Orphan Black season 2 doesn’t start until April, but we have a few tidbits about the upcoming season. At last month’s Television Critics Association Winter Tour, we caught up with Jordan Gavaris during BBC America’s afternoon tea break.
Gavaris discussed Felix’s journey, what shocked him the most about season 1, and Felix “hitting the bottle.” Read on for edited excerpts from the interview.
On Felix’s interactions with the clones
Jordon Gavaris: It’s neat to see the clones’ relationships sort of in a portrait with this other person outside of their familial drama. It’s really neat to see who these people are, who these women are, opposite Felix. It’s kinda cool. And, who Felix is opposite these women, because it’s very different.
Does it stretch you as an actor?
Totally it does. Absolutely. It’s the best — next to getting to actually play different people — it’s the next best thing getting to play opposite the person who is playing different people. It’s pretty unreal.
Mrs. S may know more than everyone’s aware. Is there a secret reason why she might have taken in Felix?
It’s certainly possible. We’will get a little taste of Felix’s backstory for a fraction of the time this season. But, I think the majority of it is still being left very open-ended. I don’t know.
Anything’s possible in the Orphan Black universe as we’ve said. Things that we’ve thought we’d do and didn’t do and things we said we’d never do and tried to do and hoped we could pull off. It’s definitely left open-ended for good reason.
Going into season 2, does Felix grow close to anyone new?
There are some new relationships formed within the Clone Club and outside of the Clone Club. There are definitely — whether or not these are allegiances or whether or not these are allies or enemies I don’t know. Well, I may know. Sometimes, I genuinely don’t know and I’m just going along with it.
There’s some new, very tumultuous relationships that are formed. And, there is some contention between he and Sarah which I think is going to be one of the more interesting points of the season.
What excited you the most about the second season?
I always say season 1 was conception. You know we were laying the pipe and there was a lot of entertaining exposition. It was entertaining. Season 2 is evolution. And it’s very apt considering the subject matter of the show too. I think we get to see the characters evolve and change.
Physical changes as well?
Sometimes.
We know they’ve been playing with genetics. Please say that Felix is not getting a tail.
I promise. You can take my word. Felix does not get a tail. I promise that.
At the panel, you mentioned Felix finds love “at the bottom of a bottle,” is that true or was that a joke?
There is definitely love for alcohol in season 2. There’s love for a couple different drugs.
Is he spiraling out or spiraling down?
I think Felix has always been caught in a spiral. He’s just been circling the drain. I don’t think he’s going any further down or up than he was before. We just get to see a little more of his private life which is nice.
Do you have a favorite outfit that Felix wore in season 1? His wardrobe is so much fun.
There was that cool shirt in episode 6 that was like mesh see-through. It was like bondage gear. I think it’s safe to say we’ll see a little bit of bondage gear in season 2. Whether or not you see more of me than the bondage gear, I don’t know. I do strip down a lot for the show.
What was the biggest shock for you in season 1?
Oh, Helena’s death. I thought there’s no way they were going to kill off this character. You established this incredible relationship between Sarah and Helena and the fact that they’re twins and you kill this character off. I thought, “Oh, my God, this is a big death.”
It’s a character with unlikely empathy. Everyone identified and loved this character in spite of her psychopathy. I thought that was an unbelievable achievement and then to just take her out of the picture all together was quite shocking.
Who’s scarier Rachel or Helena?
Oh, I’d say Rachel. Helena’s like just — she’s a crazy you know. She’s unabashed about her craziness. She’s nuts. Rachel, I don’t trust her.
Tatiana Maslany mentioned that she listens to certain music to get into her different clones. Is there any music you listen to before turning into Felix?
Yeah, actually I have a playlist of a couple of songs from Letter from Cleo, Goldfrapp and “Riding in Cars with Boys” is one from Lena Del Rey that I listen to. “Strict Machine” from Goldfrapp is a big one.
For some bizarre reason, “God of Thunder” by KISS. I don’t know why. “Sweet Dreams” by Annie Lennox. A lot of strong women too. Any kind of strong female artist is one I’ll gravitate towards for him. There’s definitely a lot of music. I don’t do it all the time, but if I’m caught or he’s put in a situation that isn’t familiar to me then I’ll usually find a song to help with how he would move in a situation.
Orphan Black season 2 premieres April 19 at 9 pm ET on BBC America.
(Image courtesy of BBC America)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Contributing Editor and Writer for Collider, BuddyTV, TV Fanatic, CliqueClack, and other publications. TV criticism, reviews, interviews with actors and producers, and other related content. Founder of TV Diehard.
