What We Do in the Shadows‘ Mark Proksch Reflects on Colin Robinson’s Energy Vampire Journey

When What We Do successful the Shadows premiered backmost successful 2019, 1 quality instantly stood out: Colin Robinson, vigor vampire. He represents a monster type we’d ne'er seen depicted connected surface before, but was besides instantly recognizable; alternatively of blood, helium feeds connected vigor and sets retired to frustrate and aggravate everyone helium meets successful pursuit of his adjacent meal. He’s played with wry hilarity by Mark Proksch, who io9 got a accidental to speech to up of What We Do successful the Shadows‘ sixth and last season.

Cheryl Eddy, io9: It seems similar the writers person a large clip tormenting your character; successful the archetypal 3 episodes of play six unsocial we get a large carnal translation and helium besides gets tossed astir a lot. What’s that similar for you arsenic an actor, erstwhile you work however mangled Colin Robinson is going to get successful a peculiar episode?

Mark Proksch: I consciousness good. I mean, arsenic an actor, you conscionable past realize, this is already doing truthful overmuch of the enactment for me. Any clip you’re throwing my schlubby, doughy assemblage around, it’s endlessly comic to the writers and I presume the viewers. When I spot [a carnal country coming up for Colin], I honestly consciousness a small relieved due to the fact that past I won’t person to deliberation arsenic hard to marque the country work. 

io9: What was the astir challenging country you had to film?

Proksch: Gosh, they each melt together. You know, we movie successful the mediate of wintertime successful Toronto and we’re often filming passim that night. And truthful immoderate clip you spot america outdoors connected the show, we’re freezing and the unit is freezing and everyone’s freezing and it’s astir apt similar 3 oregon 4 successful the morning. So that is usually the astir hard stuff.

io9: We spot a susceptible broadside to Colin this season—recently returned roommate Jerry hurts his feelings, helium helps with Laszlo’s monster due to the fact that helium wants a caller friend, helium admits helium gets lonely. Do you deliberation he’s the astir “human” of the vampires?

Proksch: Maybe. Yeah, probably. Colin also, for the astir part, interacts with regular humans connected a regular ground wherever the others don’t. I besides think—not to get excessively successful the weeds astir this, but I deliberation determination is simply a desensitizing process that the different vampires spell done due to the fact that they virtually termination regular people, whereas Colin tends not to. He’ll drain them, but helium wants to support them live truthful helium tin support coming backmost to them. I deliberation he’s a small much enlightened successful that sense. But yeah, I deliberation his feelings tin get hurt. But that’s the curse of being an vigor vampire. How adjacent tin you get to a person?

io9: I ever admit his attack to popular culture. He’s evidently the astir pop-culture savvy of the vampires, but helium picks up connected the weirdest stuff.

Proksch: Yeah, that’s usually coming from me. Usually immoderate clip I spell disconnected connected a rant oregon anything, that’s implicit worthless accusation that I person stored successful my encephalon implicit the 40-plus years of my life.

Photo: Russ Martin/FX

io9: He besides proves to beryllium scientifically inclined; he’s persistent and succeeds successful the experimentation wherever Laszlo has failed, but some characters instrumentality it successful stride. What is it astir their relationship that makes them truthful non-competitive?

Proksch: We’ve talked astir it conscionable successful passing. I mean, we don’t get excessively actor-y astir thing connected the show, but I deliberation the juxtaposition betwixt the mode Matt plays Laszlo and the mode I play Colin truly works. They’re an unusual couple. Laszlo is this immense blowhard and a moron, and Colin—in bid to stock clip with radical and walk clip with people, helium acquiesces to them. So helium puts up with Laszlo being a bully and being an idiot. And I deliberation Laszlo is conscionable truthful self-involved, helium doesn’t attraction who he’s around. He evidently has immoderate brushed spot for Colin due to the fact that helium raised him arsenic a child, arsenic overmuch of a brushed spot a vampire tin person for something. So, yeah, it’s astir apt a much analyzable narration than Matt and I person ever talked about, conscionable due to the fact that neither of america are very—you know, we didn’t truly spell to schoolhouse for acting. We didn’t bid arsenic actors oregon thing similar that. So we conscionable bash it alternatively of focusing connected the meaning down it. That’s astir apt wherefore it works, is that they’re an unusual couple.

io9: Colin Robinson arsenic an Uber operator is the astir cleanable choice, I’m shocked it didn’t get utilized successful earlier seasons. Did you gully from immoderate real-life experiences for those scenes?

Proksch: Gosh, yeah. I’m truly a sponge for thing erstwhile I’m retired and about, and I ever person been since I was a small kid. We had a promenade adjacent our house, and we would spell implicit to the promenade and my brothers would stake maine to spell up to radical and, you know, bash anserine worldly and accidental anserine stuff—incredibly obnoxious, I’m sure. But yeah, I would soak up their reactions and each of that. And that’s the quality I’ve played for astir of my career: a mean idiosyncratic that’s conscionable disconnected a little, due to the fact that that’s what I emotion and that’s what I find absorbing erstwhile I conscionable people.

io9: This play there’s large interest astir however there’s not capable country successful the house, with brawls breaking retired implicit that tiny abstraction nether the stairs, but past we get a reminder of Colin’s immense country successful the basement. What bash you deliberation helium keeps successful each those record boxes?

Proksch: I deliberation journals—journals of his, you know, each 100 years helium dies and helium has to relearn everything. And truthful I deliberation those are afloat of his life, truthful helium tin reacquaint himself with everything that came earlier his dying and rebirth. We person specified an unthinkable acceptable plan team, and they conscionable sound it retired of the ballpark each time. And truthful for that to beryllium hidden down Colin Robinson’s dingy walls—to maine that was truly funny.

io9: What’s been your favourite What We Do successful the Shadows infinitesimal truthful far? 

Proksch:It’s coming up this season, I think. I liked erstwhile I was a teenager, Colin arsenic a teenager—that was fun. Any clip that I got to person scenes with Natasia [Demetriou], who has go a beloved friend, who I deliberation is perfectly superb and comic … I emotion them all, but, you know, Natasia and I didn’t get to person that galore scenes together. So I truly liked erstwhile we did person scenes together. This play is truly comic and it doesn’t substance if I accidental that oregon not—you know, we don’t request ratings anymore oregon thing similar that. I’m conscionable truthful blessed that we’re going retired connected a precocious enactment this season. It truly is, I think, the funniest season. And I deliberation the finale is dissimilar immoderate finale we’ve seen connected TV, particularly successful comedy. It sticks the landing, and I deliberation radical are going to beryllium wanting more, which is precisely what you privation erstwhile you decorativeness the show.

io9: What volition you miss astir astir What We Do successful the Shadows and playing Colin? It sounds similar you made immoderate lasting friendships there.

Proksch: Absolutely. We’re each friends with everyone. And, you know, it’s uncommon successful this time and age—I person been truthful lucky. It wasn’t planned. I bash accidental nary to a batch of stuff, but it’s not planned erstwhile you’re offered large stuff. And I’ve been fortunate with, whether it’s The Office, Better Call Saul, Shadows, oregon connected cinema, worldly successful that world. I’ve conscionable been truly lucky. I’m going to miss that accidental until hopefully the adjacent clip it comes up. It’s truthful uncommon to person a amusement you’re arrogant to beryllium connected these days.

io9: Did you support thing from the set?

Proksch: I kept a batch of small things present and there. Worthless stuff. Some of the formed took rugs oregon furniture. I grabbed worldly that, you know, thing that I saw each time erstwhile I would travel to set. Just a tiny small happening that reminds maine of Shadows, worldly similar that. I took conscionable a handful. I took 1 of those boxes, actually. The record boxes. Because it says “Colin Robinson” connected it and has dates. And I person a container from The Office, a Dunder Mifflin box—for immoderate reason, my characters are truthful boring and they support grabbing lawyer’s boxes. I person the Baby Colins, they fto maine instrumentality those. And immoderate of Colin Robinson’s journals, I grabbed.

What We Do successful the Shadows play six drops its three-episode premiere October 21 connected FX, streaming the adjacent time connected Hulu.

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