Tonight’s new episode of Grimm is all about the Wesen, and who better to talk to this week but the man playing everyone’s favorite Wesen, Monroe? We were very excited to interview Silar Weir Mitchell about Monroe and all things Grimm!
First up, we spoke about what Silas has to do as an actor when he transforms into a Blutbad.
There’s definitely stuff that I do as an actor – there’s a mentality shift, there’s a physical shift. The CGI is so advanced now that it follows along with your facial expressions.
There are several variations or situations under which a Wesen will reveal himself.One of them is an aggressive and angry, purposeful morph. And then the other is if you’re really, really sad or scared or nervous, your inner self will burst out because your guard is down.
So in the event that you do it one way versus the other, you’re going to have a different aspect, and the CGI is able to capture that. So it’s not just a big thing that goes on top of you and obfuscates your emotions – it can react to your face.
Next Silas discussed his fight scenes.
I haven’t really had that many fight scenes. I kind of lunge and attack and it gets done quickly because I dispatch whatever needs to be dispatched with a lackquidity.
The most involved fight scene I was in was the cage fighting one. That was pretty intense, we had a bunch of background actors screaming and yelling, and we were in a barn way out in the woods.
We had to ask for hints about what would be happening with Rosalee now that she’s back from helping her aunt.
Well, Rosalee is back, which is delightful. This episode in particular is a very Wesen-heavy episode as far as the mythology of the Wesen. There’s these different groups in the story. There’s the Grimms, although there’s really only one. Then there’s the Wesens, with subgroups of Wesen. And then the Royals, the Varrock… there’s all these kind of forces at work. And this episode focuses on the inner lives and the inner workings of the Wesen community. Rosalee and I are sort of at the center of that.As far as romance goes, yes, it’s slow – it’s a slow burn, but there’s definitely an attraction there. We get something we need from each other for sure. We have a lot of similarities, and I think we’re both sort of damaged. We’re tip-toeing towards the end of the diving board.
Following up on the question of Rosalee, we asked if it’s known if there is a Wesen code against interspecies relationships, and if that’s going to be discussed at any point in the show.
That’s a very interesting question, but I don’t really know. I can’t say that we’ve discussed the rules surrounding that. I think that there probably isn’t a code violation, as it were, for inter-Wesen. Because there’s a lot of us out there – you just don’t know who we are. And if a Blutbad always had to be with a Blutbad I think that would be onerous. Also, I don’t know what would happen if a Blutbad and Fuchsbau have babies. I don’t know if they’re going to be Blutbad or Fuchsbau. I don’t know the either the taxonmy or the husbandry of Wesen intermingling.
Next we asked if Silas enjoys being the one who adds a bit of levity to the show, and if he gets to work with the writers on that aspect of Monroe’s character.
Yes, I do. I do enjoy it very, very much. I think Monroe is a really fun mind space to live in, and he does get very fun lines. Saying I help the writers is a little much. The only way that one could say that I help them is if I happen to catch some minor inconsistency, the type of thing that actors always find because we dive all the way into it – and writers can only go so deeply into each character’s narrative. There’s eight of us that they have to deal with and sometimes more. But do I find things, like, “Oh, maybe this might work better here because…” – that happens, sure. I used to pester the writers in the first season, asking them if maybe I should say this or what do I mean exactly? I was trying to figure out the world. But now that we’ve got it down, I don’t have to call them quite as often.
Silas then talked about why he thought people were drawn to Grimm.
That’s an interesting question. I think, first of all, people enjoy being scared, and that’s part of what’s fun about Grimm. We continue to try to make every episode have something in that’s either going to make you jump or turn away or close your eyes and look through your fingers. That’s why horror movies are big business.
As far as the supernatural thing goes, it’s just there’s a certain segment of the population [that enjoys] genre stories. There’s always going to be a type of storytelling that allows both the writer and the reader, or the creator and the spectator, to paint with a broader brush and imagine the world in a way that it could be… but we don’t see it as being that way.
I think it’s exciting for people to operate from a premise that the world is slightly other than what we see. It’s still recognizable, but it’s other. I think that there’s always going to be a segment of the population that wants to experience that type of reality as opposed to something like a lawyer show or a hospital show.
There’s always going to be people that want to imagine the world as slightly tweaked.
We asked about the long hiatus and the continued good ratings despite the hiatus.
Yes, there’s a lot of different reasons, and believe me, we felt like it was long, too.
I read somewhere that we were actually up from last year’s mid-season return, but we were down a little bit from this season’s premiere. But it was really minuscule amount of being up and being down, which is to say it was the same group – they stuck around. God love them. And I don’t think you could really ask for more than staying completely steady like that. It warms my heart to think that people didn’t abandon us after a three-month hiatus, which is a little weird, yes.
Silas discussed whether or not Monroe is a happier Blutbad now.
That’s very perceptive – I do think that Monroe is happier. I think he was forced out of his little cave. Now he’s nosing around in the world, and I think it’s kind of fun out there. I’ve got a girlfriend, and I have little adventures that I do with my weird pal Nick.
I think that the whole idea of doing good in the world – that’s how it wound up making sense to me. I came out of my little world of clocks and maps and things, and I got out doing good in the world. And if it’s with a Grimm, so be it. I’m not going to stand aside and let bad things happen just because he’s a Grimm. He’s a different kind of Grimm, and I’m okay with that. I think it’s nice to be able to behave and live in the world.
Next we asked if Silas was aware that fans were clamoring for him to get on Twitter, and if he had any plans to join his castmates there.
You can send something out on my behalf saying, “God love you, I would, but I already waste enough time on my computer answering emails.” I have a website if people want to communicate – SilasWeirMitchell.com – but if I tweeted I would never put my phone down, and I can’t afford to do that. I need a break from the technology.
Finally, we asked how much fun Silas has on Grimm.
The short answer is a lot. There’s nothing I don’t really like about this show. I like the town I’m in, which is Portland. It’s a great place to live and work. I like the people I’m working with. I like the character I’m playing. I like the way the storylines are drawn. I mean what more – what more can you say? Gainfully employed with people I like on a show that’s fun to do, and it doesn’t get much better than that.
Thanks again to Silas for chatting with us – we really appreciated it! Be sure to read the Grimm reviews weekly!
