By Jamie Ruby

Tonight Syfy airs the season one finale of Bitten, based on the werwolf book series by Kelley Armstrong. Last week stars Laura Vandervoort, who plays Elena, Greyston Holt, who plays Clay, and Greg Bryk, who plays Jeremy, talked to the digital media about the series and what fans can expect tonight.

As of last week, Elena now knows the truth of why Clay really bit her: to save her life. The three talked to SciFi Vision about how that will affect their relationships moving forward. Vandervoort said, "That was a huge sort of hit for the audience to finally discover why it is that she's had this hate towards Clay, and the scene with Greg - I mean, he's just phenomenal. And, doing that scene was heartbreaking for both of us. It was very much a father/daughter thing.

"And obviously, now she's going to have more respect and love for Clay, and she's sort of bonded with him again."

Bryk added, "For me with you know, this incredibly fraudulent relationship with, you know, Laura's character with Elena, and starting from Clay bringing her home that first time, which created such a risk and a danger for the pack, to really falling in love with her as a daughter and this incredible relationship we had.

"But at the same time, I think that I understood that I needed to come clean and deal with the consequences, whatever they may be.

"And the greatest fear would be losing her, and to lose the love and the trust that we had built up over the years. But in order for her to be free, and in order for Clay to be free, I had to take the burden that I should've owned right from the start.

"So you know, working with Laura and then obviously with the rest of the cast, with Greyston and Steve, and Michael, [it was] so wonderful, and there's incredible intensity to the bond that I share with them.

"And the scenes with Laura are always so heartfelt, and honest, and unflinching, and I just really felt blessed to get to share those experiences with her."

Holt said, "I think it was a huge moment in the show and big turning point obviously in our relationship, and like he said, it's a big weight off his shoulders of Clay. I mean, obviously he would want nothing more than to tell Elena the truth. But you know, pack loyalties are very strong and my oath to Jeremy is infinite.

"And I guess, I wouldn't want to say there's a resentment towards Jeremy because of this, that I had to hold this in, because it is pack law, but I'm sure that lifts off my shoulders as well.

"So it's just such a release I think for everybody that that's out in the open now, and I think from here, we can really move forward with our relationships and our love, and you know it just opened up many doors now."

Is it possible that in the future Jeremy can possibly look at the needs of the individual members of the pack rather than just the pack as a whole? According to Bryk, "I think [there] is always a very interesting dynamic between the individual feelings you have and looking at people as individuals with needs, but also how important structure is in our lives.

"And I think that you know for Jeremy as a more modern alpha, where things aren't just decided with brute force, and where there is some empathy, and there is an emotional availability he has to find new definitions of what a pack is.

"And I think that as the show moves forward and we explore those issues, it'll be very fertile and interesting too, because it is a group of people, but at the same time, my survival hinges on the strength of the structure of the pack.

"So I think that it's going to be really interesting as we move forward because there's very strong people with different agendas, different needs, passion, lust, and violence, and how we navigate those waters should give us seasons and seasons of fresh material."

This season Bryk as Jeremy has not gotten to run or fight with the others as wolves. Could that be in his future, and will he be more involved? "Yes, absolutely. And I think that Jeremy has his first fight I believe in Episode 5 when the mutt comes to the door, and I think that the writers were unsure of how they wanted to use Jeremy in that way. But you know, the fight scene in the warehouse was fantastic. And then [in] Episode 13 every character is in this ballet of violence that is really extraordinary the way it all comes together like a symphony.

"And I think that for Jeremy, the balance between acceptance and success, trusting that an order would find itself, was betrayed by the mutt uprising, so I think that Jeremy will be more forceful in physicalizing the order of the pack in Season 2.

"And we're in the midst of a war, so violence is going to be a necessity for our survival, and survival for me is everything with the pack."

Finally, the cast was also able to tease a bit about the season finale that airs tonight. According to Vandervoort, "There's going to be a huge shocker at the very end of the episode that I don't think anyone will see coming...I think when we all got it, it shocked. And, it's pretty brutal.

"Other than that, I think you know people are going to be switching sides."

Bryk added, "In a way, there's tremendous closure with this episode, and it also opens up to unbelievable new beginnings. I mean, a small story closes and a huge story starts to open. I think just with the relationships and what happens, and how large the threat really is outside of us, gets opened.

"You know, what we thought were monsters under the bed is really an army of monsters outside the window."

Syfy Conference Call
Bitten
Laura Vandervoort, Greyston Holt, and Greg Bryk

April 03, 2014
2:00 pm ET

SCIFI VISION:: This past week, Elena found out what really happened and why Clay had originally bitten her and everything. Can you all talk about how the interpersonal relationships between the three are going to change now that everybody knows about it?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Yes.

That was a huge sort of hit for the audience to finally discover why it is that she's had this hate towards Clay, and the scene with Greg - I mean, he's just phenomenal. And, doing that scene was heartbreaking for both of us. It was very much a father/daughter thing.

And obviously, now she's going to have more respect and love for Clay, and she's sort of bonded with him again, and it's definitely (unintelligible) from Greg, from the (unintelligible) also a little bit.

...

GREG BRYK: For me with you know, this incredibly fraudulent relationship with, you know, Laura's character with Elena, and starting from Clay bringing her home that first time, which created such a risk and a danger for the pack, to really falling in love with her as a daughter and this incredible relationship we had.

But at the same time, I think that I understood that I needed to come clean and deal with the consequences, whatever they may be.

And the greatest fear would be losing her, and to lose the love and the trust that we had built up over the years. But in order for her to be free, and in order for Clay to be free, I had to take the burden that I should've owned right from the start.

So you know, working with Laura and then obviously with the rest of the cast, with Greyston and Steve, and Michael, [it was] so wonderful, and there's incredible intensity to the bond that I share with them.

And the scenes with Laura are always so heartfelt, and honest, and unflinching, and I just really felt blessed to get to share those experiences with her.

...

GREYSTON HOLT: I think it was a huge moment in the show and big turning point obviously in our relationship, and like he said, it's a big weight off his shoulders of Clay. I mean, obviously he would want nothing more than to tell Elena the truth. But you know, pack loyalties are very strong and my oath to Jeremy is infinite.

And I guess, I wouldn't want to say there's a resentment towards Jeremy because of this, that I had to hold this in, because it is pack law, but I'm sure that lifts off my shoulders as well.

So it's just such a release I think for everybody that that's out in the open now, and I think from here, we can really move forward with our relationships and our love, and you know it just opened up many doors now.

SCIFI VISION:: Okay, great.

And then as a follow-up, Greg, do you think that maybe as the show goes forward that Jeremy can, I don't know, think more about the individuals as opposed to the pack? Maybe a little bit? So things like this don't, you know, get so far out of hand?

GREG BRYK: You know, I think [there] is always a very interesting dynamic between the individual feelings you have and looking at people as individuals with needs, but also how important structure is in our lives.

And I think that you know for Jeremy as a more modern alpha, where things aren't just decided with brute force, and where there is some empathy, and there is an emotional availability he has to find new definitions of what a pack is.

And I think that as the show moves forward and we explore those issues, it'll be very fertile and interesting too, because it is a group of people, but at the same time, my survival hinges on the strength of the structure of the pack.

So I think that it's going to be really interesting as we move forward because there's very strong people with different agendas, different needs, passion, lust, and violence, and how we navigate those waters should give us seasons and seasons of fresh material.

...

QUESTION: How are we going to see in the future the pack dealing with Logan's baby-mama drama?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: I think that really is up to Greg's character.

GREG BRYK: It's - again, that is one time that would be a death sentence, you know, either the baby would be taken into the pack and the mother would be killed or sort of removed from the baby's life, but I think there's more creativity and flexibility moving forward.

GREYSTON HOLT: And as I said...

GREG BRYK: So it's been a long time, you know, for me as a father, some of these scenes and these relationships are so rich because it really is art imitating life, and it's been so long in my life, as my kids are growing up, since there was a baby around. And you still have those yearnings for that innocence, for that freshness, with a sense of possibility and wonder that a child has.

So on one hand there's a tension of responsibility and keeping the safety of the pack. But on the other, there's just a pure delight in the newness of that life. So, it's going to be exciting. Lives change. We change. It's dangerous and mysterious, and that's why people watch, to find out what happens.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: And I think also, like you said, Greg, the pack is growing with the times, and maybe it is time to put in a new order and allow, you know, the child to stay with the mother. And then if the mother is okay with the situation and what we are, you know, maybe it's time to evolve...

GREYSTON HOLT: That's a very interesting blended family, right. It's not like we have different holidays. Like we're werewolves and we kill people, so...

...

LAURA VANDERVOORT: You never know. You never know. Maybe Genelle's character will be very understanding.

...

GREYSTON HOLT: Greg had a good point though. It really does open up more storylines though, going this way, and we don't know exactly what the writers have in store for Season 2, but I mean, I think going this route will definitely add some base material for an awesome and interesting Season 2.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Yes. It's definitely going to add some more drama.

GREG BRYK: You know, we talked about this a number of times. We're set in a world of mythology of werewolves, but there's such incredibly resonate human stories underneath it all. And it's like what does family mean? What is love? What is loyalty? What is connection?

And in modern times where the definition of family is mutable and is changing, and as a society we're trying to find our way, like what is it? What is that structure that we can trust is strong enough to support us all?

And that's happening for the pack as well. The times are changing and we need to be emotional and logical about how we work, because there is tension. It's being pulled in different directions and we need to create an order out of that, a harmony.

QUESTION: Could you each share what's been your favorite moments from filming this season?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Oh, my goodness. Do you guys know off the top of your...

GREYSTON HOLT: On camera or just in general?

QUESTION: From filming - on camera.

GREG BRYK: I'm going to say that I have favorite moments with each of the characters. With Greyston, I really love the moment when I was sick in bed and there was just like - for me, with a son, and you know, this sense of there's tensions and people grow, and you know, Clay was forced to deal with his incredible burden so soulfully.

But that sense that the younger will look after you in your moments of vulnerability to me was very resonate.

And for Laura, it really was there were the two moments - one when she was going to be leaving and told me, and the heartbreak of that. And then the fear of having to tell her the truth. Like there was just such honesty and danger for me as a person - as an actor, and just how gracious they are as fellow performers, fellow artists, that it just made it so wonderful to reveal that about yourself. It's an extraordinary cast. I feel blessed, you know, to love people.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Yes. And thanks Greg. I mean it's true. You can't pick one scene because I feel like I've had - like you said, in ones with everybody that just really touched me, and more than I expected it to. You know, you read the scene and it's emotional and dramatic, but you actually get into it and you're looking into the other person's eyes and they're genuinely there.

And we all care about each other so much that it just feels genuine and it's easy to work off of.

And I remember that one of my favorite scenes with Greg - well, there's a couple, and Greyston - Greyston and I had our first sort of moments of being nice to one another. We both said it was odd in the flashbacks when we were [being nice]. We were both saying, "It's weird to smile and be nice to one another," because we had just been so horrible.

And then also, we had a wonderful scene by the fire place where we sort of connect for the first time and let down their guard.

In terms of episodes, there was an episode, it was four or five, where Elena changes for the first time with Greg, and the turmoil that she goes though. As an actor, I just loved the entire day just being exhausted and really putting everything into it, in the cage, and that fatherly/daughter relationship of him trying to help me get through it.

I just thought it was so well done and everyone was great.

GREYSTON HOLT: And if I can get to pitch in. I would have to agree with Greg. My favorite scene, Greg, was with the same scene. I just wanted - it's really interesting to show these tender moments. You know, where we can have the tendency to be quite violent in this show, and it's really nice to play these tender sides - the tender side of us and these intimate moments.

And with Laura, there's a scene coming up that I really like that hasn't aired yet in 13. We're in the bathtub where I'm weak and you're taking care of me, and after all that's happened, it's a really beautiful scene, and obviously working with both of you guys and the whole cast has been such a treat and a blessing.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: And Greyston, I've seen the finale. I'll talk to you after about what's not in it anymore.

QUESTION: Oh.

GREYSTON HOLT: Oh.

QUESTION: Way to tease.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Yes.

QUESTION: What is it about a pack that attracts people? Even the mutts are supposed to be unattached, but they formed a de facto pack. What is so popular about coming together that attracts everyone?

GREG BRYK: Well, it's strength in numbers basically. I mean, you know basically pretty simple, it's what I would think.

GREYSTON HOLT: And I also think that we live in a...

LAURA VANDERVOORT: And I think it's the pack mentality. Everyone wants to feel like they belong and they have someone that they can love and rely on. And I think people just love to watch a drama where people come together in the end.

And essentially with Elena, she never had a family, never had anyone that she truly loved or could trust, and suddenly she's thrown into - not in the best circumstances - into this pack. And as much as she wants to hate it, she's got a family, and I think that's what people love, you know, the coming together.

GREG BRYK: In a modern world we have so much information at our fingertips and it's a very information-based society. You can Tweet and you can Facebook, and you have information about people, but the sense of physical entity - a body of people that you can feel love and will protect you and will fight to the death for you if need be and will accept you no matter what.

And that sense of small intimate community I think is a little bit frayed in a modern society. I think there's a real appetite to go back to a sense of, "This is my tribe. This is my pack. These are my people," and it's a big world, but it's made up of very small units. And if those units aren't strong, and those bonds aren't absolute in a way, everything else goes into a world of ideas and abstractions.

And, it's a dangerous world without that pack, that family. People that you can trust and people that love you.

QUESTION: Can you talk a little bit about what you learned and how you've grown as actors? And maybe as people during the course of this [show]?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: A lot actually, for myself anyway. I don't know about everybody, but I became more comfortable with my emotions and being more open and vulnerable.

I think you know in the past, I've acted the scene, but this is the first time in any project that I've genuinely shown myself and for scenes worked myself up and actually was truly upset, or was dealing with something in my personal life and - you know, I just showed more of me than I ever have before.

And as scary as that was, it felt great at the end of the day, because I was really honest. And you know, the guys were all there for me for the first season because we all had a tough time with the schedules and everything, and I think I just you know needed their support, which is exactly what I got.

So I think I definitely learned to be more open and vulnerable, and to put myself into the character, and then at the same time, to have fun on set. I've always taken it so seriously, and then suddenly I'm on a series with these guys that just make me laugh and we're all having fun and joking around, and that sort of gave me - opened my eyes to enjoying the process as well, and I love that.

GREG BRYK: And you know, it's interesting for me to assume - I'm at a different place in my life, and you hit 40 and you start to question what does manhood mean? You know, you can't go by the excuse of I'm a young man and I'm figuring things out. This is the time when you start to figure out what is important to you, what you want your legacy to be, how you want to impact the people that look up to you for guidance.

So this role came to me at a time when I really questioning what that means. What does it mean in my family? What does it mean in my community? What does it mean to be the man of the house?

And I think again getting to explore such moments of honesty and intimacy, and realness with this incredibly generous and beautiful cast helped answer some of those questions and also echoed to ask bigger questions.

And it's a never ending process I think for me and for Jeremy, how do we define ourselves? And that definition is constantly evolving, but it's moving me in a direction that pleases me as a person. The role has definitely made me a better man, a better person, because I think [with] film and TV, there's a lot of elements that can distract a person, but I don't believe you can fake something. I think the camera really wants your truth, wants your honesty.

And people can be amused by something or daled by the spectacle of something, but I think that the heart knows the truth. It's the best lie detector. And if you're being honest, people feel that. And I think there's some powerful honesty in this series.

GREYSTON HOLT: And for me, the great thing about the show is it really allows you as an actor, to use the full spectrum of your skill, I guess. You know, soft scenes or violent scenes, and then there's also such a strong dynamic between each character and it's so different between each character, and it was a learning experience in that sense that you really had to learn how you act with each character.

I mean this seems obvious, but it's more a problem I guess in a pack environment. You know, my relationship with Jeremy is I bow down to him basically. He's our leader. Elena is my love, and then we have the rest of the pack are close friends. And it just the dynamics are so specific and it was just interesting and fun to play.

QUESTION: One of the things that's really struck me is how physical your acting is and how much of being wolves you bring into that performance.

So Greyston, you were just talking about how bow down to Jeremy, and one of the first things I noticed was in a scene where you sort of challenged Jeremy and he looks at you and you immediately look down.

And in this week's episode, Laura, you and Phillip are circling each other like he's afraid you're going to attack him. I just love how you bring that to your performance.

Did you guys do anything special to prepare for that, or have you just sort of absorbed that?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: John Stead, our stunt coordinator, when I first met him, and I don't know if it's the same for you guys, when I first spoke to him, I sort of said, "How are we going to make fight scenes as humans look like we have the wolf inside of us when we're not transforming for the fights?"

And he said that if we definitely wanted to incorporate the animalistic side, there is the opportunities of, like you said, circling your prey or lowering your eyes, or if you are challenging someone, keeping a hold on your eye contact.

And sometimes, you know, I'll grab someone's neck, like a mother would to a cub - a baby puppy. So those little things, I don't know if we consciously put them in, but they're definitely in the fight scenes, and I think that it really helps to, you know, believe that scene.

GREG BRYK: Well, John's an avid hunter too, so his knowledge of animals is - he knows so much about this and the hunting, and the prey, and that's his life, so it was interesting to take and bring it into our choreography.

GREYSTON HOLT: ...[There's] sort of there's an animal nature that lies within all of us, which is part of the allure of this show is we give expression to that, so I think there's a suggestability of the scripts and you're working with other people in the fight, and you're accessing something primal within yourself.

We all understand those base lusts, violence, you know this protective, nurturing aspect, and it's just the scripts really gave so many opportunities to explore that in a meaningful way. I think we intuitively know exactly what our animal nature is, and we've just gotten removed from that.

And people love it. People need it. We need that balance in our life, and that's one of the key elements of the success of this show is we explore those primal passions - the immediacy, the life and death stakes that we hunger for because they're part of our genetic history.

QUESTION: During the auditions, what was the craziest thing that you were asked to do or that you did?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Get naked.

GREYSTON HOLT: Yes, actually. Yes.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Well, Greyston has no problem with that.

GREYSTON HOLT: No.

GREG BRYK: See, Greyston has to be written into every scene.

GREYSTON HOLT: I think this would be a wonderful opportunity for me to take my clothes off in this scene because - eating breakfast.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: I think I was doing a scene with you, Grey, and you said, "I can take my shirt off for this," and everyone was kind of like, "Okay."

GREYSTON HOLT: Yes.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: In terms of the craziest thing for me - I mean there's so many, it's really difficult, just because every episode, our incredible writers are throwing in things left, right, and center that you don't expect. I mean, I can think of - you know, from laying in the alley naked eating rats.

...We have an amazing fight sequence in the finale that all of us worked really hard on, and it was like a three day thing, and not that that was a crazy thing that they asked for, but that was just a lot of really hard work on all the actors' parts and our stunt coordinators, and stunt actors.

And T.J. Scott, who directed the finale, just made it so incredibly beautiful.

But I think the weirdest thing was eating the rat.

GREYSTON HOLT: He's a real maestro of mayhem, T.J. Like he orchestrates it like some sort of mad wielding, positive (Dervish), because it is extraordinary. I was watching some little clips...I mean it's like it's extraordinary how visceral those scenes are.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Yes.

I mean, he's just visually such a visual artist. Every scene that he shot, I would just stare at the monitor and say, "We need to take a photo of that. It needs to be a still photo. It's just stunning."

...

QUESTION: Now that you have the first season here and you kind of laid the ground work, do you feel like going forward you guys are all ready to really take these characters to a whole other level now that you kind of have a kind of foothold as to who they are? Or, maybe you're still developing who they are a little bit?

GREYSTON HOLT: Yes. That's one of the things I'm most looking forward to with Season 2 is that we really kind of found - I mean for me, I found my character, and I feel watching you know everyone else in the show that they've kind of found their groove and they've really fell into their characters.

And to hit the ground running next season. And this year where we go from here is you know, I just keep my fingers crossed as many times as I can cross them and I just...

LAURA VANDERVOORT: And cross - and don't forget your eyes and toes.

GREYSTON HOLT: Oh, my eyes and toes. Yes. Yes. And my hair.

GREG BRYK: And you know, and the thing is when we all first met there was a pretty instant chemistry. Like there was this spark. A little magical electricity that coursed between everybody. But people fell in love with each other as a family. Those bonds are so dynamic and real that moving forward, it's like any real family. There's going to be moments of vulnerability. There're moments of danger.

And once those ingredients are in place, whatever meal you cook is going to be flavorful. And, I just think that those relationships are there and now it's just the stories that need to be told.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: And I do think that, you know at the beginning of the season obviously we're all supposed to be figuring out how to play these characters. They just existed before in the book, and we definitely wanted to make the audience comfortable and happy with how we were portraying them.

But I think we got into a groove with one another, like Greg said, and became comfortable and it just sort of started to flow naturally. Our relationships were sort of mirroring what was on screen.

We cared about each other.

And I think now we're all comfortable with our characters, and look forward to exploring more of the troubles that they can get into.

QUESTION: I'm a big fan of the original Wolfman, and I thought what was neat about your series was the mansion kind of evokes Talbot Hall and that whole Gothic mystique about werewolves. Did you guys sense a little bit of that when you were shooting this series?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: I mean, the exterior of the home, we didn't actually shoot the interior in, but I think the exterior reflected exactly what I had imagined in the books. And then, our set decorator just - we all can't stop talking about how gorgeous his work was and how he really got the mood of the show.

And Elena's bedroom, I wanted everything. I thought it was so well done, and I felt like it reflected who she was at one point in her life.

And then the Great Room where everyone sort of comes together to discuss you know the pack order, and I think it was just gorgeous and manly, and warm, and cozy. And like Greg says before, "Do you want to have a Scotch while you're sitting in there and read a book?" It's just - I think the set definitely helped us with our scenes and with the character in itself.

GREG BRYK: You know, there's sort of one interesting bit of trivia. The house that we used for the exteriors and the grounds, I did a [movie] for Syfy years ago called Red, the Werewolf Hunter, and I played the older brother Pat like alpha werewolf hunter of this family - based on the mythology. And we shot at the same house.

So, it was a little surreal to come back as now a werewolf in the same house. But it is such a character. It's evocative visually when you look at those wide shots, particularly in the opening credit sequence. It just really sets a tone. And, the art direction when we would get to work in the interiors, there's a groundedness to it. There's an earthy quality to it that just transports you to another,if not world, mindset.

So it was very helpful.

QUESTION: You guys sound like a really close cast, so I was wondering outside of your own characters, for each of you, who is your favorite character on the show?

GREYSTON HOLT: I like Zachary Cain. I thought he was great, and that Noah Danby actor who played him was fantastic and such a great guy. Just, you know, on the mutt side of things, I thought he was great and he brought in something really interesting that showed.

Other than you two.

GREG BRYK: Yes. Yes. Yes. No. We're not here. It's a conference call Grey. Conference - we can hear you as well.

You know, that's like you know you're sitting at the dinner table with all your kids and like, "Who's your favorite?" Really? Like we're going to - really? You want that answer? Like this is the first step to like therapy, so...

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Well, I'm so not saying Greyston now.

GREG BRYK: No kidding.

Laura's my favorite.

You know, I think it probably would be - I think that the mutts as a unit all created such specific and unique villains that it was a great counterpoint to the strength of the pack. And, you know, if the threat isn't real and interesting, then the show falls flat.

So I think they all really did an amazing job not just being archetypal role, the mustache in your fingers, stock villains, but real people with needs and a hunger. And it's not just greed. They're displaced. They want a sense of belonging.

And, I think that that world colliding with ours makes for a more resonate conflict.

GREYSTON HOLT: And they brought a comedy to it without being kitschy. Like they're hilarious to watch, but it doesn't take you out of it. I mean, it's kind of a fine line, especially in a show like this to bring comedy in.

And, I think they brought it well and it's been hilarious because of the (unintelligible).

GREG BRYK: Yes.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: I agree with you guys, and I think everyone - the guest stars, everyone that was on the show was perfectly cast and like really brought their A game.

I really loved watching Dan Santos, played by Michael Luckett...

GREG BRYK: Yes, he's great.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: He kind of just has such an eerie quality to him, and I just - you know, I found him really disturbing to work with in a great way, because I'm supposed to feel that way. So I was really always captured by him in his scenes, as well as all of the other actors on the show, clearly.

I don't think there was one miscasted on the show because everyone really had a heart for what they were doing.

QUESTION: Do you guys have any specific hopes for your characters for Season 2?

GREG BRYK: I wouldn't mind if they touched on a little more flashback on the sort of domestication of Clay and when Jeremy found him, if they did a little bit on the back story. Especially for people who haven't read the books, it's a really interesting back story for both of them - our characters. And, I think it'd be interesting to do some flashbacking to that.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: I would love to see that as well.

GREG BRYK: It'd be a great role for whoever the kid who gets that role would be a pretty cool...

GREYSTON HOLT: Yes, no kidding.

GREG BRYK: You know. A feral child that doesn't speak any language.

GREYSTON HOLT: You know, the interesting thing I think - sorry Laura, go ahead.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: I was just going to say, Greyston, why don't we just shave off your beard and put you in little clothes and you can play yourself?

GREG BRYK: Yes. That kid would be super built, huge eight year old.

GREYSTON HOLT: I'll shave it right off.

Okay...Just make them shorts extra big around me and have like really large like garbage cans and like extra large rats that look like I'm smaller?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Yes, do it.

GREG BRYK: And the thing is with this season is that I think that people define themselves by both their dynamic experiences and habits, and these characters, their relationship to each other and the way they see each other has changed so many times this season that we're almost being born afresh each episode, and that will carry through to the new season.

And for Jeremy, so much of Season 1 was this external threat to the pack that I'm curious to explore what he wants? You know, so much of it is determined by what the pack needs, and I'm curious as to him personally - me personally, like what does it all mean beyond [that] - who's the man beyond the responsibility?

GREYSTON HOLT: I think Jeremy and the Sheriff should hook up.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Yes. I kept thinking that.

GREYSTON HOLT: I got to tell you something. There was flirtation there that I didn't see in the script as much. But after watching the show, I was like, "Oh, okay."

GREG BRYK: Well, I'm dangerously charming. This is the problem.

GREYSTON HOLT: I know.

GREG BRYK: I think that there should be that, but I almost feel like it needs to be something unexpected. Like something that catches him off guard. You know, he's such a controlled person, and there was a calculating quality to it to throw her off the scent, and there was a playfulness to it. I think they...

GREG BRYK: I should be broadsided. It could happen, but I really because Jeremy's always fighting for control, you know, and has sort of foresworn any female companionship because all of my energy needs to be directed towards maintaining and protecting the pack.

That, I think it should be like a strike of lightening. Somebody completely unexpected and makes me have a crisis of personality.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: I think that would be a wonderful idea.

GREYSTON HOLT: I'm going to write it right now.

QUESTION: Each of your characters has several scenes of physicality. What type of specialized training did you get, maybe aside from the fight choreography? I know, Laura, you have a background in martial arts, but did each of you have to have any specialized fight training?

And do you enjoy doing the fight scenes as opposed to, you know, just the normal scenes?

...

LAURA VANDERVOORT: So you know, I grew up doing martial arts, so I felt semi-comfortable with the fight scenes, but it's definitely a different challenge fighting on camera than fighting, you know, in the dojo. So, we did have, like you said, the stunt coordinator teaching me how to throw punches and kicks for the camera and not actually hurt somebody.

But other than that, I think it was just really rehearsing. There wasn't any really special werewolf fight training boot camp, which actually would be a great idea for Season 2.

GREYSTON HOLT: That would be awesome.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Yes. Running through the woods and throwing things, and whatever werewolves do.

But yes, we just incorporated the animalistic side to it. Other than that, I didn't personally have much more specialized training for it.

GREYSTON HOLT: We were very fortunate, you know, in having John Stead as our stunt coordinator and his team. They were extremely patient with us. I mean, we put in a lot of hours in rehearsals to make sure these fights did look real.

And then, a lot of it comes down to having some great doubles as well. You know, there're certain things that we just can't do because we're just not trained as stunt actors.

But you know, John's whole team was amazing and for me personally, it was a bit of a learning curve. I've never been in a fight in my life. I've actually never even thrown a punch at anybody, or have never been hit, so it was interesting, it was like a release in a way. It was like...letting out this anger in these fight scenes, not that I have anger, but it felt like a release.

And the thing I found most interesting about it was how much of a dance it really is once you kind of get into the groove of it. I mean it's obviously choreographed and when you get into the flow of it, it's a beautiful thing. I mean, you're not even thinking about the throws anymore and the hits, and yes, it's extremely rewarding too, especially to see the final product on camera.

GREG BRYK: And for me, that language of violence is something that - I've played linebacker in college playing football, and I boxed in college as well, and I've had a number of fight experiences in film. But the thing I liked most about John is that every character's fight expressiveness mirrored who they were as a person. Like it was an extension of character and it was consistent, and actually it illuminated other aspects of the personality.

So you know, these fights were very dynamic and aggressive, and brutal in ways, but Elena, Laura, fights as Elena in a very specific way that's very true to who she is as a person. Greyston as Clay, same thing. [There's this] incredibly overpowering physicality of it in this almost blunting rage to the way he fights. And the control of Jeremy and so on and so forth throughout the whole pack.

I think that that type of specific violence, an audience appreciates as opposed to something that's just slapped onto an episode because, well, we need an action break here, or you know we need to get people's adrenaline up. It was very much an essential part of the storytelling with us.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: It is true. They fight very true to who they are. I never really thought about it Greg, because you know Greyston is - your character is so quiet and methodical, but when he fights, he just lets the wolf out and it's brutal and quick, and hard.

GREYSTON HOLT: Yes. Lots of throws and big hits. So yes, it's not really precise.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: Yes. You just let the anger out and Greg's character being the alpha and being very skilled and methodical as well, he just makes quick precise hits as opposed to large brutal ones, and goes in for the kill very quickly, and almost very beautifully at the same time.

Whereas Elena is sort of a combination of both of you in a way, and that makes sense because she has learned from both of you, especially from Greg, so she is quick and precise, but she also has a lot of aggression and can get dirty.

End scene.

GREYSTON HOLT: On that note, can get dirty.

And end.

GREG BRYK: Yes...perfect one to leave hanging like that. There's the tagline.

SCIFI VISION:: You guys are talking about the fight scenes and everything, but Greg, you don't get to go out really with the wolves. You always stay back behind. Do you hope that when the show goes on that you'll get to do that and maybe run with them or something like that?

GREG BRYK: Yes, absolutely. And I think that Jeremy has his first fight I believe in Episode 5 when the mutt comes to the door.

SCIFI VISION:: Right.

GREG BRYK: And I think that the writers were unsure of how they wanted to use Jeremy in that way. But you know, the fight scene in the warehouse was fantastic. And then [in] Episode 13 every character is in this ballet of violence that is really extraordinary the way it all comes together like a symphony.

And I think that for Jeremy, the balance between acceptance and success, trusting that an order would find itself was betrayed by the mutt uprising, so I think that Jeremy will be more forceful in physicalizing the order of the pack in Season 2.

And we're in the midst of a war, so violence is going to be a necessity for our survival, and survival for me is everything with the pack.

SCIFI VISION:: Good.

I know you guys have said things here and there, but is there anything else that you can specifically tease about the new episode coming up?

LAURA VANDERVOORT: What can we actually tease?

There's going to be a huge shocker at the very end of the episode that I don't think anyone will see coming. Even...

GREG BRYK: It's huge.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: ...I think when we all got it, it shocked. And, it's pretty brutal.

Other than that, I think you know people are going to be switching sides. That's a good way to leave it.

GREG BRYK: In a way, there's tremendous closure with this episode, and it also opens up to unbelievable new beginnings. I mean, a small story closes and a huge story starts to open. I think just with the relationships and what happens, and how large the threat really is outside of us, gets opened.

You know, what we thought were monsters under the bed is really an army of monsters outside the window.

QUESTION: What's the best/worst thing technically about the show. So is it having to multiple camera angles? Is it ADR? Is it the CGI? What are your challenges?

GREYSTON HOLT: ADR always - for me, ADR always sucks. I mean, you always...

GREG BRYK: Yes, me too.

GREYSTON HOLT: ...preserve your original performance, and it's really a bummer sometimes because you're like, "Why can't we keep it? It's a little quiet but just bring it up." And sometimes, it's just you feel like they're nit-picking, and it's the worst, especially if it's a longer scene and there's quite a bit of dialog. You're never going to have the same energy that you do on the day, and it really is the worst and I wish we could get rid of it. But you know, I guess we have to.

GREG BRYK: And for me, I would say ADR, the same thing, because my whole reason for doing this is these grace notes of intimacy with people, you know, with Greyston, with Laura, these moments that you create, and that only exists when you're eye to eye with someone, because that's a human being exposing themselves. Their strengths, their frailties, their vulnerabilities, and you touch that. I mean, it's a very intimate dance with each other.

So the idea of now trying to match lips and recreate that with an image on a screen is so fake it's - you know, your first kiss is completely different than drawing a picture of that first kiss later. I mean, it's just one, you know, makes your body light on fire, and the other one, is this really cold, clinical procedure, and you can imagine which one I prefer.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: I say ADR is also something I don't enjoy doing for the same reasons that they've both said. It just takes away from what you were feeling in the moment, and often times you feel like it's not necessary, but you have to do it. And it can hurt a scene, because it's a completely different day and a completely different city, and you're not feeling it.

But outside of that, I have no complaints. I mean, the best part of the show is the cast and the challenging character that, you know, was laid out for us by Kelley Armstrong and our amazing writers.

Maybe the long hours. Like shooting a werewolf drama. We are shooting at night and sometimes you know you are working into the wee hours of the morning, but I'm so happy to be there that it doesn't even really affect us, and I think we're just enjoying working and playing as these characters.

So no complaints.

GREYSTON HOLT: Trying to stay in shape too and stuff. Trying to stay in shape is pretty tough too when you're on set all day. And you know, there's a few times when I get home at 10:00 and you just force yourself to get in the gym because, I guess werewolves like to take their clothes off, so we...

GREG BRYK: From what I understand on Twitter, Grey, people are really grateful that you made the effort. People are really, really happy with that effort.

GREYSTON HOLT: Yes.

Fun fact. Fun fact. Very first scene that I shot of the whole series was a nude scene. There we go. Fun fact.

GREG BRYK: Well that was 80% of your scenes, Greyston. So mathematically, the probability of that was pretty high.

QUESTION: How do you guys then really prepare for those emotional scenes? I mean, it's obviously different if you're together and once you've created that bond, it's probably easy just to play off of each other. But before you actually managed to develop that bond and - or if you're doing ADR, how do you get in character?

GREYSTON HOLT: Well the bond happened fairly quick, so that wasn't an issue. And each of our processes is probably different, but for me it's just really being in that moment. And when you have wonderful actors to work off, which we do in the show, it makes the job that much easier.

And you know if you look into someone's eyes and they're present and there with you, it makes everything natural and easy, and things just fall into place.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: They're all horrible to work with. Don't listen to them.

GREG BRYK: And the thing is that, for me with this show, because the things that Jeremy is going through have so many echoes in my own life as a father having kids at various stages. You know, my oldest son is going away to university this year, and he's been such an integral part of my life. I became a man. I grew up. I had him when I was a baby and I grew up into a man, and he grew up into a man at the same time.

And to know that he's going to be walking out that door and he'll only come back for visits.

So the scene when Elena is, [he] knows she has to go back to [Toronto] to let her go, there was the richness of the experience with Laura because she's so wonderfully present and available.

But for me, as a human being, to know that this is an experience that I'm going to go through with him, to let him go, to walk away breaks my heart. And one sort of feeds the other, and very, very similar thing with Greyston with moments of his son who has held you up at times of weakness and doesn't judge you and loves you. And that burden - and to also know that you disappointed them and that you have been away, betrayed that trust, just adds layers. One feeds the other in this echo chamber that just creates a very dangerous and beautiful moment because you're at risk as a human being.

And that's what we all want to do. This is what we do, we want to connect to each other as people, and it's rare and it's exotic, and it's so intoxicating that you would chase it to the ends of the Earth.