Introduced in season four, Castiel became one of the favorite characters of Supernatural and proved to be a very different kind of angel. Actor Misha Collins has been so kind to give an exclusive interview to Supernatural Russia. He talks about playing this complex character, about himself, his impressions of working on Supernatural and other projects. Misha has huge fan support all over the world, and especially in Russia. Read more and find out why!
Many thanks Julie Caitlin Brown for the help.
“Q: What is your life motto or may be favorite quote or phrase? – A Death to normalcy”
Could you tell us something about yourself so the Russian fans of “Supernatural” could get to know you better? Why did you choose to be an actor? Maybe you are from actors’ family?
My mother did a lot of community theater when i was little. Actually, my first play was when I was 4 years old. My mother had one of the lead roles. It was 3 1/2 hours long and was performed at Amherst College in Massachusetts. I was a six year old boy, but I played a 5 year old girl. My one line came about 2 1/2 hours into this play. It was, “Yes I can, I can believe it because it’s true.” I always fell asleep on stage and someone would have to wake me up so I could say my line. It was very boring. Anyway, yes, I guess you could say I came from an acting family. Ultimately, I never chose to be an actor, it was something I was doing on the side while doing a million other things, like running software companies and building furniture and starting non-profits, but at some point, the acting took over and I was doing more of that than anything else.
How did you first hear about “Supernatural”?
The first time I remember noticing “Supernatural” was seeing a poster on a bus stop with Jared and Jensen on it. I distinctly remember thinking, “Hey, I should be on that show.” Be careful what you wish for.
Could you tell us something about the 6th season? Is it true that some of the actors have signed contracts for the 7th season?
The way it works in TV is the studio and network generally try to get the actors and writers to sign contracts for several years. When you shoot the very first pilot episode of a TV series, you usually sign a contract for 6 or 7 years. That doesn’t mean that the show goes for 7 years, it just means that the studio has the option to renew the contract every year. That’s a long-winded way of saying, yes, some of the actors do have contracts for another year, but that doesn’t mean that the show will be on for a 7th year.
The other day Castiel said that Uriel “is the funniest angel in the garnison”. What do you suppose to be the fun as the angel sees it? Do they have a sense of humor?
Farts are funny to angels. Uriel farts the most.
Do you prefer to play keeping strictly to the scenario or are you one of those actors who is always eager to contribute to the character image? What part of Castiel is yours?
It’s always a mix. The actor works with the writers and directors and everyone collaborates to make something unique. It’s hard to say who’s responsible for what part.
You have played various roles. Paul Bernardo in “Karla” , Manny Skerritt in “Nip/Tuck” , Dave in “Finding Home” , Alexis Drazen in”24“, Vlad in CSI:LV, Morton in CSI:NY, Doctor Jacob in “Stonehenge Apocalypse” and, of course, Castiel. We wonder how you choose roles, what you are guided by. Which of your characters is the closest to you?
Definitely Dr. Jacob Glazer is closest to me, because he singly handedly saved the entire world. But Castiel is pretty close to me too, because both of us can travel through time and teleport and read people’s minds.
If you hadn’t got into acting, what would you do for a living? What else do you like to do except acting? Any hobbies?
If I hadn’t gone into acting, I would be a horse trainer or a tunnel digger or a swan.
What is your life motto or may be favorite quote or phrase?
Death to normalcy.
You have become the cult figure for a great lot of people. Has it changed you in any way or left you the same? How did you meet your popularity? I mean when did you wake up to be famous? Does celebrity hamper you in any way?
I feel the same now as i did 10 years ago. Sometimes people meet me and feel that they already know me and that’s new and different, and a little strange, but i’m the same as i always was, so the change is small.
How do you feel about criticism of your personality? Not only about your actor work, we also mean your everyday life.
I don’t give a f*ck.
Is your twitter something really off-hand or do you spend a lot of time on it before you go online? What do you think about the blogging and live journal craze which is so prevalent nowadays?
Sometimes I think about what I write, usually I don’t. I know nothing about blogging. Literally nothing. I barely know how to use twitter.
What are your favorite books, movies, bands or musicians?
I like the book, “The life and times of michael K” by Coetzee. Of course I like a lot of Russian authors. I’ve read and enjoyed Dostoyevsky, Gogel, Nabokov, Tolstoy, Solzhenitsyn, Pushkin.
What is the biggest myth about you? What is the oddest compliment ever made to you? What is your most extraordinary talent?
Biggest myth is that I am a robot. I am not a robot.People have complimented me on my ability to speak English with a Russian accent. My best talent is my ability to make a good meal from a nearly empty refrigerator.
For some reason a lot of people wonder if you can draw…
Sure i can draw. I’m very slow, but if you give me a long time, i can pull something off. I prefer to draw nudes. So i prefer to have lots of nude models hanging around all the time.
Have you really already visited Russia before? A lot of people who have never been to Russia have got an erroneous idea about this country. What were your personal expectations before your first visit to Russia? Which of your expectations was confirmed and in what way has your idea of this country changed after the visit?
I have been to Russia in 1989, 1991, and 2004. Moscow, St. Petersburg (both when it was Leningrad and when it was St. Petersburg) and Yaroslavl. I’ve also traveled to several of the former soviet republics, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. I love Russia. I speak a little Russian. I studied Russian in high school for four years and spent a winter abroad in Yaroslavl. When I was growing up, my mother wished we were Russian. She would call me and my brother, Sasha, “my little Russian boys.” The funny thing is, we’re not actually Russian. My father’s father’s father’s father came over from either Russia or the Ukraine to Canada 150 years ago, that’s where my Russian heritage comes from. Pretty slim. But Russia and Russian was a big part of my upbringing. We ate a lot of borsch. We had matrioshka dolls around the house. We even subscribed to the English version of the Russian magazine, “Russian Life.” The last time I was in Russia we took a river cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow. It was on a boat called the “Mayakovsky”. It was a great trip. Moscow has changed so much in the past 20 years. It’s amazing. I do like that city, though. I have lots of memories.
Does your Russian name help or hamper you in life?
It helps, of course. People always think I’m a spy, so they give me secret handshakes.
What would you like to tell the visitors of our website, Misha Collins and Supernatural fans in Russia? We greatly appreciate your work and would be happy to welcome you to Russia one day.
Misha said some words in Russian for his Russian fans, here is translation in English:
I hope, there will be Supernatural conventions in Russia in the nearest future. I would be glad to visit Russia again. Thank you very much. See you soon.
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