.

BE: I was going to say that, once Sean got his, I’m sure you figured it was only a matter of time.

CG: Yeah, for sure. I’m actually surprised that I lasted as long as I did after that. (Laughs)

BE: I’m not going to lie to you: I was, too. (Laughs) I thought you might’ve been next in line after Sean, though I guess that would’ve been a little too easy.

CG: I did read some blogs and saw that people were, like, “He’s gotta be next to go! He’s got to be!”

BE: Sean said that you and he really built a friendship over the course of your work on the show.

CG: Yeah, it was really good. I mean, in and beyond doing his death scene, Sean was and is just a really charismatic, really caring guy, and it made that scene that he and I did that much easier to do. And there was a real kinship there, too.

BE: He and I talked about that. In fact, when we talked, he was planning to watch the next episode with you.

CG: And he did. We watched Episode 5 together.

BE: Excellent. Yeah, he said that the fact that you had that bond made the farewell scene less difficult than it otherwise would’ve been.

CG: Yeah, and we had been talking about his demise because, of course, he knew at the end of Episode 3, in preparation, so it didn’t come as a shock to him when he got the script, so we got the chance to kind of mull over that scene and talk about it. I particularly was upset that he was going, y’know. It seemed as thought we had only just gotten started, and we wanted to cram in as much good times as possible. It was a really fun experience.

BE: How hard is it to play paranoia? I would think it’d be a tightrope walk, so as to avoid going too far over the top.

CG: Well, I was less of a red herring than a lot of the cast, so you’re right, I was curtailed a bit in terms of…your instincts are to be very reactionary, so there was a lot of pulling back for me and the directors.

BE: I felt bad for that poor girl, coming to your room in Episode 7, only to be sent away.

CG: (Laughs) Oh, I know! There’s also a side story to that. She and I did have a subplot where she and I had sort of a bond going, and that was sort of the lead-up to that point. She was going to come to my room, and I had to shut her down. So the stakes would’ve been a little bit higher if they’d kept that sub-story in there, in terms of me turning her away.

BE: So how did you enjoy being part of the wedding party and participating in the bachelor-party aspects of the show?

CG: It was so much fun! It was a great group of people, so it was easy, and you looked forward to going into work. You were part of a team and part of a bond that hasn’t really been done on television before, I don’t think, with this format. So we were all experiencing something fairly brand new, you know?

BE: But do you know who ended up with the blow-up doll?

CG: No, and you know what? She was missing, too, so I think she should be added to the victims list if she doesn’t get found. (Laughs)

BE: Sean was convinced that Booth had her.

CG: Oh, he would. (Cackles)

BE: So you might be off this show, but “Eureka” is getting ready to come back next month.

CG: Uh-huh. The second half of the third season. They’re calling it Season 3.5, I think.

BE: Yep, and they’re slipping the first half of Season 3 onto DVD just in time to get people ready. How do you enjoy working on the show? It’s such a creative series.

CG: It’s so much fun. And as we go further, Joe (Morton) has directed an episode, Colin (Ferguson) directed an episode. I’m more of a periphery staple on that show, which I just really enjoy. Vincent is sort of the nexus point for the socialization on the show, and it’s a blast. It is a very creative show, and obviously the possibilities are limitless. It’s just a blast to work on, and you greatly anticipate getting a new script.

BE: How did you enjoy getting to play the Toyman on “Smallville”?

CG: That was really cool. When I auditioned for him, they had him down as something…not Winslow Schott. It was, like, Malcolm Frott. I’m just using Malcolm as a convenient name, it wasn’t actually Malcolm, but the point was that they used a name so that people wouldn’t know it was the Toyman, so they wouldn’t go back and research it. So it was really cool to come back and find out that I was getting to play a villain!

BE: Are you enough of a comic book fan that you would’ve recognized the Toyman’s name if they had used it?

CG: I probably would’ve done some research on it. I’m not that much of a comic book fan. I do like cult shows and things like that, though, so I would’ve done my research, and I probably would’ve found out. And I think there would’ve been a lot of other people who would’ve, too.

BE: Yeah, you’re all over the cult shows: “Dead Like Me,” “Stargate: Atlantis,” “Kyle XY,” and “Reaper,” just to name a few. Do you have a favorite from that bunch of one-off appearances?

CG: I think one of my favorites to date is probably “Supernatural.” I got to play a really cool character, a paranoid sort of fellow who turns out to be right. I don’t know if you saw the episode, but it was very cool to play that, and to be right. I love playing that type of character, sort of a conspiracy theorist, impassioned and a little bit naïve and vulnerable. It’s a very fun thing to get to play.

BE: And, lastly, what’s your favorite anecdote from the set of “Harper’s Island”?

CG: Well, there was one thing: when we were talking about what we would do for people who were going off the show. We were all discussing this in the first episode, sitting around to shoot some of the boat scenes, and Elaine said that, when we find out who’s dying, we should set them in the corner and all point and laugh at them. (Laughs) That was really funny. But there were many…there was a lot of fun stuff and tomfoolery, as you can imagine. The fun we were having on screen, like on the boat and all that, we were actually having that fun for real. It was great.

BE: Everyone says that Richard Burgi was a hoot.

CG: Richard Burgi was hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. And Jim Beaver as well. He’s a great man. A great, great man. Somebody to look up to.

BE: And will you be continuing to watch the show in the coming weeks?

CG: I will, for sure. I think it’s great…and I have to see how it goes!

BE: Okay, Chris, thanks a lot, and see you on Facebook.

CG: (Laughs) You, too, Will. Take care!

* Missed our interview with Victim #1? Go check it out!
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