RUSSELL TOVEY - No.374

Meet Being Human's murderous, tortured (and dickish) werewolf

BLASTr Magazine 23-7-2010

Things are about to change for George, the loveable werewolf on BBC America's Being Human. Actor Russell Tovey admits that the events of season one—where George killed the evil vampire Herrick and may have accidentally destined his girlfriend Nina to become a werewolf—will have a huge impact on the three roommates as the second season opens for the British series on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET.

"He never wanted to embrace the Wolf. He never wanted to kill someone and hurt someone he loves, and he's done that. He's killed someone and he has used the Wolf to do it. He has attacked his girl friend, unbeknownst to him," said Tovey in an exclusive interview. "And he's allowed the Wolf into his psyche, into his normal life and it has completely affected him. He's in complete denial and shock and it has ruined him really. He doesn't know who he is. He's not a nice person. He's become more animalistic and more of a man really. He's manned up a bit. It's made him more masculine, which is sometimes good, but in this situation he can't cope ... It turns them into a dick. It's like he's been to the gym and he's suddenly on steroids."

At the end of the first season, "it seems like they are in harmony. But they are just so not because George has so many demons. Mitchell has his demons. And Annie... bless Annie, she doesn't have any demons," said Tovey with a laugh.

In the heart wrenching season premiere, George struggles to deal with what happened with Herrick, while being confused about his relationship with Nina.

"The second series [or season] is about George's acceptance of the fact that [being a werewolf] is a part of him. It's something that will never go away. There will never be a cure. And he has to find the positives to it. And it's also about his relationship to his girlfriend, who discovers she is a werewolf," said Tovey.

As for George's two roommates, ghost Annie (Lenora Crichlow) decides that now that most people can see her she'd like to get a job and vampire Mitchell (Aidan Turner) frets about the state of the vampire community now that Herrick is dead.

"The trilogy, the three of them—Annie, George and Mitchell—all have their own journeys. Annie, she seems quite content and happy. She feels like she's got a group of friends. It's great. Life's good. She's dead but she only uses that to her advantage and to help people. She is completely like blinkers to the fact that Mitchell and George are going through complete stress and strain and pressure. Mitchell, the bloodlust becomes so much for him this year, and he is the hardest to contain." he said.

"I think you start seeing the cracks in their relationship. And it's about George and his relationship with Nina and what happens trying to be with someone who you've given them this terrible thing, and trying to maintain a relationship with normality with someone who once a month both of you turn into a wolf. That's a struggle for George and Nina, and Nina comes a lot more to the front in the second series as well. She's brilliant, Sinead Keenan is brilliant. It is about the struggle of a woman who is in love with someone who has done this to her."

The other major storyline involves Kemp, who belongs to an organization that has discovered the existence of supernatural creatures. The roommates will come to his attention leading to trouble for our heroes.

Kemp will become "a big factor in the guys' lives, [which] plays a massive part in their demise really, I suppose. He is trying to infiltrate their friendship and experiment and that also puts pressure on the friends," said Tovey.

The actor said it all adds up to another great season for the supernatural series, thanks to the show's creator, Toby Whithouse.

"I love Toby's writing and the way that all clichés seem to be avoided, and it always goes somewhere where I would have never expected it to go," he said. "I always think, 'Okay, that's going to happen. So George is going to transform at this point,' Never does. It's always the opposite way. And I've never at any point thought, I don't believe that or I don't think that's right. You are guided by the master. The Jedi, Toby Whithouse, through the show. I'm his Luke Skywalker."

If you're worried about the future of Being Human after this eight-episode second season, don't be. Production has already started on a third season. "It takes us away from Bristol, where the last two series have been filmed. We're now in Cardiff. It brings us back together," said Tovey.

Are you ready for a second season of Being Human?