Jeff Teravainen – Utopia Falls

By starrymag | February 17, 2020

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

 

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

 

A) I worked on a number of projects last year – some great independent films that I am hoping will be released. One of them is recently screening but I am just waiting for those to get out to the general public I’m really proud of what I’ve seen so far when I’ve been doing AVR and filling audio in that. What I’ve seen has been great. I’m so happy.

 

Q) How was the series “Utopia Falls” originally described to you and how did your character Gerald fit in?

 

A) Joe Mallozzi, the showrunner, was also the creator and showrunner for “Dark Matter,” which I also worked on. When they were looking for the role of Gerald, he contacted me and I’m eternally grateful. He basically told me the story, what would happen if there was no past and we’re living in a futuristic society where there are no things like racism. It doesn’t exist in the world. So, a lot of the issues with the current world are gone, but there is also an underlying thing that people can’t put their finger on. My daughter, Aliyah (Robyn Alomar), and some friends come across something it’s full historical records, music and all things that have been erased from the current world. It starts to open their minds and they start to see things differently. Of course, you go through the audition process and the more I got into it the more I wanted this role because the character I play is different for me.

 

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

 

A) Everybody does that, especially when you have a long-term character and you’re a series regular. You always get a breakdown and what sort of person they are looking for. For sure, there was a starting point. Without giving too much away, there are things that I really wanted him to be able to do. As I said, we’re in the future. So, a lot of the norms that sort of hold us to certain behaviors are gone. I wanted him to be a man that can emote and can feel things. We encourage people to do that today, but still…The old saying is “man up.” Well, Gerald is someone who loves his daughter very much so he worries about her and he’s not afraid to show his emotions. So, I loved that. I loved being able to do that sort of thing.

 

Q) What challenged you about playing Gerald?

 

A) Oh! So much! Again, I can’t give away too much, but there are some incredibly powerful and emotional scenes and as a father I dug deep on those. You always try to ground yourself in some sort of reality. That was the way I was sort of taught to do it. So, when there are dark things you sort of go to dark places in your mind about your own family. But it helps! Sitting across from you at the time is your play daughter, but she’s real to you and there were really powerful scenes between my daughter and I especially. There was also a lot of good drama between other people, like Kate for example. It was really fun watching her especially, I found. She is a machine. They would give her page after page of lines and she would just kill it all the time. I would be horrified seeing some of the stuff I had to do and she would be like, “Yep. Whatever.”

 

Q) Were you familiar with any of your costars before working with them on this series?

 

A) Some of them I knew. It was sort of a “Dark Matter” reunion in some ways. Not so much with the cast, but when Joe came on board as the showrunner, he brought a lot of people that were behind the scenes. So, it was a reunion there for me. Also, we’re a small community – actors in general. So, you saw people that you worked on with different projects. Kate Drummond is a perfect example. I worked with her on numerous things so we were friends beforehand. So, it was just great to get to know her and we have some amazing scenes. A lot of the other actors as well, I call them the “youngins.” I would say the core focus is on those guys more than anybody. But also, the old folks, like myself and Kate and Alexandra [Castillo] and Sean [Baek]…It was a very great environment on set amongst the people themselves.

 

Q) What were some of your favorite episodes to film or ones you think fans should look out for?

 

A) I like so much of what I read in the scripts. It’s hard to pick one, but I guess if I would pick one out of everything, I would say the last episode because there is so much going on – not just for my character, but everything. The ending was a real pleasure to read. I remember actually clapping my hands at the end. I was so excited to film it and see how everything went with it.

 

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

 

A) [laughs] Good question. Well, as I said, it was such a pleasure to work with old friends but also new friends. They really let you run. They encouraged you to take things and run with it, which was an amazing thing because you don’t always get that on productions. Sometimes they’re very tight on how they want you to do things and where they want you to stand. Whereas, they encouraged you to really explore and go as far as you could with things. That was great because you knew if you didn’t do it right then it wasn’t an epic failure. We just reset and tried it a different way, whereas sometimes you just don’t have that. One thing that really stands out for me is I got really sick during the middle of the season with strep throat. So, I was off with a super high fever and I was delirious (to be honest with you) at one point. Everybody looked after me at so well. The director Warren P. Sonoda was so sweet because I was in a terrible state. I remember I had I don’t know how many pages of scenes to shoot and there were a number of directions that was involved with it. I was dying. [chuckles] In fact, I’m really curious to see the scene because my voice was so deep. I sounded like Darth Vader. Like I said, I was sort of delirious. In between I was like passing out. That was a really interesting thing. But, again, the way the cast and crew handled it was incredible. You really felt like you were in a friend/family environment. Again, I’ve been on other sets where I can’t imagine showing up like that where you are struggling to remember things and stuff like that because you have this high fever. But we were in really good hands. The showrunner and the show creator really set a great place to go to everyday and create.

 

Q) What do you think it is about “Utopia Falls” that will make it a fast fan favorite series?

 

A) One thing that I would say that is very interesting is that it hits on so many levels. I mentioned how I’m joking with the old folks and we have the younger cast. There are sort of multiple storylines going through. We’ve seen a lot of teases, mostly having to do with the younger end of it and the musical end. That’s the thing, there is going to be some incredible music. They’ve got a very interesting dynamic of how music effects the younger folks. But there are also a lot of other storylines. There are political things and sort of classic sci-fi angles. So, I think if you get through the first episodes there are going to be all types of personalities. There is going to be something there for you. Music people will be drawn to that, but then they might see something else that resonates with them. Someone who likes classic sci-fi there is that for them. So, I think it could hit on a lot of cylinders if people give it the chance.

 

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

 

A) Absolutely. That is one of the weird things about the job. I never saw myself as someone who would do that a lot, but once I got on Twitter…[chuckles] Again, I am very lucky. “Dark Matter” fans have been so good to me. Even when I was going through some personal things last year with my mother, they made videos and stuff like that. You really feel like you’ve got some nice people in your corner. And going to Comic Cons and meeting them in real life is an amazing treat. So, I encourage anybody to say hello and check it out and let me know what you think.

 

Q) Is there anything else you want to be sure we share with our readers about “Utopia Falls?”

 

A) The interesting thing is, “What if things aren’t what you think they are?” That could even apply to today’s world. You start reading and you see things in a very different way. I’m a much different person than I was a few years ago just because I started reading outside of mainstream media. Like, “Well, if this happening then why is that happening?” This show really does explore that because Utopia should be a Utopian society that is perfect or kind of close. But there are underlying things and the discovery leads these people to start asking questions and seeing things differently. They are reading different books all of a sudden and their minds are opening up. That is how you get change, revolution and all kinds of things. If you thought something was perfect, it can always be better I suppose.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fan and supporters of you and your work?

 

A) I hope you realize how much I appreciate it. I never thought I deserved the accolades that I get. [chuckles] I was very fortunate to get to play some really great characters on shows like “Dark Matter” and “12 Monkeys.” I’ve always been amazed by how much support I do get for my time. “Dark Matter” was supposed to be going into like a series regular role when the show was cancelled. So, I never felt I got that full potential to really earn it. I joke about that with the cast members all the time. We’ll go to Comic Cons and I always say, “What am I doing here? Because you guys were in every episode of all three seasons.” Then, say I’ll walk out on the stage and I get this beautiful applause and lots of questions. Again, I’m constantly amazed and I really do appreciate it.