04-15-2015, 11:07 PM
Link:
https://www.yahoo.com/tv/grimm-prince-ke...65100.html
https://www.yahoo.com/tv/grimm-prince-ke...65100.html
Quote:Meet 'Grimm's' New Royal: Star Nico Evers-Swindell Talks Prince Kenneth
Carrie Bell
April 10, 2015
Meet 'Grimm's' New Royal: Star Nico Evers-Swindell Talks Prince Kenneth
If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.
Apparently, Grimm’s king believes in this age-old adage to achieve his happy ending — tracking down Nick’s mom, securing the baby princess, and raising little Diana in the royal fashion that he believes is her birthright. Prince Eric (James Frain) failed and wound up dead, and Prince Viktor (Alexis Denisof) didn’t provide results fast enough, so he was recalled to the home castle in the last episode.
Enter Prince Kenneth, a hands-on type who promises to get results, throws a mean punch (even at a “woged,” decay-faced Capt. McChesty), and dashes Adalind’s plans to blame her new pregnancy on his successor by burying the lead that he’s sterile under false congratulations and a charming smirk.
As Kenneth is scheduled to stick around Portland at least through the May finale and seems likely to become a royal pain in the butt for Nick and his Scooby gang, Yahoo TV tracked down Nico Evers-Swindell, the blond-haired, blue-eyed Kiwi who portrays the pugnacious prince, to learn more about the show’s new big bad.
How was the role described to you when you auditioned?
As a ruthless prince who was sent to town to fix some problems for the royal family. He has been tasked with getting little Diana back to the king. But I don’t think he describes himself as ruthless. That would be weird. I think he thinks of himself as pragmatic and loyal to the family.
Is he evil or just doing his job?
I think it is impossible to play evil, because I don’t think anyone ever believes they are evil. I think he is pragmatic, determined, willing to risk relationships to get what he wants, and ambitious. Others probably think you are evil like the heroes, but to you, you are just getting the job done. In Kenneth’s mind, the royal family has a claim to the child, a legitimate bloodline claim. He’s been given the go-ahead from the king, so he is acting on orders he feels are legitimate. This is not a rogue maniacal mission in his mind. This is something the family deserves.
He immediately gets to town, calls Adalind on her b.s., tortures and kills the double agent, and delivers a beat down to his relative Renard. Is he always such a brute?
His methods are not just physical. He is also a tactician. He is someone who is looking to play personalities against each other. Kenneth will do anything he can, at any cost, to serve the king, because it serves his own interests, ultimately. He will play all kinds of games to get what he wants. Kenneth is so extreme in his methods that the stakes get a little higher. When you get given a character that has such a degree of control and power over others, you can really, for want of a better term, chew the scenery up.
Did you know you’d have a fight scene in your introductory episode? Did you train?
I had no idea. Extra training would have been amazing, as I had never done hand-to-hand combat, just occasional stage combat kind of thing and a little swordplay. Luckily, the guys who do the stunts and the effects on the show are incredible. You couldn’t tell that I’m not that tough in real life. And I don’t I usually play the brute force. It was a trip, and fun.
Will we find out how Kenneth became so ruthless? Or can you tease any upcoming scenes you are excited about?
There’s a little more backstory. There are also definitely elements of the final episode I am very excited about.
Intriguing. Will he interact with the heroes other than Renard?
Kenneth will [enlist] a very unexpected ally to get what he needs. He will use whatever opportunities arise to benefit him in his mission. He will take advantage of and manipulate that situation to work in his favor.
This is not your first prince. You played the real-life heir to the British throne in the 2011 TV biopic William & Kate.
He was the polar opposite of Kenneth. Literally the only thing that is the same is the accent.
Which is not your real accent. Is the Brit accent easy for you?
I am from New Zealand originally. It is a quick adjust to get to a basic British accent. There are certain dialects that would require more training. We grew up watching the BBC and ITV. For the most part, I only watched British and American programs, save the occasional Australian soap after school. As a result, you start trying to mimic accents when you’re just messing around with your friends, and I got pretty good. That’s how I got my practice. Turned out to be very helpful, as once you get to the States to look for acting work, there aren’t many audition breakdowns that call for New Zealanders. We had Flight of the Conchords, but even they mostly interacted with New Yorkers.