Most people would be considered certifiably nuts to stand in line to interact with The Devil himself, but that was exactly the situation at The "Supernatural" Convention this past Saturday in Toronto.
Actor Mark Pellegrino, who played Lucifer in long-running series "Supernatural," had swarms of fans eagerly waiting to pose a question and have a photograph, book or paraphernalia signed. And even though Pellegrino has also appeared in "Being Human," "Lost," "Dexter" and "Revolution," many attendees congratulated him on his recent gig, "The Tomorrow People." Only one episode has aired thus far; the show follows a group of super-powered individuals being targeted by Dr. Jedikiah Price (Pellegrino).
During all the convention chaos, Pellegrino spoke with HuffPost Canada TV about "The Tomorrow People," Jedikiah’s motivations and why he might not be the bad guy after all.
Jedikiah is head of this secret organization called Ultra. What’s his beef with The Tomorrow People?
Mark Pellegrino: His beef comes from a pretty extensive knowledge of the way these species function with each other. When there’s a competition between a superior species and an inferior one, the superior one not only wins, but wipes out the inferior one. There’s also a personal issue with Jedikiah and his brother. Imagine what it’s like to be passed over by God, in essence, for gifts and powers that make you a grade above most human beings?
These Tomorrow People possess an arsenal of impressive abilities. What makes Jedikiah a worthy opponent?
His commitment to the cause and, for a lack of a better word, his fanaticism, make him very formidable. Jedikiah is willing to do pretty much anything to obtain his end, which, after all, is the protection of the human race. Also, he’s an intelligent person and he uses that in his battle with these guys. I’m not sure what kind of conscience Jedikiah has yet. We’re still in the midst of learning what his full motivations are for doing what he’s doing. We’re in store for some interesting shocks and surprises.
Stephen (Robbie Amell) was recently recruited by The Tomorrow People and Jedikiah is his uncle. How do those blood ties complicate Jedikiah’s mission?
Well, it definitely makes things interesting because Jedikiah's purposes are multifaceted. There has to be some pragmatic reason that they're together, but I also think Jedikiah has a thing about blood ties and family that plays heavily in his value system. There is a natural connection and perhaps guilt, for being in some ways responsible for things that have happened. On one hand, Jedikiah is using Stephen. On the other hand, he wants to train and groom him and bring him up right.
Jedikiah convinced Stephen to join his cause, but can he really trust his nephew?
He does want to trust Stephen. There’s a part of Jedikiah that hopes that whatever humanity, what human parts of Stephen are left, are enough of a bond to create a relationship. But, they're also using each other for a means to an end. Stephen, obviously, to find his dad, and Jedikiah for a mysterious purpose. That relationship is both practical and emotional.
One of the series’ big mysteries revolves around Jedikiah and his history with his brother. How long until they begin touching on that?
They start exploring it fairly soon. They get right into origin stories and there’s some very interesting dynamics between father/son and uncle/nephew and brothers.
Can you preview this week’s second episode and what has you excited about stuff further down the road?
There’s a very interesting breakout that both sides want to save, and, or destroy. Stephen gets deeper into Ultra and really tries to negotiate that precarious territory between these two warring factions.
Jedikiah has been out in the field, in the office, pulling people’s strings and shooting guns. Do you prefer those action beats or the more dramatic moments?
I like the dramatic stuff. I’m getting a little bit older. I used to be a martial artist. I don’t feel like I have the physical prowess to do the fight scenes these kids do. They are crazy. Just give me the meaty stuff, preferably with as few lines as possible, but with as much behavior as possible.
In the original British series, which "The Tomorrow People" is based on, Jedikiah was a shapeshifter. How would you feel if he developed a power in the American incarnation?
It would be a shocker. Of course, anyone would love to have superpowers. I would hope his values would be such that he wouldn’t use them to harm, but to do good. That's still up in the air, though, because I think Jedikiah is good.
"The Tomorrow People" airs on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. ET on The CW in the U.S. and at 7 p.m. ET on CTV in Canada.
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