Hypable speaks exclusively to Maxwell Glick about his role on Game of Thrones parody series School of Thrones, the end of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and more.
School of Thrones and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries are almost over, so what better time to sit down with one of the actors of both popular series, Maxwell Glick. Glick plays Stannis in School of Thrones and Mr. Collins in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, making two characters far more likable than their original portrayals.
Hypable’s interview with Maxwell Glick:
Hypable: How does it feel to be a part of the success of the The Lizzie Bennet Diaries? Were you expecting it when you first joined the cast?
Maxwell Glick: Yes it’s amazing to be part of something like this where the fandom is so incredible. I guess going into it, I had been watching it so I knew that there was a big following already. I keep up with everything that goes on the web as I sort of got my acting start there. I knew that this was big. I don’t think I realized how big it actually was though until I got on it and I started seeing my first episode and the amount of people who were contacting me, the reaction on Tumblr, and the GIFs being made. In short, yes, I knew it was big but when I got on it, it was huge.
Mr. Collins was not a fan favorite in the Jane Austen book; however, your rendition of him seems to be very popular with the fans. Why do you think that is?
It was a fear of mine when I auditioned for Mr. Collins as I had read the book and I had seen a couple of the movies. He’s not really portrayed as a likable guy and he’s often one dimensional. When I did the audition I thought that there has to be something about him that is likable. He’s a person. He has feelings. He’s not this awful person.
I guess the way I felt like I should portray him is he just doesn’t get it. It’s kinda of humorous. But he means well. Instead of being an awful slimy character, which I think a lot of times people kind of think of him as during the book, I kind of took the spin that he’s actually deep down a good guy. He’s just horrible in social situations and doesn’t know how to talk to people. But he means well most of the time. He just doesn’t realize that he comes across as a really awful person. He’s funny. I wanted to bring comedy to him as I think he’s funny.
So how much of a role did you have in crafting the character? Did you work a lot with the writers to create your vision of Mr. Collins or did they have a large say in that?
Basically, I read the breakdown of the character before I auditioned for it. They gave a little description of what they feel he is but I think what I brought to the audition is what they then took and crafted it around how I was portraying him. I felt like in that way I did get to really create him, and with keeping with what they had in mind. I mean, I guess that’s what they had in mind as they cast me. I really got a lot of freedom to make him how I did, which is really cool.
Did you have any input with the webseries Collins and Collins?
No, I did not. I don’t control any of the transmedia stuff. There’s a whole transmedia team that runs all the Twitter accounts. In regards to Collins and Collins, they run all of that. Gosh I would love to make some Collins and Collins videos, believe me.
What has surprised you most about the fan reaction? What’s the weirdest or best fan experience that you’ve had?
Wow. Weirdest and best, oh my. I’ve got to think about this one. I never expected there to be artwork. There are so many amazing, amazing drawings of me out there. I’m blown away by it. I save all of them because I think they’re incredible. I save them to my computer as I think they’re amazing. We have a lot of talented and really creative fans. I think the artwork has blown me away. It’s so cool.
As far as the weird stuff, I don’t know. I feel like my beard kind of became a thing which is so funny. I get a lot of Twitter comments about my beard and whatnot which is really funny. So that kind of became a thing. I’m trying to think if there’s anything weird.
It’s ok if there’s not. I think that’s better probably if you haven’t.
Do you hope to do another Bernie Su project in the future?
I would always love to do something with Bernie. Not only is he a super-talented guy but he is actually really cool. I knew him before Lizzie Bennet Diaries but we never got to work together, so this is really great to get to work with Bernie. If he ever wants me to do something else, I would love to. And that goes for all the other writers as well. Because they all wrote for me and they do amazing work. Rachel and Margaret and Katie; they’re all really terrific.
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