INTERVIEW: Aaron Ashmore, Hannah John-Kamen & Luke Macfarlane give us the dirt on KILLJOYS

Monday we had the pleasure to speak with the cast of the upcoming new Syfy series, Killjoys which centers around a trio of interplanetary bounty hunters. Joining us on the call were the three leads, Hannah John-Kamen, Aaron Ashmore and Luke Macfarlane. Here are the highlights of that conversation for your enjoyment!

Fair Warning: Minor Spoilers Ahead.

Within the first minutes it became abundantly clear from their banter and spontaneous laughter, this was a cast with great chemistry. Luke Macfarlane attributed the credit to the casting process. “ We had a really great casting director that took the time to really kind of do mix and matches.  So as we’re sort of slowly assembling this group, we kind of auditioned with like various people and that’s always terribly nerve racking as an actor but I think ultimately it’s really a useful sort of thing to do.  Because yes we got along from the beginning almost immediately, very similar sense of humor.”
Aaron added, “Yes, and I think that as far as chemistry and stuff like that, you know, you either have it or you don’t…….I think the three of us have become, you know, really good friends and we got along so, so well, and it’s kind of rare.” All three agreed that they have the same sense of humor which was instantly unifiyng. Aaron summed it up. “We’re just so weird.  And …I was really pleasantly surprised to see how strange their sense of humor were and then how as a whole bonded together.”

Luke and Aaron both had something to say on the topic of Killjoys being compared to a much beloved past series Firefly. Luke: “That’s the way we understand things is by comparing them to each other, I mean it really is.  I mean, my hope is that, yes, eventually it steps into its own unique thing.” Macfarlane also identified the difference between the two shows. “Firefly was essentially a rouge group of individuals.  The Killjoys operate within a system and I think to that is very, very deeply sort of what makes this different.  We can’t do whatever we want whenever we want, we have to operate with inside the system called the (R.A.C.).  And I think that’s really fundamental difference that makes the world actually fundamentally different.” Aaron added, “I think it’s flattering too because as genre fan myself like Firefly is obviously, you know, one of the biggest shows, one of the most beloved shows so any comparison to that are cool.”

Speaking of the show, each actor described their characters.
Luke: “I’m D’avin, I play John’s older brother and I don’t join as a Killjoy, I sort of bump into John in the kind of weird sort of way and then I end up kind of sticking along with them for a ride.   So as the show progresses I get very intrigued with the Killjoy myself.”
Aaron described his character John Jacobis as “a level-three Killjoy which basically means he’s not as sort of skilled and dangerous as Dutch in sort of the tactical and combat aspects of things.  But I think John is a more willing to talk things through instead of, you know, shooting and asking questions later.”
Hannah filled us on on Dutch. “Dutch is a level-five Killjoy, which means she’s a top Killjoy. She can kill for warrant.  She lives on (Deluci) with John, and she’s known John the character for seven years. Dutch has a really, really complicated past that is catching up with her in the current moment.  Dutch is also really, really badass, she’s very loyal, and (she feels over other) characters within the show, she’s very respected, and yes that kind of comes with her loyalty as well.” Luke chimed in and added, “And, she’s the leader, I think that’s important too!”

The ship Lucy has been described as the fourth cast member. Aaron agreed and added that “John was Lucy’s favorite” since he interacted with her the most. Luke shared that “I think it’s really telling the way we all decide to interact with Lucy too. I don’t even bother to learn Lucy’s name until I, you know, the seventh episode, I just call her ship, which I think is sort of funny.” Hannah put the cherry on top when she said “Lucy kind of sets the team as well.”

One of the top topics of conversation surrounded around Dutch and D’vins past. Each Killjoy has a secret, that they are handling in vastly different ways. Dutch is hiding from hers, while Luke is searching for answers. Hannah said Dutch’s past catches up with her this season and theere’s a sort of “unraveling that happens.” Luke described the journey differently for D’avin. “He’s definitely looking for this person all the way through the show and, gosh, I don’t know how much I should tease ,but yes, he finds her. And I think it’s really interesting because, you know, there’s sort of a lot of comparisons that I think that a lot of soldiers, you know, returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are encountering like sort of how to reconcile with their sort of violent past and, you know, I think it’s a great story line.  …He does get I think more completion and closure than Dutch does.” Aaron agreed and added that his character John is the “glue that holds the team together” as they struggle with their respective pasts.

Killjoy’s is created by Michelle Lovretta who also created Lost Girl. Luke was eager to talk about what those fans may like about Killjoys. “Speaking a little bit about Lost Girl…..there’s a sort of sense of female empowerment that I think is definitely something that’s really strong. Strong female characters that aren’t just, you know, strong…that they beat people up but they also, you know, they’re very comfortable with their sexuality.  Michelle writes a lot about sexuality in a really I think unique way that sort of very different than most TV sort of characters have sex and not feel ashamed about it.”

Each cast member agreed that one of their favorite things about the show was their weaponry. Hannah immediately said, “My guns. I felt like my gun was part of my limbs. I just had this bond with my gun, I fell in love with my laser gun.” Aaron said it best by including, “I think we all had unhealthy attachments to our weapons by the time we’re done.”

Tidbits & Minor Spoilers:

• Aaron and Hannah will be live tweeting the premier! Follow them at: @AaronRAshmore and  @hannahjk1

• Hannah John- Kamen described their training for the fight scenes as  one of her favorite things which caused the triad to gel. “We bonded over violence.”

• They stopped using the algae beer because it got stuck their teeth!

• Toward the end of the season John geeks out over a super computer he encounters.

• On the subject of possible crossovers with other shows: Luke said “from my understanding of Dark Matter they are a little bit more sort of cold killer like, kind of – I don’t know if they’re funny so I think they might look at us like we’re a bunch of clowns…..But then we beat them up!” Aaron quipped: ”Dangerous killer clowns, that we are!” Hannah added, “We’re clowns but then we’d beat them up. Definitely.”

Killjoys premiers Friday, June 19 at 9 pm right after one of our other favorite shows, Defiance, only on Syfy. Be sure to follow us, @nicegirlstv and @PxlWvr , as we live tweet each episode!