Everything about Featured, eh?

This Life’s James Wotherspoon previews Caleb’s “darker” side

James Wotherspoon almost missed out on his first major TV role—playing Natalie’s son Caleb on CBC family drama This Life—due to an inopportune bout with the flu during the audition process.

“I was really ill at the time,” recalls Wotherspoon. “So I actually missed the [onscreen] chemistry test.” Luckily, a last-minute Skype audition was arranged, and he was cast just before the show’s first season began filming in Montreal last year.

“I got the scripts for the episodes at the table read,” he says. “I hadn’t even read them yet and sat down and did it. It was kind of crazy, but it worked out.”

While Wotherspoon admits he was “pretty scared and I held back a lot” while filming Season 1, he says filming the second season was a different story.

“I felt a lot more open as an actor and felt I had a lot more range and freedom,” he explains. “I just had a lot of fun with the character in Season 2.”

Joining us by phone from his hometown of Aurora, Ont., Wotherspoon tells us what’s coming up for Caleb this season and what it’s like working opposite talented acting vets Torri Higginson and Louis Ferreira, who play his TV parents.

Caleb went through a lot in Season 1. Not only was his mom diagnosed with terminal cancer, but he went through a bad breakup and had a brush with the law. What is his emotional state at the beginning of Season 2?
James Wotherspoon: It’s interesting. It seems to be a very different place than even the end of Season 1. He has this big shift, going from being the sort of well-mannered, really wanting to take care of the family type to letting loose. He’s partying a lot, he’s broken up with his girlfriend, so he’s seeing girls and really trying to figure out who he wants to be.

We found out Caleb dropped his classes in the season premiere. Why did he feel the need to do that?
I think when he went to school, he was in a place where he was very unsure of himself, and so he went into school in that sort of head space and the events following sort of shifted him out of that, and he realized who he actually wants to be, what he wants from life. And I don’t think that involves going to school at this time.

After his father left, Caleb tried to be the man of the house. How is he dealing with David’s sudden return?
I think it sort of furthers his confusion. He kind of realizes that, ‘Wow, I’ve been filling the role of this person.’ And it takes David showing up for him to realize that because he’s really pulled between these two roles of being man of the house and being a free individual. And so David kind of cracks that open for him, I think. At first, it’s really difficult for him to be around [David] because of all those raw emotions. But he loves his father, so over time you sort of see that coming out and he wants to get closer to him.

This Life Caleb

Caleb has some big moments with both his mom and dad in Episode 3. What can viewers expect?
There’s a big sort of push and pull between the dad and mom and Caleb in this episode. He really wants to appease both of these people who are so important to him, but with the nature of the family being so split, he’s sort of unsure of who to agree with or please. So there’s a lot of pressure on him … He just wants everything to be settled and to be his own person and to get out of that situation.

You have some big scenes with Torri Higginson and Louis Ferreira in Episode 3. What’s it like acting with them?
They have different personalities, but they are both fantastic actors. They’re extremely generous and just very easy people to work with. And they’re pretty experienced, and they help younger actors like me be very calm during the experience and have a good time. But they also bring the intensity that’s necessary to work off of as an actor in a scene, and that sort of balance makes it really fun and easy to work with them.

What can you tease about Caleb’s storyline the rest of the season? 
I think you can expect a totally different character. Maybe a darker but more honest side of him that you didn’t see in Season 1, but you sort of felt he could be that person. You’re sort of rooting for him to be that, to be an individual and free himself, and he really starts to make that happen. He makes powerful choices for himself and grows a lot.

Do you have a favourite episode in Season 2? 
To be honest, I would say that Episode 3 is one of my favourites because of the couple of scenes Caleb has with his dad and mom. Both of them are really pinnacle scenes for both story and character, so it was like amazing to have such a range in one episode.

This Life airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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Comments and queries for the week of October 14

Discussing diversity and Shoot the Messenger

Unless you’re being intentionally ironic, I wouldn’t characterize the guest cast as a “who’s who” of Canadian television. First off, you could name 10 well-established Canadian actors to most Canadians and they’d say “Who?” Second, beyond Nick Campbell your marquis names include former music and pro sports celebrities with not much track laid as actors. It smells of stunt casting to me, which is a sad commentary on the need to add ANY recognizable name to a project, regardless of their requisite skill as actors, in order to raise a show’s profile.

Last, I’m getting a little tired of Sudz and Jennifer talking about diverse casting and storytelling like they somehow have a corner on it. I don’t doubt their struggles early on with an industry slow to evolve and adapt, but diversity has been clearly part of the Canadian broadcaster mandate for a while now, they’re not the sole purveyors. To suggest otherwise demeans the efforts of a lot of industry types, both at the broadcaster and creator level, who have championed this for some time. —Canadian Showrunner

 

Really? You’re getting tired of me and Jen talking about diverse casting and storytelling? Are you kidding me? If you think you are tired of me talking about it, ask the reporters who lead off their questions to us with the subject. When this is the first and the last thing reporters want to talk about when talking to us—the obviously diverse filmmakers—they will write about it, no matter how much we talk about the challenges of serialized storytelling, and writing all the scripts before production and the challenges that entails for a development budget. No matter how much we talk about working with actors like Alex Kingston, Elyse Levesque and Lyriq Bent, and the rest of our killer cast, one of the main stories that people want to tell when they write about our work is around diversity. Do you honestly think that is all we have to say? Do you honestly think that we think we are the only ones doing work in this area? To write that we think that we are the “sole purveyors” of diversity in Canadian drama shows how little you question the process by how these stories are written, edited and see the light of day, which is one of the things that Shoot The Messenger tries to go behind the scenes to show. Lastly, I do not hide behind any pseudonym. When I write my opinions down on a public forum, I sign my name because I am not afraid for anyone to understand that I am entitled to an opinion, no matter what it is. Can you say the same? —Sudz Sutherland

 

In an industry that penalizes people for being “off message”? Yup, anonymity required.

Sudz, I’m a fan of your work, I’m a huge supporter of your determination to bring gritty and authentic stories to the public. I’m also heartened you’ve got support from a broadcaster who feels similarly. And I’m sorry you’ve been mischaracterized by the press. The tone of much of the Messenger coverage suggests you and Jennifer are somehow the lone voices at the vanguard of diverse programming and sadly, in my off message opinion, that diminishes the efforts of everyone else who is in those trenches with you. If that’s the media’s fault, then we all need to address that. Is this some white media mea culpa? If they lionize you then that makes their past dismissal of diversity somehow atoned for? I guess taking note of it, even if disproportionately, is better than them NOT highlighting it at all. But I would also like the coverage to be about the quality of the work, not just the diverse subject matter or multi-ethnic casting. What you’re doing, what many of us are doing, can’t be allowed to be talked about like it’s tokenism. If it is then it’s just some pendulum swing to make it seem like the problem has been momentarily compensated for rather than some legitimate progress being made. But maybe I’m putting the proverbial cart before the horse. I actually celebrate what you’ve achieved Sudz and if it came off as anything else then I apologize.

And Greg, I’m impressed by the main cast too. Much more than the musicians and athletes doing cameos. Maybe if the Canadian media focused more on our fine domestic actors we’d have a modest star system in the country that would help draw eyeballs to screens. But that’s a whole other topic. —Canadian Showrunner


Discrepancies in Airport: Below Zero

Just had my first chance to watch this show (Episode 2 in this case). Good show, typical reality formula but being a bit of an airplane/airport geek, this show is somewhat of an interest to me. However, I noticed a couple of anomalies in the production in regards to some inaccuracies which calls into question the validity of the show. There was a glaring error where the subtitles misquoted ground traffic control. Also, a certain type of aircraft was completely misidentified. These errors should not be happening if the show is going to be totally believable. Other than that, I’m actually liking the show. Good characters and a good view into the operation of a major Canadian airport. —Dean

 

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.

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Discovery’s Mighty Trains celebrates riding the rails

Teddy Wilson loves to travel. He also loves trains. So it makes total sense that the InnerSpace and sometime Daily Planet co-host would—when he’s not talking all things sci-fi or science—ride the rails for Discovery’s newest series.

Mighty Trains, debuting the first of six episodes Sunday on the specialty channel, is the latest in the “Mighty” franchise that has previously celebrated ships, planes and cruise ships. But where those three had narration and one-sided conversations to describe what it’s like living and working on the machinery in the sea and sky, Mighty Trains has Wilson climbing aboard, talking directly to viewers and folks riding and working on the trains.

“I think the producers wanted to add a host to this one because the nature of trains is about the journey and a bit more of a focus on the passengers and the travel element,” Wilson says. “And I think having a host is representative of the viewer and drawing them into the journey.” He’s right. When I think of riding a train, it’s about looking out the window, experiencing the scenery, drinking in the adventure and chatting with my seatmates.

teddy_trains

But Mighty Trains, like its counterparts, does go under the hood to explore what’s so special about these trains. Sunday’s first instalment follows Wilson on the Glacier Express, an eight-hour ride from Zermatt, Switzerland, at the base of the Matterhorn, to the ski town St. Moritz. With parts of the line in operation for more than 125 years, it takes old technology to get these sleek, modern train cars through its climb of almost 5 km along inclines of up to 12 per cent, way over the three to four traditional trains can handle.

“This rack and pinion technology is an ancient technology, but it’s used on these ascents and descents,” Wilson says. “Seeing this technology in action and getting to visit the place where they actually build the train cars … I was absolutely blown away by it and that fascination really extended to every episode.” Future Sundays spotlight The Shinkansen, Japan’s bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka; Norway’s North Rail Express, a state-of-the-art freight service between the Arctic Circle and Oslo; the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad and its relationship to the Klondike Gold Rush; and The Ghan in Australia, which travels between Adelaide in the south and Darwin in the north, bisecting the country in its three-day journey.

A Canada-based production wouldn’t be complete without celebrating a train in this country; that happens Oct. 30 when Mighty Trains hops on The Canadian—star of the $10 bill—for the four-day journey from Toronto to Vancouver.

“I’m a proud Canadian and have been all over the country, but I had never crossed the country by train,” Wilson says. “That was a real life highlight for me, waking up every morning and seeing this completely different landscape from the window of a train.”

Mighty Trains airs Sundays at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Discovery.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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The Romeo Section advances the plot in Episode 2

Last week, I wrote that I’d enjoyed Episode 1 of The Romeo Section as it headed into Season 2 and I was going to tune in for at least one more episode. I checked out Wednesday’s new instalment and can honestly say I’ve been hooked.

Maybe it’s because I was buried under a deluge of new and returning fall television shows last season—a good problem to have when you’re running a website that covers the genre exclusively—maybe I just wasn’t ready for it, or maybe I’m just liking the angle Chris Haddock has taken in the sophomore season. Whatever it is, I’m all in, especially when it comes to Wolfgang and Norman.

“The Legwork” continued the odd couple’s investigation into the thwarted terror attack at the baseball stadium. Norman’s paranoia and suspicion into anything connected with the case was a nice juxtaposition with Wolfgang, who stressed coincidences do occur. But as the pair interviewed several people associated with the case—the homicide cop who was first on-scene, the coroner who was stopped from analyzing Mustafa’s body, the security guard who shot him in the street—it became clear this wasn’t an open and shut case. City cops giving way to the RCMP is one thing, but the RCMP being pushed out for another federal group? Something is definitely going on, and it may involve folks with high standing in the government. Norman considers it dangerous enough to tear the notes he’d made out of his book and think about what to do with them. Again, I’m all in on these two and their partnership. I couldn’t wait to see who they were going to talk to next and what thoughts they’d have once they did.

Lily has made her next chess move. She’s working her way into Mr. Sproule’s life—a glass of wine in a safe house will do that—and he’s promised a cushy position for her once his promotion goes through. His one condition, to stop communicating with Bill, puts Lily in a tight spot and I can’t help but think she’s going to be a plaything for both men. After this week’s tease, I want to see more.

Rufus’ story, meanwhile, has gotten a lot more enjoyable. Now that Benny is dead, Rufus quickly moved to fill the hole and took over drug running. This, of course, gives him the chance to move a lot more product and keep the movie funded. I like it when Rufus is a man of action rather than spouting clichés, and what’s going on now is great. The only plot I don’t enjoy at this point are the movie scenes being filmed that introduce the drug money plot. It may end up being important later on—scratch that, I know it will—but at this point it’s an unnecessary distraction.

The Romeo Section airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

Image courtesy of CBC.

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Photo gallery: First-look at Discovery’s Frontier

With less than a month away until Frontier‘s debut on Discovery, and we’re thrilled to present a photo gallery of the major cast and the characters they’ll play.

And while we’ve known folks like Jason Momoa, Allan Hawco, Shawn Doyle and Jessica Matten were involved from the beginning, finding out Greg Bryk, Katie McGrath and Alun Armstrong have roles in the six-parter have gotten us giddy.

Frontier—co-created by Rob and Peter Blackie—follows Canada’s violent history circa the 1700s, as warring groups battle for control of the country’s fur trade.

Frontier debuts Sunday, Nov. 6, at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Discovery.

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Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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