CASTLE: Seamus Dever Talks Walking Down the Aisle, Being an Example for Castle & Beckett

We finally get to see a wedding on Castle this week when Detective Kevin Ryan ties the knot with his soulmate, Jenny. I had an opportunity to talk with Seamus Dever about his character’s walk down the aisle, how his real life is matching up with his fictional role, and what Castle and Beckett could learn from him.

“Ryan is a pioneer!” declares Seamus when I ask how he feels about being the first one to tie the knot on Castle. “Ryan is the only one in the precinct, aside from Captain Gates, who is married or in a stable relationship. As someone who is happily married, I feel blessed to be the one who gets to portray that.”

Not only is Seamus happily wed in real life, but his wife Juliana Dever is the actress who plays Jenny on Castle. “I’m lucky to have found the right woman for me, and I’m happy that Ryan has, too,” he says. He’s also pleased with the opportunity to explore his character outside the precinct and hopes we’ll see more of Jenny now that she’s Mrs. Ryan. The double date scene with Lanie and Esposito from a few weeks ago still resonates with promise for Seamus.

“It was a change of pace for our writers, to branch out and create something that had nothing to do with a case or with Beckett or Castle,” he recalls. “Our show is a procedural, one of I think two on ABC, so we have to be dutiful to that. And we have these big scripts to contain in 42 minutes, so there’s only so much room to explore the characters and their relationships. I hope we see more of that kind of scene while still staying true to the procedural nature of the show.”

With this episode putting the focus back on Ryan, I anticipate further character development, but don’t expect a traditional “the groom is nervous” plot.

“I don’t think Ryan is nervous. Everyone says ‘everything changes’; they tell you everything will be different when you get married, so I think everyone else makes you nervous,” Seamus chuckles. “But really, if you’ve been with someone for a while, nothing changes. You check a different box at the DMV and file joint taxes, but life doesn’t change. It just gets better.” Seamus then muses, “I think it’s the fear of the unknown, that undiscovered country, that makes people nervous.”

If we aren’t getting a storyline about how nervous Ryan is before the big day, then there must be a case to solve. Is one of the wedding guests not long for this world? Seamus thoughtfully explained that he didn’t want me to have to plaster SPOILER ALERT all over this article, so he wouldn’t give details, but he did share some information about the episode.

It’s actually a build up to the wedding, with the ceremony happening at the end of the episode. There is a case to be solved, and around the midpoint, Castle and Beckett find out that Jenny is connected to the victim. They then have to decide how to tell Ryan about this connection.

“Ryan has to make a complex, modern relationship decision,” teases Seamus. “I think you’ll be pleased with how Ryan handles it.”

Speaking of Castle, Beckett, and weddings, while Seamus hasn’t seen the episode yet, he does share that being back in a church prompts them to think about their own relationship. “I think that they think about the choices that they could make,” he says.

Maybe now that Ryan has blazed the trail, others will find their way toward the altar.

Check out Kevin and Jenny’s wedding website where you’ll get the inside story on how they met, how he proposed, and why they’re keeping the honeymoon a secret. Seamus will be live tweeting during the episode when it airs Monday, January 9 at 10/9c on ABC.