The Vile One's Dungeon: San Diego Comic Con 2008 - Primeval Interview with Juliet Aubrey and Karl Theobald
Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 08.12.2008
The Vile One finally brings the quality and sophistication of BBC America to 411mania!
Before the session with Richard Taylor and Martin Baynton at this year's San Diego Comic Con, the BBCA gave me a chance to sit down with two of the stars of the hit UK ITV show, Primeval, currently in its third series across the pond. The action-adventure/sci-fi show recently began airing on BBCA in the US this past Saturday, and BBCA will also be airing both series of the show back to back every Saturday. My interview consisted of Juliet Aubrey, a BAFTA winning actress who plays the female lead in the series, Helen Cutter. Also participating in the interview session was Karl Theobald, a British actor famous for his sketch comedy work on Green Wing, who plays one of the new, enigmatic characters in series 2, that of Oliver Leek.
From L to R: Actors Karl Theobald and Juliet Aubrey, from the British series now debuting in the US, Primeval
The Vile One: For Mr. Theobald, can you tell us anything about your new character [Oliver Leek] in series 2?
Oliver Leek (Karl Theobald). Photograph by Jon Hall/ITV Plc/Imposssible Pictures 2007.
Karl Theobald: Yeah a little bit, but there's mystery involved in my character as well, and there's a fine mystery actually linked to Juliet's character. There's a little conspiracy--
TVO: A romantic mystery?
KT: No, not a romantic mystery, certainly not.
TVO: For Juliet, you play the character of Helen Cutter?
Helen Cutter (Juliet Aubrey). Photograph by Jon Hall/ITV Plc/Imposssible Pictures 2007.
Juliet Aubrey: Yes I play Helen Cutter, who's a scientist, the top of her field, and she's the wife of Nick Cutter (played by Douglas Henshall). She basically leaves her husband to live with dinosaurs.
TVO: Does she prefer dinosaurs over humans?
JA: Yeah, she lots prefers dinosaurs a lot more. She gets on with dinosaurs a lot more. She's fascinated by them, fascinated with time. She's a time traveler. She travels through time, and -- she's accessed the past world and now she wants to get into the future.
TVO: What is it that Helen wants out of life that she has to time travel? And live with lizards.
JA: Live with lizards. She likes living with lizards. And reptiles . . . she swims in lagoons. She swims naked in lagoons of Heskarones . . . which is why she's followed by Nick who believes she's been dead for eight years. He wants her to come back, and she doesn't want to come back. She wants to discover the secrets of the future so she can find a way of changing and manipulating the future because she kind of doesn't really like the way the humans have treated the planet. And she thinks that they don't deserve to be there that much longer, and that a new species are going to take over. And the humans are going to disappear just like the dinosaurs . . . and be taken over by a superior species so she's interested in trying to get over there and creating her own army so she can control those things.
Helen Cutter (Juliet Aubrey). Photograph by Jon Hall/ITV Plc/Imposssible Pictures 2007.
TVO: Since this is a special FX heavy show, how is it working with this type of show and the technological bells and whistles?
KT: Well I only did it kind of once toward the end of the series, I came in contact with loads of creatures. And there's a very good reason why I came in contact with--that's the kind of plot I won't give away, but yeah.
JA: It takes a lot to get used to, the special FX, and starting to work out how you deal with reacting to things that aren't really there. Which includes being chased through supermarkets at 4 in the morning by a huge gorgonops that isn't really there, having pies thrown at you, and all of that. So you have to judge the degree of ferocity by the monster.
Helen Cutter (Juliet Aubrey) and Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall). Photograph by Jon Hall/ITV Plc/Imposssible Pictures 2007.
TVO: Are you excited about the show's debut here in the states?
JA: I'm really excited about it. The response has just been in incredible.
KT: There's been such a hype, there's been such an amount of build-up for it. People are really excited by it, so that's really good.
JA: You know it's fast, it's got like a lot of scientific geeky stuff, but it's got lots of action and amazing special FX, and some really good relationships. You know its based on really strong human relationships.
TVO: For Karl, after doing a lot of TV sketch comedy, is this a more dramatic turn for you?
KT: Yeah. I've done a couple of dramatic things, so yeah it is. That's part of the reason I was interested in doing it because it's slightly a bit more dramatic turn, you would say. That was kind of exciting to try that out. And to be honest, I wasn't totally convinced by myself. But yeah, it was kind of fun to do, so maybe I'll try a bit more in that and see how it goes.
James Lester (Ben Miller) and Oliver Leek (Karl Theobald). Photograph by Jon Hall/ITV Plc/Imposssible Pictures 2007.
TVO: Any nice romances for your characters in this series?
JA: Yeah, I have a couple, *she laughs deviously*. A lot of it's with my husband, Nick Cutter.
TVO: Is he a good onscreen kisser?
JA: I don't think we actually--I think we actually a bit hate each other quite a lot, so you know--
TVO: There's no passion?
JA: There's lots of passion . . . lots of passion, but it's more mental passion than anything else.
TVO: OK, so no getting on with dinosaurs?
JA: Getting on with dinosaurs, no! *She sort of yelps it in a humorous way*.
KT: You mean like kissing dinosaurs? What's the best dinosaur kisser?
JA: That's for me to know. That's for me to know and you to find out.
TVO: Your character *really* likes dinosaurs, right?
KT: She likes them as friends.
JA: What's a girl going to do when she's been living alone with dinosaurs for eight years . . . she's getting it on with Stephen a bit.
TVO: Any other shows or projects for either of you right now?
JA: I've just got a project coming out, coming here soon called Criminal Justice.
KT: Oh yeah, that's brilliant in England. It's a fantastic show . . . I've just finished writing an episode of a sitcom . . . And we might even bring it over here and try to sell it here [in the US]. At the moment the working title is Actively Seeking . . . it's like a cross between Stir Crazy and Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.
TVO: Thank you so much, you are both wonderful people.
KT: Thank you.
JA: Awww, thank you.
Primeval starring Juliet Aubrey premiered just last weekend on BBCA. But the series featuring Karl Theobald debut as Oliver Leek will be airing on September 20th.
UP NEXT: The long-awaited interviews for Tiny Toons and Freakazoid. Also the Day 4 recap as well as my final thoughts on this year's SDCC. Thank you for your patience.
