Seamus Dever – Take Two

By: Lisa Steinberg

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

A) I’ve been working on a lot of diverse stuff since “Castle.” It’s pretty interesting to do something for eight years that was all one exact thing. Since then, I’ve worked on a lot of stuff that is not “Castle” and not even a procedural. I got to do a play. I did Twelve Angry Men at the Laguna Playhouse in the Henry Fonda role and that was one of the best theater experiences that I ever had. I worked on a video game that came out a couple months back called Far Cry 5. I played one of the bad guys with that. It was fun because it was just totally different. Then, of course, “Titans,” which is a totally different schedule, character and set of reality. It’s been good.

Q) How was character Todd Garlin on “Take Two” come your way and how was the role originally described to you?

A) Terri [Edda Miller] gave me a call and asked me if I’d like to do an episode with them. I’ll do anything for Terri! We’re family now. And I knew there would be something fun, very reminiscent of “Castle.” I knew that tone like the back of my hand now of how to balance the comedy and the real serious situation that my character is in. He was described as a guy who is in peril who keeps almost dying and he thinks he’s out of the woods when something else is going to try to kill him. I was like, “That’s perfect! There is a lot of comedy we can get out of that.”

Q) And you’re rocking a beard!

A) It was fun. We got to build this whole scene. I have a while fun scene with Rachel [Bilson] where we’re both kind of undercover, which I think is something I got to do once on “Castle.” [laughs] It was fun! We had a fun scene in a graveyard. It was fun and at the same time it was freezing cold. Poor Rachel I think was close to death. [laughs] She had some sort of sickness. It was tough acting with an umbrella and it was cold and raining. It was in Vancouver, which is so cold. It was a lot of fun shooting that scene though. I had to really worry about getting my beard wet. I’ve never had to worry about that before. I was like, “I just can’t get wet because it ruins things for the makeup department.”

Q) Was there anything you added to the role that wasn’t initially scripted for you?

A) Mostly it was scripted. There is always a little bit of leeway that is available for playing, but that’s all stuff where you go, “Oh, that’s an opportunity for this.” I shot this about a month and a half ago. It was all kind of in there. It was just interplay really with Eddie and Rachel and the rest of the cast. There are always little bits and moments that help define the comedy and tone that we’re going for.

Q) What was it like for you to be back on set with Terri Miller and Andrew W. Marlowe?

A) it was wonderful. It was a really good time. It’s such an old relationship now that it just picked up like no time ever passed at all. It was just really easy. The script felt very familiar. The situation felt very familiar. And working with them is just like you develop this shorthand with everything and nothing needs explaining. It was wonderful.

Q) What are some scenes you were excited to play?

A) The scene where we were undercover in the graveyard was one I was looking forward to. As I said, it’s a character playing another character, especially a character my age playing older. I looked forward to that and there is a stunt that happens that was a lot of fun that I had a feeling was going to be really good. It was fun and working with the stunt guys to make that believable.

Q) Talk about working with costars Rachel Bilson and Eddie Cibrian.

A) They are fantastic! They knew that I was very familiar with working with Terri and Andrew from “Castle.” So, we just hit the ground running. It was kind of like working on “Castle” with them. [laughs] It was like, “Oh, at this moment we look up and we notice the thing each other. Cool. Cool.” It was kind of a shorthand. They get it. They’ve done a ton of work, so they understand where it’s sort of like “let’s do that.” We’re not telling each other what to do. We’re just making the scenes good. That is what they are interested in, especially building something from a first season and helping to make it a success.

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments from filming the show?

A) What was funny was shooting in Vancouver and pretending it was California. Everyone did a good job of making these areas of Vancouver feel like California and they found this motel and made it look like a California motel. They made this one motel look like The Farmer’s Daughter on Fairfax and I was like, “Okay, yeah. I buy it.” So, I was amazed at these things. I’d never filmed in Vancouver, so it was kind of fun getting to know the different neighborhoods. I got to see a lot of the geography of Vancouver and it was fun working again with Luke Reichle, who was our costume designer on “Castle.” And Holly Dale was the director of the episode and she shot a bunch of episodes of “Castle.” I knew a few people there, so it was nice to see some friendly faces.

Q) You often take on dramatic roles. Is there something about this genre that draws you to it?

A) I like a little bit of everything, but I do prefer shows where you can allow for comedy because there is a lot of comedy in life. And to do find the moments that we’re doing something serious, but the comedic moments that are wrapped up inside of it are pretty great. It’s kind of one of those things like life where it is a mixture of things. It’s not all one thing and not all the other. It’s fun to have that because sometimes when you’re working in certain genres you’re like, “Oh. I can’t make a joke here. I have to be serious.” So, it’s kind of nice to find a mixture of everything.

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you looking forward to the instant fan feedback you’re going to receive to your “Take Two” episode?

A) Oh yeah! It was always one of the best parts of being on “Castle.” The fans let you know that they are watching, how they feel about it and their favorite parts. It’s a part of the gig now. You get immediate feedback if you’re on social media now. So, hopefully we did a good job and that they enjoy the episode.

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

A) Stay tuned! There is a lot more coming. I hope that they like what I did on “Take Two” and what I have on “Titans” coming up because there are a lot more surprises coming up.