The Vampire Diaries has tremendous success with guest casting. Earlier this season they added Daniel Gillies as Elijah and now the show has the oldest, baddest vampire-werewolf hybrid around with Klaus. Joseph Morgan‘s performance is perfectly terrifying as the big, bad Klaus, keeping everyone on their toes.
When I talked to Joseph Morgan, it became obvious very quickly that he’s a genuine Vampire Diaries fan, as interested in the show’s mythology and the fates of the characters as the fans are. He knows his stuff when it comes to doppelgangers and curses, and his knowledge of vampires beyond this one show is impressive.
I talked to Morgan about his future with The Vampire Diaries, which Petrova doppelganger he prefers, what he’d like to see from Klaus and his thoughts on what makes The Vampire Diaries stand out from other vampire shows and films.
About the Rest of Season 2
“If I did what I think I’ve done with it, and what I hope I’ve done with the role and the way that I’ve done it, then people are going to recognize Klaus as the most evil person ever to visit Mystic Falls. Absolutely. The worst is yet to come.”
About How He Sees Klaus:
“If you’re the most powerful person in the world, then nothing is a threat to you and therefore you can find humor in everything and you can be playful with everything. In episode 19 when I pin Elijah against the wall and I say “Do not lie to me!” and I shout it in his face, I think that’s one of the only times I shouted in the show. I shout maybe one other time, but it’s all very light and playful because I feel like Klaus is just on that level where he knows everyone’s gonna do what he tells them. He just kind of holds some degree of intimidation.”
About Continuing on the Show Beyond Season 2:
“I can’t say either way, but I really hope so. It’s been an amazing experience for me, doing the last few episodes of season 2. Characters have died and come back to the show in flashbacks or in other ways, so you know, I absolutely hope it’s a longer run of it. Because you know, I’m just beginning to explore it.”
About What He’d Like to See from Klaus’ Backstory:
“I would love to go back a thousand years because, well, partly it will be interesting. I guess he’d be in togas and sandals and such. Mainly just because of what happened there. I see a life – I think that’s when the curse was set on Klaus, so I would love to sort of explore that whole situation.”
About the History of the Petrova Doppelganger:
“And you know, Katherine was a doppelganger as well. The original Petrova. I would love to see how that came about and why she was bound up in that curse and therefore her doppelgangers have to be sacrificed 500 years later and a thousand years later. Because that’s very interesting to me in terms of how they all kind of came about.”
About Working with Nina Dobrev as Katherine and Elena:
“I prefer working with Katherine because there’s something more fascinating about her, about her darkness and her malicious side. Elena is so pure and good and righteous. Her morals are intimidating sometimes. You feel like she’s the one turning off the music at the party and telling everyone to go home. Whereas Katherine just wants to keep the party going all night. She’s the one to pull that off, Nina, you know. She brings a very different light to both of them. It’s fantastic.”
About Coming to Work on The Vampire Diaries:
“The best part of it for me was when I got there and realized that everyone’s enthusiasm for the show matched my own. Because I’m a very big fan of the genre, and of the show, and I was tremendously excited to play a vampire, or as we now know, a hybrid. To immerse myself in that world.”
About Becoming a Part of the Cast:
“From the beginning, when I got there, I really made an effort to integrate myself with the cast and the crew, and really just feel like I’m part of that family. I decided that any invitation I got, in terms of drinks or dinner or anything like that, I would take it all, just to feel as comfortable with these people as possible. So that when I did have scenes where a certain degree of intimidation was required, I would feel comfortable going there.”
About What Makes the Vampires on This Show Different from Others:
“The vampires that we play in The Vampire Diaries, are more like, I would call them like “the romantic vampires”. If you’ve seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or From Dusk ‘Til Dawn, or 30 Days of Night, they see things where the vampires suddenly turn hideous, their faces. Or they kind of look freakish and monstrous from the beginning. We very much are the more attractive vampires at first. So there’s much more of a human aspect to us, I think. We’re less alien, than say, the vampires in 30 Days of Night.”
(Image courtesy of the CW)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
