Taking the stage for the panel of E4’s show Misfits was the creator Howard Overman, who was joined by his cast of Series Four, that included Joseph Gilgun, Nathan McMullen, Matt Stokoe and Natasha O’Keeffe.
With most of the cast new to the show, they were asked about whether they knew just how popular it was before getting involved. Joseph (who plays Rudy) joked, “I don’t watch much tele… I live in a caravan in the woods! I didn’t actually know what Misfits was.”
“I was a big fan of the show,” said Nathan, who plays Finn in Series Four. “I started watching it after the second series. All my mates were banging on about it so I thought I’d check it out.”
Howard then revealed how Nathan had initially auditioned to play a small part in one of the earlier series’, saying, “I thought this guy’s got really good comic timing.” Howard recalled talking to Nathan after an audition, saying, “I spoke to him afterwards and said ‘You can either have that little part now or you can take the risk and come back next year and audition to be a full member of the team.’” The risk had obviously paid off. “I just saw a new character in him,” said Howard.
Matt plays new character Alex, a mysterious barman who appears to be very secretive about what his power could be. In regards to the auditions he said, “The character breakdowns were really vague. They weren’t looking for any specific people. When you went to the audition it was people of all different shapes and sizes.”
With Series Four largely headed by a new cast (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett is the only cast member from Series One to have remained), they were then questioned on what it takes to get the chemistry going. “When you’ve got a new cast it takes a while for the audience to adjust to them,” said Howard. “Old favourites go; that’s the nature of the series.”
When asked about what the chemistry is like on the set? Joseph said that they’re often, “mucking around a lot, just not concentrating on the job.”
When it comes to keeping the cast in line, Howard said, “Fortunately it’s not my problem. The director and producer have to deal with them on set. I know that they occasionally get frustrated, but it’s a good atmosphere.”
“The thing with Misfits is you can’t be a part of it if you’re not fun to be around,” said Joseph. “You got to have a laugh because you spend six months of the year doing this!”
When filming Matt revealed how Joseph would often try and make the rest of the cast laugh. “If he makes you laugh, he knows he’s done something right,” he said. “That’s really good for us. He does something different because you’re not laughing.”
Joseph responded by saying, “It’s a good way of gauging though; if they’re laughing then you’re going to be laughing as well.”
When questions opened up to the audience, Howard was asked if ‘The Storm’ that gave the characters their powers was ever going to be explained? “It’s one of those things,” he mused, only to then use a certain US TV series as an example. “On a series like Lost, whenever they try and explain it-“
“It’s crap,” blurted Joseph.
Howard agreed and then revealed that he didn’t actually have an explanation for ‘The Storm’. “I doubt it will be appearing anytime on your screens. Because once you’ve explained it, then what do you do? It takes away from the mystery.”
With a fair amount of bad language and violence found in the show, the cast were then asked what a PG version of Misfits would be like. “Rubbish,” shouted Joseph!
Nathan backed up the outrageous scenarios and dialogue that has since typified Misfits, saying, “Sometimes I get the script and I’m like, ‘Can you imagine me saying that?’”
“Some of the stuff that comes out in this thing is just hilarious,” said Matt. “Like Geneva Convention hilarious.”
It turns out that there are some boundaries that even Misfits cannot cross, as Howard said, “There is stuff, believe it not, which is considered crossing the line and never makes it into the show. We spend a lot of time making [the characters] feel as real as possible, and grounded. It should be believable. There are restrictions on everything. I don’t just do whatever I like. It has to be consistent to the tone and style of what was set up.”
Joseph added to what was brought up, saying, “It’s hard to know sometimes how far to push it. Some of the storylines are so ludicrous and so mental. But if there’s a cow there, I’ll milk it; I’ll go too far. So you rely upon your director and producer to pull you back and show you where the limits are.”
“It wouldn’t be the same show without those sorts of things,” said Natasha, who plays Abby. “I do feel out of place doing some of the things that my character does. I just felt, that’s what Abby would do.”
Series Four of Misfits starts on E4 on Sunday 28th October at 10pm.
Main image supplied by Joshua Potter.
Originally published on MCM Buzz on 26 October 2012.
