When it comes to the CW vampire drama “The Originals,” there’s vengeance, and then there’s the kind of vengeance that Sebastian Roche’s character — Mikael — dishes out: The kind that rips people’s hearts right out of their chests.
But that’s just one aspect of Mikael’s upcoming journey in season two of the show, which will return this October. Roche stopped by TheWrap’s Comic-Con video lounge at the “Walking Dead Escape” in Petco Park to tell Greg Gilman about that heart-ripping scene, and offer some friendly advice to the zombiefied reporter.
Also read: Comic-Con Accident: Deaf Family’s Car Plows Into Pedestrians During ‘Zombie Walk’ (Video)
“You need a little Proactiv,” he suggested. “It seems to work on infomercials.”
But back to Mikael on “The Originals.” The actor says the elder statesman vampire is ready to wreak havoc on those who did him wrong in season one, including seeking revenge on his son Klaus, who double crossed him in the worst of ways. Having premiered the season two trailer at Comic-Con, Roche says fans just barely got a taste of what’s in store for them when the show returns.
See Video: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Star Michael Rooker Talks Mohawk Redesigns and Zombie Delicacies (Video)
“I think they have to look forward to a lot,” he says. “Amongst the family there’s the birth of a new baby, and basically one of the witches brought me back to life … I’m my children’s worst enemies. I’ve pretty much been hunting them for thousands of years and missed it, died along the way, was resuscitated … I mean yeah, basically Mikael’s character burns with the desire of vengeance against especially one of his children. Klaus, who killed his wife and made him take the blame for it for thousands of years, so you can imagine how pissed off he must be.”
And then there’s that heart-ripping scene. “While we were doing it, there were these two plastic hearts that I dropped and they made this clunking sound. But when you see how everything is edited, you know, suddenly you see the magnitude of the scene you’ve shot. It took a whole day of shooting to shoot that scene, and it looks pretty good. I’m excited,” Roche says.
Roche is also set for the big screen with a role in “A Walk Among the Tombstones,” the filmic adaptation of the book series by author Lawrence Block, which follows former NYPD detective Matt Scudder as he battles drug criminals amid a case of grisly murder. Roche shares the screen with Liam Neeson, who plays Scudder, and says the opportunity to sink into such a dark role — and act alongside a film legend — was rewarding beyond compare.
“For me, it’s amazing,” Roche says. “All of my scenes are with Liam. It’s one of those movies that it’s so well written and so well shot. I saw it a couple of weeks ago and it’s a very dark film noir.”
Watch the video of the interview above.