Tag Archives: Young Drunk Punk

Killjoys: Atticus Mitchell talks Pippin’s heroics

Pippin Foster has been on quite the ride during his short time on Killjoys. First introduced last season as a young man with a mouth who can get anything you need from the black market, Pippin has of late become somewhat of a hero. And perhaps even a romantic one at that, if you take into account the goo-goo eyes he and Zeph have been sharing.

Now Pip is a fulltime member of Team Awesome Force and we couldn’t be happier. Neither can Atticus Mitchell, the actor who plays Pip with aplomb. We spoke to Mitchell—who has most recently starred in Young Drunk Punk and Second Jen—during a break in filming Season 4 to talk about the character and his music career, which you can follow on Spotify.

What’s it been like being part of Killjoys?
Atticus Mitchell: It’s been a breeze. There are always trials and tribulations with any project but for me, this has been a very strange, really easy go. I literally live 10 minutes away [from set] so my commute is set. I wake up 15 minutes before I have to be here. Everybody is fantastic, the scripts are always tight. We move fast and as long as we know everything it’s all hunky dory.

Pippin made an immediate impact on Dutch, Johnny and D’avin. He’s loud, brash and memorable. How did you get the role?
AM: I auditioned and got it. [Laughs.] Pretty much everybody in my age range went for it. With a show like this they’re introducing characters almost daily, so you have friends going out for the same show all the time. This was my first-ever audition for Killjoys and it happened to work out. It was just a guest-star role and then it turned into more.

At what point did they pull you aside and tell you this role would be expanded?
AM: If it says ‘guest star’ on the audition, that’s what you plan for. There were maybe two weeks of my life that I was dedicated to the series. They wrote another episode that I was in and I was like, ‘Great to be back!’ Then they wrote me into two scenes in the last episode of Season 3, which then turned into—on the morning of my last day—’Hey, are you free the rest of the day?’ I said, ‘Why?’ And they said, ‘Well, we have this ship sequence with a whole bunch of people looking over a monitor and deciding what to do. We’d like you to be in all those scenes.’ I was like, ‘OK, cool, yeah, I’m background.’ ‘No, we’ve written your lines.’ And here we are in Season 4.

Do you view Pippin as a hero?
AM: I think I saw him as not necessarily a hero, but a good guy. The good guy in their own story. He’s been raised privileged and runs around with a lot of bad people and enjoys his life. Then he got swept up into something that is about way more than him. That has transitioned him into this kind of hero role. If he thinks he’s the good guy in the story then he’s the good guy in the story.

What’s it like being part of the Killjoys family?
AM: It’s tough coming into a new show as a guest star and trying to find a place where you feel comfortable. It’s rare that a group will open their arms like this group has which is really nice. I’ve been on shows where new people come and go and you don’t really have time to get to know them. Here it’s necessary for everyone to feel welcome.

What are you doing when you’re not acting?
AM: I’m actually a composer. I make music on my piano.

For television and film or just for yourself?
AM: That could be a step I take but I’ve literally just started last year. I put out my first album of just seven songs of me playing the piano. That’s what I’m able to focus on outside of this.

Killjoys airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on Space.

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Link: Bruce McCulloch says new broadcaster being sought for second season of Young Drunk Punk

From Eric Volmers of the Calgary Herald:

Life after cancellation? Bruce McCulloch says new broadcaster being sought for second season of Calgary-shot Young Drunk Punk
The search is on for a new home for the second season of Young Drunk Punk, which is based on Kids in the Hall alumni Bruce McCulloch’s years as an underemployed punk-rock aficionado in Calgary during the early 1980s. Continue reading.

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Preview: Young Drunk Punk a sweet, funny postcard from the 80s

In 1980, the year Young Drunk Punk is set, I was nine. Old enough that—previewing Wednesday’s debut episode on City—I recalled the fashion (spiky hair, striped jackets, pornstaches), the music (Loverboy) and, most importantly, the small-town vibe.

I grew up in the smallish city of Brantford, Ont., a 30-minute drive from Hamilton and a whopping 60 minutes from Toronto. I lived far enough from those metropolis’ that visits were a big deal for me, a window to possible dreams and promises in my future. Certainly bigger opportunities—I thought as I got into my early teens—than I could ever have in Brantford.

So I totally related to Ian McKay (Tim Carlson, Flashpoint) and Archibald Shinky (Atticus Mitchell, Fargo), two kids just graduating from high school in 1980 Calgary and without a damned clue what to do next. Created by Kids in the Hall veteran Bruce McCulloch and inspired by his life (the sitcom was shot in and around the same Calgary townhouse complex he grew up in), Young Drunk Punk is certainly a wistful look back, but it certainly isn’t dated. The issues Ian and Shinky deal with in the first 30 minutes are the same every high school kid wrestles with: fitting in, kissing someone, distancing themselves from their parents and deciding who they are as individuals.

Adding to the laughs in Season 1 are Ian’s dad, Lloyd (McCulloch), who is the head of security at the complex, Ian’s mom Helen (Tracy Ryan, Nancy Drew) and his sister, Belinda (Allie MacDonald, Lost Girl). Belinda plays a large role in tonight’s bow, as Ian is planning to move into her place until she shows up at the family home with all of her belongings; she’s left her boyfriend. Ian and Shinky attend a party where they try to fit in, don’t, and get chased by local punks. The humour is there, but it doesn’t hit you over the head like most shows today. Instead, it’s subtle, heartwarming and family oriented. You get the idea that McCullogh is looking back fondly on his past rather than mocking it.

Sandwiched between The Middle and Modern Family on Wednesday nights, I would have rather seen it paired with Sunnyside for an hourlong block of Canadian comedies on City. That may eventually happen, but in the meantime I’ll enjoy Young Drunk Punk for what what it is, and cringe every time I see a piece of clothing I used to wear.

Young Drunk Punk airs Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on City.

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