411mania Interviews: Mark Pellegrino (Supernatural, Lost)
Posted by Al Norton on 11.18.2009
411's Al Norton sits down for an exclusive interview with Mark Pellegrino to discuss his roles on Lost and Supernatural
While he has appeared in such films as The Big Lebowski and National Treasure, Mark Pellegrino's face is most familiar to TV viewers thanks to guest spots on a host of hit shows including CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Chuck, The Mentalist, Prison Break, Criminal Minds, and Burn Notice. Up till now his best known role over his 20+ year career was on Dexter but this year he landed pivotal parts on Lost and Supernatural.
Al Norton: You certainly have a lot going on.
Mark Pellegrino: I certainly do. That's always a good thing.
Al Norton: I don't think I can ever remember an actor taking two such important parts in the mythology of two different long running series at the same time.
Mark Pellegrino: Yes, God has rolled the dice in an unusual way this time around. And opposites as well; one Christ like and the other of course the Prince of Lies. It's definitely unusual.
Al Norton: How did each come to be?
Mark Pellegrino: Lost came about by the typical route, by an audition. Of course I didn't know I was auditioning for this character. The whole audition process with Lost is shrouded in secrecy. They have sides specifically tailored for the audition because this info gets out on the internet. People are so hungry for this sort of information to try and piece the puzzle together so the producers do this to throw them off.
I had no idea what I was auditioning for. I read the scene, it was a confrontation scene between two people. I didn't hear anything for a couple of weeks and then I heard that I got the part but still didn't know what it was, what the significance of it was, until I got there and people started saying, "oh, you're our Jacob."
Al Norton: Is it hard to audition not knowing anything?
Mark Pellegrino: Yes. Generally I like to know the beginning, middle, and end of everything and think a lot about it, working on it ad nauseam until I can't work on it anymore. This was very different, getting bits and pieces on a need-to-know basis. It was very interesting.
Al Norton: And Supernatural?
Mark Pellegrino: Supernatural they offered to me. I didn't have to go through the audition process at all. That's a really interesting part, too, since that's a mythology everyone knows. They have a rather interesting take on the dynamic of the angels and Lucifer; the angels are kind of a-holes and Lucifer is kind of nice and empathetic. You catch where he's coming from and he tells the truth, which is a pretty interesting twist.
Al Norton: How familiar were you with Lost and did you go back and do catch up?
Mark Pellegrino: I am a total nerd and I don't watch TV. I read or am so busy studying and taking care of my family that I just don't have time. I've been trying to catch up. My wife went insane and has now seen every single episode. She's like a MENSA puzzle solver and even she doesn't know where it's going yet. I am just slowing catching up now.
The scripts turn on themselves so much, the unexpected always happens and I am constantly surprised. I have ideas but I am not really allowed to share them.
Al Norton: Are you allowed to tell me how much we will be seeing of you on Lost?
Mark Pellegrino: I can't say how much but you'll be seeing me. I'll be in there.
Al Norton: Was there any apprehension joining casts that have had years to work together and gel?
Mark Pellegrino: I think the first day on any set can be a bit nerve racking for anybody. You'd think that on a show that has been on for so long and everyone has their chemistry with each other that it would be a little difficult but everybody is so cool. I know that lots of people say that about the shows they work on but the cast is really down to earth and the producers and directors make me feel right at home. The finale episode I had to speak Korean. A whole scene in Korean; I did a blessing. I was scared out of my mind. Everybody just made me feel so good and was very patient and loving. I couldn't have gotten through it without them.
Al Norton: Thanks to these two roles, no matter what else happens to you, you'll always be able to make a good living on the convention circuit.
Mark Pellegrino: This is what I'm hearing. I am going to one this week. My first. I am looking forward to it, bringing my family. It's a Supernatural thing happening this weekend.
Al Norton: A lot of people know you from these two roles and also from Dexter but you've been working in the business for over 20 years. Is it strange for some people to treat you like an overnight success when you've been doing this for so long?
Mark Pellegrino: It is a little bit. I'm used to my privacy. It's pleasantly disconcerting to have people come up to you and say nice things. It's nice after so long to feel recognized, to feel like you're bringing some joy and entertainment into their lives. It feels good.
Al Norton: I was looking at your IMDB page and you've got three different credits as "punk." Were you getting typecast at the beginning of your career?
Mark Pellegrino: (Laughing) You might think. Those were the early days and I had bleach white hair and I was getting cast in that stuff. Oh boy. One of those was working with Jimmy Smits on LA Law and he scared me, he really scared me. I was new to acting, didn't know anything about it, I had just started going to acting school. We did a scene where I was picking on this little person in the men's bathroom and he comes in and catches me doing it and beats the crap out of me and my other punk friends, Punk 2 and Punk 3. He was so livid, for real, and it just freaked me out. I've since worked with him a couple of times on NYPD Blue and he's a really, really nice guy but he scared the hell out of me, I'll tell you.
Al Norton: You do quite a bit of acting teaching; did you have particular teachers that inspired you to go back and teach? Are there things you thought, "boy, if I only knew that starting out"?
Mark Pellegrino: My mentor, Bob Carnegie at Playhouse West, really inspired me and introduced me to the history of American Theater and group theater, and the great teachers that came out of group theater. I actually sat in on Sandy Meisner's classes for a few years, too. The one thing American actors don't have too much of is continuity. I do plays on my own but I need continuity and one of the ways to stay connected to your craft is to teach, I think. It helps me to learn from the students and to cement knowledge in myself and then pass it on to others.
And you're right, part of it is that I had no idea what to do at the start of my career and I am hoping to save young actors that one unrenewable resource: time. That's my moral motivation behind it.
Al Norton: Your students must love seeing you in such prominent roles lately.
Mark Pellegrino: That helps. It's good for them to see that their teacher is actively working. Gives them a light at the end of the tunnel.
Al Norton: This week's Supernatural is a pretty major episode, both plot-wise and because it's the last new one of the year. What can you tell me about it?
Mark Pellegrino: Let's just say the devil's pissed and people are going down. It's the beginning of the apocalypse.
Don't miss Supernatural, Thursday at 9 pm on The CW
