Hypable participated in a conference call with Orphan Black actor Ari Millen yesterday and he gave us some incredible insight into not only Project Castor but also season 3 in general.
Because the Castor clones were raised self-aware how does that change their brotherhood compared to the ladies in Project Leda?
I mean the fact that they’re self aware means they grew up together and have, I guess, close knit wolf packs/military upbringing. Just like any set of brothers I guess there’s a real closeness: They take the piss out of each other, they can be vicious but also loving. Compared to Project Leda who are just sort of learning who they are, as the season progresses Project Castor is definitely going to hit the ground running as far as making it very difficult for Project Leda because they have something they want. And because we know who we are we have a better understanding, and almost we’re more cohesive whereas Project Leda are still learning who they can trust and who they can’t. They’re very strong right off the bat.
Who’s Paul for the Castor Clones? Do they trust him?
Oh man, without giving away spoilers…I think at the end of the [second] season we now know Paul knows more than what he was letting on, and we think he might’ve been playing both sides. As this season progresses we’ll find out more of what Paul knows and more about who he is in terms of Project Castor. I don’t know if I can say more than that at this point.
With Project Leda there’s a spectrum of sexuality. What would you say is the sexuality spectrum for the Castor clones?
They’re, uh, ultra hetero, haha. Well for the most part…oh man, this is a big question. I think part of how they want to position the cast this year is they want this sort of…testosterone [thing] and I think that aspect plays itself out through their ultra sexuality sort of frat boy mentality. But, you know, that is just one part of them and on the complete opposite side of that you have Mark who is almost virginal and almost innocent, so I think there’s some interesting [stuff] there with them but the sexuality will play a big part of this season that’s for sure.
What was the biggest challenge for you this season?
I think it was, well, because you know Project Castor had been raised self-aware and grew together the biggest challenge, for me, was finding the differences within the similarities. Finding the little nuance thing that makes Rudy, Rudy, that makes Mark, Mark and that makes Seth, Seth. On a multiple clone day where I was playing more than one it was just making that switch. Because they’re so similar trying to drop one and pick up the other depending on how much sleep I got might’ve been more challenging…but yeah. It was a really fun process of just trying to find these guys within their brotherhood.
Which of the Project Castor clones would you say is the most dangerous?
I mean I think the obvious answer is probably Rudy, but I think to a certain extend he wears his heart on his sleeve. I think Mark is more dangerous, because he…he’s very good at hiding what he’s feeling for a long time. You don’t want to cross him. You don’t want to threaten what he’s going for because he will make you pay.
What’s going on with Mark and Gracie? Will we see them?
Yeah. Mark and Gracie have just eloped at the end of last season and they’re trying to hide from the Proletheans and now with the new revelation of Project Castor we find out that they’re also looking for Mark as well.
What kind of advice did you get from Tatiana about playing multiple characters
The first thing that happened was she was probably, she knew for a day or two before I did. So the first thing that happened was after I found out, it was still a secret from the rest of the cast and crew, she gave me a pat on the back and winked at me and said congratulations. To me, acting is such a private process and personal process that it’s never something you pose on anyone else so, I mean for the most part she was present and there when you’re in a scene but if I ever had a question she helped.
I thought the best lesson I could learn from her was watching her do what she does. When she was on set I would just sort of watch her do her stuff and see little things that she was doing and went “that’s brilliant, what a great idea!” I would try that trick out and if it worked for me I would keep it and if it didn’t I wouldn’t.
What’s been the most difficult or perhaps most fun element of filming things this season compared to season 2?
I guess the challenge was learning how to plan out the scene for both characters at once because you know the way obviously it’s set up is you shoot the first half of the scene as one character and then you switch over and you do the scene again as the other character.
So the trouble could be, if not handled properly, is that I would — if I only paid attention to the first character I was playing and just sort of forgot about the other guy then those decisions I made, I would have been stuck with when we flip the camera around. So the bigger challenge this year was especially working with my double (Nick Abraham) and the director. We would just sort of talk it out, talking it out, plan it and make sure that if it was a scene with Rudy and Seth that — and I’m playing Rudy, to make sure Rudy does this at this point because this is the moment that I want to create for Seth. So it was a really — there was a technical side of pre-planning that wasn’t organic to me. So it was a very interesting learning curve to deal with this season.
Page 2: Ari talks about conflicts, physical preparations and more!
Were you able to give any input for your characters?
I mean that’s the great thing about this show is there is a real fluidity to the script writing. I mean there’s a lot of frustration with only learning the next episode part way through the episode that you’re shooting but that also lends itself to things being organic and switching on the fly. So certainly Graeme and John and the rest of the writers always were happy and interested and inviting for our input. And what I found really cool too is a lot of the times I would come to them with this sort of instinct that I had about it and they’d say don’t worry we’ve already got you covered in the next episode. So it was like we were almost on the same wave length with a lot of stuff. But, no, I think one of the greatest things about the set is that it is a collaboration. There’s not one dictator at the top, it’s a collaborative process.
Will we see conflicts within the Castor Clones?
Yes they’re brothers, they fight, I mean that’s kind of a generalized way to say it. But certainly Mark has a — Mark has his own ideas of who he wants to be and where he sees himself going. And his brothers and Project Castor are gunning for him. They’re not going to let him go without a fight. So yes there’s going to be some conflict there, there’s going to be some butting of heads and fights. But I guess within the other guys they’re reaching a certain point in their life and I’m going to try to be as vague as possible without giving spoilers but they’re reaching certain point where something is becoming very, very important. So there is a certain amount of stress that they’re all under that bickering will start.
But for the most part they’re a cohesive group and they’re all working towards a common goal and even though brothers fight there’s ultimately love and family and that’s the most important thing.
Which clone is the most intense to play?
I guess, I mean I guess the answer is Rudy. What’s really fun about Rudy is that he’s — it’s often a game to him to try to push people’s buttons and sort of knock people out of their comfort zone. So you know when we see him with Sarah and then we’ll see him with some other people where he — he’s just trying to get under people’s skin and that sort of antagonistic approach is, I mean that’s kind of fun — that’s kind of fun to play around with. And along with that comes, you know, becomes pretty intense scenario. So the answer’s Rudy.
What sort of physical preparations or training did you do to prepare for that challenge?
I had to go to the gym every day, I had to look like a military man. It was good motivation to get off the couch that’s for sure. And other than that I guess just I guess my diet. I mean I was — it’s amazing what kind of willpower you can have when you’re motivated that way. And unfortunately it doesn’t last but I was in the best shape of my life for the first little bit.
what’s the challenge of when all four are in the same place or perhaps three are in the same place? What’s the toughest part when they all have to interact?
Thankfully, I mean, having two in the scene is hard enough. But yes the difficult part of having multiple in the scene is just that sort of making sure that you’re planning and that — because, I don’t know, like, all the acting training I’ve ever had, most people would have obviously, is just sort of you plan a scene as your character. But if you’ve got to play both sides of the scene then you’ve got to know both sets of motivations and plan out how they’re going to execute.
So it’s all about that first performance and the first half of shooting that one scene is [to] make sure that it’s open enough for the other side of it to make sense. Don’t set it in stone in the first performance otherwise you’re stuck with it.
Which one of your clones encountering which one of Tatiana’s clones is the favorite pairing?
Well coming into Orphan Black, first off my favorite clone was Helena and I got to meet her, Mark got to meet her pretty quickly. And I guess it was mostly playing off of Sarah and Helena all second season. So I guess those two are my favorite. But then going into season 3 I bet you they would yell at me if I talked about any more that would be a spoiler but I’ve already got to work with my favorite so I’m lucky.
Can you talk a little bit about the audition process? What did you show them that convinced them that you can do this and take on this massive task here?
Oh man if I knew that I would be pulling that all the time. I think, I mean, that’s probably a better question for John and Graeme but all I can say is that I’m very thankful that they gave me the opportunity and you know I’ve had the best time of my life this season. I guess it made sense within the story as to why Mark being a clone would be a good idea. But yes I wouldn’t want to put words in their mouth, I’m just happy that they did.
Can you tell us about the chances of an international clone showing up?
I don’t know about that, not yet, but I certainly try my hardest and thankfully we have a dialect coach on set most of the time but I definitely try to drop my [Canadianisms] because I think these guys are supposed to be, these guys are supposed to be American so we can’t — there are certain words that come across as Canadian that they kept plugging me to say Ari drop it, drop the Canadian.
If you were given the chance what would you think about transgender Castor Clone?
You know that’s a very deep and serious question as far as the subject matter. I mean I think what [Kat] and the writer’s room, what they did with Tony was nothing short of incredible but that is something that is, I mean it’s not mainstream so much yet. So it is something that you want — if you’re going to do you have to do it right and you have to do it the proper justice. So if that ever were something that they would want to tackle with Castor you know I would really hope that we would do it as best as possible and I could do the most research possible.
But yes that is not something to throw around as like a gimmick like that’s real stuff. But I’m kind of — I think they did a beautiful job with Tony and I think we’ll see if that one is enough for right now.