In the world of vampires, anything can happen – and has.
Just ask Mark Proksch, who plays Colin Robinson, the “energy vampire” on “What We Do in the Shadows.” After dying at the end of the third season, he came back in the fourth as a baby. Now, in the fifth season, he’s headed for a career in – horror of horrors – politics.
“What better place than politics for an energy vampire to cast his web?” Proksch says. “Colin is still trying to get his feet underneath him and his groove back.”
For the fourth season, the actor shot many of his scenes in Los Angeles where special effects wizards superimposed his face on the bodies of child actors. “It wasn’t until Colin hits puberty that I was back on set. And that was really exciting for me. It was like a breath of fresh air, getting to be back with my friends.”
Shot in Toronto, “WWDITS” chronicles the lives of four vampires and their “familiar,” or assistant. The assistant, Guillermo, wants desperately to be a vampire, too, but Nandor, his master, keeps stringing him along.
This season, there’s a twist in that scenario and yet another emotional journey for Nandor. To lift his spirits, he goes back to the health club (where other stories played out). The reason? “He likes being around other dudes and getting sweaty,” says Kayvan Novak, who plays Nandor the Relentless, the oldest of the “Shadows” vampires. Thanks to a genie lamp in the fourth season, he got 52 wishes and became disillusioned with what resulted. Relationships came and went; a wedding brought unhappiness and Guillermo, his familiar, turned on him.
“Playing miserable is easier than playing incredibly happy all the time,” Novak says. “He’s searching. He’s a lost soul and he doesn’t know what he wants or where to get it.”
Naturally, he goes outside the confines of the Staten Island home to look. Like others in the cast, Novak never knows where the series is headed.
Most, in fact, weren’t even certain the comedy would make it to series. Natasia Demetriou, who plays Nadja, a 500-year-old Greek Romani vampire, figured she’d never see her co-stars after the first season. “And then it was like, ‘Oh, we’re coming back?’ I didn’t have a point of reference for a Season Two or a Season Three.”
Like Proksch and Novak, she has she seen quite a few changes in her character. In addition to playing a ghost (who inhabits a doll), she was the proprietor of a vampire night club called Nadja’s. It was wildly successful and brought plenty of A-list guest stars to the series.
“I absolutely loved it,” she says. “As an actor, there are certain sets that are really comfortable and fun to hang out on. That set was definitely one of those. Maybe the fact that my name was in lights wherever I looked explains why I loved being in that space.”
The doll, meanwhile, conjured motherly instincts. “Whenever it’s on set, I’m like burping it and stuff.”
Nothing, Demetriou adds, is too bizarre for the series’ producers. “You read it in the script and you’re like, hmm, and then a horse shows up on set.” When an ancient vampire named the Sire was mentioned, she didn’t know what to think. “And then it’s like the most insane prosthetic costume. There’s so much stuff like that on this show.”
Nude scenes aren’t uncommon either, Proksch says. He wore S&M gear in the first season and has been in a thong for another episode. “Oddly, enough, the writers find my body to be funny.”
Saying no is possible, but the actors are usually game. In an upcoming episode, Novak was asked to wear a body stocking with a photocopy of his body on it: “I was like, ‘Nah, I’m not doing that. I’m just going to be naked.’”
Because it goes where other series have never been, “What We Do in the Shadows” has the ability to last as long as, well, a vampire.
“There are example of shows that keep going and keep being hilarious,” says Proksch. “ ‘Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ has been on for like 300 seasons and it’s still fun and inventive and as brilliant as it was Day One, if not better.
“This season, the one that’s about to drop, is one of our funniest,” he adds.
"What We Do in the Shadows" returns July 13 on FX.
