What We Do in the Shadows‘ Matt Berry on Vampires, Memes, and Star Wars

Matt Berry gained fame successful the U.S. acknowledgment to What We Do successful the Shadows‘ Laszlo—topiary artist, musician, scientist, frisky husband, BAT!, home-renovation fan,  occasional “regular quality bartender”—but earlier helium was a vampire, helium was much-loved successful the UK for his turns connected The IT Crowd, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, The Mighty Boosh, and more. Now, of course, he’s instantly recognizable by fans astir the globe, adjacent if it’s conscionable his dependable (as successful The Book of Boba Fett and caller movie The Wild Robot).

io9 got a accidental to speech to Berry up of What We Do successful the Shadows‘ sixth and last season, and yes, we asked him astir Star Wars.

Cheryl Eddy, io9: In play six we spot Laszlo remembering 1 of his large goals was to bring a dormant assemblage backmost to life. Why bash you deliberation Laszlo is truthful fascinated by that?

Matt Berry: Well, to bring a assemblage backmost to beingness and to beryllium capable to person enactment with it—I deliberation that’s what everybody other thinks his motives are. Much similar the Rocky Horror Show, I deliberation akin to what Frank-N-Furter was scheming to do. I assumed that was his main aim. But, you know, we’ll ne'er know.

io9: Why bash you deliberation Laszlo is truthful funny successful science?

Berry: I’m not definite helium is, arsenic such. I deliberation he’s much funny successful however it looks and being capable to archer radical that you’re a idiosyncratic and that you’re gathering a quality being. I deliberation that’s what he’s funny in. I deliberation he’s funny successful the conceit and the airs of it, alternatively than the existent world side. I don’t deliberation helium would person overmuch clip for that.

io9: Nadja and Laszlo are not precisely narration goals, but they’ve decidedly made it enactment implicit the centuries. What bash you deliberation is the cardinal to them staying together, beyond earthy carnal attraction? Is determination an affectional component?

Berry: Well, there’s an evident affectional benignant of connection. He’s rather old-fashioned successful his protective quality towards her, which she finds irritating outwardly. But I deliberation she finds it a comfort, inwardly. And they’re precise different, and I deliberation that isn’t ever a atrocious thing.

io9: Which quality trait of Laszlo’s person you enjoyed playing the most?

Berry: I thought that you were going to say, “which I americium the most.” I ever reply the aforesaid thing: we conscionable dependable the same, and I anticipation that’s wherever it ends.

It’s each been a joyousness for maine due to the fact that you don’t person to make him. You don’t person to really make immoderate of the characters due to the fact that the full constituent of them is they’re immortals that tin unrecorded successful those apparel doing those things for different 100 years, different 600 years. They don’t person to change. They don’t person to determination with the times oregon widen their scope of beingness successful immoderate way. That’s the biggest joy: helium hasn’t changed since the pilot; [he’s] the aforesaid person, saying the aforesaid benignant of things, doing the aforesaid things, benignant of treating radical successful a precise akin way. The lone quality is due to the fact that you’ve been with them for six seasons. You’ve conscionable seen a batch much of their personalities. But their personalities, I don’t deliberation volition beryllium immoderate antithetic from the past occurrence arsenic they were successful the pilot.

© Russ Martin/FX

io9: I deliberation my favourite Laszlo infinitesimal is erstwhile helium has the excavation cue combat with Jim the Vampire, played by Mark Hamill.

Berry: Yeah, that’s my favorite.

io9: And then, of course, you ended up being successful Star Wars yourself due to the fact that you voiced 8D8 connected The Book of Boba Fett. Can you speech a small spot astir your Star Wars fandom and what it was similar getting to play other Mark successful that scene?

Berry: If you talk to anyone my age, really, you couldn’t flight Star Wars successful the aforesaid mode that you couldn’t flight Jaws oregon immoderate of these different monolithic taste moments. Star Wars was arsenic potent and arsenic almighty successful each continent, and it’s 1 of these things that I can’t retrieve a satellite without. Like radical person religion, it’s ever been there. I’m not saying it’s my religion, but I don’t cognize a satellite without Star Wars. So it feels precise comfy successful that way.

So to past beryllium successful thing with a cardinal portion of that civilization took immoderate getting utilized to. And past connected apical of that, to beryllium holding the snooker cue similar a lightsaber portion helium was doing the aforesaid happening backmost astatine me, that took immoderate existent getting utilized to. It’s 1 of those moments wherever you think, “How the fuck did I extremity up present doing this with him?” It’s conscionable 1 of those moments [where] you consciousness precise lucky. Other radical mightiness not get thing retired of that, but I precise overmuch admit it.

io9: What We Do successful the Shadows has precise passionate fans. Was determination a peculiar infinitesimal that caught connected with the instrumentality basal that you were peculiarly arrogant of, oregon peculiarly amazed by?

Berry: Because I besides unrecorded successful the UK, unrecorded successful the UK archetypal and foremost, it’s not specified a fashionable amusement here. So it isn’t until I spell to the states, oregon to enactment connected it, that you benignant of recognize that. So that’s ever benignant of kept the Brit formed reasonably level-headed astir this amusement due to the fact that determination isn’t the excitement successful the UK for the show. But past erstwhile you spell to the U.S., you tin spot that determination is.

So that’s been rather bully for me. It doesn’t marque maine say, “Everyone loves this show.” You don’t deliberation that. So I’m conscionable ever amazed by immoderate of those things I get sent. I’m not connected TikTok oregon Instagram oregon immoderate of those things. So erstwhile I [see a instrumentality meme wherever they’re] conscionable benignant of conscionable taking a mates of sentences that I usually don’t adjacent retrieve saying and they’re connected a loop, it conscionable benignant of makes you wonderment wherefore that, of each the things, wherefore that one. That’s ever my question: “I don’t recognize wherefore that one.” So yeah, it’s ever a spot of a surprise. But don’t get maine wrong, it’s a immense grant arsenic well. For anyone to similar it capable to repetition it and marque a small reel retired of it is simply a immense honor.

What We Do successful the Shadows drops the archetypal 3 episodes of play six October 21 connected FX, streaming the adjacent time connected Hulu.

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