Vampires may hog the zeitgeist at the moment thanks to the fanaticism for Twilight and True Blood, but two cast members of the immensely popular CW hit drama The Vampire Diaries bring allure to the age-old TV favorite of witchcraft. Jasmine Guy, who thrilled us for six seasons as fussy southerner Whitley Gilbert-Wayne on A Different World and two seasons on Showtime's underrated Dead Like Me, and newcomer Katerina Graham play a grandmother and granddaughter connected by their eerie abilities. Movieline caught up with the duo to discuss Vampire Diaries's Atlanta HQ, how viewers can survive during the show's hiatus, and the parts in the upcoming Soul Train movie that they're willing to take.
The fans for this show are zealous! How does relating to the fans this time feel different than on your previous work? Let's begin with Jasmine.
JG: I would think Vampire Diaries had a slightly younger demographic than the last thing I did, which was Dead Like Me, and that was more a sci-fi audience of mixed ages. And this is a little bit more an age of romance, the early 20s -- when you still believe in [lowers voice] love and blood.
KG: The demographic is different than Dead Like Me, but I think it translates to an older audience as well. I've gotten fan letters from 50-year-old women with 9-year-old girls, to older women and older men.
JG: That's 'cuz y'all are so hot.
KG: [Laughs.]
JG: If anything, this is the most beautiful cast I've ever worked with.
KG: Aww!
JG: I saw y'all had a picture in the office. I said, "What's that for? A photo shoot?" And they said, "No, that's the cast."
KG: [Laughs] That is funny.
Is there a different viewer response to the witches than the vampires? Is there pro-vampire, anti-witch backlash?
KG: I haven't had any backlash, and I think that's because the character didn't come off as a witch right away, we got to know and love Bonnie Bennett for who she was. And we're with her when she discovers her abilities. I know Harry Potter had a backlash from certain groups for glorifying the witch story line, but I haven't had any at all.
JG: To me, people are just curious as to how the witches interact with the vampires. I know some of the folklore, but not a lot of it. It's interesting to watch the world we're living in being created. It's kind of like logging the forest as we step into it, and that's kind of cool that I don't what's going to happen, and neither does my character. So there's a suspense. I don't have to think I know what's going on.
Jasmine, I listened to a radio interview where you were begging for your character to get a name. I think you cried, "Someone name me."
JG: They didn't name me until the last episode that I did -- so I do have the name now. And it wasn't the name the audience was picking. But it's a cool name, I like the name. I'm not going to give it away. It's one of those names that go to women on the cool side, wouldn't you say?
KG: I think it's a great name.
Is it Southern?
JG: Not particularly, no.
Have you guys gone out together in Atlanta?
JG: We work on opposite schedules, and she works a lot more, so I haven't hung with her yet.
KG We'll have to go to dinner or something! I'm here this weekend.
JG Oh, OK. Like you're setting yourself up on a date.
KG: [Laughs]. I'm always talking about you, Jasmine. I'm always talking about how amazing it is to work with you, that I'm working with Miss Jasmine Guy. It's a big deal for a lot of people when they meet you!
JG: Thank you! Thank you for talking me up, sweetheart.
KG: I've been loving the weather in Atlanta recently, and I'm just here with my cast, which is a family anyway. It's great to have friends out here and to be working with your friends. And also I love the restaurants here, it may be my favorite part of Atlanta. And the greenery. Most of the time I spent in Hollywood was a hustle, trying to get auditions or a job. I never thought it would happen in Georgia for me. But it's very different. L.A. is just a different place and we're in the south. It's a different mentality.
You play grandmother and granddaughter, and your actual ages (47 and 20) make that idea seem ludicrous. Is there anything grandmotherly about you, Jasmine? Did you tap into that?
JG: Oh, not really. I did tap into my maternal instinct, and that goes for mothers, grandmothers, great-grams. I find this character maternal, but odd. In my mind, whoever is in between me and Bonnie is, you know -- my progeny is estranged in some way because of my practices. That's what I say. Who knows? That's just an actor giving you their own back-story, and it means absolutely nothing.
Do you often assign back story to your characters?
JG: Yeah. Always. I'm always thinking about their life and where they lived and how they grew up, and how -- yeah. Even if they only have four lines! [Laughs] It's a lot of work for four lines, but it's worth it. And it's for more interesting to me to get lost in a character that has all of that going for them. I try to fill in as many blanks on the inner character as I can.
Grandmother Bennett is kind of spooky. How do you do it?
JG: Oh, I'm not doing anything. That is just my normal self. I'm not playing spooky so much as I'm trying to educate my granddaughter without scaring the mess out of her. And trying to make it like it's just a natural thing when she's really freaking out about what's happening to her. And so I guess there is some kind of elusiveness that goes with it. So I'm glad that's spooky.
Does the same go for you, Katerina? Your character's history goes back more than a hundred years. Do you consider all that stuff when playing the part?
KG: Similar to what Jasmine said, I do a lot of back-story. I think about my continuity, like where I walked and which way I turned. And I think about the back-story of Emily Bennett, the great-great-great grandmother that possessed me. I would watch Bianca [Lawson], the actress who plays her, when I wasn't in a scene. I would come to set and kind of study how she moves, and her voice, and her pattern of speech. And it really helped. It helped get into the character and get the vibe of her.
You mentioned Dead Like Me earlier with ease. Are you pretty familiar with Jasmine's old gigs?
KG: You're putting me on blast! But I. Love. Jasmine. Guy. OK, like... I have the music videos. Honestly, there haven't been that many -- well, maybe there are -- but in the position I've been in, there haven't been many actresses/artists that I really look up to, that are biracial and come from similar backgrounds to me. That comes from this dancing world. There's Janet, Jasmine Guy, and Paula Abdul, and that's it! And Jasmine's the only one with a similar background to me, a big inspiration, like... I'm trying to keep my cool during this interview. I'm a huge, huge Jasmine Guy fan. I'm honored to learn from her, and you know, Jasmine, I watch you when you're working and when you talk, I take everything to tell me in. It's a big part of my growth at where I'm at right now.
JG: Oh, wow. Thank you!
KG: There, I got it out. [Laughs.]
JG: I'm glad to hear all that, so I could finally... rise to this occasion. I should stop messin' around so much. Like, pay attention, girl, she's watching you.
Do you guys give each other advice?
JG: Well, you know, in between takes, we talk, we have a lot to talk about. We have a lot of intersecting experiences, and we've met a lot of the same obstacles. I also think that the ability to dance and act is an interesting combination. There are a few, like Shirley MacLaine and Debbie Allen that mix the two. That's a unique situation that puts us in a sub-category.
Though you disappear into your dramatic roles as well, Whitley Gilbert was such an awesome character. Do you miss comedy?
JG: Sometimes I do. Because after a certain amount of hours, I need to hear a joke. I'll be on set, like, "We're still doing this? Eight hours later? Ain't nobody got nothing funny to say?" I've got her to help me with that.
KG: Yes. We're very alike in that way. I'm always giggling or laughing, and I'll catch Jasmine busting into a dance move.
JG: We need each other to stay alive. And awake and alert.
Katerina, as you noted, you both are dancers. Have you guys practiced similar styles of dance?
KG: Yeah, I think. Jazz, yeah? Modern.
JG: She's been classically trained and has performed as a dancer, and knows the rigor and the beatdown that goes with being a dancer. I think it makes for tougher cookies.
KG: Ohh. I miss the cattle calls!
JG: It's very difficult, a hard life.
KG: A very hard life. It's a long, long hustle, a long road. And not sometimes a clean one.
Onto my personal agenda, and Katerina, you could jump in on this: We tried casting the upcoming Soul Train movie a couple months ago, and Jasmine, I'd like to know if you're willing to play Vanity, the Prince protege.
JG: Yeah! I'd love to play Vanity. Shoot, I remember them and Apollonia.
KG: Oh yeah. I love them! Can I come along?
JG: They should all play themselves, though, right?
No, I think I like Jasmine Guy as Vanity more than Vanity as Vanity.
JG: [Laughs] I have great memories. I just thought of The Last Dragon with Taimak.
KG: I remember that movie!
JG: You must've been in the second grade.
KG: I saw it recently. I saw it last year, I think.
JG: Oh, OK. I was like, you weren't here when that came out!
Katerina, the show is about to go on a hiatus until mid-January. Can you string viewers along with some titillating hints about where the show's going?
KG: Anything you can possibly think of? It's happening. All of the storylines that the fans are questioning about is looking like it might happen. Just have to watch and see. It gets better every single week, there's another cliffhanger, and another. There might be another person being cast that really helps evolve the whole witch story. I will say that.
JG: Mmm. Aha!
KG: I said there might be!