In Part 1 of this exclusive interview, actor Kris Holden-Ried talks about his unconventional beginnings and the opportune intervention of actor Michael Ironside. Here, he reflects on lessons learned and his latest role as Dyson, the supernatural detective on Lost Girl.
The turning point of his career came when Kris was offered the part of Giles in Touch of Pink. “Up until then, I had pretty much been playing a version of myself: angry Kris, scared Kris, tentative Kris. With Giles, I had to be British and I had to be gay, and that meant creating a character, someone I was not.” Kris delivered such a credible performance that it left people wondering if he was indeed British or gay. “I am not British and I am not gay,” Kris continues, “and that made me very nervous about that film. When I watched it for the first time, I thought I was the worst thing in it, but other people said they really liked me in it. That was a huge learning lesson for me.”
When asked how he gets into character, Kris reflects on his own creative process. “What happens is that I intuitively start making changes in myself. I’ve noticed this over the years and I now realize it’s part of my technique. My process uses intuition and a mood shift which then leads to physical and emotional changes. For example, I’ll start moving or talking like my character would, sometimes while I am doing very menial tasks, such as cooking for myself or cleaning the kitchen.”
In Kris’ opinion all characters are challenging to some extent, but he finds true historical characters to be particularly hard to play because they are so specific and everyone has their own subjective opinion about them. “I’ve played F. Scott Fitzgerald (Hemingway vs. Callaghan CBC mini-series) and Wayne Gretzky (Waking Up Wally: The Walter Gretzky Story) and I thought that was very challenging.”
Then of course there’s Dyson (Lost Girl), the mysterious, powerful and seriously sexy light Fae detective who will do anything to protect the secret of Fae existence from humans. “Dyson is a challenging character too. He has a certain masculinity and is a very old character with a lot of history. But he is fun to play, the physical side of him is great because it gets me into great shape and I get to use my body.”
Dyson is undoubtedly as much fun to watch as he is to play. When asked how much of himself he recognizes in Dyson, Kris teases, “Let’s just say that Dyson is the me that I wish I could pretend to be. It’s not just his physicality, but I also get to pretend that I have a wolf inside of me. It’s me plus wolf.” The truth is that it’s hard not to agree with Dyson who, as he so memorably put it, manages to “bring a little something special to the table.” And so does Kris, consistently.
According to Showcase, over half a million people tuned in for the premiere of Lost Girl in September 2010, which made it the highest-rated Canadian scripted series premiere of all time on Showcase. With its amazing cast, catchy dialogue and story line that keeps the audience wondering what next, it’s no surprise Lost Girl continues to deliver record-breaking ratings, consistently drawing in over 700,000 viewers weekly.
The fact that it has been picked up for a second season is testament to the gifted cast and enthusiastic crew. Although Kris admits “living in ignorant bliss” and not knowing the ratings or how successful Lost Girl is right now, he hopes people are liking it. “If people are enjoying it, it’s great and I hope we continue with the second season. I think we are going to get more story-based in the second season.”
It’s almost impossible to talk about Lost Girl without mentioning the raw sexuality of its main characters, Bo (Anna Silk) and Dyson. Their relationship is complicated at best, but the chemistry between them has the audience hooked. If Kris is uncomfortable filming nude scenes, he most certainly doesn’t show it. He admits though that, despite his athletic physique, he put in “a little extra special” to get super fit for Lost Girl. “Getting half naked in front of the camera and an audience of potentially half a million people definitely makes you want to work out more,” he chuckles.
(In Part 3 of this interview, Kris Holden-Ried opens up about his exciting future plans and gives his audience a glimpse of who he really is.)
Iulia Mihai - Iulia Mihai is a Vancouver-based Human Resources Manager, management coach and freelance writer. Originally from Romania, her passion for ...
