Interview with SUPERNATURAL’s Bela - LAUREN COHAN #2

[IllusionsOfMe]

The CW’s SUPERNATURAL is now in it’s third season and so far the show has been wildly successful being carried by it’s two male leads, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. This season however, it was announced that two female characters would be joining the cast. The internet exploded with speculation about these ladies being brought in as love interests and people jumped to wild conclusions about the characters of Ruby (Katie Cassidy) and Bela (Lauren Cohan) months before their debut.

In the season premiere entitled “The Magnificent Seven” we were introduced to Ruby, the stalkerish knife wielding demon ass kicker and on October 18th we’ll be introduced to Bela, the mercenary supernatural arms dealer. I got to sit down and chat with newbie LAUREN COHAN who plays Bela to find out how she came to the show, more about her character, and what she thinks about being one of the most talked about new castings of the fall season.
DDTV: How is it going so far?
Lauren Cohan: It’s been going really well actually, and I hate that I’m sick right now because I’d like to be a bit more bubbly but… things are going really well. I just got back last week from filming an episode with Sterling Brown (who plays returning hunter/foe of the Winchesters, Gordon) and that was, OH so much fun because he’s a real baddie! We have this kind of a face off, he’s an evil character which is good because I tend to feel a bit bad being mean to the boys because my character is a real piece of work (laughs).
It’s been really really fun and it’s been quite a funny experience because its a big family atmosphere as I’m sure you gathered having visited the set before.
DDTV: Were they pretty open and accepting to you as a new character?
LC: Yes definitely, as soon as I got there I kind of felt like the little sister because they’re like the big brothers that poke fun and make you feel silly but welcome… We have lots of laughs and it’s a lot of fun.
The episode before last was a really big episode for my character and there was this one scene in a safe house and it was old and dilapidated and there were rat traps everywhere and Jared kept trying to get everyone to hold the rat traps. He just kept passing them around, throwing them to different people saying “Here, catch this” — I guess that’s par for the course. It’s a lot of work but it’s a lot of fun.
DDTV: Bela shows up in Episode 3 “Bad Day at Black Rock” right?
LC: Yes, I’ll be on the 18th I believe.
What can you tell us about your arrival?
LC: It’s kind of mysterious and they don’t really know what to make of her. She basically has a face off with Dean and gives him a taste of everything that is to come between them, she’s basically just out to weasel things out of them and then try to make it up to them in a way.
Read the rest of the interview after the jump…

DDTV: I’ve read that Bela is a bit like a mercenary and that she’s out for the money and her own good so I can only imagine that will cause some issues with the boys.
LC: Yes. To date she’s really only there exploiting the boys goodness so everything that they do, like all the ceremonies they perform and all of the paraphernalia they have to acquire to save people, she basically steals it and sells it for money to the Middle East and Russia, everywhere, and doesn’t have much of a conscience about it. She thinks she’s justified, thinks that the boys are really naive and kind of endearing but at the same time sees everything as an opportunity.
DDTV: Now are you going to have any interaction with Katie’s character Ruby?
LC: We will soon, I think there’s some action between Katie and I in about 3 or 4 episodes…
DDTV: Excellent, people love some girl on girl fighting if possible…
LC: (Laughs) Well, I know our encounter is not nice… I wondered if it was going to be us teaming up but I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s what we’re going to see.
DDTV: So are they pitting you against the boys and the only other girl on the show?
LC: Maybe… We’ll see… I actually don’t really know to be completely honest with you but I think it might be that…
DDTV: Okay…
LC: Yeah…
DDTV: Could you tell us what background you were given on Bela before coming onto the show?
LC: At my audition the background they gave me was that she’s a mercenary, very much out for herself, but as we’ve gotten further into the show we’ve talked about more and I’ve realized that she’s a really damaged character. She’s had some incredibly terrible things happen to her which explains why she lives her life like this and what in her mind justifies her behavior and she’s definitely a lot more evil, not evil, but a lot less heartful than I had expected. It was quite a surprise as I got to my second episode and it’s all harsh. It really isn’t that nice (laughs)…
For preparation I knew that she was a thief and that she was cunning and a bit of a spy but I didn’t realize that she was quite as hard as she is. She keeps those walls up and very rarely lets them down. She does but then she quickly builds them back up because she doesn’t like to ask anyone for help, there are some instances where she does have to ask for help from the boys and she doesn’t like it at all.
DDTV: So are we going to get some of her background in flashbacks or something to explain why she’s the way she is?
LC: I don’t think there will be anything before Bela actually shows up but I believe there are some flashbacks planned. I think…
DDTV: It sounds like there’s a really dark past for Bela and I think it would be really interesting to see that.
LC: I feel like here can’t not be to be honest. There needs to be some explaining, especially if someone’s going to come in and be mean to these beloved boys.
DDTV: Can I move into the difficult question?
LC: Yes (laughs)
DDTV: There was a good amount of controversy swirling around when they announced the addition of the female characters…
LC: Yes, I know about the attention and reaction of the fans, let’s put it that way…
DDTV: Yeah, they love their Winchester boys and are protective of them and are worried that throwing two girls in with them will change the dynamic and create possible love interests. I know that Eric Kripke has said repeatedly that you’re not being brought on as a love interest so how do you react to the attention drawn to your character, the pre-judgments put on you before you’ve even been on air?
LC: To be honest, first off as Eric has already said, we are definitely not being introduced as love interests… I think it’s exciting to introduce these two girls onto a show where the fans are so protective of the boys and it’s exciting ya know… we’re not here to spice things up because the show’s already spicy enough but it’s interesting to see what happens when you throw the female dynamic in there.
As far as the fans being wary of us coming on, I think it’s exciting! The fans are dedicated and it’s a challenge for us to live up. It’s wonderful to be part of a show where the audience cares that much about the characters.
DDTV: I thought the whole uprising was ridiculous and in my opinion the introduction of Ruby in the season premiere proved that you can bring on kick ass female characters that add to the dynamic instead of taking away from it.
LC: That’s very true, I like to think that the female fans are interested in seeing how the boys will face off against the females, it’s just another interesting thing to throw into the Supernatural mix.
DDTV: Is it exciting for you to be playing such a strong character?
LC: Definitely, she’s wielded a few guns already! Not that the guns make her a strong character but things she gets to say and the way she gets to have at it is nice. A lot of roles I’ve played up until now is the good girl next door who gets the boy so this is definitely a challenge and a exciting opportunity.
DDTV: Did you get to do any fight training for the part?
LC: No, not so much of the fight training… Katie’s character Ruby is more of the fighter, kickboxing kung fu role. I’ve had a bit of gun training which has decreased as I’ve used the weapons. She’s much more — she hasn’t had to get physical yet but we’ll see what happens when she and Ruby meet each other (laughs). She hasn’t had to resort to that yet, so far she’s much more sly like a fox.
DDTV: Had you seen the show before?
LC: Yes, well I’d seen one episode before. I just moved over from England so when I began auditioning I was like: ‘Oh my god there is so much TV I haven’t seen’ but I’ve now seen all of them.
DDTV: Was it odd coming into a show that is a little more supernatural based and not as reality based in content?
LC: Yes I was aware of a lot of night shoots but luckily my character does a lot during the day so my dealings haven’t really been with the supernatural creatures but the tools used and with things outside of the actual demons themselves. It’s much more in the real world than the supernatural world though they do cross over a bit so that may change.
DDTV: So you’re living in Los Angeles not Vancouver?
LC: Yes, I just moved into a new place in L.A. so I’m really dragging my feet about. I’m living with two Englishmen so that’s homey. It’s nice to find a piece of L.A. because I’ve done the trip the year before and a year before that and it’s easy to feel like a bit of nothing, displaced in L.A. so this is nice.
DDTV: Can you give me some information on your acting background?
LC: I did plays all through school then when I went to University I did English literature and Drama studies. That consisted of writing, directing, and acting on the Drama side of things and then, well I think we all know what happens on the English side of things.
When I was at University I formed a theatre company and we did some touring and festivals. We moved to London to try and get one of our plays shown and at that time I went to meet with an agent, so did one of the other guys in the group and we both were successful in getting films in a few weeks so we were like ‘We’ll do it in the spring, or in the summer’ but then things just kind of got off the ground with films and TV stuff.
I really miss doing stage though, I really do. I actually prefer that, hands down to anything else and I can do it in bits and pieces but it’s not that easy to commit to a play. Life’s much easier if you can get work in TV or film so I don’t know. I’ll have a summer hiatus so maybe that’s when I can do it. That’s my background pretty much!
DDTV: Does that mean that one day you’ll be a triple threat with writing, acting, and directing?
LC: Yeah, I hope so. Right now I’m working on a screenplay with someone I live with and she also has two jobs while we do this so we sit down and write when we can and I think that’s the ideal really, to be involved in your own projects as much as possible.
DDTV: Moving back toward a more show theme related question… There’s so much classic rock on the show…
LC: I know, isn’t the soundtrack so good? I love the music in every episode.
DDTV: Well, fans have really tried to get a soundtrack but I know that Warner Bros. really balked at the idea but along those lines, I know there are some readers who want to know what your favorite Classic Rock song is and if Bela has a Classic Rock theme song yet?
LC: (laughs) Wow, a theme for Bela… I feel like Bela would be more into Classical music than Classic Rock to be honest with you. But I don’t know, I can see her performing some murderous acts, well not murderous because she’s not a killer but I almost imagine that there’s something placid about Bela on the surface but that there’s something dark and evil underneath. I think it’s funny to think of Bela doing something wild to Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” but…
As for me, I don’t know. I love Zeppelin and Hendricks, I really do love rock. My parents just sent me their entire record collection from the 60’s so that will be a fine project to dive into.
DDTV: Another quick question because I know you need to go… Who is your favorite character on the show to watch and who is your favorite character to play with?
LC: Um… I have to say that Sterling/Gordon is my favorite character to work with because he was just great! He’s kind of neurotic and I get kind of neurotic so — he plays such an intense character so it requires a lot of that. Before we jump into a scene, facing off, he’d be behind the camera jumping around and making all these noises so when he comes out I’m really energized for the camera. He’s great…
And my favorite to watch? Oh, I really loved the one where Dean had a doppelganger (Season 1’s ‘Skin‘) and Dean had to kill the other Dean… do you know that one?
DDTV: Oh yes…
LC: Okay (laughs)
DDTV: Do you know if your character plays a bigger role mythology wise? Does her background have anything to do with the backstory of the Winchesters at all?
LC: If my character does? Wow, that’s interesting… I hope so because I really like that idea!
DDTV: Um, me too! Well thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me and good luck with everything.
LC: Oh thank you Dan, take care.
Lauren was a great interview! She had a pretty good cold coming on so she was soft spoken but relaxed, laid back, and entertaining. I hope that I asked all the burning questions you had for Lauren and her character Bela. I love that she wasn’t afraid to talk about the so called controversy surrounding her arrival and I feel that all of her answers were from the heart. I also dig that she’s not just an actress, she’s a well educated and ambitious lady who aspires to conquer all aspects of the entertainment business.
I thought I’d quickly share a question I left out of the main interview above. It’s a bit telling of just how serious the show is to giving these girls their Supernatural due. Was she saying more than she should or was it just a comment…
DDTV: Do you know how many episodes you’ll be featured in?
LC: This year, so far I’m in about 50% of the episodes… more than that, I don’t know how many next year.



SOURCE
duckydoestv.com

[meimei42]

Well I like Ruby, we'll see how Bela goes.

[bobbinrob]

lool mei!
Ive heard some skecthy things about bela...but i do reserve judgement till i see her

[meimei42]

Well I've always though I'd like Bela more, but that was before I found out Ruby was a demon, so we will see.