Laura Vandervoort plays female werewolf on Bitten
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| Laura Vandervoort as Elena Michaels and Paul Green as Philip McAdams in Bitten, which debuts on Space Jan. 11 and Syfy Jan. 13 |
Enter Bitten, a sexy supernatural series that is hoping to help werewolves shake the shadow cast by the rest of their mystical brethren.
It premieres Saturday, Jan. 11 at 9 p.m. on Space and on Syfy in the U.S. Jan. 13 at 10 p.m.
Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by acclaimed Ontario author Kelley Armstrong, Bitten stays true to its Canadian roots: the Space original series features a predominantly Canadian cast with Toronto native Laura Vandervoortin the lead role.
Vandervoort plays Elena Michaels, a young woman who becomes the world’s only female werewolf after she’s bitten by her afflicted boyfriend, a University of Toronto professor. As a member of The Pack — a powerful family that monitors werewolves from their upstate New York mansion — Elena is trained to hunt and find Mutts, a group of rogue wolves who broke the heavily structured rules of the werewolf society.
The series premieres a year after Elena broke away from The Pack after being forced to kill a human. She has established a non-lycanthropic life as a freelance photographer in Toronto, but is torn between the life she’s created and her loyalty to The Pack, who are on the brink of an all-out war with the Mutts.
“I mean obviously vampires are huge right now . . . but werewolves haven’t really been touched upon,” explains Vandervoort. “We’re not dead, we’re not bloodsucking. We’re living, breathing, warm-blooded creatures so there’s more to draw on.
“(The show is) about their heart and their relationships and how the animalistic side gets in the way of their romance.”
At 29 years old, Vandervoort is no stranger to the sci-fi/horror genre and she has a history of portraying strong-willed women on TV.
After landing her first major roles on the children’s series Goosebumpsand Are You Afraid Of The Dark? at the age of 13, Vandervoort has gone on to play the daughter of an invading alien lizard queen on ABC’s V and the heroic Kara Zor-El (better known as Supergirl) on the Superman-prequel series Smallville.
But Bitten will mark the North York native’s first time in series leading role, facing the pressure that goes along with anchoring a new show.
“It’s funny when people ask me what I’ve done I sort of joke and say that I’ve been Supergirl, I’ve been a lizard princess and (now) I’m a werewolf,” she said. “There’s always pressure when you’re the lead of a show. This was my first time really handling that so at the beginning I think I was a little stressed.”
Traditionally, male actors have portrayed werewolves, most recently highlighted by Joe Manganiello’s portrayal of Alcide on HBO’s True Bloodand Benicio Del Toro’s lead role in The Wolfman, a 2010 remake of the 1941 horror classic. The series Teen Wolf, starring Tyler Posey, is into its third season on MTV.
“Elena is a character that has everything a woman would want to play in this industry: she’s strong, she’s got flaws, she’s had a horrible past,” Vandervoort said. “I think namely for audiences (the biggest difference is that) it’s a female lead and they haven’t really seen that in the werewolf genre.”
Another area where Bitten is looking to break the mould is in its portrayal of the werewolves, which, according to Vandervoort, are more akin to real wolves than the hulking two-legged beasts from fairy tales.
In scenes with more than one wolf, each has been altered to help viewers tell them apart.
“They’re not magical creatures, they are the size of a wolf or a German shepherd . . . they can wander the streets and people would think they are a stray,” explains Vandervoort. “They’ve taken all of the actors’ eyes and are going to put them on to the visual effects wolfs so you know it’s us and, as far as that human quality, you can see what we’re feeling in our eyes.”
Also starring in the series are Winnipeg’s Greg Bryk (Rookie Blue) as pack leader Jeremy Danvers; B.C. native Greyston Holt (Alcatraz, Durham County) as Dr. Clayton Danvers and Alberta’s Paul Greene (The Client List) as Elena’s human boyfriend, Philip McAdams.
As for Vandervoort, 2014 is shaping up to be a big year for the Canadian actress as she negotiates starring in two projects that she says completely contrast her role in Bitten. Additionally, Vandervoort is hoping to help bring her own live action children’s superhero series to fruition, which she hopes can be a positive influence for young girls interested in the increasingly popular superhero genre.
“I actually wrote a book for children called Super Duper Delia and it (came) from meeting these young girls at Comic-Con and thinking that they don’t really have a superhero that doesn’t show her midriff,” she said. “So I came up with this concept and sold it to Shaftesbury Films in Canada and we’re turning it into a live action children’s TV series.”
Following the adventures of a young girl who discovers she has superpowers, Super Duper Delia is still in its early stages of development but could air in 2014.
For now, Vandervoort is eagerly anticipating Bitten’s premiere and hopes that genre fans will feel as passionate about it as she does.
“To be able to play that and have a darker, more adult show than I’ve ever been a part of is what I’ve been looking to do,” she said. “I’m more vulnerable and raw than I have been before, and I feel maybe in the past I’ve played characters and I’ve been acting and it was great, but this is the first role that I really connected to.”
What follows is not a word for word synopsis of the call, but my quick notes. As always, Q = question; LV = Laura Vandervoort; KA = Kelley Armstrong.
Q: Kelley, you’re listed on IMDb as the writer of “unknown” episodes. Have you written any or will you be writing some in the future?
KA: I haven’t written any, but may write some in the future.
Q: What inspired the story?
KA:Many years ago, I was in a writing group and watched an episode of The X-Files. It was about the traditional werewolf. A big guy gets bitten and goes on a rampage, turning into a monster. I thought that’s not how I would do it, and essentially wrote the opposite as a short story for my writing group.
Q: Kelley, you’re listed on IMDb as the writer of “unknown” episodes. Have you written any or will you be writing some in the future?
KA: I haven’t written any, but may write some in the future.
Q: What inspired the story?
KA:Many years ago, I was in a writing group and watched an episode of The X-Files. It was about the traditional werewolf. A big guy gets bitten and goes on a rampage, turning into a monster. I thought that’s not how I would do it, and essentially wrote the opposite as a short story for my writing group.
Q: How does Bitten compare to Being Human or Teen Wolf?
KA: Our werewolves are down to earth and as realistic as possible. When they change, they’re no different than a typical wolf. They have the same hair color and eyes as when they’re human. The story was written in the ‘90’s so, I didn’t have to worry about other similar stories. No one knew how to sell a story back then about werewolves who weren’t bad. I use a lot of folklore, but put it in a contemporary context so these wolves could have existed with no one knowing for centuries. This show is more for adults than shows aimed at teenagers or a younger audience.
Q: Is there an innate sense of connection between members of the pack?
KA: When I was creating the werewolves, I based them on a real wolf pack. Their bond just strengthens that instinct. Elena is drawn to the idea of being in a tight knit group. There’s nothing supernatural about it.
Q: How much influence did you have on the show? Has the show stuck with the books? Has anything surprised you about the adaptations?
KA: I had no influence, and I felt that was the correct amount. They were reconstructing the story for another medium. I’d spent too much time in Elena’s head and the story needed to be seen by new eyes. I was thrilled with the early scripts and the great writing. I didn’t have any concerns with the adaptation and John Barbisan (executive producer) reassured me at every step. It’s a lot of fun to see what the other characters are doing because the books are told in first person from Elena’s point of view, so of course, you don’t see anything that she doesn’t see.
Q: Laura, what drew you to the part? What do you like about playing this role?
LV: I relate to a lot of Elena. That she’s strong and can take care of herself and isn’t afraid to put the boys in their place when she needs to. I like the martial arts. There is an epic fight coming up in the finale. There is an animalistic side to the fighting which our terrific fight coordinator brings in. I was offered the part from John Barbisan and was drawn to t he flawed but strong character.
KA: Our werewolves are down to earth and as realistic as possible. When they change, they’re no different than a typical wolf. They have the same hair color and eyes as when they’re human. The story was written in the ‘90’s so, I didn’t have to worry about other similar stories. No one knew how to sell a story back then about werewolves who weren’t bad. I use a lot of folklore, but put it in a contemporary context so these wolves could have existed with no one knowing for centuries. This show is more for adults than shows aimed at teenagers or a younger audience.
Q: Is there an innate sense of connection between members of the pack?
KA: When I was creating the werewolves, I based them on a real wolf pack. Their bond just strengthens that instinct. Elena is drawn to the idea of being in a tight knit group. There’s nothing supernatural about it.
Q: How much influence did you have on the show? Has the show stuck with the books? Has anything surprised you about the adaptations?
KA: I had no influence, and I felt that was the correct amount. They were reconstructing the story for another medium. I’d spent too much time in Elena’s head and the story needed to be seen by new eyes. I was thrilled with the early scripts and the great writing. I didn’t have any concerns with the adaptation and John Barbisan (executive producer) reassured me at every step. It’s a lot of fun to see what the other characters are doing because the books are told in first person from Elena’s point of view, so of course, you don’t see anything that she doesn’t see.
Q: Laura, what drew you to the part? What do you like about playing this role?
LV: I relate to a lot of Elena. That she’s strong and can take care of herself and isn’t afraid to put the boys in their place when she needs to. I like the martial arts. There is an epic fight coming up in the finale. There is an animalistic side to the fighting which our terrific fight coordinator brings in. I was offered the part from John Barbisan and was drawn to t he flawed but strong character.
Q: Tell us about Elena...
KA: The creation of Elena goes way back. I wanted to create a character who was a werewolf and uncomfortable with that, but who would eventually embrace it. She comes to accept that what you think you should be is not always what you should actually be.
LV: She’s pushing the animal inside herself down so she can be everything for everyone else. I had no idea at first where they were going, but it’s very layered. It’s all about family and the characters; it’s not just about the supernatural. Elena has always wanted a family. The pack isn’t the family she envisioned for herself, but it’s still her family.
Q:Talk about the special effects.
LV: That’s a wonderful part of the show. It’s mainly all CGI, so the VFX team does it all. Some of them worked on Life of Pi – need the tiger’s hair and so forth. We don’t have long hours in the makeup chair because we don’t use prosthetics.
Q: Has this been a challenging role/how does it compare to your other roles?
LV:This has been my most challenging role. It’s my first time as the lead on a show, and I’ve invested a lot of myself in the character. There was pressure to play Supergirl on Smallville, but there was no room for interpretation. As Lisa on V, I was a minor character in season one and they expanded my role as the show progressed. With Bitten, I fell in love with this character for the first time in my career. Elena is a colorful character! I was able to have lots of input. She’s sad and she’s layered and she’s not perfect. There was pressure on me to be in every scene, every day, and I tried to do all the stunts. There was a real parallel with Elena entering the pack and Laura entering the show, and we’re both trying to earn our place in this group of people.
Q: What is Elena’s relationship like with the werewolf that changed her?
LV: SPOILER! I can’t answer that!
KA: It’s “difficult”...
Q: In the books Elena suffers a lot of abuse...
KA: You have to pile a lot on this type of character! Her overriding need is for family and acceptance. She’s bounced around the foster system. The pack isn’t the family she’s grown up expecting she’d have but it’s the one she has. I have a degree in psychology and I use that background.
Q: Who are your female action role models?
LV: Buffy the movie and the tv show. They were what got me into martial arts. The Alien movies. As actors, people like Meryl Streep.
Q: Have you read the books?
LV: I’ve read Bitten, the first novel. Then I went off the scripts and drew on myself. I think we’re fairly true to the books.
Q: Werewolves seem to eat an awful lot – how do you like that?
LV: The producers love seeing Elena eat on screen. She stress eats. Plus she has to hide how much she eats from her boyfriend. I’m like, you want me to be naked to change AND you want me to eat all the time...
Remember to look for my preview coming up in a few days as well as the full transcript of this interview. Bitten premieres on Space on Saturday, January 11 at 9pm ET and 6pm PT and on SyFy on Monday, January 13 at 10pm.
KA: The creation of Elena goes way back. I wanted to create a character who was a werewolf and uncomfortable with that, but who would eventually embrace it. She comes to accept that what you think you should be is not always what you should actually be.
LV: She’s pushing the animal inside herself down so she can be everything for everyone else. I had no idea at first where they were going, but it’s very layered. It’s all about family and the characters; it’s not just about the supernatural. Elena has always wanted a family. The pack isn’t the family she envisioned for herself, but it’s still her family.
Q:Talk about the special effects.
LV: That’s a wonderful part of the show. It’s mainly all CGI, so the VFX team does it all. Some of them worked on Life of Pi – need the tiger’s hair and so forth. We don’t have long hours in the makeup chair because we don’t use prosthetics.
Q: Has this been a challenging role/how does it compare to your other roles?
LV:This has been my most challenging role. It’s my first time as the lead on a show, and I’ve invested a lot of myself in the character. There was pressure to play Supergirl on Smallville, but there was no room for interpretation. As Lisa on V, I was a minor character in season one and they expanded my role as the show progressed. With Bitten, I fell in love with this character for the first time in my career. Elena is a colorful character! I was able to have lots of input. She’s sad and she’s layered and she’s not perfect. There was pressure on me to be in every scene, every day, and I tried to do all the stunts. There was a real parallel with Elena entering the pack and Laura entering the show, and we’re both trying to earn our place in this group of people.
Q: What is Elena’s relationship like with the werewolf that changed her?
LV: SPOILER! I can’t answer that!
KA: It’s “difficult”...
Q: In the books Elena suffers a lot of abuse...
KA: You have to pile a lot on this type of character! Her overriding need is for family and acceptance. She’s bounced around the foster system. The pack isn’t the family she’s grown up expecting she’d have but it’s the one she has. I have a degree in psychology and I use that background.
Q: Who are your female action role models?
LV: Buffy the movie and the tv show. They were what got me into martial arts. The Alien movies. As actors, people like Meryl Streep.
Q: Have you read the books?
LV: I’ve read Bitten, the first novel. Then I went off the scripts and drew on myself. I think we’re fairly true to the books.
Q: Werewolves seem to eat an awful lot – how do you like that?
LV: The producers love seeing Elena eat on screen. She stress eats. Plus she has to hide how much she eats from her boyfriend. I’m like, you want me to be naked to change AND you want me to eat all the time...
Remember to look for my preview coming up in a few days as well as the full transcript of this interview. Bitten premieres on Space on Saturday, January 11 at 9pm ET and 6pm PT and on SyFy on Monday, January 13 at 10pm.
The Bobby D Show #967
This is The Bobby D Show from Monday January 6th, 2014. On this morning’s program we discussed A Real American A-Hole, the best way to keep your New Years resolution, New Years resolutions from Alan Thicke and Gary Busey, a post New Years forecast from the Weather Channel, Chance Encounters made its triumphant return to the airwaves, hangover remedies from around the world, a listener’s email about a gift to the boss, another installment of Bieber on Beavers, the most unforgettable sports moments from 2013 and Laura Vandervoort stopped by again to chat about her new show on the Syfy channel called ‘Bitten.’
Interview with Laura is towards the end. She utters N-word again but referring to something else. Shooting a secret project in Alabama.
* I'm going to give this show a 3-episode look over. Fingers crossed but slim chance for frontal nudity on DVD. Sold to HBO Nordic recently. We will know if European broadcast has real nudity. I made the wrong assumption when Laura coyly told the Canadian comic-con crowd about doing her first nude scenes when she was confirmed as Bitten lead. She went on a spree of N-word, dropping it in every interview. So it would be fitting for me to give Laura and the series the finger if all the nudity involving her was by a BD.
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