Aaron Fontaine – The Outpost

By starrymag | July 11, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) What are the recent projects that you have been working on?

A) I do a lot of my own writing as well. I’m in the middle of shooting two short films. One is animation and I’m doing some theater in the UK as well. I like to go to a theater every year and just train, flex the acting muscle. For the moment, it’s just been “The Outpost.”

Q) How was Tobin originally described to you?

A) So, he was described as very brash. He thinks he’s God’s gift. He’s got a royal air to him, but he’s not royal. And he’s a drunk.

Q) Was there anything you added to him that wasn’t in his initial breakdown?

A) Because he’s not from the same place as everyone else, Tobin has these lands and is the richest character throughout the show, I gave a snobbery to him. He doesn’t really care about anything or anyone. There is a strut that he does, like an “I don’t care” strut around The Outpost like it’s really nothing in comparison to what his lands look like. He’s arrogant, but I gave him a bit more of an edge to that.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the series?

A) For one, I’m a huge fan of Lord of the Rings and this seemed Lord of the Rings and “Game of Thrones” like to me. I’ve never done fantasy before so I wanted to get my feet into fantasy. Also, sword battling. That’s what really drew me to it as well.

Q) Were you familiar at all with any of your costars before joining the series?

A) No, not too familiar.

Q) Were you excited to share a scene with anyone in particular?

A) Tobin gets around the Outpost a lot and initially he does interact with pretty much all the characters. But there is someone who comes in and I really wanted more scenes with them just because of their experience to flex my acting muscles.

Q) What kind of physical prep/training did you do to get ready for the show?

A) Basically, he’s supposed to be extremely powerful. There is no real technique to it. It is just really powerful. I hit the gym a lot and upped the calories, I kind of made Tobin a little bulkier to make him look more powerful when he’s fighting. I’d never ridden a horse before in my life previously to this and I got a two year’s crash course within a week or two. It was awesome to be thrown into the deep end.

Q) Were there some stunts that you weren’t allowed to do then?

A) Riding a horse at a fast pace. It would have been impossible. I can go at a fast pace now, but if it was a grand national fast pace then I’d say, “Let him jump off the horse. Any of that stuff he could do it all.” I did my own zipline, fighting and jumping through windows and clearing benches once I’d jump through a window and get thrown out of windows. There were so many stunts I did myself that just made the day more fun for me as well. He didn’t really get to do much. [laughs]

Q) What were some of your favorite scenes to film?

A) There was a huge battle scene, which was awesome because the day was so nice. It was warm and the perfect climate for it. That was a really fun scene. There were a lot of scenes with Gwynn. Imogen [Waterhouse] is so fun to be around anyway. There are a lot of scenes with Imogen who plays Gwynn, which were really fun. There were a lot with a lady named Glynis Barber who plays a character named Gertrusha. Tobin throws a lot of tantrums and at one point where he’s throwing a tantrum and he is just trashing the Outpost. That was fun!

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you looking forward to the instant fan feedback you’ll receive to episodes?

A) Yeah! I love interacting with the fans! I don’t really post too much. I only really post when I’ve got a show out or I’m shooting. Until I’m like Dwayne Johnson, I won’t post as much. [laughs] I can’t wait for fans of the show to see my work.

Q) What do you think it is about “The Outpost” that makes it such a standout series?

A) If you liked the first season, the second season is absolutely by far outweighs everything you’ve seen so far. It’s absolutely the best season of “The Outpost.” The way it is shot…We shot in Serbia and they are just like magicians with the camera, lighting, sound and CGI. It was absolutely amazing! It looks like a movie. The way it’s colored and the lighting is extraordinary. Everything! So, I think that really stands out amongst the series of today with a lot of the scenery. With “The Outpost,” it’s olden day clothes. It’s fantasy clothes. It’s got the black blood. It’s got the primordial ooze. It’s absolutely incredible! And I can’t wait to watch the second season.

Q) Is there anything else you want to be sure we share with our readers about your work on the show?

A) I really enjoyed working with Imogen. We got a really good chemistry going on so look out for that. That’s even a spoiler! [laughs] Tobin comes to the Outpost and gets a letter from Gwynn to pledge allegiance. But he has an ulterior motive. Now, Tobin is not royal. He’s rich and all the land in the world and the biggest and most powerful army in the whole Outpost. But he’s not royal. So, he wants royal lineage. That’s all he wants. He doesn’t want to have it with love. He just wants to have it because he’s used to having things and people doing what he says. When it comes to the Outpost, he has to change up his ways a little bit. The character arc of Tobin I really enjoyed.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and the work you do?

A) I want to say, so far, the journey has been absolutely incredible and it’s just gotten even better. I want to say thank you for following me thus far. If any way I can give back, I always love to give back to my fans. Any way I can support them, let me know. Support is at the click of a finger nowadays so it’s not a problem at all. Keep following “The Outpost” and Tobin’s story. And follow me and my future endeavors! I really appreciate you all. Thank you very much.