Monday, January 9, 2012

The TV Addict: We Shine the Spotlight on CASTLE Star Seamus Dever

In the ABC drama series CASTLE, Seamus Dever portrays Detective Kevin Ryan, a role which has become more complex as the show explores the inner psyche of who Detective Ryan is beneath his loveable, funny-guy exterior.  CASTLE is a cop show that embraces comedy and levity in the most absurd investigations, but which will also delve into the darker side of murder, cop killers, and sociopaths.  Sliding seemingly effortless between the agile comedy and finely-tuned drama, Seamus is a chameleon on screen.  In an exclusive interview, Seamus shared what drives Ryan and the relationships he prizes above everything else.

In your mind, who is Detective Kevin Ryan and what do you think epitomizes who he is in his soul?

SEAMUS:  Whoa, deep.  Wow.  I think Kevin Ryan is a nice guy who is always under-estimated about what he really knows.  I think he is quiet and I think he is a smart-ass.  He grew up with two older sisters, so there’s always been an interesting relationship with older siblings that he has.  I think what epitomizes who he is, is his loyalty to his partners and his loved ones around him and how he would protect them regardless of the cost.  I think that’s my answer. [Laughter]

Over the past two seasons particularly, we have seen Det. Ryan take increasing risks and make harder decisions when his fellow officers’ lives are on the line.  What lengths do you think he’ll go to, to protect those he cares about?

SEAMUS:  Well, it’s been one of those things — we had an episode last season where Ryan and Esposito are being tortured to find out some information that would compromise and harm Beckett and Castle — Beckett in particular — and it was one of those things that we were willing to bite the bullet and be tortured and take all this punishment rather than tell them what they wanted to hear.  So I think it gets to the point where you get to the point — and Ryan comes from the neighborhood still — where you don’t squeal on the people you’re protecting. He’s not a rat.   He’s going to protect the people around him.  We saw that in his response to torture.  But on the other side, it’s one of those things where he has an idealistic sense of what the job is — because there was the whole predicament last year that we were playing with Captain Montgomery and it was like, “Do we tell anyone about this? Or do we sort of do the right thing and let him die in peace and not reveal that he was a dirty cop?”  And it was always one of those things that Ryan was in favor of letting everyone know and Esposito was in favor of letting him die in peace.  So it was one of those things that we sort of carved out how everybody feels about those particular moral situations.

For the full interview visit The TV Addict.

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