Gracing the main theatre at the London MCM Expo was David Giuntoli, who plays the lead character Detective Nick Burkhardt on the supernatural fantasy series Grimm. His appearance didn’t just make for his first MCM Expo event, but it was actually his first time in the UK!

The series delves into a premise where the Grimm fairytales actually happened. With Nick being told that he a descendant of the Grimm family, he finds out that he has the ability to see mystical creatures for what they really are. During the panel, he even referred to his character’s ability as his “Grimmstincts.”

The panel went straight to audience questions, with David being asked if he had a favourite fairytale. “I don’t really have a favourite fairytale,” he said. “I wasn’t really a fairytale reader. I’ve always liked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. I think that would be a fun one to do for our show. I was only really exposed to those fairytales that pop culture kind of filtered through; Disney, things like that.” He did mention favourite fairytale characters, saying that “characters, like Rumpelstiltskin, Goldilocks… I think they would be kinda cool things to play on our show.”

He was then asked if he had a favourite character to work with. “Monroe is such a well thought out character,” said David of his Blutbad co-star, played by Silas Weir Mitchell. He described the character as “fantastic” and Mitchell himself as “terrific.” On their relationship in the show he said, “You always see a cop and his partner, wife and husband, a guy and his dog, but this story is like man… and this thing! So it’s a unique, fun relationship.”

“As far as our guest stars, you know who is a great character,” said David. “Her name was…” There was a pause as he tried to recall. “Can’t remember the name… she played the dragon girl. It was Ariel.” Played by actress Danielle Panabaker, she appeared in the episode Plumed Serpent, and attempts to seduce Nick. “That’s a great character. She was one of my favourites because they had this crazy tension going on.”

Asked what his favourite episode was, David said, “I don’t know if anyone’s seen the finale out here yet?” With the UK still in the middle of the first season, no one had yet seen the final episode. “That was probably my favourite. I really enjoy the episodes that aren’t solely monster of the week episodes. I like when the plot moves forward and we get to learn more about the rules of this world that the show is supposed to live in.”

“I would like my character to become more of a badass,” smiled David when questioned on if there was a direction he’d like to see the show go. He then said, “I think it’s going to go in that direction,” suggesting that he probably already knows a bit about how Nick will develop in season two. He was also happy that Grimm received a second season. “I got this show and then it got picked up for a series, but I don’t know how long it’s gonna last, you know. When we found out we got picked up for a full season and a second season, we were really excited!”

While many may view Grimm as a typical “fighting monsters” series, David sees it as something much more. “I prefer to view it in a way that’s… ‘What is it inside all of us?’” He divulged further, appearing to refer to the Wesen creatures on the show. “We all have something that’s different from somebody else that is a little off, which you might be a little ashamed of, or you’re trying to come to terms with.”

Given that the show has some shocking moments, David was asked if there was anything on Grimm that disturbed him. And if you yourself are easily disturbed, then you might not want to read the rest of this paragraph. “During the filming of the show, some of the crime scenes I had very visceral responses to,” he said. “There’s one where this corpse just looked real! It did! I walked on to the set with my latte, and I walked to this car and there was a body there, chest ripped open, live rats crawling through his throat out of his mouth! I’m not particularly squeamish, but that bothered me!”

After the Expo weekend David Giuntoli had to fly back to Portland, Oregon, to start shooting the second season. “I start shooting the next season on Tuesday [29th May].” But he did reveal a little more insight about Monroe and how he might be developing a new relationship. “I think there is a love interest being toyed around with right now. Bree Turner who plays Rosealee, she’s gonna be a series regular next year.”

Grimm is currently broadcast in the UK on Watch, every Monday at 9pm.

Originally published on MCM Buzz 30 May 2012.