The ABC mystery/dramedy series "Castle" stars Nathan Fillion as the wealthy, best-selling author Richard Castle, along with Stana Katic as a hard-nosed detective, Kate Beckett. The success of the show has earned itself a third season starting this fall, and this is due to its cult fan following and charismatic characters. This year at the San Diego Comic Con the cast and team for "Castle" took a break to talk with fans and press. In attendance were cast members: Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Jon Huertas, Seamus Dever, Tamala Jones, and Molly Quinn; Followed by creator/writer Andrew Marlowe and executive producer Laurie Zaks.
Blast got the chance to chat with them behind the scenes after their audience panel in the press room. In addition to the audio for some of the interviews, here are some of the highlights:
Tamala Jones (Dr. Lanie Parish)
QUESTION: How do you prepare for playing the character of Dr. Lanie Parish?
TAMALA JONES: I don’t do the medical training…what I do as far as training is I watch "The First 48" on A&E (channel), "Dr. G Medical Examiner", and I also watch a lot of forensic files; especially Dr. G because she talks about her patients as if she were still a live.
Q: Will Lanie be instrumental in solving more cases?
TJ: Yeah, we’re getting into that this season…there’s also going to be a full episode about Lanie. So you guys get to know me a little better…I can just tell that you will be getting the background story.
They were going to do something a little more dangerous, a kidnapping, but they’re not going to be doing it anymore. So they’re still teetering with the storyline for her, but it’s nice because you get to see her background. There’s also a little romance with (Detective Javier) Esposito too…a little bit down the road.
Q: Speaking of romance, Lanie seems to be a very good friend for Beckett in terms of giving advice on her love life. If there is this romance for Lanie, how will Beckett and Castle react to it? In other words, Lanie has dished it out to Beckett and Castle, how will they approach her?
TJ: Oh, no, I think Lanie is much more sneaky. You’ll have to catch her and Esposito (laughs) like "oh…we were just…um, talking in the room. We’re all good." I think that may be the case and Beckett may ask about it, and she’ll (Lanie) say "what are you talking about?" (dismiss it.) I think Lanie is more "I got this…" in the dating game. (She) doesn’t want to put it out there. She’s got to keep it a secret since it’s someone who works with Beckett. You can’t let it out too fast, you know?
Q: With the fallout in what has happened in the relationship between Castle and Beckett, in what direction will Lanie go this season? You already talked about the Lanie episode, but will they build up to it? Or will it be a stand alone episode?
TJ: Oh they’re definitely building up to it. And actually, in the episode we’re shooting now? I can’t really (say anything about it.) But they’re starting to get there, thank god! The fans have been writing in and they want to know what’s going on with Lanie. So it pressures (the show) to write about it, so it will build up. They’re not just going to throw it in there and take it away. (laughs) It will linger and they will come back to it.
Stana Katic (Detective Kate Beckett)
QUESTION: So we’re dying to know what happens next!
STANA KATIC: So we get back from the last episode, and Castle doesn’t let Beckett know he’s back in town. He’s doing a book signing, and she realizes he’s back in town…and then there’s a murder. Other than that I found out Beckett has a motorbike. (grins) Don’t ask me anymore about that bike. That’s all I can say.
Q: Do you two solve the murder together?
SK: I hope so! Actually, we have to make amends and decide if we’re going to be a working team together? Do you have a relationship? Do I have relationship? What’s the deal? And where do we stand?
And there’s a big fat case on the table.
Q: On the subject of Beckett and Castle, there’s that romantic tension between the two of them; a tightrope of will they? Or won’t they? How is that element going to factor in knowing where your character is right now and the rest of the season? Will that be addressed early on or work its way throughout the season?
SK: The piece of the information you’ll get early on is that he (Castle) is still with his ex-wife. (smiles) So…we got to work through that first. For Beckett, she says in season one "I’m the one and done type." So there’s a lot of integrity to her. She’s the type of girl who is like, " Well…you’ve had two marriages that didn’t work out, what happened?" So I think there’s a little bit of trust building, and sussing everything out…she doesn’t want to go out with a gigolo (smiles). So I think she wants to make sure all the waters are safe before diving in.
Q: Will we get more answers about Beckett’s past? Will we see more of her family’s story? For example, her mother?
SK: We do have an episode where…her (former) training officer is now a bounty hunter. So there’s this crime revolving around their relationship, and he reveals a lot about her past. And the two have this fabulous quality about them. And I think they’ll (eventually) delve into her mom’s murder. I hope they give her some time to be at home, be with friends, you know? Be the Beckett that she is when she’s not on the job.
Q: A lot of people came down Sunday morning just to see your show. How was that for you?
SK: It’s overwhelming; it’s just a very different experience. This is my first Comic Con and so people are always asking me "What’s it like working with Nathan?" And he’s like an older brother, he’s been doing this for a long time. He knows how it goes, and in the same vein he’s been to Comic Con a few times. It’s like old hat. I just sat up there and was like WOW. It’s touching in way to see people support and be there.
In addition to what audio? Where is the audio that is talked about before the highlights are given?
Hi Emma! There was an issue with audio initially will be up soon. It’s the audio from Stana’s interview at the roundtables 🙂