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Silas Weir Mitchell: Monroe
SFX : Who or what is Monroe, and how does he fit into the crazy world of Grimm?
“The most concise explanation is that Nick and Monroe and both fish out of water. He’s just discovered what he is, and I’m out of the water because I am trying to disavow what I am. And when Nick discovers that I am one of these creatures that he is now able to see, he assumes I am one way, and I turn out to be a different way. In other words, I am reformed creature.
“And that wrinkle creates an opening where, although we should be natural enemies, we might not come to blows in the same way that they would if I were a regular creature. I am trying to live my life as a normal, human, vegetarian clock maker. I haven’t been out in the world much lately. I’ve been doing my Pilates and eating my tofu and keeping it all together.”
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You are a kind of werewolf creature called a Wieder Blutbad, which you are occasionally seen to change into. Is that done purely by CG or are prosthetics involved?
“It is a combination of the two, exactly. And in the earlier episodes, they were still finding their footing. Particularly I think in the second episode. CGI versus pure prosthetics versus a combo: these balls were still being juggled at that point. They came down on the side of a combination of physical elements and digital elements blended together.
“The look of the Blutbad has subtly shifted. On the way there, it went though various kinds of stages. And what we’ve arrived at I think is a very good combination. It looks still like me. Like my Blutbat. And you will be seeing other blutbads, and you’ll see that their creatures are uniquely them too. Still Blutbad, but them.”
What appealed to you about the role?
“The inner conflict. I mean drama is about conflict and inner conflict is inherently interesting. So the idea of a being whose very identity constantly hangs in the balance, I find very interesting. I think there is a potential there for it to be very intense. There is a levity to the show, and there’s also the procedural element. A crime is solved every week, and a criminal is caught every week. So there is a rhythm to the show. But I certainly think there is room for the darker elements of the human animal – the human psyche – to be played upon.
“Because really I think what we’re dealing with are creatures – on a psychological level – that people who are unable to withstand their darker impulses. And when a Grimm sees a creature, what they’re seeing is a creature who’s out of control. And whatever they are – some of us might be a mouse, some of might be a lion – underneath the human mask lies this dark element.”
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You have a long list of credits as guest characters on US TV shows – including Prison Break , My Name Is Earl , The Shield , The Mentalist – so is this kind of fantasy a new area for you?
“In the States we call it a genre show. Genre show? I’ve never understood what that means really, because that’s like saying… it’s a cookie cookie. Or a biscuit biscuit. It doesn’t mean anything.
“The point is, in these shows you are allowed to play more broadly with the human psyche than in a show where you’re bound to reality. I like that.”
How did you react to the line in the pilot script where it says, “Nick finds Monroe marking his territory”?
“Oh, I thought that was brilliant. I love it. The writers have a real dark, dour humour and I think it’s fantastic. It runs through the show in a very positive way, this kind of offbeat humour. And I think in a lot of way Monroe embodies that.”
Why do you think fairy tales are so big in Hollywood at the moment?
“My stock answer is, when things aren’t great and there’s turmoil, when times are troubled, people look inward. And inward-looking involves mythology. And I think basically these things are myths and myths are an attempt of the human creature to teach itself about itself, by telling itself stories about itself. It’s a very reflexive exercise. And fairy tales are myths. They clothe a lesson. And in times like this it’s more appealing for people to explore those things though fantasy and imagination, because gritty and realistic is there every day.
“Well, that’s my stock answer. Honestly, on the other hand, that’s just the way it goes in Hollywood. One years there’s 12 pilots about substitute teachers, the next years there’s 12 pilots about construction workers.”
Do you feel any rivalry with Once Upon A Time ?
“Only at the very beginning when we saw that both pilots were being made. We were like, ‘Okay, so what’s their deal?’
“We really quickly surmised that there was no connection, really, whatsoever – aesthetically or narratively – between us. It’s two blind men touching the elephant. We’re mining fairy tales from completely different angles. Our show has a great many elements to it. The cop thing. The buddy thing. The romantic thing with Nick and his girlfriend. A procedural. And a kind of an x-factor of something we haven’t seen before. You’ve gotta kinda leaven the new with the expected. If you can seed the expected with the novel then you’re in good shape.”
Is it a pain sometimes being Mr Exposition?
“No, no, no. That’s the challenge and the fun of it. I am Nick’s window on this world, right? So despite the fact that we’re natural enemies and at any moment I might rip his face off, I am his avenue into this brand new world. And as far as I am concerned as an actor, that means my job is to know this world at least as well as Monroe knows it. And that’s a delight as an actor because your imagination is being pushed into an arena that’s new to it.”
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