IR Interview: Christie Burke, Richard Fleeshman & Reece Ritchie For "The Ark" [SYFY-S2]

The Inside Reel

Actors Christie Burke, Richard Fleeshman & Reece Ritchie talk to The Inside Reel about characterization, interaction, fun, family and intention in regards to the 2nd season of their SyFy Channel show: "The Ark".

Transcript

00:00♪♪

00:10♪♪

00:16We're pushing too hard!

00:18We have to keep going, it's the only way!

00:21Come on, move! Move!

00:23Okay.

00:24Alright, go, go, go!

00:26This is amazing.

00:28Is it actually amazing?

00:30It's one of those scary science things.

00:32It's amazing, but it's probably going to kill us all.

00:34♪♪

00:40Great talking to you.

00:41Actually, I talked to Dean in Berlin last year

00:43when he showed the arc there on a big screen.

00:46And it's interesting because every single one of the characters

00:50throughout the arc is so defined,

00:53and yet they work perfectly in the puzzle.

00:56Could you guys talk about that in terms of each of the characters?

00:59Of course, Christie's starting with Garnet,

01:01but obviously with Bryce and Lane,

01:04they're part of the Trinity.

01:06So they all have to work together in order to get the job done.

01:10Could you guys talk about that?

01:14Yeah, I mean, I love what you said about them being so defined

01:18because I feel like in season two,

01:20the audience really gets to find out that they're not actually defined.

01:24That what you think about these characters being truths or facts

01:28isn't actually the truth of these characters at all.

01:31So I'm really excited for the audience to just find out

01:35these unexpected secrets.

01:37Dean told us all different secrets about our characters,

01:40and we weren't allowed to tell anyone.

01:42And so I'm really excited for audiences to see

01:45those unexpected plot twists.

01:48Yeah.

01:51I think it's so clever how they set it up as well

01:54because you've got this dynamic of the parents having trouble

01:58and not letting the children know.

02:00You know what I mean?

02:01So the three of us are putting this pressure cooker together,

02:04and we know what's going on a lot of the time as the leaders of the ship,

02:07but we also have to then keep everybody running kind of smoothly

02:11and happily along as well.

02:13And even the comms messages that we have to give out,

02:16predominantly Garnet has to give out over the watch,

02:19you know, the way those are worded is so clever

02:21because the conflict is always there underneath,

02:23and it's really fun for us to play with as actors

02:26because it just makes the show multilayered and a lot of fun.

02:30What about you, Richard?

02:33Yeah, it's interesting what you just said then about the Trinity.

02:36I think the three of our characters, especially in Season 1,

02:40and obviously we go on to explore them further in Season 2,

02:45but we are sort of representations of the perfect sort of storm

02:50because we all have such different facets,

02:52and if you combine those, which obviously the show does,

02:55you get like a fully rounded person,

02:57but in our own things we all have our own flaws

02:59and our own things we excel at,

03:01and that's been lovely to play with.

03:03And obviously within that they obviously care very much

03:07for each other as people.

03:09But there's a lot of conflict,

03:10and it's almost like a sibling thing at times,

03:12and then sometimes it's a friendship,

03:14and then sometimes it's colleagues.

03:16So it's ever-changing,

03:17and it's been really nice to play with

03:19and explore further going into Season 2.

03:26As we move toward Trappist-1D,

03:28we'll be facing a lot of uncertainty.

03:34What does this new planet hold?

03:36What will our crew's lives look like moving forward?

03:40Let's go to our new home.

03:45How are we looking?

03:46FTL engaged.

03:47Clear visuals across the board.

03:50Set a course for Trappist-1D.

03:52Coordinates confirmed.

03:54We are at the edge of the Trappist system.

03:58Who knows what we can discover?

03:59And what are we waiting for?

04:02To Ark-1.

04:03To Ark-1.

04:04To Ark-1.

04:07What the hell is that?

04:10To the storm.

04:12Trapp just got a lot harder.

04:14You know, obviously, it's a heightened world

04:16that the Ark exists in,

04:17but what I sort of really like,

04:19and what a lot of people like,

04:20is the grounded nature.

04:21These people, as you said, Richard,

04:23are flawed.

04:24They have a lot of flaws,

04:25but you have to pull out those little details,

04:27because, you know, obviously,

04:29you're keeping things secret to yourselves,

04:31but what are some of the things

04:32that you truly connected with,

04:34with each of you,

04:35with the characters?

04:36You were there, could you start with Bryce,

04:38and then, obviously, Christy,

04:40and then Reece, please.

04:43Yeah, I mean, going right the way back

04:45to episode one for Bryce,

04:47the very first thing I ever knew of Bryce

04:49when I got sent the script through

04:51from my agent,

04:52just when I was going to meet for the role,

04:54was him being winched out naked

04:57with a big smile on his face.

04:59I kind of informed a lot about that.

05:02And you knew a lot about that.

05:03Yeah, and I just felt very akin to him

05:05straight away, and I thought,

05:06who else could play this part?

05:08No, I agree.

05:09I think it just informs a lot about him,

05:11you know,

05:12and that was quite nice,

05:14because you went off a launch pad of,

05:16you fill in the blanks,

05:17but, you know,

05:18you knew immediately what you were dealing with.

05:20And it's been nice to maybe color under the surface

05:22as we've moved forward,

05:23that he does have a soft side,

05:25and he is quite empathetic,

05:26and actually he's shown a lot of vulnerability

05:28going forward as he's got healthier

05:30and he's fallen in love and stuff.

05:32But yeah, for me, certainly,

05:34from the outset,

05:35I just knew he was going to be great fun to play.

05:38Rhys, Christy?

05:41Yeah, I mean,

05:42I feel like what I love the most about Garnett

05:45is probably her,

05:48she's really good at looking at

05:50the individuals on the ship

05:52and nurturing them into their best selves.

05:55You know, I think you see that with Lane,

05:57where she really doesn't give up on him,

05:59because she can see the man that he can become.

06:02And the same with Bryce

06:04and numerous other characters on the ship.

06:06So I think that was the thing I was most attracted to,

06:09was someone who really sees the good in everyone.

06:13And as far as flaws go,

06:14I think in terms of the way that

06:16the costumes and the hair and makeup team

06:19kind of put Garnett together,

06:20I love that she's not super glamified.

06:23Like she is in a ponytail,

06:25and you know what,

06:26we don't wear a lot of makeup on the show,

06:28and really feels grounded, like you said,

06:30in a truth of what it would actually feel like

06:33to be on a spaceship.

06:36I think as well,

06:37just going off what you said about nuances,

06:39what's great about Jonathan Glasser and Dean Devlin

06:42is there's an immense amount of trust.

06:44And the beauty of being on something like this

06:46for more than one season

06:48is that you develop a relationship

06:50with the creators and with each other.

06:52So on set,

06:53there's a bit of license for us as well as actors

06:56to kind of add a slight shade of something

06:58that we feel is right for the character,

06:59because our job is to know these characters

07:01better than anybody.

07:02And so that's the real beautiful thing about this

07:05is spending so much time with Christy and Richard,

07:07we form such a kind of a secondhand kind of,

07:11you know, we often know what the other one is thinking,

07:14and it allows you to be so present

07:15in the moment, in the scenes,

07:16and trust each other and play

07:18with what's going on in the scenes,

07:20that I feel like that truth

07:22helps bring the show to life a bit more.

07:25Because we're not a disaster show,

07:27there are disasters going on,

07:28but I believe people tune in for the characters

07:31and we certainly are there for the characters too.

07:34So that's been such a joy

07:36to work with Richard and Christy

07:38to create these dynamics

07:39that we see play out on screen.

07:41Helmet's on.

07:47Activating pressure compensation.

07:52Halfway through.

08:02Hull breach successful.

08:04Standby for extraction.

08:26Charlotte, come on!

08:32Well, I mean, the great thing also

08:35is the practicality of the characters.

08:37I mean, the thing is, it's about problem solving.

08:39You see each one of them do this in different ways,

08:42but, you know, it's interesting

08:44how that sort of physicality

08:46reflects the emotionality.

08:48I mean, you see them break,

08:49but you see them come back together.

08:51Can you each talk about the physicality

08:54informing the emotionality and vice versa?

08:57Because we only feel

08:58for what these characters are going through

09:00as they solve their problems,

09:02both on a larger scale,

09:04but on a personal scale as well.

09:06If you could each talk about that.

09:07I think they know they need each other.

09:09On a practical level,

09:11who else is going to, you know, clean up?

09:14There's a codependency there

09:16which evolves into feelings and emotions,

09:19but from the very off, they need each other.

09:22Otherwise they are going to die imminently.

09:25So that's the real fun part.

09:27Originally they're together by necessity,

09:29but then as the show goes on,

09:31they actually grow to really love

09:33and depend on each other.

09:35Richard?

09:36Yeah, they kind of become...

09:37Oh, sorry.

09:38Well, they kind of become this found family.

09:41Do you know what I mean?

09:42You see that in the pilot.

09:43Well, not the pilot,

09:44the first episode of season two, you know,

09:46with Garnett telling the story

09:47about how I feel like I finally found my family.

09:50So I think to piggyback off what Reece said,

09:52yeah, they just have really become this family.

09:55And in terms of physicality informing the emotional,

09:57I think that's like sci-fi at its greatest.

09:59I hope that we're achieving that, you know,

10:01that like you're seeing the emotional undercurrents

10:04of what each character is going through

10:06while they're kicking butt,

10:07while they're trying to save humanity.

10:10I mean, they need each other, yes,

10:12on a personal level, of course,

10:14but they also need to inhabit another planet

10:17and you need a lot of people for that.

10:19So every life does truly matter to them.

10:22For you, Brian.

10:23For you, Richard?

10:26I mean, yeah,

10:27they've not left much space to sort of add to it.

10:29It's true.

10:30I mean, I think the writers have done a great job

10:33as we've alluded to,

10:34and also a testament to the cast

10:37because everyone, I mean, especially these two,

10:39they've been so superb in this season

10:42and you'll go on to see it.

10:43And it's been a joy.

10:45It's just been a joy to not just work with,

10:47but also witness people sort of grow

10:50and really excel in what they're doing.

10:53I guess the biggest thing I can say

10:55is that my mum,

10:56who does see everything, to be fair,

10:58but she always pesters me,

11:00when's the next episode of the Archive?

11:02Constantly.

11:03Yeah, same.

11:04You send me the next one.

11:05And I got sent them ahead of time

11:07because we were doing PR stuff,

11:09so I got to see a few ahead of time.

11:11And she was like, yeah, yeah, can you send them?

11:13I was like, yeah, I will do.

11:14So I was cracking on with some other stuff

11:15and then she was like, where are the episodes?

11:17And I was like, okay, this is good.

11:19This is good.

11:20If Sue wants the episodes,

11:21it must be in the right boxes.

11:23Yeah, it does.

11:24And to be honest,

11:26these guys make it so easy.

11:28We genuinely, yes, we're saving humanity

11:30and the plots can be quite tedious at times,

11:33but we're always laughing.

11:35These guys are so fun.

11:37There's sometimes too many giggles.

11:40But the humour comes through in the show.

11:42The humour does come through.

11:44We had one day on set last year,

11:46I probably shouldn't say this

11:47because we are generally very professional,

11:49but last season we had one,

11:50I don't know why,

11:51Christy and I had the giggles.

11:53Rhys had to walk into the shot

11:54and say something that was entirely not funny.

11:56And it wasn't intended to be funny either.

11:58It wasn't like...

11:59It's like in his face,

12:00he's having a bad time.

12:01He just had to say something very normal.

12:02But for some reason,

12:03we were in such a fever dream that day

12:05and we'd just done like nine scenes

12:06and we were exhausted.

12:07And we literally had to look at the floor

12:10and completely blank Rhys.

12:13The poor guy was on camera.

12:14How unprofessional.

12:15It helped.

12:16It helped my work.

12:18And he actually came up after himself.

12:19That's the best I've ever seen you work.

12:23But yeah,

12:24it's only because we are so close

12:26and because we are all there for one another

12:28that we get away with that

12:29and no one got fired.

12:30But we have a ball shooting,

12:32we really do.

12:36It's going to be a bumpy ride.

12:37We received a distress call from Arc 8.

12:41Are you saying the electricity is out?

12:44We need to move the ship now.

12:46We are not leaving Ava out there.

12:50We will persevere

12:51and we will get to a planet that we can call our home.

12:54You can do so much for us all.

13:01Growing up, I never had a family.

13:04And now I do.

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