Silas Weir Mitchell, GRIMM, Season 1
With GRIMM Season 1 out on Blu-ray and DVD on the 22nd of October 2012, we’ve been sent an exclusive little interview with one of it’s stars – Silas Weir Mitchell, who tells us a bit more about his character, Monroe…
Q: Can you tell us about the character you play?
A: Monroe is a Blutbad, a form of the big bad wolf that lives in the world of Grimm. He’s been trying to abandon his ways which are instinctual and dangerous. When Nick discovers he’s become involved in this very new and very shocking world, he needs help and Monroe is there to assist him in navigating the very weird, dangerous waters of his new life.
Q: How much research did you do when preparing for the part?
A: I read passages in French written in the 16th Century when people took werewolves to be real. It was really cool to investigate those old texts, when people did some really f***ed-up stuff to keep themselves safe. In a way we have still have werewolves in our world – they’re the Jeffrey Dahmers, the Charles Mansons, the Richard Ramirezes and the Son of Sams. Understanding that every human being has a dark side really helped me.
Q: Did you read fairytales as a child?
A: I was never a fairytale reader as a kid – I was more into myths — but the really good tales are the ones have to do with human tendencies that lead people astray. The stories are really cautionary tales and it’s fun operating in that realm. In a way it’s not a magical show but one in which you see myth made real.
Q: Can you tell us where Monroe’s character is heading?
A: I really don’t know what they have in store for me. The thing I’ve enjoyed about playing him is the fact he has a dangerous side and I want to make sure that his inner struggle between good and bad is preserved, that we never take for granted that he’s a nice guy. That’s fun to play because the choices you make have broader ramifications in the world. The irony is that Nick’s world is becoming more complicated and dangerous than Monroe’s world ever was.
Q: You’ve appeared in many TV shows, such as Prison Break and My Name Is Earl. Has Grimm been a more challenging experience?
A: It’s a hard role because, as an actor, you’re pretending to be someone else and that someone – Monroe — is pretending to be someone else himself. I really feel the writers have begun to write Monroe based on parts of me as they’ve got to know me. I really feel like they’ve began to rate me more the more they’ve got to know me.
Buy Grimm – Season 1 on Blu-ray or DVD now!
Grimm, Season 2 returned to UK TV channel Watch on the 22nd October 2012 at 9pm
For more UK TV premiere dates, click here!
