The TV Addict interview with Misha Collins. Lightly spoilery. (Talks about who his character interacts with.)
Most interesting to me:
How did you find your way onto SUPERNATURAL?
Originally I auditioned for the role of a demon. I thought I did a great demon, really snarky and nasty. But when I finished reading Eric Kripke [SUPERNATURAL showrunner] said, “Wait, we have somewhat of an enthusiastic fan-base and we’re trying to keep it a secret that we’re introducing an angel on the show. So you’re not a demon, you’re an angel. Can you do it again with more of a quality of innocence and curiosity about how it is these humans behave.” And it was that naiveté about human beings in general that really informed how I play Castiel.
And this:
Completely agree. But back to your character if I may. How much do you know about Castiel?
All I know is what I’ve made up and what has been in the script. I don’t have much backstory beyond that. I know that this is the first time that angels have come down to earth in 2000 years and that the Army’s of Hell are on the move which is why a higher power has deemed it necessary to send angels to earth to help fight the good fight. Angels have been around for a really long time, they’ve seen it all. They were around during the Spanish Inquisition and watching all of that happen. Not actually present for it but watching from above. They’ve seen all of human society formed for thousands of years so there is a certain knowledge and wisdom that Castiel brings, that Sam and Dean don’t possess.
Movieweb interview with Misha Collins. (Spoilery for undefined upcoming show(s).)
From the article - I can't decide if it's spoilery or not so this first bit is spoilered:
Since he says he's been sent from the Lord, would it be safe to assume that the Lord has been keeping tabs on Dean and Sam then, and sent you down to help them along?
Misha Collins Yes, definitely. Yeah, God is definitely keeping tabs on Sam and Dean, which is probably a lot of pressure, if you think about it. You know, if God is watching your every move, you should probably straighten up your act a little bit.
Not spoilery but interesting:
You said that Eric (Kripke) gave you some adjustments to your character, but what kinds of things do you do to get into the character of Castiel?
Misha Collins: Well, one of the things that I've done is I have been reading Revelations. Have you ever read Revalations?
A long time ago.
Misha Collins: Yeah. It's amazing, rich material that is full of stories about angels and angels being sent down to Earth to wipe out a third of the population. I mean, there are angels that come down and wipe out a third of the population and then another angel will come down and wipe out a third of all the animals living in the sea and another angel will come down and wipe out all the vegetation on the land. They are some vengeful individules, in Revelations, the angels. In reading that, I was kind of surprised. There is a lot of destructive capacity in an angel's being. Kripke gave me a couple of things to work with right in that audition and one was that the angels haven't actually come down to Earth for 2000 years. They've been watching from a great distance, but now this is the first time they're really getting up close in 2000 years. When I'm talking to Dean, I'm observing these qualities that are somewhat alien to me. There's a curiosity and an inquisitiveness that Castiel has and also a real peacefulness and a real calm and wisdom and knowledge that goes along with being a very ancient being. If you spend your whole life in heaven, I would think that it makes you pretty peaceful, so that's a lot of what I've drawn on. My younger brother, this is going to sound kind of weird, but there's something quite angellic about him. He has this way of, very calmly, just staring into someone's eyes and it kind of feels like he can get into your soul. It's a little weird and really kind of amazing so I did kind of base my character on my younger brother.
Oh, wow. That's interesting. So, we don't really get a whole lot about Castiel in the first episode. He's an angel and he doesn't doesn't really affect mortals too well, with their eyes if they look at him.
Misha Collins: Right.
I've interviewed Jared (Padalecki) before and both he and Jensen (Ackles) seem like they'd be a riot to work with on this series. How have they both been to work with and how did they embrace you coming into the show?
Misha Collins: They're great to work with. They both have unusually good timing with humor, so there's a lot of sarcasm and witty quips being bantered about on the set, which, I'll tell you, makes working a hell of a lot better. They're not primadonnas... well, if they are primadonnas, they haven't shown me that side yet. They seem like very cool, very fun, very energetic, hard-working guys. They put in long hours on that show, they really do. I've been on shows where the star of the show is like rolling their eyes the whole time and totally frustrated that it's taking a long time and bored out of their minds and spend the whole time on set texting their boyfriend on their Blackberry and just had such a really bad tone for the set. Jared and Jensen, and (director) Kim Manners and the other directors working on the show, they're all really good people to work with, which is unusual and very gratifying and makes it a much better experience than it could be.
And:
You've appeared in (continued...)
Quick search on LJ for Castiel as an interest - produced:
Results for communities interested in "castiel"
8 matches:
deancastiel - Touched by an Angel - A Dean/Castiel Community (Updated 42 minutes ago)
fromperdition - Because we have fangirling for you. (Updated 46 minutes ago)
A Community Dedicated to All Things Castiel
spn_castiel - Supernatural - a Castiel community (Updated 9 hours ago)
For fans of Castiel, as portrayed by Misha Collins, on the TV show Supernatural.
spn_walls - Supernatural Walls (Updated 9 hours ago)
Supernatural Wallpaper Competiton
supernatural_es - Supernatural en español (Updated 10 hours ago)
mishacollins - Misha Collins (Updated 10 hours ago)
This is a community dedicated to the actor Misha Collins
spn_addict - "It takes two to, you know, have hardcore sex." (Updated 20 hours ago)
Supernatural
burythehorizon - burythehorizon (Updated 2 days ago)
Graphics by pignapoke
Misha Collins: Well, one of the things that I've done is I have been reading Revelations. Have you ever read Revalations?
No one's read Revelations. They may have read Revelation, though.
Thanks for posting the non-spoilery bits, sumi. The part about his audition is really interesting and amusing. Oh, Kripke.
Apparently the latest issue of the Supernatural comic comes with a mini-Ghostfacers comic written by Kripke.
An amusing but non-spoilery bit from the TV Addict interview:
Do you yourself believe in angels?
Good question.
Thanks but I can’t take credit for it. It was actually a reader’s question [Thanks Claudia!]
So this is a plagerized question?
Yes, it’s a Joe Biden question.
[Laughs] I can’t say that I believe in angels but I can’t say that I don’t believe in angels. I’m open to the possibility of their existence although I don’t have any verifiable empirical evidence that they do exist
Great answer! Have you ever considered running for office?
I actually have. I was planning on going into politics before I was an actor. I interned at the White House but became so disillusioned with politics after interning in the White House that I turned to what some might consider an equally nefarious career.
I like the guy more with every answer I hear. But it's just as well he got out of politics early... I don't imagine someone with a name like Misha Dmitri Tippens Krushnic would face an easy time winning a national election in this country.
he's so articulate. thanks for posting the snippets, sumi.
who else wants to see his audition on the season four dvds? *raises hand*