When Mark Proksch first saw “What We Do in the Shadows” (2014) at a film festival prior to its release, he admits to being “so jealous of how smart the idea was, and how well they executed it.” He considers that the highest form of praise: “being so jealous about how smart it is you’re angry you didn’t come up with it.” So he leapt at the opportunity to star in a new FX series based on the original movie. Watch our exclusive video interview with Proksch above.
SEE Emmys 2019 slugfest: We’re ‘out of our minds’ debating Best Comedy and Drama Series [WATCH]
Created by Jemaine Clement, who co-wrote, co-directed, and co-starred in the film with Taika Waititi (who helmed the pilot), “What We Do in the Shadows” centers on three centuries-old vampires (Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, and Natasia Demetriou) who share an apartment in Staten Island. “It’s basically a roommate comedy,” Proksch explains. “It’s ‘Friends’ but with monsters and people that want to kill you.”
Proksch plays their fourth roommate, Colin Robinson, an “energy vampire” who drains humans (as well as some vampires) of their energy by boring them. Rather than “your everyday bloodsucking vampire,” he’s “the type of person you meet in the line at the DMV … and they basically are sucking the energy out of you with every word that they say.”
“Colin does want to be friends with people,” Proksch explains, “but he can’t be friends with them without basically sucking their life force out of them. So it’s a catch-22 for him. I think he’s pretty lonely, but at the same time, who knows how much feeling he actually has?”
Prior to “What We Do in the Shadows,” Proksch has made notable appearances in TV shows including “The Office,” “Drunk History,” and “Better Call Saul.”
PREDICT the Emmy nominees now; change them until July 16
In the near future, you can check out how our experts rank this year’s Emmy contenders. Then take a look at the most up-to-date combined odds before you make your own 2019 Emmy predictions. Don’t be afraid to jump in now since you can keep changing your predictions until just before nominations are announced on July 16.
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
